A question or two for death metal bassists who use finger style....

Ramsay777 · #1 08-09-2009, 10:33 AM

'sup dudes, I've been a lurker for a good while and I figured I may aswell register, I've a couple of questions for players here who use their fingers for faster styles of music, in particularly death metal-y sorta stuff.

Been playing guitar and bass for about 5/6 years now, bass has taken more of a priority this past few months. I generally play with my fingers for bass, alternating between index and middle, but I can use 3 finger technique (R M I R M I, etc.) to a point...

What's been bothering me a while is the right hand. Do you guys anchor your thumb on say, the pick up all the time? Or do you use floating thumb? Or a moving anchor? The ideal example of what I'm on about would be riffs from Between The Buried and Me with lots of string skipping and crossing between strings.

Another thing, I use the "rake" technique I believe it's called, where, if I have two consecutive notes, one on the D string followed by one on the A string, I would pluck them both with the same finger in one motion, similar to sweep picking on a guitar.

I have done a search, but couldn't find what I was looking for. I need to get way of playing down, so I can stick with it and practice it to hell and back

I'm interested to here what you guys have to say!

Cheers, Ramsay

pseudoxh4 · #2 08-09-2009, 12:50 PM

I've played my fair share of death and thrash metal riffs, so I think I am somewhat qualified to answer.
I anchor my thumb on the pickup if I'm going to be making use of the B or E strings (especially when string skipping involving these strings). Otherwise, I use a moving anchor (usually one or two strings behind); it seems slow at first, but the process becomes quicker over time.
I rake nearly all the time; some consider it not-so-proper technique though. It's pretty helpful when playing fast riffs where it's awkward/unnatural to alternate, in descending riffs especially (like Quo Vadis' Fate's Descent).
Perhaps you could try different styles of thumb anchoring rather than deciding to stick to one. You might even find it useful to use your thumb to speed pick instead (like the guy from Adagio)!
Hopefully that was somewhat helpful.

bobTHEbasser · #3 08-09-2009, 12:55 PM

howya lad, on a 4 string i rest on the pup, but on a 5 or 6 i usually drop onto the strings when playing the G and/or C strings. Using 3 fingers is a great way to get the Harris galloping sound. don't rule out the plec totally though. there will be times when you need it. raking is also fine. up and down, especially when playing swept arpeggios. the main thing is to have a style thats comfortable to you and won't cause damage over time.

Nashrakh · #4 08-09-2009, 03:06 PM

Whatever floats your boat. Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, if you do all right with what you're doing right now, I guess it's ok!

Personally, I use the floating thumb technique and play mainly legato, including rakes.

Ramsay777 · #5 08-10-2009, 03:29 PM

Thanks very much for the replies dudes! I'll take these points into consideration

......Now... Time to get the metronome dealt again

hahah

aggiebass09 · #6 08-10-2009, 08:57 PM

I find myself using a combination of all of those techniques while I play. To me, it's not a matter of what is the most widely used technique but what works out best for you and feels the most comfortable AND of course gets the job done.

When my five string was BEADG I would anchor my thumb on the B string and pound out notes on the E string that way. I've recently restrung my bass EADGC so I have to rely on the pickup more than I used to for anchoring. I say whatever works out best for you! Find what is the most comfortable and efficient.

aggiebass09 · #7 08-10-2009, 09:00 PM

Oh and if you like BTBAM, their bassist is a very good example of a strong bass player. There are a few videos out there on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH72V...eature=related) that show a lot of bass footage.

darkladytaelyn · #8 08-11-2009, 12:56 AM

I started by always anchoring my thumb on the pickup housing just outside the B string. String skipping really didn't cause too much problems as it just kinda sat there. After awhile, though, especially if I started digging in, my thumb would be really sore. My hitchhiker's thumb bend is already about a perfect 90 degrees, and I was pressing into the pickup with a bit of force! Even now I'm trying to break the habit and keep my thumb floating. It seems to be working fine, no pain or anything.

Never consciously thought about whether I was raking, I just did it if I needed to. Hope that helps.

The Ethanator · #9 08-13-2009, 11:57 PM

i play alot of death metal, deathcore, thrash metal, and the like. i use a 4-string ibanez sr400qm. the thing with the sr series is that the pickups are a little longer than typical emg-sized pickups you may see on schecter or ltd basses. they make for a nice thumb rest, but they go further up than most pickups. my riffs use alot of string skipping, so during times when i cant rest my thumb on the pickup if i want to play the riff, ill switch over and rest my pinky on the bridge. to get used to the stretch, i started playing all my low-string runs with my thumb on the neck pickup and my pinky on the bridge so my hand is used to spreading that far. then i can just hop between the 2