Where's your thumb?

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whyseye

whyseye

Well-known member
I'm a newbie bass player trying to teach myself through downloaded lessons, and just playing around to see what feels right.
A lot of lessons I've seen recommend resting your thumb on the pickup, so you can slide down for muting the E string. I find that I'm most comfortable resting my thumb on the end of the fingerboard - it seems more bass-like to me (as in stand-up bass - I played a little cello at one time), and more comfortable for my tiny gator-like arms...
...is it a question of do what works for you, or are there major advantages/disadvatages to one placement or another? :confused:
 
On the low string, unless I am playing that string. When playing the low string, I just lift it. I have that habit from playing classical guitar, but it's useful for slap 'n' pop style bass too (which I never learned).
 
mshilarious said:
On the low string, unless I am playing that string. When playing the low string, I just lift it. I have that habit from playing classical guitar, but it's useful for slap 'n' pop style bass too (which I never learned).
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That made sense to me, and I tried it once, but I was still too clumsy to coordinate getting it out of the way at the right times....maybe I'll try again when I've got more practice hours in.... :o
 
I sort of do a combination....I play a 5 string, so if I know I'm not using my lowest string, i generally mute it with my thumb...but If I'm going to use it, i rest on the pickup. This applies to when I don't use a pick. I also tend to use a pick most of the time, so that is way different... :D
 
I had to pick up my bass to find out! I'm like Dogman - my thumb seems to rest on both the pickup and the string (though since I play goofy-hand, it's resting on the G).
 
I always rested my thumb on the pickup when I played a 4-string. When I started playing 5-string I would get a carpal-tunnel pain in my wrist. So I now dampen the lower strings or just let it float above the strings. It didn't take too long to get used to it. It feels quite natural now.
 
So nobody's way up by the fingerboard? When I move down closer to the pickup, it starts to feel more awkward, but maybe that's just because I've learned bad habits?
I'm thinking that I may evolve toward an E-string approach with time....and practice.... :D
 
I think it really depends on what's more comfortable for you. Where you strike the string can have a slight impact on the tone, and I think that's why most bass players tend to pluck closer to the bridge than the neck.
 
MadAudio said:
I think it really depends on what's more comfortable for you. Where you strike the string can have a slight impact on the tone, and I think that's why most bass players tend to pluck closer to the bridge than the neck.
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That's probably part of the deal....I tend be be playing more quietly to myself still, than trying to fill a big space with my mighty thunder..... :D :cool:
....I'm sure that will all change.... :rolleyes:
 
whyseye said:
That's probably part of the deal....I tend be be playing more quietly to myself still, than trying to fill a big space with my mighty thunder..... :D :cool:
....I'm sure that will all change.... :rolleyes:
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I has a pretty big impact on tone, plucking above the fingerboard, like you would on a cello, will yield a big, round tone, without much bite. Right up against the bridge is a sharper, high-mid cutting tone (think Journey). I prefer around the neck pickup, digging in pretty good for a nice growl and some fret buzz.
 
mshilarious said:
I has a pretty big impact on tone, plucking above the fingerboard, like you would on a cello, will yield a big, round tone, without much bite. Right up against the bridge is a sharper, high-mid cutting tone (think Journey). I prefer around the neck pickup, digging in pretty good for a nice growl and some fret buzz.
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It's a single pickup, so that's another reason that I'm concerned that I'm losing something working closer up around the neck....but that big, round tone is more what I'm hearing in my head right now, so I guess that's good...
...as I start playing with more agressive sounds, I'll know to slide down toward the bridge..... :)
 
I use my thumb and three fingers to pluck with, so my thumb does not stay stationary and plucks with the other fingers 90% of the time

BUT- if you don't pluck with your thumb (as most don't), the most efficient thing to do is float it. Floating your thumb does NOT mean keeping it in the air, not touching anything. It means you keep it resting on the string lower than the one you are plucking on. Plucking the A string? Rest your thumb on the E string. Plucking the G string? Rest your thumb on the D string. You learn to move your hand as a unit this way, and it GREATLY aids in muting the strings. There are two ways to do it- either lay your thumb across the string you are muting, or put the meat of your thumb on the string itself as if you were going to pluck it. Laying your thumb across the string can allow you to move faster between the strings, but putting your thumb right on the string can be useful in that it allows you to pluck the string if you so choose (very helpful when descending, as the thumb can descend much better than your other fingers).

Also, by floating your thumb, you can pluck anywhere- including up by the fingerboard- and still mute the strings. Anchoring your thumb on the pickup does not do you any good- it can't mute any strings from up there, and it gets you in the bad habit of having an anchored hand position which makes you bend your wrist quite a bit to play the G string (or higher strings).
 
I'm trying to remember but it's been a while since I screwed around with bass. Was it the Fender Jazz that had the thumb rest? I think I played a LP Studio that also had a thumb rest.
 
Thumbrests can come on all kinds of basses- there's Fender Jazzes and Ps both with and without thumbrests. The old Fenders had a rest below the G string for players to rest all of their other fingers because it was assumed that the basses would be plucked solely with the thumb :D
 
whyseye said:
It's a single pickup, so that's another reason that I'm concerned that I'm losing something working closer up around the neck....but that big, round tone is more what I'm hearing in my head right now, so I guess that's good...
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It doesn't matter where the pickup is relative to your fingers (unless you are slapping the string off the pickup). A bridge pickup will be brighter than a neck pickup, but moving your fingers still changes the tone in the same way. It has to do with the overtones generated when you pluck in different locations. If you want a big, round tone, then no worries.

If you ever played or listened to classical guitar, moving the right hand position is used in a major way to change timbre. It's not quite as dramatic on bass, but the effect is the same.
 
mshilarious said:
It doesn't matter where the pickup is relative to your fingers (unless you are slapping the string off the pickup). A bridge pickup will be brighter than a neck pickup, but moving your fingers still changes the tone in the same way. It has to do with the overtones generated when you pluck in different locations. If you want a big, round tone, then no worries.

If you ever played or listened to classical guitar, moving the right hand position is used in a major way to change timbre. It's not quite as dramatic on bass, but the effect is the same.
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What are the mechanical or physical reasons for the difference in tone relative to plucking hand position? Is it how the sound waves bounce off the body differently than the the neck, or the difference in string tension closer to the bridge? All of the above and then some? :confused:
 
whyseye said:
What are the mechanical or physical reasons for the difference in tone relative to plucking hand position? Is it how the sound waves bounce off the body differently than the the neck, or the difference in string tension closer to the bridge? All of the above and then some? :confused:
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No, it has more to do with overtones in relation to the fundamental. Only an electronically generated sine wave has a pure tone; an acoustic instrument does not but that's what gives each its own characteristic. The overtones generated will vary depending on where the string is struck/plucked/picked.
 
And I realize an electric bass is not an acoustic instrument, be the principal is the same.
 
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