Plectrum or fingers for your Starfire Bass?

[krysh]

Not necessarily, it is more the angles you are using when picking. The dunlop picks become more glossy over time and are matte when new

 

[teleharmonium]

I am about 50/50 (on an SF I with a Bisonic at the bridge).

When I play with fingers I like a wide string spacing @ the bridge, it's not that wide on the Guild although I can work with it. I have right hand fingernails for playing guitar and they will clank sometimes. I end up using my thumb and the side of my index finger a lot.

 

[edwin]

It depends on the gig or song. I started playing with a pick in high school (Phil Lesh and Berry Oakley fan), discovered funk and then played fingers and thumb for decades and then went back to a pick ca. 2007 when I joined Great American Taxi and went back to the hollow body bass. I've got to get my thumb chops back together. The Starfire, even with flats, sounds great played slap. I shocked a number of people at an Alembic gathering a few years ago with that.

I change the pick depending on the bass. The Starfire I think sounds best with a classic Fender heavy, but my Modulus basses sound and feel better with the graphite Big Stubby and Telefunken equivalent. The key to a good pick sound is having a stiff enough pick. Too much flexibility and you lose control of the sound and it gets really thin. It doesn't have to be completely inflexible like the graphite picks, but it does need to be able to effectively transfer finger movement to the strings.

 

[fronobulax]

The Starfire, even with flats, sounds great played slap.

Anecdotally, slapping a Guild with the harp bridge may be hazardous. The saddles have been known to pop off the bridge.

 

[edwin]

Anecdotally, slapping a Guild with the harp bridge may be hazardous. The saddles have been known to pop off the bridge.

Well, you can see from my profile picture that that's no longer a problem for me.

 

[fronobulax]

Well, you can see from my profile picture that that's no longer a problem for me.

I did not wish to assume that you had only one Starfire (or that all your instruments had had the bridge replaced)

 

[RVBASS]

I like Herco flex 75 picks, been using them since the late 70s or early 80s, I use them for both bass and guitar.

 

[jazzman64]

When I first got my Starfire, I put flats on it. I usually play it with a pick because of the combination of the strings, hollowbody, and pickups...bring it to life! I can get a Joe Osborn tone to a Phil Lesh tone! Occasionally, I'll play with fingers using just the neck (for a nice upright-ish tone), but most of the time it's just with a pick.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Being a total hack at bass, though my Epi Viola is a great bass guitar and just is fun and so easy to play...I use a 2.0 mm pick. I am not going to learn the finger thing for bass. While it is super impressive to watch, I have no interest. AS well, I find the plectrum makes an interesting rumble sound too, kind of punk rock and very clear distinct notes. Of course I am NOT a bass player, but a 40+ year acoustic player who plays bass...occasionally. There is a difference

 

[scottferreter]

I'm an oddball, but I enjoy keeping my right hand nails longer for fingerstyle guitar, and then when I play bass with my fingers, I get some of that high-end pick attack. YMMV because I have exceptionally strong nails.

 

[James Hart]

I'd say I generally play 75% fingerstyle, 20% slap, 5% pick on my electric basses... now that I've had my Starfire II for a moment, definitely about 80/20 finger/pick on it. Picks I use BlueChip TAD 60 or Dunlap Prime Tone 1.5 smooth... both in triangle shape (since I started messing with flatpicking on my D40 Traditional... I cannot go back to thin picks!)

 

[GGJaguar]

I'm an oddball, but I enjoy keeping my right hand nails longer for fingerstyle guitar

I don't think that's odd. When I was in a power trio, I'd keep my nails a little on the long side to get that "click" attack that you mentioned. So, I'd say it's a thing.

 

[lungimsam]

I’m mostly pick now. Fingers for the really quiet parts or super mellow songs.
One thing is, if I have to use 16th note rock with muting after each note pluck, (bup, bup, bup, bup, etc….real staccato) I’ll use fingers or just palm mute at the bridge if using pick but doesn’t sound the same as muting every 16th note after plucking it. I’m trying to get the flesh of my thumb and forefinger near the pic tip to do this kind of muting though.