Plucking Fingers - more attack

[BassAdder60]

I’m revisiting my choice of fingerstyle or pick ! 
 

My fingerstyle style tone with roundwounds is best described as soft and warm with very little attack to the note ( opposite of my pick playing tone )

 

Im trying adding EQ boosts to the mids and this is helping, 

 

Any other tips to get a more snappy punchy tone using the digits ? 
 

This is for rock and we play in Eb tuning with Fender 7150m pure nickel strings ( perhaps considering 7250m nickel plated ) ? 
Tried stainless RW but didn’t like the harsh tone 

Edited August 2, 2023 by BassAdder60

[Dad3353]

Play closer to the bridge, adjusting volume levels as needed. 

[WinterMute]

Play harder, hit the strings rather than plucking them, Geddy Lee and The Ox didn't need no stinkin' plectrums...

 

Seriously, I've played aggressive finger style for decades, no lack of attack but you do build up some calluses and you get blisters if you don't play for a while.

[Lozz196]

Would lowering the action give a punchier sound?

[BigRedX]

No. Play harder, form some blisters, pop them, and when they heal you'll have much harder skin.

 

You do need to keep this up otherwise you'll have to go through the process all over again. 

[ped]

Super low action and play 'into' the string. I use a super light touch and with low action and little relief, even a tiny change in finger energy can yield a totally different sound. I think that to get a more defined sound, fret clank is essential.

[cantkeepjohnnydown]

I keep my finger longish for guitar playing, so whenever I play fingerstyle on the bass there's inevitably a lot of nail involved, and it changes the sound drastically. But, as others have said, the easiest way to get more attack is to simply play harder. I learned to play the bass mostly unplugged, so I always had to play aggressively in order to hear anything, and it's a habit that sticks! That being said, if you can play both with your fingers and a pick, why not just choose whatever is right for the song? 

[dmccombe7]

I go thru phases where i grow the nails on my my plucking fingers enough to catch the strings. Add a couple of coats nail varnish to the nails to harden them up can help reduce breakage too.  Then they break and i go back to finger tips. The more gigs i play the harder the skin gets and i can get a decent edge on my tone. EQ does help too.

Dave

Edited August 2, 2023 by dmccombe7

[TKenrick]

What sort of bass are you using? If there's a bridge pickup, then play over it (harder to play nearer the bridge on P-style basses...). Higher string tension nearer the bridge should result in a punchier, more defined sound.

 

For me, rest strokes (playing into/through the string and coming to rest on the string below) are the cornerstone of a strong, defined sound - you can get greater volume/clarity with less effort than if you pluck 'away' from the strings.

 

I am not a fan of the low action/light touch/crank the amp approach favoured by Gary Willis and others. I find that playing with low action feels like all the notes are being choked out prematurely - this might be down to a slightly agricultural right hand technique on my part - and results in permanent fret clank, which is not to my taste.

[BassAdder60]

1 hour ago, cantkeepjohnnydown said:

I keep my finger longish for guitar playing, so whenever I play fingerstyle on the bass there's inevitably a lot of nail involved, and it changes the sound drastically. But, as others have said, the easiest way to get more attack is to simply play harder. I learned to play the bass mostly unplugged, so I always had to play aggressively in order to hear anything, and it's a habit that sticks! That being said, if you can play both with your fingers and a pick, why not just choose whatever is right for the song? 

Well 90% of our set is right with a pick or fingers so that’s my dilemma. I can play both equally well but and this is the reason for me liking finger style is I feel more connected when not using a pick. 

[BassAdder60]

I don’t think low action and fret clank is what I’m seeking as I try and avoid that. 
I can probably get 80% there to my perfect tone with fingers yet I miss the attack and clarity 

 

Pick playing again 80% there and I love the tone and attack and with EQ I can make it close to finger tone in depth but it’s without the soft pillowy fundamental note so that’s a result… But I don’t get that finger on string connection that seems to be what I’m after if I can eek out the tone. 
Pbass 

Fender 7150m 45-105 tuned Eb 

Ashdown ABM600 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by BassAdder60

[toneknob]

It's simple, just learn to play like this

 

[Osiris]

A compressor with a slow attack time can help to accentuate the attack on the leading edge of the note, it might be worth experimenting with one if you have a compressor laying around, especially an optical based circuit as they tend to have inherently slower attack times than some other designs which allows the initial transient through while keeping the body of the note in check. 

[BassAdder60]

23 minutes ago, Osiris said:

A compressor with a slow attack time can help to accentuate the attack on the leading edge of the note, it might be worth experimenting with one if you have a compressor laying around, especially an optical based circuit as they tend to have inherently slower attack times than some other designs which allows the initial transient through while keeping the body of the note in check. 

I have the Ampeg Opto Comp 

 

Do you suggest a fast or slow release ? 

