finger players...bridge or neck

[pickles]

My "basic" location is right about where a P-pickup sits. Then if I'm playing something more stacatto I move toward the bridge. If I wan't more bass bloom or want to dig in and get a popping sound out of a hard fingerstyle attack, I move toward the nut ... and like someone said you can get great sounds playing over the fingerboard!

When people say "the tone is in your hands", this is the biggest component of what they mean. All the different combinations of position and touch on the plucking hand offer different sounds.

Its also a little different with each bass ... and each set of strings ...

[Arthur U. Poon]

Most of the time I anchor my thumb on the neck pickup, but I vary my plucking hand's position to get a different sound.

- Art

[invader3k]

On my fretless jazz bass I play squarely between the two pickups. On my P-bass I play below the pickup, closer to the bridge. I like the more agressive tone that tends to give me.

[Robear22]

I tend to play in the middle of the pickups on all my basses 50 percent of the time. When I want staccato grind I get near the bridge. But when I play with my jazz group I get real close to the neck for that deep bass sound.

[sparktone]

75% of the time I've got my thumb on the neck, so I'm playing just in front of the neck PU. The rest of the time, it's resting on the neck PU, which puts me between the neck and bridge PUPs.

[daddyo]

90% of the time i play right over the pcikup on my P Bass. I find fast 16 notes easier closer to the bridge.

[Tnavis]

Depends on the tune/genre. With my Stingray, I'm usually anchored over the pickup, but for more warmth I'll play towards the neck, and for 16th note funk type stuff, I'lll go more towards the bridge. It all varies.

[brianrost]

Originally Posted by MCBTunes

do you guys play more towards the bridge or neck?

I play wherever it gets the sound I'm after.

In general I will play as close to the bridge as I can and still get a fat enough bottom.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Richard Lindsey

Wherever it gives the sound I need at the moment. Most of the accomplished players I've seen aren't locked to one spot.

Of course I agree - but I was suggesting that the original poster may have been looking out for/ impressed by some fast technical stuff which was achieved by playing close to the bridge, as it is tauter there - so what he remembers is just this part and why he thinks accomplished players always play close to the bridge.

So - when people were playing less demanding stuff it might not have been so immediately ear-catching and hence he didn't notice when they played elsewhere for tonal variation...?

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Of course I agree - but I was suggesting that the original poster may have been looking out for/ impressed by some fast technical stuff which was achieved by playing close to the bridge, as it is tauter there - so what he remembers is just this part and why he thinks accomplished players always play close to the bridge.

So - when people were playing less demanding stuff it might not have been so immediately ear-catching and hence he didn't notice when they played elsewhere for tonal variation...?

Could very well be--which is why I thought the point was worth making!

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Richard Lindsey

Could very well be--which is why I thought the point was worth making!

But it has just become irritating now - people are not actually answering the question asked :

"I play at more towards the neck but it seems like all the accomplished players play at the bridge, what gives?"

...but are rather just saying what they actually do - which doesn't help the original poster understand the issues at all!!!

So a long list of what TB members do, doesn't help answer the question at all - what is needed is some analysis of why you would play at certain positions for certain bass lines, parts etc.

Do people actually read these threads or just post without thinking...?

[JimK]

[JazzBassvb]

Originally Posted by Razor

Depends on what sound you're looking for...

Warm=Neck

Aggressive/Cutting=Bridge

Same here.

I usually play around the bridge, but for walking type stuff, I go up to the neck and blend the pickups more one way to get a more 'wooden' sound. I don't know if that's a good description, but it works for me.

JB

[dave64o]

Like most others already said, it depends on the tone I'm looking for. If I want a brighter or clearer sound I'll get closer to the bridge. For a deeper, warmer sound I'll move toward the neck. I also tweak the pickup blend as well and combine that selection with my right hand placement. Same guideline there, neck for deeper tone, bridge for brighter.

It doesn't mean I'm accomplished in any way, all it means is I have an idea where to pluck and how to blend the pickups to get the tone I like for a given song. If i was faster and/or played more intricate bass lines more often, I'd probalby also tend to play closer to the bridge since the reduced vibration would probably help with speed.

Another thing I"ve been trying more lately is adjusting my right hand placement within a song on occassion. I'll play on the B closer to the bridge and move closer to the neck as I move from the E, A, D, and G. OF course, if I'm playing fast (for me) I don't move like that, but I find myself using that kind of technique more and more for basslines where I can do it. Same rationale as adjusting the pickup blend and where I pluck, but it's just another way to do it and combine with the other techniques.

Lots of variations to try. Just have fun with them.

[protoz]

Typically I play on the bridge because I play in Drop D or C but I play some parts of the songgs on the neck to get a round boomy sound