These tips also made me realize the set up is wrong, intonation is off.
Not A Bass Player But....
- Thread starter soundchaser59
- Start date
december
Tele-Meister
Short scale has less tension so you want heavier strings than you would use on a standard scale to get the same tension.
DR Hi Beams 105 85 65 45 is my favorite short scale set.
And there's nothing wrong with playing bass with a pick! It's a completely different sound. Fingers can't do what a pick does and a pick can't do what fingers do. They're completely different styles.
My favorite plastic pick for bass is the Dunlop Tortex Flex large equilateral triangle 1.14mm but I also use 2mm steel picks that my dad made for me. I use thinner Tortex triangles for guitar.
DR Hi Beams 105 85 65 45 is my favorite short scale set.
And there's nothing wrong with playing bass with a pick! It's a completely different sound. Fingers can't do what a pick does and a pick can't do what fingers do. They're completely different styles.
My favorite plastic pick for bass is the Dunlop Tortex Flex large equilateral triangle 1.14mm but I also use 2mm steel picks that my dad made for me. I use thinner Tortex triangles for guitar.
Last edited:
FortyEight
Friend of Leo's
i set up all my stuff so i can play hard. which usually means larger gauges then average. if that makes me a hack, oh well. ss basses typically need larger gauges from what i can tell.
too many people hung up on the "rules" when it comes to picks vs fingers. i do notice a pick sounds better close to the bridge. most of the time. feels a bit better too. sometimes.
im playing mostly with fingers now cuz i transitioned and having fun. but in my recordings i did not find the bass sound lacking when using a pick. in fact i think the extra attack was a bonus. u lose some sustain and roundness compared to fingers though.
theres no right answer. Gobs of good basslines in history use a pick. including harder picks. same with different size strings for different players with different amounts of force being applied. if im not playing hard, its not as fun. i have and am learning to restrain myself more. so then i know how it sounds to play softer and vice versa. been working on that for 25 years plus. thats a good thing too. but not always what i want to do or hear.
rock on. where can i hear your music?
too many people hung up on the "rules" when it comes to picks vs fingers. i do notice a pick sounds better close to the bridge. most of the time. feels a bit better too. sometimes.
im playing mostly with fingers now cuz i transitioned and having fun. but in my recordings i did not find the bass sound lacking when using a pick. in fact i think the extra attack was a bonus. u lose some sustain and roundness compared to fingers though.
theres no right answer. Gobs of good basslines in history use a pick. including harder picks. same with different size strings for different players with different amounts of force being applied. if im not playing hard, its not as fun. i have and am learning to restrain myself more. so then i know how it sounds to play softer and vice versa. been working on that for 25 years plus. thats a good thing too. but not always what i want to do or hear.
rock on. where can i hear your music?
Last edited:
december
Tele-Meister
Downsman
Tele-Meister
As someone who started on guitar and switched to bass about 5 years ago, and now play bass in a band, I've learned to ignore all the people who come up with hard and fast rules about what you need to play, and how you need to play it. If it's comfortable for you and sounds good, you're doing it right.
For what it's worth I play a Mustang with D'Addario 45-100 Chromes. I started with a pick, switched to thumb, then did the classic two finger style that I was told I had to do to be a "real" bassist. Then developed a thumb and 3 finger style, and now I'm back to mostly using a pick again, after watching Get Back and deciding Paul McCartney is a real enough bass player for me
I bought a P-bass at one point because, again, I was told "real" bassists don't play short scales. I found it less comfortable and felt like an idiot for listening to those people and sold it again. Again, I decided Bill Wyman, Tina Weymouth, Justin Meldal Johnson and Paul McCartney were real enough bassists for me.
I don't do slap style, so maybe string tension would be an issue if I did, but if you're finding the e-string is too loose it's possible you're just hitting it harder than you need to? Is it just that it feels funny, or is it impacting on the sound you want and your ability to play it?
By the way, I'm not arguing against long scale basses or high tension strings, or taking a side in fingers vs pick, just saying what works for you is the right answer.
For what it's worth I play a Mustang with D'Addario 45-100 Chromes. I started with a pick, switched to thumb, then did the classic two finger style that I was told I had to do to be a "real" bassist. Then developed a thumb and 3 finger style, and now I'm back to mostly using a pick again, after watching Get Back and deciding Paul McCartney is a real enough bass player for me
I bought a P-bass at one point because, again, I was told "real" bassists don't play short scales. I found it less comfortable and felt like an idiot for listening to those people and sold it again. Again, I decided Bill Wyman, Tina Weymouth, Justin Meldal Johnson and Paul McCartney were real enough bassists for me.
I don't do slap style, so maybe string tension would be an issue if I did, but if you're finding the e-string is too loose it's possible you're just hitting it harder than you need to? Is it just that it feels funny, or is it impacting on the sound you want and your ability to play it?
By the way, I'm not arguing against long scale basses or high tension strings, or taking a side in fingers vs pick, just saying what works for you is the right answer.
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