Early Pick Playing Bassists

[BassAdder60]

Just watched on Sky Arts and the BBC Four The Shadows bassist playing with a pick, then The Kinks bassist playing with a pick and Cream Jack Bruce playing with a pick 

 

As a convert to playing 99% of the time with a pick it made me wonder if those early rock or pop bassists considered fingers or pick for sound or technique/ speed or both maybe

[Doctor J]

It probably depended on how they ended up on the new-fangled electric bass guitar. Migrants from double bass probably went with fingers and blow-ins from guitar probably used a plec. I doubt there was as much thought going into it as we would like to think.

[Tjhooker]

When will I be famous

[TrypF]

Some Brits may well have copied the sound of the American records they liked. Many, especially Country and Phil Spector productions, favoured the ‘tic tac’ sound played with a pick, which gave the bass definition in the dense but relatively low-fi recordings.

[Bassfinger]

Theres some very early footage about of Harris playing with just his thumb, Brian Wilson style, so the pick was a slightly later affectation for him.

 

Jack Bruce went both ways (fnaar fnaar!) with fingers and pick, and started out as a double bassist. Brilliant bassist, named my new puppy after him.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Bassfinger

[nikon F]

8 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

 

 

Jack Bruce went both ways (fnaar fnaar!) with fingers and pick, and started out as a double bassist. Brilliant bassist, named my new puppy after him.

 

sorry to be the one ,,,but is the pup's name Bruce or Jack or a combo of both ?  

[Bassfinger]

It's Bruce.  I wanted Jack but my friends ladmis called Jack and I didn't want the confusion. My last dog was Lemmy.

[Old Horse Murphy]

Don't forget a lot of bassists in the early bands in the late-50's/ early-60's were guitarists who were asked to play bass instead (as recounted in a number of interviews/band bios), as bass wasn't always considered to be the stand-alone/sexy instrument it is now. That, and playing with flat wounds probably meant that the sound was a bit woolly so a pick would've helped add a bit of definition. 

I'd imagine that had quite a big influence on playing with a pick. 

[Hellzero]

Monk Montgomery, the first ever electric bass player, used his thumb and was originally a double bass player.

 

James Jamerson used his index only ( aka The Hook) and was also a former double bass player.

 

Carol Kaye, the most recorded artist ever, play with a pick (plectrum) and was a jazz guitar player when she started electric bass.

 

That said Jack Bruce was a graduated classical cellist, not a double bass player. 😉

[Beer of the Bass]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

That said Jack Bruce was a graduated classical cellist, not a double bass player. 😉

 

Though I'm sure he's said that he was doing jazz double bass gigs at the same time as he was studying cello, to the disapproval of his tutors.

[Boodang]

Chris Squire used a pick, along with his Rickenbacker, to be heard. To aid this he would slightly brush the string with his thumb on the downstroke to increase upper harmonic content to cut through even more. Chris Squire was certainly not trying to blend in when it came to his playing! The other band members always said he was key to their sound.

[Bassfinger]

3 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Monk Montgomery, the first ever electric bass player, used his thumb and was originally a double bass player.

 

James Jamerson used his index only ( aka The Hook) and was also a former double bass player.

 

Carol Kaye, the most recorded artist ever, play with a pick (plectrum) and was a jazz guitar player when she started electric bass.

 

That said Jack Bruce was a graduated classical cellist, not a double bass player. 😉

Although in the programme about Disraeli Gears the other night we had 10 seconds or so of him playing a DB at home

[Nail Soup]

On 30/10/2021 at 11:37, Old Horse Murphy said:

Don't forget a lot of bassists in the early bands in the late-50's/ early-60's were guitarists who were asked to play bass instead (as recounted in a number of interviews/band bios), as bass wasn't always considered to be the stand-alone/sexy instrument it is now

Some even considered it a demotion would you believe?

[lowdown]

On 30/10/2021 at 12:33, Hellzero said:

Monk Montgomery, the first ever electric bass player, used his thumb and was originally a double bass player.

 

James Jamerson used his index only ( aka The Hook) and was also a former double bass player.

 

Carol Kaye, the most recorded artist ever, play with a pick (plectrum) and was a jazz guitar player when she started electric bass.

 

That said Jack Bruce was a graduated classical cellist, not a double bass player. 😉

 

 Ladi Geisler was picking away on Bass Guitar as a session musician in Germany during the late 50's and onwards.

He was originally a Jazz Guitarist (his is life was interesting to say the least).

Many of us old Musical Dinosaurs could tell his style and trademark 'Bass' sound from a hundred paces....

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by lowdown

[lowdown]

Rare footage of him from 00:15 onwards.

Judging by the terrible hair and large 'Bat' bow ties on show, probably from the 70's.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by lowdown

[lowdown]

6 minutes ago, lowdown said:

.

 

 

Double post...

Christ...what's going on here. A colossal pilot error of a crash and burn on my part.

Edited November 1, 2021 by lowdown

[Hellzero]

Ladi Geisler has almost invented a picking style on its own. Terrific sounding and not enough known for his great jazz guitar playing or quite unique bass playing.

 

Thanks for the reminder @lowdown ! 🙂

[lowdown]

48 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Ladi Geisler has almost invented a picking style on its own. Terrific sounding and not enough known for his great jazz guitar playing or quite unique bass playing.

 

Thanks for the reminder @lowdown ! 🙂

 

 

Yes, a very good Jazz Guitarist. And of course, his legendary 'Knack Bass' sound.

Like I said earlier, he had an interesting (and productive) life.

 

From Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladi_Geisler

 

 

 

[knirirr]

In case it's of interest, here's something from a 1976 (?) interview with Monk Montgomery (Guitar Player magazine):

 

Quote

Why do you use a pick today?

About seven years ago I was in Los Angeles and playing a "Jazz for Breakfast" gig with my quartet. I had always played with my thumb, but suddenly I went to work this one morning, and I had no control over it; it was like my thumb had turned deaf and dumb to any command from me whatsoever! I went to several doctors, but they could find nothing physically wrong. My thumb had simply called time out. I tried to get its use back by exercises and psyching myself out, but I finally had to just say "fosters on my thumb," and get a pick. I must have tried every pick that could be bought, but none of them could give me the down-stroke "finger" sound I wanted, so I experimented with materials on my own and eventually came up with my "bionic thumb." I call it Monk's Pick [not yet available].

 

[borntohang]

On 30/10/2021 at 11:37, Old Horse Murphy said:

Don't forget a lot of bassists in the early bands in the late-50's/ early-60's were guitarists who were asked to play bass instead (as recounted in a number of interviews/band bios), as bass wasn't always considered to be the stand-alone/sexy instrument it is now. That, and playing with flat wounds probably meant that the sound was a bit woolly so a pick would've helped add a bit of definition. 

I'd imagine that had quite a big influence on playing with a pick. 

Flats, relatively low headroom amps, big speakers with no tweeters... T'was truly an age of mud and thump. Ox was one of the pioneers in high treble clarity, but even he used a pick when he needed the extra help. 

[chris_b]

16 hours ago, Nail Soup said:

Some even considered it a demotion would you believe?

 

Probably understandable when you hear most of the basslines they were expected to play!