Technique: migrating from precision to musicman?

[Twigman]

As some of you may have seen I am now the proud owner of a EBMM US Sterling4HH
bootiful

Before we start let me just say that I've never taken a bass lesson in my life so I've no idea if what I'm doing is 'correct'.


I've mainly played Precisions or Precision style basses over recent years.
My first proper stand up play of the Sterling highlighted an issue that I had not foreseen:
Where do I anchor my thumb when playing the E string?
I am used to anchoring my thumb on the pickup for playing E string and then damping the E with it when playing the A and the A when playing the D etc
The pickups are set low in the pickguard and the top edge of the pickups slopes,,,so no proper anchor point there
The bridge pickup is closer to the bridge than I'm used to and the neck pickup is farther away.
My natural plucking position falls between the 2 pickups....but there's nothing to anchor my thumb to...
I never really noticed this when sat down - perhaps I'm plucking in a different spot?

So what's the secret to E string standing up comfort with a MM?

[RhysP]

Just keep playing it & what you do with your thumb will just happen naturally.
Worst case scenario is that you end up fitting a thumb rest of some kind.

[dannybuoy]

First, raise the pickup, it shouldn't be sunk down that far.

I find with both basses, the best sounding place to pluck is directly over the pickup - so I just play further back on a Ray compared to a P!

However I find myself using more of a floating thumb technique lately, where my wrist or forearm resting on the bass serves as a pivot point.

[radiophonic]

This is just a familiarity issue. Your playing will adapt over time. I've played a stingray for years and resting on the pickup feels exactly right. However, when I switched to a jazz, the rear pickup felt too fact back and the front pickup felt too far forward and there seemed to be way too much space between the strings and the body. After about 6 months they just felt different rather than right and wrong... Then I played a Sandberg with a MM + P, the P pickup felt insanely far forward. It'll sort itself out.