Martini Finger Style Angle

[chaosMK]

I've been a fan of Mudvayne for a while but never really got too deep into them (dont own albums etc). I checked out some of their music videos the other night on Launch and noticed that Dr. Martini (Ru-d or whatever) plucks at an unusual angle, maybe 45* or less to the strings.

I think part of the reason he does this is for more flexibility to do the tapping that is thrown in all the time.

Has anyone else seen this type of angled finger style technique before? Is this pretty much unique to Martini?

[lambofgod814]

for the record its martinie (sorry but im a huge mudvayne fan)

i think the reason his angle of attack is somewhat strange is because of the way he holds his bass
if you watch the video on their website for determined (the studio version) and then watch the concert footage for silenced (on the website and also on the all access to all things dvd) you will notice how much differently he holds the bass standing and sitting
my assumption is that this way he doesnt have to adjust finger positioning no matter how he is playing (standing fingerstyle, sitting tapping, etc.)

sorry if this was just long winded and didnt make sense

[Aaron Saunders]

He does indeed have very interesting technique. A GREAT video that shows this off is a live version of Death Blooms you can download off of Ares (or probably any P2P networking program.) It shows his regular fingerstyle, his finger-tip-hammering fingerstyle, tapping, slapping, etc., all within one song and with great shots of him playing.

I've never seen anyone else playing like him with that specific kind of techinique, but a lot of bassists would do well to study his playing. Beyond the tone and whatnot, the sheer mechanical precision, ease, and speed with which he switches between fingerstyle, tapping, and fingertip-hammering-fingerstyle within a few bars is nearly superhuman. Incredible player. In fact, I think I'm gonna go upstairs and watch that video now.

[Alan Vorse]

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

He does indeed have very interesting technique. A GREAT video that shows this off is a live version of Death Blooms you can download off of Ares (or probably any P2P networking program.) It shows his regular fingerstyle, his finger-tip-hammering fingerstyle, tapping, slapping, etc., all within one song and with great shots of him playing.

I've never seen anyone else playing like him with that specific kind of techinique, but a lot of bassists would do well to study his playing. Beyond the tone and whatnot, the sheer mechanical precision, ease, and speed with which he switches between fingerstyle, tapping, and fingertip-hammering-fingerstyle within a few bars is nearly superhuman. Incredible player. In fact, I think I'm gonna go upstairs and watch that video now.

In a 2001 Bass Player magazine article, he said he is a big fan of Doug Wimbish. Doug has a percussive slapping technique called "Flamenco Slapping" that Ryan's technique is very similar to. Find Living Colour's Stain album from '93 specifically "Postman" "Auslander" and "Walls" to hear where he got the idea from.