[beau99]

How I play depends on how my fingers are feeling at the moment.

Right now my playing thumb's got a bad blister, so there's no way in heck I'm not gonna use a pick.

[excellent_rawk]

i HATE picks. never used one never will. one reason is i play alot of flea type stuff with the slappin. it also sounds way better to use fingers

[StingRay4Christ]

I play with all five fingers, with fingernails, classical guitar style.

-Pete

[Bassman1185]

Originally Posted by excellent_rawk

i HATE picks. never used one never will. one reason is i play alot of flea type stuff with the slappin. it also sounds way better to use fingers

YOU might think that it sounds better, but that's just a matter of personal taste.

Just because I know you were allworried so much, I thought I should report that I have started using a pick exclusively with my band. The harder attack and clearer tone just works so much better in our mix.

[akaukal]

I play with a pick on my 5-string bass and I use a pick and my fingers on my ordinary bass. But I must admit I prefer a pick.

[elijah77jc]

Using a pick on a bass is an abomination.

Jude 16:12

[Bassman1185]

Originally Posted by elijah77jc

Using a pick on a bass is an abomination.

Jude 16:12

Tell that to John Paul Jones, Sir Paul, Jason Newstead, and all the other greats that used picks on bass to great effect.

[Micahb]

Originally Posted by Crazy J

Picks utterly ruin the sound of a bass. Look at some of the songs off of Blindside's album 'Silence'. The biggest culprits are 'Time Will Change Your Heart' and 'Pitiful'. Those songs would sound sooooooooooo infinitely much better if he hadn't used a pick. The guitar in those songs is played up a little higher, but the twangy sound of the bass doesn't make any low end noise at all. Just a wraroaowoawoaorow sound that is horrible to my ears.

Hmm...I liked the bass sounds on Pitiful alot. I don't remember the bass specifically on other songs but I never thought it was a bad sound. All personal preferance.

Guys, please don't just post comments like "Picks are the worst thing to ever happen to bassists", as they are not productive. If you don't use them, say why or why not instead of just "they suck"

[WeArEtHeFuTuRe]

I like to use my fingers or thumb i find im faster if i can use my 4 fingers and it sounds cleaner for me

[jump5fan]

i use my fingers most of the time athough i do use a pick sometimes. the reason why i normally don't use a pick is becuase it is just one more thing that i need to focus on doing the right way, if that makes any sense.

[Micahb]

Originally Posted by WeArEtHeFuTuRe

I like to use my fingers or thumb i find im faster if i can use my 4 fingers and it sounds cleaner for me

Lucky you.
I could do that before but I stopped for a while and now it is just all muddy when I try to play with all 4 fingers.

[jamforchrist123]

I play mostly fingers, but I wil admit as a guitar player using a pick is a bit more comfterble. I just like the tone of fingers though

[bassboy211]

if my fingers have blisters on them then i'll use a pick... other then that i'm a finger man...

[Spaceman]

I always use my fingers to play bass. I find it more comfortable and I can play faster with my fingers than I can with a pick.