I've only been playing for two weeks now and been practicing every day since I first got my start up package. At first I couldn't help but apply a lot of pressure with my left thumb which led to discomfort and some slight cramping. I started doing warmups and scales holding my thumb away from the neck entirely to try to get used to not applying too much pressure but as soon as I put it back on the neck despite how much I think about it I know I'm immediately applying too much pressure. Are there any techniques or excersizes I can do to work on this?

i advocate the use of the "gripmaster", although, you will get differing opinions on the use of this exercise device.

The higher the action (string height) on the bass, the more you need to press the strings down. I don't know about how high your action is but if you press down the strings a lot you should try to lower the action. Check in the setup forum for advice on how to do it, or take it to a luthier who can set it up properly for you. Most bassists seem to prefer a low action over high, simply because you need less force to press down the strings. However, a low action demands a lighter right hand technique that takes a little effort to become good ad (the first exercise in the exercise sticky is good for practicing this).

You're still very new to the bass and your hand muscles haven't yet adopted to your instrument. Play every day for a couple of weeks more and you should see some improvement. :-)

I actually have a Gripmaster on order. As far as the action on my bass my strings are about 1/8 of an inch off the first fret and I've been doing nothing but dexterity excersizes on the first four for the past couple of days so I'm not sure if the action is an issue. Guess I'll just keep plugging away thanks!

My advice would be not to spend too much time on the gripmaster. Use the guitar itself. Try pressing down on the strings without using your thumb. This will give you an idea of how much pressure is required to get a sound. Take it gently and give your hands time to get used to the neck.

I find that the gripmaster made me more confident in my physical capabilities to play bass. I'm a small guy, so anything I could do, throughout the day, in small increments, was a big help to me.

As far as the action on my bass my strings are about 1/8 of an inch off the first fret and I've been doing nothing but dexterity excersizes on the first four for the past couple of days so I'm not sure if the action is an issue. Guess I'll just keep plugging away thanks!

Are you sure you don't speak about the distance to the fingerboard? I have about 1/8" distance from the E-string down to the 20th fret, and this is I believe is medium-low action. The distance from the same string down to the 1st fret is difficult to measure, but a CD was to thick to fit in the space. At the 4th fret, the CD fitted. There's a reference for you... :)

Thanks using a cd it would not fit between my E string and the first fret but it wasn't too tight (it would fit at the second one down) I'm sure my action could be lower. I'll have to look into making my guitar player show me how to do that. Thanks again!