Bending strings???

[TheGreek]

As far as I can tell the only purpose of bending strings on a bass is to add excessive wear to the frets. Personally I can't understand why players do it.

Are you a string bender??

[ped]

Yep, I think it sounds great... adds a nice accent to the note. Used sparingly, it can be really nice. I think you'd have to do it loads to cause any undue wear on the frets. Weirdly, it sounds much more pronounced on some basses than others.

I'd like to be able to develop my technique to do those quick bends during faster parts, a mixture between bending and kind of shaking your fretting hand. Easier and sounds great on fretless.

[franzbassist]

My name is Walbassist and I am a string bender.

Edited April 13, 2018 by walbassist

[Steve Browning]

I have used occasionally. Typical example would be Rocky Mountain Way in E. Pedalling the open E but sometime pulling up the F# to G before releasing it. Lends an extra bit of groove (IMHO).

[JellyKnees]

It's a great way of adding expression along with slides, pulls, hammer-ons/offs, slaps, taps, etc etc etc... Why would you not do it?

[gary mac]

Regular string bender here

[Cato]

I try.

Sometimes it's just a reflex carried over from playing guitar. I've even found myself doing bends on fretless, where it's truly a pointless exercise.

 I can manage a semitone bend on the bass without thinking about it.

 I can do the full tone or more if I concentrate and significantly increase my left hand grip on the neck, but then it tends to bugger up the next section because generally I play with a light touch and the change in fretting pressure upsets the flow.

I'm always quite impressed when I see a bass player casusally push the G almost all the way across the fretboard, even with maximum effort I can't get the string much further than halfway across the board without it pinging back from under my fingers.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Cato

[alembic1989]

Yup...incorrigible bender.

[chris_b]

Even a gorilla couldn't bend the gauge of strings I use.

[discreet]

Didn't think I'd be posting the words 'I AM A BENDER' today, yet here we are. 

[fleabag]

I've bent on occasions.

Used sparingly though

[discreet]

2 minutes ago, fleabag said:

I've bent on occasions.

After that bottle of gin, perhaps? 

[fleabag]

That and the JD       

[thepurpleblob]

Bass strings bend?   Hang on...... no they don't, you're all crazy 

[thepurpleblob]

....just in the interests of full disclosure.... I've never been able to play pull-offs either. There are just some techniques my fingers are not interested in. I'll survive!

[Chezz55]

Another member of the Esteemed Syndicate of Bass-String-Benders (North East Essex Chapter) here.

BTW - Check out the sleeve of the Long Playing Record version of Humble Pie's excellent 1971 double live album - "PERFORMANCE - Rockin' The Fillmore" and you'll find a picture of Greg Ridley (ex Spooky Tooth, another great band) string-bending on a P-Bass.

Ain't nothin' new under the sun.

Chris

 

[Monkey Steve]

Guilty

[lojo]

Yep , subtle string bends sound great imo

 

[EssentialTension]

Wobble on fretted, yes.

Vibrato on fretless yes.

Bending, no.

[Bassalarky]

Nope, but I do like a bit of vibrato..

[fretmeister]

I've got 50s on my Ray. I still bend them a lot.

[Japhet]

Why not? It's just another sound the thing can make.

[CameronJ]

Yup. I sometimes have to actively concentrate on not string bending as it seems to have become a bit of an unconscious habit these days 

[ZilchWoolham]

Yes, but very rarely beyond just the one semitone. Whole note bends I can only manage with the correct setup. 

Barry Adamson is a great bender.

Edited April 13, 2018 by ZilchWoolham

[gary mac]

52 minutes ago, Chezz55 said:

Another member of the Esteemed Syndicate of Bass-String-Benders (North East Essex Chapter) here.

BTW - Check out the sleeve of the Long Playing Record version of Humble Pie's excellent 1971 double live album - "PERFORMANCE - Rockin' The Fillmore" and you'll find a picture of Greg Ridley (ex Spooky Tooth, another great band) string-bending on a P-Bass.

Ain't nothin' new under the sun.

Chris

 

You win geeky, anorak fact of the week 

 

Performance is one of my favourite albums .