Do I need the pick?

[mnboy]

I am new to the bass and my teacher says not to worry about using a pick. I am not sure he ever uses one. I have read that it is important to know how to use one. Unsure if this is true...can someone enlighten me? I am assuming that it depends on the sound you are after. [I see that Sir Paul used on commonly, and I have a Hofner Club.] Thanks,

[Matt R.]

Practice with and without a pick. It's just a sound/preference thing.

[AustinLeftyBass]

Do what YOU want, and pay no attention to what anyone here tells you you have to do, including me.

[Rodent]

whether or not to use a pick really depends on what your personal goals as a player are

do you want to be an on-call studio session player? if yes, becoming skilled with a pick will be critical if you ever work on other artists sessions where the lead engineer determines that the bass parts will be recorded with a pick. you could always argue against using a pick, and you might even get to stay and complete the session activities for that day ... but you have a good chance of not getting a call back for other projects where that engineer is the lead dog

choosing to play with a pick is all about becoming versitile in your capabilities to serve the band leader you've been hired to accompany and support. if they want the attack sound of a pick, you'll need to have your skills ready to provide them that sound. in the same way, if they want a P-bass with flats, or Stanley/Marcus/Hamm styled slap, or Geddy/Squire/Sheehan inspired fills - you need to come prepared to deliver IF that's what your playing goals are


if instead your goals are to be the band leader, play your own material with your own unique sound ... and you're willing to suffer the price this kind of self imposed limitation can have during your early "undiscovered" career ... then focus on developing your sound with your technique

there's really no wrong way, just decisions and the consequences that accommodate them

all the best,

R

[Addison]

I'll add a +1 to what Rodent said, and add that I started playing with my fingers, switched to a pick, switched to both, and then went back to playing exclusively with my fingers again.

To this day, I am not a very good pick player and, in retrspect, I wish I had stuck with both.

Having more skills as a player is NEVER a bad thing.