Thumb rest question...

BarkSlayer · #1 08-21-2009, 09:44 AM

I realize how stupid this must sound, but can anyone explain why most "thumb rests" are located below the strings? Seriously, how can you rest your thumb on that thing and still play? I've only seen a couple mounted above the strings (where it obviously should be). Am I missing something here?

Darkstrike · #2 08-21-2009, 09:59 AM

Down below, its called a "tugbar", you hold on with your fingers, and strum with your thumb.

JTE · #3 08-21-2009, 10:24 AM

When Leo Fender invented the Precision around 1951, he figured that his main market would be guitarists doubling on bass. Hence, he thought they'd use a downward strum with their thumb instead of plucking it with fingers. So, he put the cover over the pickup as a place to rest the palm of the hand without damping the strings, and then the finger-rest under the strings. You wrap your fingers around the lower side of the tug-bar, and strike the strings with your thumb like a classical guitarist doing a rest stroke with the thumb. There's a great picture of Leo holding an early P Bass and playing it like that, but I can't find it on the 'net. It's published in Jim Robert's "How the Fender Bass Changed The World".

Fender finally moved the rest to above the strings around 1971 or so, and then quit putting them on altogether around 1981.

John

BarkSlayer · #4 08-21-2009, 11:30 AM

Thanks...that makes perfect sense. I'm half tempted to mount one on my J-bass (above the strings) but thought a little education might be order before I bust out the drill. I've played guitar for forty years and bass now for nearly two weeks. My only regret is not having done this 40 years ago.

Pilgrim · #5 08-21-2009, 12:12 PM

I suggest taping it in place to test and determine the best placement for you.

walterw · #6 08-23-2009, 08:04 PM

aah, just leave the fool thing off. there's plenty of right hand methods that don't use it (all the good ones, actually), and after two weeks of playing bass you're in no position to know what will be best for you, so don't drill holes you'll later regret.

i put one on my p-bass in the vintage underneath position just for looks, and it doesn't interfere with my fingerstyle or pick playing, but i let a friend borrow it, and he told my that the finger-rest got in the way when slapping (which i don't do).

Rocks · #7 08-25-2009, 10:20 PM

I installed them on both of my P-basses (above the E string) and I love them. But I also like all the covers on my P-bass, I use every prat of them and the thumb rest as anchors depending on what I am doing.

Pilgrim · #8 08-25-2009, 10:40 PM

And BTW - type in the word "tugbar" and do a search on Talkbass and you will get hundreds of hits.

Kevinmach · #9 08-25-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

aah, just leave the fool thing off. there's plenty of right hand methods that don't use it (all the good ones, actually), and after two weeks of playing bass you're in no position to know what will be best for you, so don't drill holes you'll later regret.

I think this is your best bet.

I was a guitarist first too, and was curious how bass players adjusted to the variety of hand positions when I first started playing, when it was obvious that pick up location changes on various models as well as the number of pick ups available to plant your thumb on. I knew a thumb rest existed and somewhere in the back of mind figured that might be the way I'd need to go.

But soon enough, you'll realize this isn't a problem- you'll likely experiment with several thumb and hand positions in your first year, and you'll soon find you probably don't need a thumb rest at all. In fact, it's gotten to the point where the only time I rest my thumb anywhere but the strings is when playing the E- and I may be even phasing that out soon now that I beginning to experiment with not anchoring the thumb at all (rather, anchoring the wrist the body of the bass).