uncle psychosis Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Hey guys I'm working on my fingerstyle playing. I'm aware that my technique isn't great so I'm really trying to focus on it and I've been aware for a while now that I pluck too hard with my right hand. I'm happy with the sound I get this way but I think its holding me back a bit technique wise as well as making it really hard/tiring to play fast repetitive lines---any kind of joey ramone style line is just too hard (stamina wise). So, I've turned my amp up and am attempting to play softer, and I seem to be getting good results. However, I've also noticed a lot more finger noise and string noise (which is to be expected with more volume on the amp). My question is...how light should you go in terms of touch? I don't want to end up going too soft and end up with untameable string noise, effects pedal noise, etc from having the gain on the amp too high but I don't really know how to go about working out where the "sweet spot" is. Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Just play more man, you'll develop that strength. I play heavily and often do at home as well as live. I can play pretty fast and no issues so far with speed, accuracy and heavy handedness. But I think you should always be adept at light and hard playing, like drummers have to be. It's about what you want to hear really, but if you have good dynamic control in volume and time senses I think you'll be happier as a player. Look after your hands though, if playing hard and fast and you get pain, stop immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 The idea with using your amp's power in the way you're describing is that you're opening the door to being able to play much more dynamically, i.e. you've got the choice to play up or down. Loads of musicians, especially in bands go at playing their instruments as hard as possible without any consideration about dynamics at all, at least with a good amp you have the choice of digging in a bit or playing with a softer touch. There really isn't much point going too soft or too hard either. Find a compromise as to where you set the level on your amp and if there is a concern about being able to play along to more up tempo tunes then that will come with practice and a metronome. Keep the metronome at a comfortable pace, increase speed accordingly until it becomes difficult, drop the tempo back down and repeat until phrases become easier and more fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I have a slightly different opinion. I like to play soft(er) than most, quite significantly. My 'cruise' level dynamic for grooving, when I'm properly 'in shape' is very very relaxed. This means I can accent any note in, say, a 16th note passage significantly with only a little effort. Which is really good for faster funk grooves. If I have been playing too much acoustically (ie cant be arsed to even switch on the practice amp) then I lose this and end up playing a lot harder at a cruise volume and that actually reduces my dynamic range because I cant throw a big accent in so easily. I also find that with the busy way I tend to play I cant keeep it going for any significant duration when I lay into the strings too hard. I'm playing tracks up to nearly half an hour long now, and its a completely different world than playing pop songs in terms of raw endurance! As for playing quietly, well my band enjoys dynamics down to a whisper level (drummer is a wizard at playinig with great groove down low where only spiders can sense the vibrations), and I have no problem keeping things extraordinarily quiet, but again you just have to practice it. Noisy effects are another thing though. Simply put, if they are significantly noisy then I dont use them, no effect (that you would keep) is noisy when you turn it off, so if you are going really really quiet and the effect adds too much noise then dont use the effect at that point. If its too noisy when you are just bubbling along in a groove then the fx unit is pretty poor. Having said that the Roscoe has 18v active electronics and is not a shy bass at all, its got nice hot output and a really good signal to noise ratio, which means I can play soft and its output is hot enough to be a bit more than a passive bass played a fair bit harder. Win win IMO.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 When I was first learning to play, I was taught by a ( very good) guitarist. He told me to play lightly and turn amp up. When I saw a teacher, he told me to play real hard on the strings . This thread has got me thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Thanks guys. I think the answer (for me at least) is to try and play softer than I have been, but not outrageously so. Hopefully in the next few months I'll be able to get back into some lessons and get some face-to-face advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Good plan, you have to find your own way to a certain extent on bass, because there is no fixed way. However I really think a lot of bassists see the instrumetn as super physica because the strings are fatter, when in fact, because the notes are so deep the strings arent really fat enough! Compared to Plux's db my Roscoe can be played with the lightest touch imaginable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Great topic, and one that I feel is very relevant to myself. I suppose, as for years I played punk on under-powered amps, I`ve got into the habit of being a hard hitter, whereas with the rigs I`ve had recently/currently got, I have no need to be. Last/this year I`ve been working on playing finger-style, and have got to the point where only a few songs escape me, and I`m getting better at them. I seem to have more control over playing at a more even touch when playing finger-style. I`m also going to be trying flats again on my bass for my main band, as these seem to encourage a lighter touch (for me). Problem is, I just prefer the sound of the bass when hit hard. Not being too loud mind, in the mix where it should be, but hard-hit as oppose to a moderate touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I know what you mean Lozz, especially in really agressive genres that transient spike of string torturing pain as you crunkk through a string with a heavy pick is exactly 'right', you dont get that playing softer, which may be why Iike really punchy basses and bass rigs, since I play light that seems to go a long way to making the whole sound nice and present for me. Its still a very different timbre than that blasting away hard one, but it certainly works better for how I play. I'm certainly not the lightest touch I know either, I think Urb is significantly lighter than me again, and when it comes to slapping from what I can tell Ped slaps with fairy dust and unicorn feathers lest he marr the finish on his Vigier necks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I'm heading down the same route - my new Matamp is so loud and so responsive that I have a real incentive to dig in a bit less and to let more of the sound of the bass + rig come through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Playing softly and dynamics will come by improving your right hand technique. Eliminating the string noise will come by improving your left hand technique, or changing to flat wound strings. Keep the amp loud(ish) until you've sorted things out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Two ways to think about it...how do you get the tone you want..? Somethings are best played hard-ish, but then that approach may be a one trick pony. I play ultra light... and try to get that as much as poss on a gig. It means my amp needs to be bigger than others can get away with, but then I get all sorts of nuances. Extra noise is just more bad/poor technique... as your left hand should be pretty clean and your right hard pretty accurate. A hard attack isn't all bad... but it may be all you can do. Many a player has made a great living out of it.. but a light attack can loose some character... but then it is easy to put that back with the amp EQ..plus you have more of your hands involved in changing the sounds. Your choice, but the best argument is that the less beating your hands take, the longer you'll likely last, IMO. FWIW, I never liked the heavy handed sounds when learning...altho I am more open to them now... and I always went after a clean and articulate sound but then the technicians of the day were Stanley Clarke and Pastorious. Also at that time was Louis J...and he beats the hell out of his bass, esp if slapping.. so..??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Well an update to my earlier post on this topic, as it was like a sauna in the rehearsal room this eve, and remembering this topic, I went for the set the amp louder and play lighter mode, managed it for a whole rehearsal, and really liked the sounds I was getting. My Precision sounded a lot more, well Precisiony for want of a better word. Think I`m going to try and keep to this method. Usually practices/gigs in The Daves are fairly hard work but I feel like this one was a walk in the park. Plus the added benefit of liking the sound as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Sure, if you let the amp do the work of amplifying...rather than the sheer thump of a heavy handed attack, then you get way more variation and subtlety. You might need a more powerful amp to keep the headroom as you have quietened down your sound by quite a lot. Mosts guys would break my gear if they played their way through my volume levels on my amp and cabs. Lighter is faster as well... should this matter to you...than, say, a hard LH baseball grip.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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