Playing over the pickup

[LL bassist]

Im just curious as to if many people play over the pickup on their bass like me. I have my pickup lowered a bit so i can dig in more when i need it. Some people i know though like the pickup high because they say they can play faster (not the case with me). What do all you talk bassers like?

[Fuzzbass]

I usually play over the middle pickup, but my plucking hand can range from down near the bridge to over the end of the fretboard, depending on the tone I'm looking for.

[lemur821]

Well, I sometimes play over the pickup. Of course I don't always play in the same place.

[Subculture13]

I usually have mine raised, bu I had to lower it for my MM Sterling as my fingertips were always hitting the polepieces.

[XtraLongScale]

I play over the bridge pickup just about always and if I'm too heavy handed (clickety clack), I zero in on the area just behind the bridge p/u. If I want to play anything tubby & dubby, I'll go close to the neck but that rarely happens. I always think about lowering the pickups, but the mere thought of volume loss stops me from going for it.

[McHack]

I've always used the front pup for a thumb rest, so yea... But, I've never needed to alter the pup height to compensate for my plucking.

[klocwerk]

Where's the option for "I play all the heck over the place"?

I'm 99% fingerstyle, but I get different tones by playing anywhere from an inch away from the bridge, all the way up to the 20th fret or so. Probably %75 of the time I play over the neck p'up, but that other %25 is wherever I need to be to get the tone for the moment.

[middlebit]

My thumb usually rests just over middle pickup with my picking fingers sitting somewhere in between it and the bridge PU (we're talking Jazz style configuration here).Ofcourse I move up and down too for tonal variations etc. It bothers me that I had to remove the chrome PU cover from my Marcus Miller Jazz because it was getting in the way...it plays like a dream now but it just doesn't look as cool!

[malisent]

I find that i mostly play over the pickup but sometimes if i want to get a different tone i play in different places

[Dan Molina]

I rest my thumb on the pickup but I play in the middle area.

[mark beem]

Yes, I play over the pickup..

[malisent]

Originally Posted by klocwerk

Where's the option for "I play all the heck over the place"?

I'm 99% fingerstyle, but I get different tones by playing anywhere from an inch away from the bridge, all the way up to the 20th fret or so. Probably %75 of the time I play over the neck p'up, but that other %25 is wherever I need to be to get the tone for the moment.

+100

[BartmanPDX]

Originally Posted by lemur821

Well, I sometimes play over the pickup. Of course I don't always play in the same place.

+1

[Ty_Boogie]

I play right behind the neck pup ( I use it as a thumb rest )

or at anywhere between the neck and the neck pup (as I use the side end of the neck as a thumb rest)

the above two most of the time

I have a J/J configuration

I've been know to use the "B" string as a thumb rest to get different tones above and around the pup's........

[R.Lee]

From on the neck to almost on the bridge so I guess I'm over the pickups sometimes in there.

[Squidfinger]

I play with a pick directly over the pu on my P-bass or like an inch behind it.


How much does it matter if the bass is active or passive? My pu's are kind of close to the strings. Do the pu's need to be closer on a passive bass to sound "right"?

[sk8inbassist17]

On my Jazz V i play on the bridge pickup to pluck near the bridge.
and on my p bass which has no bridge pickup, i have installed a thumb rest over close to wear a jazz pup would be so i can pluck close to the bridge.

[FeelTheGroove]

I play a jazz bass, I sometimes play over the bridge pickup but lately ive been playing over the neck pickup alot more because I like the thicker tone. Sometimes playing right near the bridge sounds too thin.

I have my bridge pickup set pretty close to the strings, but the neck pickup has some clearance between it and the strings...because when I had the neck p/u set close to the strings they would occasionally clack against the pole pieces when I would play aggresive slap/pop stuff.

[afinalfantasy]

I play over the pickup, always have. But if it's a faster part to a song I sometimes rest my hand against the bridge

[west*coast*bass]

I play over the sink just in case I spill something.