Hitchhiker's Thumb - Curse or Gift?

Choosh · #1 02-14-2008, 03:19 PM

(not mine, from wikipedia)

Okay, I have a 90 deg. h.h. thumb on my left hand, and 15-20 deg. h. h. on my right.

When I fret, I notice that a lot of the time i am stretching my thumb to the 90 deg angle, and keeping it there when I slightly shift my hand a bit to stretch. Is that a bad thing?

Also, when I use my right hand to pick, I use my hitchhiker to the fullest extend, and use my ring and middle finger to hold the pick. Is that also a bad thing?

I got very weird hands, and I am worried they won't be able to perform as well as other people's hands would.

Thanks for your times!!!~

bassnug47 · #2 02-14-2008, 03:22 PM

they are purrrrrfect for slap

meev992 · #3 02-14-2008, 03:40 PM

lol I remember a thread a looooong time back about hitchhiker thumb. For those with the thumb, it didn't really interfere with their playing.

neptoon · #4 02-14-2008, 04:40 PM

yeah, my thumbs are straight as boards

Marcury · #5 02-14-2008, 04:49 PM

Jaco had em. Didn't seem to slow him down one bit.

Bruce Lindfield · #6 02-15-2008, 02:29 AM

Now this is real hitcher's thumb :

nsmar4211 · #7 02-15-2008, 02:56 PM

You mean there's a name for it? Heck, I thought everyone else was weird cause their thumbs didn't do that

Cool..... learned something new today!

It looks really uncomfortable when you see a pic of yourself playing if you use the pickup/B string as a thumb rest and your thumb is at a 90 degree angle. But I've found absolutely no limitations because of it, may even make it easier because I can park my hand on the pickup so easily

.

Don't worry about your hands......don't even look at em after a few weeks. Just play

.

scrotimusprime · #8 02-15-2008, 03:04 PM

heh, I got two of em and I love it. On my fretting hand I use my hitch hikers thumb to contort my hand and offer a little bit of stability. Can really help me out in certain situations.

bigthemat · #9 02-15-2008, 03:17 PM

crap.... now I am going to look at my thumbs when I play.... great.

CapnSev · #10 02-15-2008, 03:25 PM

It's a godsend for those who like to do the double-thumb thing when they slap.

I absolutely cannot double-thumb at all due to my thumbs being as straight as arrows.

photoshopgeek · #11 02-16-2008, 01:01 PM

Wow... I've been playing for over ten years and I didn't even know that I had hitchhiker's thumbs... I didn't even know they existed...
Oh well... haven't bothered me any.

MyUsernameHere · #12 02-16-2008, 01:52 PM

Mine are about as bad (?) as the ones in your photos and I bend my fretting hand thumb back past 90 degrees when playing. The only advantage/disadvantage I've come up with (having spent a grand total of three seconds contemplating it in the past) is that it would let me adjust more easily to playing if the end of my right thumb got cut off somehow--since I'm already pretty much playing on the stump anyway.

Now that I think more about it though, I think I'll start using my new "disability" as an excuse if I'm ever jamming with someone and make a stupid mistake. Maybe I'll even get one of those wheelchair accessible stickers to put on my bass.

bakeronbass · #13 02-18-2008, 10:44 AM

Here is a shot of Chuck Rainey and Jaco.

bakeronbass · #14 02-18-2008, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakeronbass

Here is a shot of Chuck Rainey and Jaco.

Based on this single photo Id say Gift.

Choosh · #15 02-18-2008, 11:43 AM

Sucks, I can only do that on my left hand, and I am right handed... lol

Slax · #16 02-18-2008, 01:45 PM

I have two of them... never noticed anything bad about it.

uethanian · #17 02-18-2008, 11:01 PM

they're sometimes a problem for me

i use floating thumb with my RH, and when i flex the muscles in my hand, my thumb wants to bend back. then the joint gets caught on the string instead of just resting on it.

and left hand, similar thing, i always play on the joint and never on the pad. my hand sometimes collapses and it can get uncomfortable. i've actually noticed that the same sometimes happens to jaco. well anyways, i couldnt really say if it makes me a better/worse player or not. but its not something i regret.

kesslari · #18 02-18-2008, 11:56 PM

Hey, I finally have something in common with Jaco AND Chuck Rainey! I feel like a better player already!!

K-Funk · #19 02-19-2008, 10:08 AM

I've got them on both hands with equal severity- both go back 90 degrees. I find it useful because I only rest my thumb on the B string or the pickup, and this lets me have all my finger-strokes come straight into my thumb. Taking full advantage of the whole opposable thumb and hitchhiker-thumb things. Us gosh-darn primates............

Infidelity · #20 03-10-2011, 11:30 PM

I got it in my both hands and say hello to my little friend!

Ohhh and I remember a random guy on a bar explaining that people that have hitchhikers thumb is meant to be a musician/gifted..

Btw, Victor Wooten, Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Michael Manring, Stanley Clark has it too. Seriously, just name your favorite bassist and pretty much they prolly have it..

Here's a link of an old thread..

How come all these "greats" have very bendy thumbs!?