tedmanzie Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) i've played guitar for years. lots of years. now i'm into the bass big time - 6 months. what's the deal with vibrato and string bending (guitar habits - occasional semi tone bends), and what i can only describe as 'string knocking' - this is where you basically tap/lightly slap the strings where the snare drum hits. i'm expecting mostly 'what ever sounds good' replies, but i'd be grateful of any opinions. especially vibrato. don't know if this a bass no-no, or a bass o-k?! oh and one more - because i've got flat strings i've discovered a terrible desire to do this thing where you fret the note an octave higher on the same string and slide down into it. you know - a kind of fancy frill. i suspect that this is the equivalent of the pub singer warble, and considered fairly awful. ted Edited December 3, 2012 by tedmanzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Vibrato is a great skill and livens up a line so well, IMO..and it isn't easy to do with all fingers altho 1st and 4th are the most commonly used. Bending is a cheaper option and doesn't work as well...and neither do hammer-ons...generally. Palm slaps or RH strum slaps or rakes are all cool in a percussive sense, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If you can do vibrato on bass then do it, it's cool. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If you can bend bass strings you're either the Hulk or your strings are too thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If it sounds good do it, don't worry about where you got the idea from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashell Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 My bass tutor has taught me all of the above apart from the 'knocking', so AFAIC they are all legitimate bass playing techniques. Not that I use them much because I'm still finding them all a bit tricky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 [quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1354578918' post='1887772'] oh and one more - because i've got flat strings i've discovered a terrible desire to do this thing where you fret the note an octave higher on the same string and slide down into it. you know - a kind of fancy frill. i suspect that this is the equivalent of the pub singer warble, and considered fairly awful. ted [/quote] I do that all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveK Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 [quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1354578918' post='1887772'] i've played guitar for years. lots of years. now i'm into the bass big time - 6 months. what's the deal with vibrato and string bending (guitar habits - occasional semi tone bends), and what i can only describe as 'string knocking' - this is where you basically tap/lightly slap the strings where the snare drum hits. [b]i'm expecting mostly 'what ever sounds good' replies, but i'd be grateful of any opinions. especially vibrato. don't know if this a bass no-no, or a bass o-k?![/b] oh and one more - because i've got flat strings i've discovered a terrible desire to do this thing where you fret the note an octave higher on the same string and slide down into it. you know - a kind of fancy frill. i suspect that this is the equivalent of the pub singer warble, and considered fairly awful. ted [/quote] IMO this is the downside to online communities such as this. Imagine if BC was around in the 70s and Jaco was a member; [i]" I've got this urge to pull all the frets out of my bass and fill the gaps with putty... What do you BCers think?[/i] Or if Larry Graham asked; [i]" When I whack the strings with my thumb it makes a funny noise. Is this a no no?.. should I learn to play properly?"[/i] Who knows, we may never have heard of either of them. Style can't be developed by consensus. It's devices such as those you describe and how you apply them that will help set you apart from other players. ...So basically the answer is, 'whatever sounds good' to [b]you[/b]. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 If the hit on the strings is intentional effect then fine, but many bassists give a little unconscious hit to keep time and this makes for a messy sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I'm also a guitarist who progressed to bass. I use on the bass pretty much every technique I used on guitar. String bends are cool, but I like the pre-bend release into a low note, especially with a swell on the volume pedal and nasty distortion and flanger and stuff - sounds wickid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 hey thanks for all your replies i guess its personal taste like most of you have suggested, but good to hear some feedback. i was a bit curious about the vibrato thing particularly. [b]chris-b [/b]- my strings are thomastik flats and are quite easy to get a semi tone bend, but i think they are lower tension than normal so maybe that's why. i'm certainly no Hulk, i've only got short bunny arms only good for picking up carrots. [b]spike-vincent[/b] - i'm glad you do this. i'm going to carry on! cheers ted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Oh yes, I have a bad habit of string 'knocking' ! It's not good in the studio at all and I have to discipline myself not to, but live it really helps get my mojo on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmanzie Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354638999' post='1888539'] I'm also a guitarist who progressed to bass. I use on the bass pretty much every technique I used on guitar. String bends are cool, but I like the pre-bend release into a low note, especially with a swell on the volume pedal and nasty distortion and flanger and stuff - sounds wickid! [/quote] yeah that's the one i like - the pre-bent note released to a semi tone down. did you ever move over from pick to fingers when going from guitar to bass? - my alternating picking is the only thing i got really good at on guitar so i'm sticking with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 [quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1354639480' post='1888552'] yeah that's the one i like - the pre-bent note released to a semi tone down. did you ever move over from pick to fingers when going from guitar to bass? - my alternating picking is the only thing i got really good at on guitar so i'm sticking with it! [/quote] I do use pick occasionally if I want a good punchy palm mute sound, and if I have to play anything really fast like 32nd notes. I think I'm like you, I have a very fast left hand that my finger technique can't keep up with, but I don't need to be doing more than 8th notes and a few 16ths with the bands I'm in so rarely if ever use a pick live. If I'm doing my own stuff for fun I will often use a pick. I use lots of effects too, and get a lot of guitar sounds going for texture on one band. I think being a guitarist is really useful, I can't understand why a lot of people only want to play one instrument. I play a bit of drums too and approach bass a bit like a guitar-playing drummer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354639466' post='1888551'] Oh yes, I have a bad habit of string 'knocking' ! It's not good in the studio at all and I have to discipline myself not to, but live it really helps get my mojo on. [/quote] First time I recorded and heard myself solo'ed I was horrified! I'd been playing for years and seriously never knew I did this. I quit pretty quickly.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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