Pull off Noise

[bassampegman]

Hi i play finger style and when i play i rest my thumb on the edge of the pickup which is where it stays. I have heard of the travelling thumb method i. e drop thumb down to the E string when playing the A string, but this is no good for faster plaiyng techniques.
When i play on the E string and quickly remove my left hand finger to move on to say the D string octave note i get a pull off sound from the E string and however hard i try its there in the background over the next played note. So is there a way to mute that sound fast enough for me to move on to the next note without using this moving thumb technique ??

Mart

[lemur821]

First of all, that's a very strange move to be making. Why are you playing octaves with only one finger? Most people would fret the octave note with a different finger, and leave the finger that was fretting the E in place. That way, you can just stop fretting the note, but keep touching the string to mute it.

Oh, and by the way, a floating thumb works just fine for fast playing. You don't really need an anchor. I usually just let me thumb hang around somewhere above the strings so it's nearby when slapping is required.

[Figjam]

Originally Posted by lemur821

First of all, that's a very strange move to be making. Why are you playing octaves with only one finger? Most people would fret the octave note with a different finger, and leave the finger that was fretting the E in place. That way, you can just stop fretting the note, but keep touching the string to mute it.

Oh, and by the way, a floating thumb works just fine for fast playing. You don't really need an anchor. I usually just let me thumb hang around somewhere above the strings so it's nearby when slapping is required.

I agree. Why use one finger? If you are new-ish to bass, get used to using all of your fingers on your left hand while playing.

[thewanderer24]

If you really have to mute the strings with your right hand, floating your thumb works well.

Simply let your thumb hang loosely (no anchor), and rest against the strings you want to mute, while you are playing. It is a little awkward at first, but works really well when you get the hang of it.

[bassampegman]

Hi yes i guess the one finger seems strange but i didnt mention that the fisrt finger was moving across to fret a different string note after the octave was fingered, yes it stays in place if just picking note then octave note but the best way to describe it is the bass line during the guitar solo in Smoke on the Water, its a fine example but can get noisy if you arnt careful.I have had this problem before where i play the G note third fret to have to move to the G octave at the fifth fret ready to to play the F note on the same D string immediately after. do you guys lock your hand in position or do you move across to the new string in this case a jump from the low E to the D string.
I think the floating Thumb is the only method that will work but i will have to work on my speed.

Mart