jack-of-all/master of none/fingers vs pick

[morroben]

My dilemma isn't jazz specific. But the folks around here seem to have good advice so here goes...
When I first started playing 20 or so years ago, I learned with a pick. I found fingers easier, but really tried to focus on learning with a pick. That was early 90s, just starting out, playing a lot of Pixies etc.
So I've been playing with fingers only for about 3 years. The beginning of that time I was playing a lot of slide, and I like the muting possibilities with fingers. Then I started getting into this jazz stuff, particularly chord-melody, and fingers worked well in that situation, too. I've always been a huge fan of players like Mark Knopfler, Kelly Joe Phelps, Derek Trucks, and more recently Ted Greene, so fingers seemed like a viable option.
Well now I'm looking to put together a little band again. I'd love for it to be jazz oriented, but around here, if you're not involved with the colleges, you're not part of the jazz scene.
So that leaves me trying to start a more rockish band, and I feel like I should probably go with a pick for that.
If I try to practice both, I feel like I'm spreading myself thin, rather than getting even better at one or the other.
So the question is, should I go back to the flatpick, or should I try to ride the fingerstyle skills I've been working on even further?

[Paul Kinnear]

Try using pick and fingers together. I have been for at least the last 25 years and find it useful for all styles.

[morroben]

Originally Posted by Paul Kinnear

Try using pick and fingers together. I have been for at least the last 25 years and find it useful for all styles.

Great point, and I should have addressed it in my first post. I just really struggle to get even attack with the pick and the fingers. I use the rounder corners of picks (when I use them) which helps a bit, but I still can't get it to even out. That could just be an issue of more practice, though.
If there's no pick around, do you find you can still get by?

[Paul Kinnear]

I can use fingers only and do if one of my students will not use a pick. I do prefer to use pick and fingers. The picks I use are black jazz iii and my nails on my right hand middle ring and picky fingers have a slight angle toward my thumb side of ny hand so I am actually using the edge of those three nails along with the pick. I feeluse that I still have good picking technique when picking conventionaly.

[morroben]

Thanks for your input. When I do fingers, I don't have nails. I can't maintain nails with my day job, just not an option. Which explains why pick and fingers gives me the attack problem.
So here's maybe a more specific question, now that I know you're good at both. How do you practice? When it comes down to true practice time, not just playing or teaching other people, how do you practice? Pick? Fingers? Hybrid?

[Paul Kinnear]

I do practice both. Scalier exercises I will use mostly a conventional alternating pick style. Comping and chord solo type practice I tend to use pick and fingers. Folk or pop arpegiated chords, Travis style or country leads I will also use pick and fingers. I think you may want mainly consider the sound you are after and use whichever technique fills that need. Whatever I practice I always hold pick.

[brwnhornet59]

I, like Paul, use a hybrid style. But I know several fine players that play rock, blues and jazz with just fingers.

[EightString]

I've learned to use a pick very lightly in conjunction with my remaining two or three fingers to get an even finger-picked sound. This way, I can comp some jazz, play "Sultans of Swing", or go to pure picking on a solo without changing my hand position at all.

Your mileage may vary...