Take your pick

[Nicko]

Over the years I've found myself playing more and more with fingers and using a pick for specific songs .  I play covers nd quite a lot of the songs are originlly played with a pick.

At rehearsal last night I mistakenly picked up my, erm, pick and played a song  that I've always played with fingers.  This is despite having trouble in parts of the song which are quite fast and at the limit of my finger technique, but I'd always though most of the song was easier and would sound better with fingers.

The pick was a revelation.  The song sounded great (we happened to be videoing that particular song).   That is all.

Scoff if you like. 

[Crawford13]

Totally the right call dude. Play for the song, if it sounds better use a pick.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited March 3, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[hooky_lowdown]

I mostly play with a pick, more articulation and cuts through the mix better imho.

[bartelby]

There’s no right or wrong (except slap 😉) I use whatever sounds best.

The upside about using both for any song is that if you fumble the pick mid song, you just carry on finger style.

[FinnDave]

I use a pick 90% of the time - the remaining 10% being when I am playing at home and can't be ors bothered to look for a pick for  simple i minute exercise. 

I started using a pick after a motorcycle accident a few years ago that bugg  messed up my right hand, but now play in a tribute band where the original played with a pick, so the sound is right. Three years down the line of pick playing, I find I am playing faster clearer lines, and wouldn't go back to finger playing even if a miracle cured my knackered hand.

[musicbassman]

I'm usually doing deps, sometimes having to play covers from all eras. It would be pretty hard to do this without some pick skills. And it's a very necessary skill for some country music.

For different eras, it generally works out something like this:

50's - fingers

60's - fingers or muted pick (as per Carol Kaye)

70's - mostly fingers

80's - slap, fingers

90's - pick or fingers, whatever's best to recreate an approximation of the original (often this was synth bass)

00's onwards - mostly fingers - with pick where necessary. For example I think the main syncopated riff for Bruno Mars 'Locked Out Of Heaven' would be really, really difficult without a pick. 

[steantval]

For our Classic Rock set I generally play 90% fingers and (10% pick for the faster songs).

Learning a new song last night that required a fast picking action and was seriously struggling as it’s not really my style of playing, Out In The Fields by Gary Moore.

I going to have to put in a lot of practice to get the speed and technique bang on.