Oh Boy. I may need to reboot my technique.

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

Ok, so I've been playing for about 20 years now. Seriously for about 15. I have always employed the "floating thumb" technique on my right hand, which provides convenient muting of the strings not being played. When I took lessons from Adam Nitti he praised my adoption of this method, and he said that's what he teaches.

But I've seen many bassists not use this technique, and they sound great. Many guys anchor their thumb on the pickup, and it stays there. So today I grabbed my bass and made a test recording to see if either technique sounded "better".

Here's the clip: http://www.atkinsonbasses.com/storage/technique.mp3

I play the groove first with the "anchored thumb" technique, which feels odd to me. Then I play the groove with my normal "floating thumb" technique. Then I do the same thing with some 8th notes without backing drums.

They both sound very similar, but I definitely prefer the tone of the "anchored thumb". From what I can tell, this method forces the plucking fingers into an angle which uses more of the meaty part of the finger. My normal technique forces the fingers to use more of the tip, which sounds thinner and weaker.

What do you think?

And for those of you currently using the anchored thumb technique, how to you accomplish proper muting? With the left hand?

[narud]

on a 4 string my thumb goes back and forth between anchoring on a pickup or on the e string(if im taking a solo, itll drop to the a string as well).the majority of the muting gets handled my the ring finger and the pinky on my right hand dropping down into place.

i tried switching over to floating thumb when i was dealing with my fodera 5 which was wide enough to land an airplane on. i never was happy with how i sounded and my hands would still hurt playing that giant bass. i sold it, got a narrow 5 and all is good in the world

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

I guess the "anchored thumb" technique is what most guys use for upright. If you're playing the A, D or G strings, your plucking finger plucks the string then falls down to rest on the string below.

[agreatheight]

Originally Posted by -=DanAtkinson=-

And for those of you currently using the anchored thumb technique, how to you accomplish proper muting? With the left hand?

Anchored thumb here. I find that, for me, anchored thumb gives me a stronger, cleaner and more even attack. Muting takes care of itself, a lot of left hand for sure, but some right hand work as well. I will say that I think for many-stringed basses, anchoring may not work so well - I fell useless on a sixer or more.

[kesslari]

Do what sounds best to you.
I love the sound I get with floating thumb - but I go for a light touch in general.
When I want to dig in and get some snap (think the Marcus fingerstyle sound), I move my hand toward the neck pickup and anchor.

[Let It Fall]

I prefer thumb on pickup or E string.

However, how do you feel about your tone of the bass? Sounds like you need new strings to me.

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

Originally Posted by Let It Fall

I prefer thumb on pickup or E string.

However, how do you feel about your tone of the bass? Sounds like you need new strings to me.

New strings? No way! Those are very old, very dead Labella flats. I like 'em thumpy.

James Jamerson kept his Labella flats on for years. He would only replace them when they broke.

[grifff]

I do a little of both, but I do agree that the tone from your recording does sound better with the anchored thumb technique.

[5string5fingers]

I mute with my left hand usually the bottom part of my index finger mutes the other strings by laying across them and any string above where I play,my plucking finger rests on it after the attack if that makes since. I pluck through the string and then my finger lands on the one before that.

[Raoul_Duke]

If you got comfy with floating thumb and did another AB comparison, I'm betting it would sound equally good. You're always going to sound better doing what feels natural.

The only string I have to mute with my thumb is the E on occasion, so that's about as far as it floats.

[Jazzdogg]

I found the differences very subtle - not enough to notice during a live gig?

[m_bisson]

I "anchor" my thumb on the fattest string not being played. It's a combo of floating and anchoring. I find that my plucking is MUCH more consistent with that slight "anchor" on the string than if I do the actual floating thing and just use the side of my thumb.

[beelzelboss]

Originally Posted by -=DanAtkinson=-

And for those of you currently using the anchored thumb technique, how to you accomplish proper muting? With the left hand?

Well, what I have found out is that if it is the string under it (lower sounding) I realized that I rest my finger that I just used on it. It is kind of weird, but I like it.

[slareman]

What about the movable anchor technique, as mentioned above? By that I mean anchoring your thumb 2 strings behind the one being plucked, for example, thumb on E string when plucking the D string, thumb on A string when plucking the G string, and thumb on the pickup for plucking the E and A strings. I've seen at least one YouTube video where Nitti seems to be encouraging that technique. I prefer this to the floating thumb, and aside from plucking on the E string, your right hand position stays consistent.