Certain Techniques

[JTUK]

I have to play a couple of numbers where a plec sound is nearer, so I use the thumb as a plectrum.
Case in point..band wants to do Muse's Starlight and I can't be bothered with the effect...plus a simple distortion peddle isn't going to cut it anyway. I am pretty sure ther signal is split in the studio and then the effect piled on etc etc ... but anyway..the line works better with a really percussive slap sound..to make the line big, or double thumbed..but you don't want to overdo the up strokes.
Song isn't all that anyway...so hopefully, I will not have to bother much more with it one way or another.

As for tapping and the like..well, did that and binned it... it is more laughable than all the 80's gtrs still doing it.

Edited December 1, 2010 by JTUK

[cheddatom]

Pat Badger!!!

[Wil]

I used to be 100% fingerstyle, now in the band I'm 50% fingers, 50% pick, entirely for tone reasons. Pick just happens to sound great sometimes.

[KevB]

It'll always be slap with me. I think I should learn it, think I'm missing out not being able to do it (yet have never been in a band where it was actually required). Then I see someone actually doing it and go 'Nah...' and the whole cycle repeats itself.

[Prime_BASS]

The only thing I really wish I was better at was tapping.

For the most part I'm happy with my technique and I haven't been playing a song and really thought "this song would better with some double thumbing"

Would be nice if I was better at it though, just to show off.

[Wil]

I'd learn to slap properly but to be honest, the only slap I can abide is subtle and slow (such as in "If You Want Me to Stay" by Sly and the Family Stone), well within my current ability. I don't really like listening to fast funk slapping so I've never really had the inclination to learn.

If I like how it sounds, I'll probably try and do it, basically.

[Bilbo]

I thinik it depends what the techniques in question are for. I find some, such as double thumbing and tapping, almost entirely gratuitous and of little intrinsic musical value. I can slap enough to get by but have never really felt the need to develop the technique to the Miller/Wooten level, primarily because, after a momentary 'wow' moment, I find I don't actually [i]like[/i] the music played using this technique. Same with tapping. I got Jeff Berlin's Motherlode and some of Stu Hamms Radio Free Albemuth stuff sorted but never really felt it was anything other than a party trick and consequently stopped developing it. It certainly isn't a 'core competence'.

As for plectrums, in terms of my own playing and the music I play, I find that I don't like the sound very much so an not a user (I do play guitar with one so its not that I can't....). Having said that, I love Chris Squire and Steve Swallow who both use icks. But, for me, I work on other things.

But arco double bass. Now [i]That's[/i] a sound I can use!!!

[xilddx]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1043482' date='Dec 1 2010, 10:40 AM']I thinik it depends what the techniques in question are for. I find some, such as double thumbing and tapping, almost entirely gratuitous and of little intrinsic musical value. I can slap enough to get by but have never really felt the need to develop the technique to the Miller/Wooten level, primarily because, after a momentary 'wow' moment, I find I don't actually [i]like[/i] the music played using this technique. Same with tapping. I got Jeff Berlin's Motherlode and some of Stu Hamms Radio Free Albemuth stuff sorted but never really felt it was anything other than a party trick and consequently stopped developing it. It certainly isn't a 'core competence'.

As for plectrums, in terms of my own playing and the music I play, I find that I don't like the sound very much so an not a user (I do play guitar with one so its not that I can't....). Having said that, I love Chris Squire and Steve Swallow who both use icks. But, for me, I work on other things.

[b]But arco double bass. Now [i]That's[/i] a sound I can use!!![/b][/quote]
That's the only technique and equipment I don't possess that I have some sort of need for. I would love to use a NS Design Bass Cello played arco, running through my POD with lots of effects. Other than that, I can get all the sounds I hear in my head with conventional fingering technique or using a pick.

The thing I really need is to be able to get to the notes I hear without thinking about it and having my fingers on either hand f*** it up for me. That's simply more practice.

[mrtcat]

I was always a fingers player through and through and was snobby about pick players. I'm now working hard on using a plectrum for some Thin Lizzy stuff we do and really starting to like it. It really cuts through too. Only problem is I keep dropping the pick.

As for slap, I like it a lot and am nowhere near as good at it as I'd like to be. The only thing that puts me off it is all the numpties in the guitar shops and at bass shows doing it at full volume. It just makes me think "you tosser stop showing off and go get a girlfriend".

Double thumbing just sounds painful

[51m0n]

Started with a pick, moved to fingerstyle cos switching from pick to slapping and back is a real pig, learnt two handed tapping and have dabbled ever so slightly into double thumping.

