Real Bass Players Don't Use Picks

There is this notion that bass players that use picks are somehow not as good as players that play with their fingers. A bass guitar is essentially a guitar, and the first models that we made in the 1950s were treated as such--even though they were designed to replace the upright bass. Some of the best bass players in the world play(ed) with a pick: Chris Squire (see below), John Entwistle (sometimes), Bobby Vega, Steve Swallow (a converted upright player), Anthony Jackson, Bill Wyman, et al. Using a pick is great for taking some of the boom out of your playing when the song calls for it.



(This early-70s dot-neck Rickenbacker 4001 looks and sounds great. If you notice he is playing through the neck pickup and it still sounds trebley.)