Changed my right-hand technique after 25 years

[cazksbass]

I've been playing for around 25 years now, and I've just made the most significant quantum leaps in my sound I've ever made.

I've always played with my strap medium height, I guess, but with my index & middle right fingers slightly bowed in that ubiquitous caveman finger attack. You know, like the dude in AC/DC...heck, like most bass players. I've always had trouble getting consistent tone from that attack and played with pulling at right angles from the string, but found a clearer, more defined tone if I pull at a 45-degree angle from the string (hard to describe).

Anyway...I finally decided to go with what I always knew worked best for me...I still alternate middle & index but now, instead of the slightly-bowed fingers, I curve them a lot to the point that my string-plucking motion is best described as similar to that of pulling the top tab off of a Pepsi can. This lets me pluck the string not straight up, nor straight sideways, but somewhere in between. I swear, the sound I get is consistent all the time. Also, I anchor my right hand with the contact of my forearm to the side of my axe. I used to anchor my thumb on the low string I wasn't playing - I play a five, so if I'm playing my low E, my thumb was on the B near the neck pickup. Since now I use the bass to brace my forearm and pluck slightly upwards, my tone sounds almost pick-like.

I'm aware of a thread called floating thumb technique, but I haven't read it yet (still brand new here). I wonder if my new chosen technique is anything like that.

[ErikW]

Resting my forearm on the body makes my hand go numb.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by cazksbass

I'm aware of a thread called floating thumb technique, but I haven't read it yet (still brand new here). I wonder if my new chosen technique is anything like that.

Take a look and see for yourself.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVMBPmrblU

[cazksbass]

Originally Posted by fearceol

Take a look and see for yourself.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVMBPmrblU

Wow, that's it! Brilliant. The only thing I see different about what I just started doing is how my fingers activate the string: pulling the tab on a Pepsi can.

[m_bisson]

Don't things hurt after bracing your forearm on the bass for a while?

[cazksbass]

Originally Posted by m_bisson

Don't things hurt after bracing your forearm on the bass for a while?

Not at all. All I'm doing is resting the fleshy underpart of my forearm on the bevel of the bass's butt end. My Roscoe Beck has the same bevel as a standard Jazz. I can't make a video of how I play now, but the Todd Johnson video referenced above pretty well captures it.

[Late Boomer]

I've been experimenting with right-hand technique since I got my first 5er. While I've not incorporated the pop-can-opening finger technique you describe, I've worked hard on:

a) a sloppy hybrid of "floating thumb" and "movable anchor". I'm naturally gravitating towards the 'floating' technique, though I've also experimented with anchoring my thumb on the B, E, or A string as needed.
b) MUCH gentler plucking with my index and middle fingers. I have a new amp, and I'm trying to let the amp do more of the work. I get a lot better sustain and cleaner tone when I play gently, it seems.

I play with a very low action, so I try to minimize string motion perpendicular to the body of the bass. It sounds like you're striving for a motion that might not work w/ my setup atm.

Do you find yourself fighting against your older technique much, or has the change been not too much of a struggle for you?