Whatever it takes to make the music you want is fine with me. Just make it musical. Doesnt have to be pretty mind, just not t055ing off for your own amusement (unless you are on your own, in which case go for it).


Much prefer slap that is more about the thumb than the pop, its got to groove really hard too.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1043482' date='Dec 1 2010, 10:40 AM']But arco double bass. Now [i]That's[/i] a sound I can use!!![/quote]

I do practice pizz, arco and slap on my DB. To be honest I don't think I'm going to get very far with the slap because the setup required on the bass is too much of a compromise, but I would like a second bass to rig up as a slap bass, I do like the sound.

Bowing the bass though, what a killer sound. And loud!

[bluesparky]

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1043465' date='Dec 1 2010, 10:23 AM']

Pat Badger!!![/quote]
He he, i'm a huge Extreme fan, and i always think of his name as being something you do!

[bluesparky]

Personally i've tried a few techniques which aren't what i normally do and i have different opinions.
I play fingerstyle 95% of the time with a bit of slap thrown in when the song needs it.

double thumbing - played around with it at home and quickly realised i'll never use it in anger
tapping - i've noodle around with it and come up with some nice stuff and it's fun to do, but again i'll never use it in anger. I did once, years ago for a very specific thing, but haven't since.
Playing with a pick - it's something i feel that i need to keep practicing, only because i feel that certain songs do require it, just as certain songs may require a certain effect or tone.
Fretless - Never really tried it, i dabbled with upright at college but realised i didn't have a passion for it as i do for electric bass so stopped.
3 finger right hand - i injured my middle finger on my right hand ages ago so i used my ring and index finger, when my middle finger was back in action i played with 3 fingers for a while, but as i wasn't playing hemi-demi-semi-quavers at 160 BPM i reverted back to using index and middle.


I've settled for the fact that as i use 45's - 125's and have quite a high action, i'll not master the tuned machine gun slap sound, nor playing a million notes at a million miles an hour so i don't use the limited practice time i do have trying to get faster, nail the complex techniques or sound like Victor etc.
After playing for 20 years i've reached a bit of a technical plateau, which i modestly think is quite a high standard, but realise i don't NEED to be able to play like the superheros.
I try spend the time trying to keep in time, learning songs and becoming more musical.

[JMT3781]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1043059' date='Nov 30 2010, 10:18 PM']I'm never totally happy with where I am-I always want to go further. Technically,I've tried most things.I've certainly got the patience to do it.Normally if I want to try something I'll sit for a few hours until I've got it.
Even though I play with my fingers 95% of the time,I still keep my thumb and pick chops up.[/quote]

great attitude

[risingson]

I started out as a finger style player exclusively, but have found that over time it has become necessary to use a pick to acquire a good understanding of modern bass playing, as well as certain sounds and feels that simply cannot be performed with fingers alone. Anyone who claims pick playing is an easy way of playing bass is not only wrong, but also very ill-informed. Equally if you're worried about only ever getting one sound out of playing with a pick then you probably need to practice a little more and experiment with other kinds of picks. I'm not a massively technical player, in that I don't tap or slap much, but I'm pretty happy with the way I play and technique is not an issue for me.

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1042922' date='Nov 30 2010, 08:44 PM']In all seriousness I can't think of any tracks I like that use one...thinking...Carol Kaye on Pet Sounds? Doesn't sound too challenging though.[/quote]

Oh dear, point missed entirely here. Carol Kaye was the foremost session bass player of the 1960's, possibly of all time if I'm not mistaken. Not even Jamerson or Chuck Rainey were as prolific. There's a good reason she can be heard on 1000's of records. Challenging doesn't even come into it, how challenging a part has nothing to do with how a bass line contributes to a good song.

[paul h]

I play fingerstyle, with a pick and a bit of slap all depending on the song/my mood.

[Bilbo]

It wasn't Carol Kaye on Pet Sounds. It was me.

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='bluesparky' post='1044085' date='Dec 1 2010, 05:36 PM']Personally i've tried a few techniques which aren't what i normally do and i have different opinions.
I play fingerstyle 95% of the time with a bit of slap thrown in when the song needs it.

double thumbing - played around with it at home and quickly realised i'll never use it in anger
tapping - i've noodle around with it and come up with some nice stuff and it's fun to do, but again i'll never use it in anger. I did once, years ago for a very specific thing, but haven't since.
Playing with a pick - it's something i feel that i need to keep practicing, only because i feel that certain songs do require it, just as certain songs may require a certain effect or tone.
Fretless - Never really tried it, i dabbled with upright at college but realised i didn't have a passion for it as i do for electric bass so stopped.
3 finger right hand - i injured my middle finger on my right hand ages ago so i used my ring and index finger, when my middle finger was back in action i played with 3 fingers for a while, but as i wasn't playing hemi-demi-semi-quavers at 160 BPM i reverted back to using index and middle.


