Finger Tone Club

[BassAdder60]

Following on from my post The Pick Club I thought I would post a Finger Tone Club !

 

The tone from fingers instead of a plectrum or pick is very different and near on impossible to mimic with a pick.

 

The tone is warmer, fuller and contains lower bass tones 

 

The physical connection to the bass is greater and that has advantages in feel 

 

We are lucky to have many techniques available to us .. I love the pick sound for rock but miss the connection and full ( depth ) to the tone 

 

What about you guys ? 

[PaulThePlug]

Having previously (tried to) play guitar a long long time ago... a pick is second nature... Jim Dunlop Jazz III mainly.

But like the sound and connection of fingers on flats... but can't match the sort of speed and regularity i can get with a pick. Also for fingers i like the tone more towards the end of the fret board and likes a thumb rest just after and before the pickup, rather than fingers over the pickup...

[Downunderwonder]

One of my finger tones is to use just the very tips closer to the bridge. Close enough to a pick for me.

[shoulderpet]

1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said:

Having previously (tried to) play guitar a long long time ago... a pick is second nature... Jim Dunlop Jazz III mainly.

But like the sound and connection of fingers on flats... but can't match the sort of speed and regularity i can get with a pick. Also for fingers i like the tone more towards the end of the fret board and likes a thumb rest just after and before the pickup, rather than fingers over the pickup...

I always find it strange to hear people say that they can pay better with a pick, I am mostly a fingerstyle player and I cannot play anywhere near as well with a pick as I can with fingers

[Grahambythesea]

I’m with shoulderpet on this one. I learnt using my fingers and have never really taken to a pick. Perhaps ha I got mainly played basses with 19mm spacing hasn’t helped. But as we haven’t been able to play much over the last 2 years, my fingers aren’t what they used to be and I have had to resort to a pick occasionally as the blisters appeared. ☹️

[Trueno]

Woohoo! Finally a finger tone club I can join. Even though I spent 30 years trying to clumsily play a guitar (I’ve given up now), I could never get into using one of those pesky little bits of plastic. Playing with fingers just comes so naturally and I like the tone.

 

For the record… I usually play with two fingers… sometimes thumb for double stops. I have to keep my the fingernails cropped on my picking fingers as I don’t like the clanky sound… some might.

[kendall]

It's a weird one the pick.  I can play rhythm guitar reasonably well, I use a pick just fine.  Holding a pick and playing bass and I am all over the place, can't skip strings, hammer ons etc. are woefully weak and it just feels wrong.  

 

I tried to learn to play bass with a pick for faster songs, but gave up and spent some time developing a three finger technique a la Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse.  

[ubit]

I can get quite a punchy toppy tone and I use fingers. I do change strings very often and use exclusively stainless steel rounds and  push the mids on my amp right enough. I use a pick for some songs but only for the attack. I struggle to feel comfortable with the pick on bass.

Edited September 28, 2021 by ubit

[goingdownslow]

26 minutes ago, Trueno said:

I have to keep my the fingernails cropped on my picking fingers as I don’t like the clanky sound… some might.

I don't like the fingernail click either, it even puts me off my playing as I try to pluck differently to eliminate it.
I try to remember to carry nail clippers but there have been times I have ground my nails down on the brick wall outside the gig.

[Reggaebass]

What about what I call the big finger, the thumb, it gets me a nice deep rounded tone and it’s surprising how quick you can get with practice 

[Judo Chop]

I learned both styles when I first started playing, I didn't see much reason to only pick one or the other.

 

Fingerstyle is much more satisfying for me though

[Hellzero]

May I join the club as I only play with my fingers.

 

I don't like the sound of a pick even if I can come very close to my fingerstyle sound.

 

And remember that it's easier to forget to take a pick (plectrum for the others) for a gig or rehearsal than a finger, without speaking of losing one. 😉

[borntohang]

I'm happy to double on pick and pluck, but there's definitely something pure about the connection to the instrument when you play plucking style.

 

I used to use pick for anything that needed consistent rhythm but it got to be a pain switching up between songs so I've just worked on improving my two finger straight-eights/sixteenths instead. I'm perfectly happy to get through a gig without having a plick on hand now but generally keep one just in case I really feel like using that sound. I even switch up more on guitar these days, although nowhere near as much as bass.

[police squad]

2 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

What about what I call the big finger, the thumb, it gets me a nice deep rounded tone and it’s surprising how quick you can get with practice 

I play using my thumb a lot these days. Mainly the blues rock stuff but even some of the Police stuff is done with the thumb. As you say, a nice deep round sound

[Reggaebass]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

it's easier to forget to take a pick (plectrum for the others) for a gig or rehearsal than a finger,

I’ve forgot a few leads before but never my fingers 😂

[ubit]

24 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve forgot a few leads before but never my fingers 😂

 

 

I have been known to forget my head on occasion right enough!

[Waddo Soqable]

It's surprising how nice and deep a sound you can get with the thumb compared to a normal finger.. Indispensable for dub type sounds 👍

[redbandit599]

I like the sound of a pick, and would like to be able to play well with one (I can get by) - however, whenever I start working on using a pick it just makes me feel a bit sad... I really miss the physical connection of fingers on strings, so I stop - and just do what makes me happy 😁

[SumOne]

I prefer the sound from fingers vs plectrum, and the connection/feel, and the muting, and skipping strings, and being able to quickly switch to slap/pop. 

 

I'm gonna work more on thumb but it always sounds quieter and less defined and slower when I do it. 

[StickyDBRmf]

I really wanted to sound like Chris Squire and Greg Lake but the pick kept flying outa my hand so I gave up...just started playing even MORE aggressively and when I found that old battered upright in the closet at the high school...So now, when I pick up a guitar I use fingers and of course the Stick is tapped. So...

And it's Emmett Chapmans Birthday.

Just thought I'd say...

[Reggaebass]

16 minutes ago, SumOne said:

I'm gonna work more on thumb but it always sounds quieter and less defined and slower when I do it.

The D and G strings do sound a lot quieter with the thumb, so I tend to add a bit more pressure to compensate or turn the volume up a touch, I also find some Basslines sound better, especially some of Flabba holts ones, he plays with the thumb a lot 

[Crawford13]

I love playing with my fingers and using a pick. However I am much more comfortable with my fingers, especially my muting. 

 

I really need to practice with a pick more and get my muting technique down. 

[Waddo Soqable]

Some vintage thumb action....

 

[Reggaebass]

Flabba thumb style 

 

[police squad]

3 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Some vintage thumb action....

 

is that Chas Hodges?

 

actually It's Heinz isn't it

Edited September 29, 2021 by police squad