Bass- finger or plectrum
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danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Depends on what sound you want. Those who have said that good bass players only use x or y are wrong - good bass players can do both with skill
£5 to anyone who can guess whether you play with or without. 
internetstalker
Get naked!
Depends on what sound you want. Those who have said that good bass players only use x or y are wrong - good bass players can do both with skill
aye!
ATOMIC SUPLEX
Member Since: 1985 Post Count: 3
Is it Hookey? And I think that might be a six string short scale bass. Look at the strings.
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
Six string basses aren't that unusual. Jack Bruce uses one and he was gigging with the Graham Bond Organisation and Cream back in the 60's.
lights.out.london
Black Flag
I'm a guitarist playing bass in one band - plectrum [or thumb on one song].
internetstalker
Get naked!
no, but short scale ones are!
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I can do both in case you couldn't guess from my post!danny la rouge said:
I learned to play classical guitar from about the age of 6, which stood me in good stead for playing both electric guitar and bass when I became interested in rock music when I was a bit older. Both pick and fingers have their advantages and disadvantages - a pick can give a clearer and more precise staccato, but is more difficult to produce flowing notes at speed - on the other hand (pun sort of intended, coat got etc...) fingers being softer act as dampers, moreso on a bass with its thicker strings and you lose some of the clear ringing tone and harmonics that you can achieve with a pick (which may be desirable or not, depending on what you are playing), and it takes ages to build up finger strength and callouses.
For some reason I always preferred playing bass, maybe it's because there are fewer competent bass players around and it was easier as a woman to get gigs in an otherwise male-dominated genre.
Alas my arthritis means that I am not as proficient as I once was, I tend to use a pick now because I don't have the same range of movement in either hand that I did back in the day, which hampers my ability to play well in all respects. 'Tis a sad thing.
TitanSound
Mr Beardy Drummer
I had to take up bass as a second instrument at college and always have used fingers, much prefer the sound. I find it easier to play with a pick though because my poor old drummer hands are used to being curled round a stick not stretched on a fretboard/the strings
damnhippie
shark sandwich
practice! it's tiring at first but your hands soon get used to it.
if you really bash the strings with fingers, you can make a much angrier doomier sound than a pick... look for old live videos of black sabbath and watch Geezer butler really walloping the strings up by the neck.
if you really bash the strings with fingers, you can make a much angrier doomier sound than a pick... look for old live videos of black sabbath and watch Geezer butler really walloping the strings up by the neck.
fingers, plectrum, toes - who cares?
just don't do a solo
i think you have hit the nail on the head there actually
northernhord
Active Member
Fingers for me.
lights.out.london
Black Flag
Anyone tried playing with a metal (brass) pick? Do the strings last long?
chico enrico
No hair shows you care.
pk
drink flounce rinse repeat
Does he play chords - or just layer tracks in the recording?
Genuinely interested.
I taught myself bass playing to Hooky lines, because they're so straightforward.
chico enrico
No hair shows you care.
nah, he does play chords. I've stood up near the front of the stage on his side at a New Order gig with my mate who was a bassist just to watch what the fuck he does. Also we went to see that rather crap solo project he did called 'Revenge' in early 90s and he was playing a lot of chords in their songs too.
That said, i'm sure you're right that he will also have a plethora of effects pedals and multi-track (alas, not too up on the technical side of things myself)
Must have fingers strong enough to could crush a pitbull's head all the same.
Incidentally, i've always thought the beauty of NO was in the simplicity of their bass lines, as well as the near-gauche-ness of a lot of the lyrics. I love the way even when you hear a new order somg for the very first time you can generally predict what the next line of each rhyming couplet will be, but every now and again Sumner will sing something totally off the wall just to confound you.
Thee best pop band of all time IMO. Some of their songs are as near peerless perfection as i've ever heard.
Pretty hit or miss live though.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Depends on the song. The opening bars of "Warhead" by UK Subs sound shite when finger-picked, but class when plucked with a plectrum.
Okay, crap example, I know, but you take my point?
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
If you want to sound wrong, use a "found object" for a plectrum, something like a 50p piece or a key, for example.
scifisam
feck! arse! girls! drink!
I use both for different songs - plectrum for the fast, harder-sounding songs, and fingers for the slower, softer songs. This is only because the other band members want me to use a plectrum, though - I really, really, really, really, really, really hate it. It feels so wrong that I'm sure the torture must show on my face sometimes. But they insist that I do it. Guess I'll get used to it eventually.
Guess I'll get used to it eventually.lights.out.london
Black Flag
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