Anybody thump with their thumb?

[Oren Hudson]

I was commenting on the thumb/finger rest for Fender basses in another thread, and it occured to me that it might be interesting to see if anyone uses just their thumb to play bass. Playing with the thumb was the way I learned when I got my first bass, a new '64 Kent P bass copy from Sears, that of course, had the finger rest. By the early to mid 70s, many bass players were using their fingers and playing nearer the bridge than before, so Fender moved the "rest" to the top of the guitar for resting the thumb, and eventually got rid of the chrome "covers" over the pickups and bridge. The covers looked good, but got in the way for some styles of play. I'm guessing that not many use the thumb only unless you're near my age, 56. Well, chime in and let's see. B Bigobassman

[Sorefinger]

I usually play fingerstyle, but use thumb-plucking (along with palm-muting the strings close to the bridge) every once in a while for tunes where I need a super-fat, deep, warm dub/reggae sound.

That´s why I took the chrome covers off my P - as you said, they get in the way. Shame, they look so good...

I never thumb-thump the strings where Fender put their finger rest though. I guess that´s too old-school even for me. I´m 40 BTW.

[GeoffByrne]

If you watch Jools Holland's 'later' prog, you'll see a surprising number of guys using thumbs.

I'm 61 and remember when most used thumbs. Personally I play fingerstyle now, but started thumb-plucking

[202dy]

I remember guys playing with their thumbs when I started playing. Monk Montgomery used his thumb when playing with his brother, Wes. For me, it is just one technique in the arsenal. It is all about getting the right tone and right feel for the music.

[fryBASS]

Originally Posted by Sorefinger

I usually play fingerstyle, but use thumb-plucking (along with palm-muting the strings close to the bridge) every once in a while for tunes where I need a super-fat, deep, warm dub/reggae sound.

Yeah same here. And i'm 16

[BuffaloBass]

I USE MY THUMB INSTEAD OF A PICK WHEN i NEED QUICK 16THS!

[fat-k]

Thumb rocks for reggae.