It does depend on the music, Jazz and Blues players use fingers,Pop-Rock and Punk players use picks. There are some great bass players that use picks, Mike Dirnt from Green Day, Mark Hoppus from Blink 182. Whatever makes you bass players out there comfortable, go for it. Oh yeah, i use pick! thats what i like.

Perhaps I haven`t made myself clear. If you can`t play fast enough with your fingers, your finger technique is inadequate and you need to improve it. Certain styles of rock (generally the more primitive styles) may be largely populated by pick wielding bassists, but in any style you will sound better with fingers. If you want to play guitar, then put down your bass and PLAY guitar. I put down my bass and play guitar myself frequently, but when I play bass, I play BASS.

When I`m playing Ska and Funky things.. Fingers.

When i`m playing faster Punk, Pick.

Well, when I started playing bass I used a pick and a distortion pedal cause I loved distortion back in the day and liked playing guitar but I wanted to try something new and decided to try playing guitar stuff on a bass. Needless to say I was pulling the bass/guitar technique for a good amnount of time and started a band doing the same gig. Now I don`t use any effects unless I`m messing around or trying to put them to use since I bought them all. Well, let me tell you. Back when I did that gig I just started playing so don`t call me stupid. I was just experimenting.

Now I`m in another band but when it started I used a pick also. Farther down the road I started going back to using my fingers and found out I wasn`t as good. So I worked on playing with my fingers but still used a pick for practice. Then, after I went to a Tran-Siberian Orchestra, I noticed that I grew up on classic rock and stuff like Iron Maiden and other bands whose bassists used there fingers. Right then I was influenced to use my fingers.

Actually, just today at band practice my one guitarist asked if I would use a pic and see if I could do things cleaner and as a finger bassist I said no. He kept on nagging at me but I kept refusing to use a pick cause from now on I only use a pick to mess around with but most of the time or 98% I use my fingers in and out of practice.

I just think it sounds cooler when you play fast with you`re fingers cause if you can do it fast enough it makes you feel really good at bass. Anyone with a pick can play fast but when you use your fingers you need to keep working on stuff and then you get faster. Heck, I`ve almost mastered Steve Harris`s triple picking(using your index, middle, and ring finger to play fast) technique and it soudns good.

Last, about doing chords with your fingers. It`s not hard at all really. All you ahev to do is take your thumb and index finger and pinch them together to make a pick shape and then just play a chord. I guess I learned this fast cause my main influence is Steve Harris but I also like to come up with my own style so I keep it original but I think I done talking about this.

I say if you`re jsut starting use a pick so you can get used to moving your fret fingers around then practice using your fingers. I think it would working better that way. That`s just me though so listen to me if you want.

i prefer using fingers and only a pick if its really fast but i haven't gotten to play the fast fast stuff yet cuz im new to playing the bass but yea hopefully i'll get better at it

fingers. i mean id use a pick for some things, but the best bass music comes from not using one.

Fingers for me. Picks feel too limiting..

guys,

the point if using picks or your fingers its to play bass and to make noise !!

but i want to tell all ov you that the pick makes sound deferent then the fingers , and you can
hear that just while you are playing by fingers you will hear a weird sound witch you can call it
muting and the pick makes sound the tone plus the plastic sound witch its different.

for the people who cant really play with they fingers they can order a special rubber picks
from Dunlop and its not going to coast you more than 5$ and in the end of the day you will
have the same sound of your fingers.

actually there is things you cant make it with your fingers and same with the pick.
but for me i prffer finger playrs .... i don't know why !!

Best Luck,
Maan Sheeb
Saudi Arabia - Jeddah

finger, you get to feel the string better than using a pick... and pick has a bad/flat sound

fingers of course!
I can play with a pick, but I just learned it in case if I ever need it somehow. But I love playing with fingers, you can do much more !

yep and I forgot to say, I hate that sound when someone's playing bass with a pick. I just can't stand it

man, when i started this post i had just started playing bass and i almost always used a pick, i just couldnt get the hang of playing with fingers, but now about 3 years later i never play my bass with a pick, its all fingers, about a year ago me and a friend were just screwin around and all of a sudden just to keep up with his riffs i threw in my ring finger, and amazed both of us at how well i did it for my first time. but i still use picks for certain things, but i am now a fingers man.

Scroth is right, if you cant play fast enough with your fingers then you need better technique, bass is a deep instrument and it cant sound deep enough with a pick, ITS NOT A PUSSY *** GUITAR ITS A BASS EVEN IF A SONG IS SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED WITH A PICK i USE FINGERS CAUSE ITS A BASS, AND THE BASSIST FROM GREENDAY IS STOCK.I can easily play the 16th and even sometimes 32nd notes with fingers, it just takes dedication and if you dont have the time or dedication to get to that stage then you shouldnt be playing!

im totally a Finger man. not because it's easier or harder to do but because it sounds sooooooo much better.

save skin use a pick