I've settled for the fact that as i use 45's - 125's and have quite a high action, i'll not master the tuned machine gun slap sound, nor playing a million notes at a million miles an hour so i don't use the limited practice time i do have trying to get faster, nail the complex techniques or sound like Victor etc.
After playing for 20 years i've reached a bit of a technical plateau, which i modestly think is quite a high standard, but realise i don't NEED to be able to play like the superheros.
I try spend the time trying to keep in time, learning songs and becoming more musical.[/quote]

This pretty much sums up my style.

I started slap bass in the 70s and prefer a more melodic style. I love Mark King but I can't play that 'machine gun' style.

I think I'm going to get a pick out again.

[JTUK]

Pete, don't bother with the pick.... just immitate the pick action with the thumb and you'll be starting on the double thumb.
Then add the LH pats from the slap and the pulls and you are half way there.
You will need a bit of a nail for the thumbing though..I think

Think 'colour of money' with Anthony Jackson or for the love of money..I forget the correct title

Edited December 2, 2010 by JTUK

[Low End Bee]

Pick all the time for me. Part of our bands sound and I enjoy it so much more than I do when playing fingerstyle.
Not to say I don't try new pick techniques. I'm a dab hand at disco octaves with a pick now.
Slap just makes me feel ill so I've no inclination to try it.

[ThomBassmonkey]

Double Thumbing for me too.

I have big thumbs and I like medium string spacing, so it's a pain to get in there. I'd probably do it if I had a bass with wide string spacing, but that wouldn't work so well for me for fingerpicking so it's not worth the money invested in a bass for something I'll probably rarely, if ever, use properly.

[Bassassin]

I started out with a pick, because most of the bassists I wanted to play like like were punk & HM pick thrashers. Got fascinated by slap in the early 80s, however I never mastered it to a particularly useable standard because I was always in rock bands where I had little use for it.

I stayed predominantly a pick player until about 7 years ago when I decided I really should work on different techniques a bit more, and these days I'd say it's about 90% fingerstyle. There's a lot of light & shade in my band's music and I think fingers make it easier to be more versatile within the context of the same piece, and I've managed to get my technique to the point where a lot of the faster & more intricate parts actually feel better played fingerstyle. Some things still sound & feel right with a pick though.

I do still muck around with some slap when there's no-one looking - but like a wise man once said (it was me, actually), a gentleman is a man who can play slap bass - but doesn't. It doesn't help that I'm quite rubbish at it, but the reality for me is that while the technique's interesting & fun, 99% sounds, well - w@nky.

Double-thumbing interested me from the "how do you do that, then?" perspective so I worked on that enough to understand how it works (your thumb is a pick, basically) but not enough for the stunt-bass antics it allows, because I have no motivation to be able to play like that. Same goes for 2-handed tapping. In the context of my band's songs, I've found plenty of use for stuff like 3-finger triplet fills, plucked arpeggios using thumb & fingers, and even the occasional right-hand hammer-on but I like to think (pretend? ) it's more to do with song dynamics than being flash...

Jon.

[brick]

i really wish i could stick at the Billy Sheenan three finger plucking technique but get frustrated at not being able to get it going any faster than 90bpm using semi-quavers and give up

pick playing is something I keep going back to it every once and a while but as much as i love the sound some guys get it just doesnt seem to suit my playing

[Truckstop]

I've never had the inclination to use slap techniques. In certain riffs it is easier to use pops though and sometimes to get extra power i'll slap on the low strings but I wouldnt say I ever learnt to do it properly.
I too wish I had the patience to double-tap properly. I'm pretty good, but I'm sure my technique's all wrong!

Truckstop

[phobucket]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1042833' date='Nov 30 2010, 02:50 PM']Prompted by Bubinga's thread on Bobby Vega, I looked at a few Youtube vids of him. I've always admired him, but I found his mastery of plectrum style really inspiring.

Do you ever feel like you want to explore different playing techniques but haven't got the inclination or patience to do so? Or are you happy with how you are?[/quote]

Actually, Bobby Vega inspired me to start practicing with a pick too. He is sooo fluid..like liquid funk. Always loved the tone Dug Pinnick and Chris Squire got, but it was Bobby Vega that made me finally knuckle down and work on it. After 3 months of practicing with a pick 30mins per day I went from being completely incompetent to occasionally groovin.

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