Members putz1337 Posted December 26, 2008 Members Share Posted December 26, 2008 due to our failed efforts of my band to find a bassist, i'm moving from guitar to bass and rolling 3 piece style. i'm currently using the singers rig. it's a fender jaguar bass, 2 - 2x12 trace elliot cabs, and some tube head that i cannot think of. so here is my problem...i'm having the hardest time training myself to use my fingers, screws my timing all to hell. when i use a pick im right there in the pocket and chillin. however, while i'm playing with the pick (dunlop .88 green tortex) the bass sounds way to punchy. in a previous band i was in, the bassist used a huge fuzzy pick while playing a fender pbass. i don't remember his sound being so damn punchy. is it the pick i'm using or is this because of the jazz style pickups? would it be better to play on the split single coil p bass style pickups some one please help and thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crescent Seven Posted December 26, 2008 Members Share Posted December 26, 2008 Try using a Dunlop nylon 1.0mm pick, they're the black ones. A little more flex and give, but still thick enough. Don't worry about the style of pickups, if your sound is too punchy with a pick, you can roll off the tone control to smooth it out a bit. If you're converting to bass, just play with a pick, don't get caught up in how the bassists you see are playing. Practice your fingerstyle at home so you can build up callouses; if you try to play a full rock set with virgin fingers, you'll be sorry. If you're still too punchy, roll the mids off a little bit on the amp. C7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rpsands Posted December 26, 2008 Members Share Posted December 26, 2008 When I play with a pick I use one of those huge fuzzy ones. They sound great. I got it at GuitarCenter. Looks kind of like a giant pick made of industrial office carpeting. I recommend getting one. Nylon picks will always sound that punchy, nothin you can realy do about it. If you really want to make the move to bass pickless and long term (and there is nothing wrong with playing with a pick!) then get out the metronome and start working. That {censored} just takes time and patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 26, 2008 Moderators Share Posted December 26, 2008 For now, it really is just a matter of learning your EQ to get your tone with a pick close to what you're looking for. As you continue to develop your feel for the instrument, your control of the tone will improve greatly and the differences between fingerstyle and pickstyle playing will be useful tools and you might find that one no longer substitutes for the other, but in the early stages use what works while you practice the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamdenialNJ Posted December 26, 2008 Members Share Posted December 26, 2008 due to our failed efforts of my band to find a bassist, i'm moving from guitar to bass and rolling 3 piece style. i'm currently using the singers rig. it's a fender jaguar bass, 2 - 2x12 trace elliot cabs, and some tube head that i cannot think of. so here is my problem...i'm having the hardest time training myself to use my fingers, screws my timing all to hell. when i use a pick im right there in the pocket and chillin. however, while i'm playing with the pick (dunlop .88 green tortex) the bass sounds way to punchy. in a previous band i was in, the bassist used a huge fuzzy pick while playing a fender pbass. i don't remember his sound being so damn punchy. is it the pick i'm using or is this because of the jazz style pickups? would it be better to play on the split single coil p bass style pickups some one please help and thanks in advance. hey man you're like me! however i've practiced using my fingers a bit and i can almost play my bands songs without a pick. some parts it's hard to get the speed down right so i use a pick for the whole song:facepalm: but yeah i remember when i first started playing bass it was all pick or maybe just my index. now i'm pretty comfortable using my index and middle and MAYBE sometimes i'll try and throw in my ring but it usually turns out bad:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pickdust Posted December 26, 2008 Members Share Posted December 26, 2008 I agree with all that has been said so far. I have used a pic 95% of the time for the better part of 25 years. (.88mm - 1.1mm) Some of the finer points.... If you are getting too much punch on a J configuration first roll off the treble to about 50%. If this doesn't solve your problem you need to start rolling off the bridge pup. How much will depend on your picking position If you pick more toward the bridge....roll off more of the bridge pup. Less if you pick toward the neck pup. Picking equal distance between the pups is a good standard against which to adjust tone and pup roll-off. Once you tame the punchiness (barking) you can adjust the roll-off based on you picking position. Just my 2 cents worth... PD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted December 26, 2008 Members Share Posted December 26, 2008 http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-346-Shell-Pick?sku=110541 These, in Mediums - with GHS Boomer Mediums work well for this guitarist turned bassist... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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