[Osiris]

2 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

I have the Ampeg Opto Comp 

 

Do you suggest a fast or slow release ? 

 

The release won't have much affect on the transient of the note, it's the attack speed you need to control. 

[BassAdder60]

Just now, Osiris said:

 

The release won't have much affect on the transient of the note, it's the attack speed you need to control. 

Sadly the Ampeg has no Attack control so it’s fixed I guess 

[ped]

30 minutes ago, Osiris said:

A compressor with a slow attack time can help to accentuate the attack on the leading edge of the note, it might be worth experimenting with one if you have a compressor laying around, especially an optical based circuit as they tend to have inherently slower attack times than some other designs which allows the initial transient through while keeping the body of the note in check. 

 

What you need IMO is something like Osiris suggests, or my previous mention of 'fret clank' to give a defined brick walling of the note in order to accentuate the attack. If you think of a soft played note as going 'buhhh' then a more piercing attack needs something to make it stop simply getting louder and too bassy. Fret clank is often mistaken for rattle/choking, but really it's the initial attack of the string, akin to slap bass, which produces a clear fundamental which helps deliver the note and cut through the mix. A limiter or a compressor can definitely help give the instrument a shelf where everything sits and anything over that limit no longer detracts from the rest of the mix. I prefer a limiter with a high threshold which I can adjust until I feel the sound sits in the mix. This way, when you get energetic and play harder than normal, you don't need to worry about being too loud or the rest of your baseline getting lost.

[Rodders]

Just throwing in my take on this, echoing what WinterMute suggested. John Entwistle or Geezer Butler technique seems the best way forward for more attack with fingerstyle playing, fret clank and low action (although something you mentioned you dont like) also help, maybe try adding in more treble. 

I tried the 7150m's once and found them quite wooly sounding even compared to steel flats.

[Delberthot]

I developed quite a staccatto style of playing after using so many flabby / wooly sounding speakers back in the day. I've always played far too many notes and the aforementioned speakers just made the whole thing sound flubby and indistinct until I began doing this to separate each note. That and favouring the tips of the fingers gives me quite a snappy, punchy sound.

 

Plus, having played so many Musicman basses my natural position is right where the pickup would be on a Stingray/Sterling regardless of what bass I am using at the time.

[BassAdder60]

55 minutes ago, Rodders said:

Just throwing in my take on this, echoing what WinterMute suggested. John Entwistle or Geezer Butler technique seems the best way forward for more attack with fingerstyle playing, fret clank and low action (although something you mentioned you dont like) also help, maybe try adding in more treble. 

I tried the 7150m's once and found them quite wooly sounding even compared to steel flats.

Yep I’m thinking of trying 7250m nickel plated strings next 

[Delberthot]

I've been using using Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies for about the past 8 or 9 months and finding them much punchier, especially the E string, than either D'addario EXLs or Fender nickels. I don't think they last quite as long as D'addarios but the difference in price makes it negligible money wise

[itu]

Very rough description of strings:

Nickel roundwound: even, flattish response

SS RW: zing and "smiley eq" response

Flatwound, and tape wound: no highs, pretty short sustain

Half round: something between Ni RW and flatwound

 

Most of the zing of the RWs is lost after some time of playing.

 

It may help to find the right set by varying the thickness of the sets. I thought that the thicker, the tighter, but there seems to be some kind of sweet spot, what suits my basses and my playing. As an example a .120 was the best B in my 35" scale Modulus Quantum. .130 and .135 sounded lousy. Do brave trials.

[msb]

I often use a thumb and finger approach like you would fingerpicking a guitar , I get a little nail in there doing that and it sounds more like I’m using a pick.

I started doing that after goofing around on a Bass VI and now do it a fair bit on regular basses. I’ve seen videos of some funk players using the technique after I was doing it. 
 

… it works.

 

edit 

 

the quick video 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by msb

[Paulhauser]

I would recommend putting a distortion / overdrive pedal into the signal path which is capable of blending the clean signal with the overdriven. Like the EBS Billy Sheehan for example or some Darkglass pedals. 

I would add just a little bit of grit to the sound, just a tiny bit on the top of the clean signal but it makes wonders.

I have been a fingerstyle player for a long time and had almost exactly the same problem as you have. Never liked distorted bass sounds but when I got an EBS BS Drive it solved it for me, partly because of its built in compressor just works well plus the whole thing is really sensitive to attack and you can play with the dynamics.

Again, the aim was not to make a distorted sound at all but to bring out more attack without actually having to play harder on the strings (I play soft)

 

I don't know if that makes sense but worked really well for me. 

[Lozz196]

Def makes sense Paul, think of all those punchy bass lines that we all love in the mix, isolated there’s usually a fair bit of gain/drive on them, never heard as drive in the mix but really helps them have a presence.