help with up-thump

[A Minor]

that's for all your help guys, i'm coming along slowly but i'm getting a little better at it. hoo-ray for united bassists!

[JackColtman]

I can tend to do it, I dont often implement it with my playing as im not technical enough with it yet and the rest of my fingers tend do do other stuff (if you know what I mean), but I wondering if just practiscing upstrokes would improve your technique, as i find my upstroke is never as 'clear' as the downstroke...

[tZer]

I feel your pain! Especially on the back of my thumb! I downloaded the music to a part of 'Classical Thump' and followed the tutorial on Victor's site and I 'get it' but can't do it, damnit! I will also admit to trying really hard (probably too hard) for an hour or so, getting bummed at my lack of results and stopping. Then trying again the next day - same routine... try hard - not happy - stop...

Pretty obvious why I can't do it yet, huh? But I think I am gonna try some more... I read some interviews where Victor is asked about that technique and he says he is using his thumb very much like a guitar player uses a pick - to get speed. Only he has the added advantage of being able to utilize the rest of his fingers, where a guitar player with a pick is limited to the pick.

Another thought on my issue with this technique is that I learned the 'traditional' slappin' and poppin' technique a long time ago and that has always been my frame of reference for 'thumb' technique. Victors 'double thump' is a very different use of the thumb - so I have a really hard time breaking the thumb paradigm I have lived with for so many years.

I need to sit down, go slow, and retrain my thumb to get used to this hybrid style.

Good luck and let us know if you have a break-thru!

--tz

[A Minor]

i recently exchanged my bass for a marcus miller jazz and it's TONS easier for me, that bass feels like butter in my hands i can't even explain how great it feels for me, i played it for 2 hours straight in the store, i even got a little crowd goin!

i think the bass DOES have somethin to do with it but i don't think you can blame the whole thing on the bass, because like i said my friend could do it but he said it was hard for him on my old G&L (although the electronics were amazing that's all i miss)

3 cheers for the marcus miller jazz bass!