Fingerpickers - Where is your right hand located?

[BullHorn]

I'm pretty sure there have been like 75432 of these threads in the past, but I need to make sure. :3

Where is your hand located when you're fingerpicking?

[tZer]

Well, if "fingerpicking" means "finger style" (typical, index/middle plucking) - then the answer is "All over the place" - based on the needs of the song at hand (had to get in the pun)...

If you mean "fingerpicking" like what you see banjo/bluegrass guitar players do (which would include all 5 fingers on your right/picking hand) then I locate mine "Somewhere in between".

[Darkstrike]

Over the pickup I'm playing, if one is soloed, neck pickup when both are on, with a P sometimes closer to the neck, where the thumbrest is.

[ClassicRock55]

I have a Warwick Fretless corvette and a Fender Jazz bass 24, both have the 2 soapbar jazz pickups. I anchor my thumb on the neck pickup with my fingers between the two pickups.

[OptimusPrime]

Bridge pickup.

[Deacon_Blues]

Yeah, I've done one a thread like this myself last year some time and there have been at least a couple more after that.

Voted "all over the place", but I mostly play in between the pickups on my jazzes, and on my new stingray copy, I playing right over that single pickup located in the bridge position. But all depends on how soft or sharp I want the sound to be and move my hand correspondingly.

[daffy]

Yeah, "All over the place" sounds a little loose but it's the way I work too.

I change where I play to alter the timbre of the notes. Closer to the bridge gives me more treble and tighter notes, and is great for funkier tunes. Closer to the neck gives me more low end thump but it's a bit muddier at the same time, great for reggae and blues/motown type music.

I was playing for a solo artist once and he asked me to play a little less "trebly" and he was a bit shocked when I just moved my hand a little and got the sound he wanted...

Guitards are SOOOOO easily impressed :-)

[varunkapahi]

i normally play play over right over the neck pickup or the bridge pickup. occasionally over the board when needed or anywhere else as it suits.

[ninefingerbass]

My hands are all over the place. There are certain areas for ideal tone and style of playing but in order to find out the best sounds play with you bass and figure out where the sweet spots are. This method of playing will help you understand your bass and get you to be much more comfortable playing live and in the studio and will make you more confident in trying new things out.

[Winterpegbass]

At the end of my right arm, attached to my wrist.

Seriously though, "All over the place", depending on what type of tone I want to produce.

[nickn]

When I'm with my band we play rock music, and for that I always use a pick. When I'm at a blues jam or just playing the blues on my own is really the only time I really play fingerstyle, and for that I tend to rest my thumb on the edge of the neck and play right over the 19th/20th fret. Nice and bassy tone.

[Psykamaholik]

fingerstyle: plant my thumb on the neck pickup and play in between the pickups
slap and chords: directly over the neck pickup and up onto the neck

[Arthur U. Poon]

I mainly play over the bridge pickup.

[Lizooki]

I have a pbass and play right over the pup w/ my thumb anchored on top of it.
I also have a rescued frankenbass w/ 1 humbucker....same thing.
It just works for me.

Althought I will occasionally drift toward the neck to get deeper and thumpier.


Matt

[ogrossman]

99% between the two pickups so I voted "between". Occasionally I'll move to the bridge for a brighter sound or to the neck for a rounder sound.

[Stealth]

I'm all over the place - with a PJ setup I can really feel the tone change with the hand position, so why not use it?

[wazzel]

Just forward of the single pickup on my stingray. On my heartfield between the pickups.