Cleaning up chops

[gstbass]

I am a self taught musician, which probably means I have developed many bad habits. One thing I have trouble doing is sounding defined in my band. The bass lines are fairly fast and utilize all the strings I have most of the time ( I play a 6 string). I can play the notes, however, alot of the open notes remain sustained and clutters my sound.

I have tried the floating thumb technique, but it turns out to be more of a impedance for my style. I also have tried the famous damper (aka scrunchie) on the neck like Wooten, but I utilize alot of the open notes (pedal tones, etc). Any tips as to clean up my sound?

[Tony G]

As I've also found out recently since I have gone from a 4 to a 6 string bass, you really need to clean up your muting technique. Muting with your left hand on the neck just won't cut it really on anything past a 4 string bass.

For a little while, I really didn't like the floating thumb technique either. It just felt wrong for my current style (I'm self taught as well). But the biggest problem with playing a six string is controlling sympathetic vibrations in the other strings. I am kind of working on my own style of floating thumb to make it work, and so far I am very happy with the results. It really cleans up your lines. I really suggest you keep working at it.

[tZer]

+1 on the floating thumb to help tame the sympathetically vibrating strings. It takes a while to become comfy with it, but if you stick to it, you will find it works better than "band-aids" like the scrunchie.