RH Thumb Position & Tones

[chaosMK]

Lately I've been going out and seeing a lot more bands locally. I am always interested in different bass players techniques. Ive been seeing a lot of fingerstyle players who basically float their right hand thumb- not attaching it to anything. The bassist I have seen who play this way seem to have a softer touch and never pull off really fast or punchy rhythms and usually play with two fingers.

I always rest my thumb on the neck pickup or the B or E string. When I need to, I play pretty aggressively and frequently use very fast and carefully accented rhythms (16th note sixlets, 32nd notes, herda's). At times, I go for explosive punch and can't get that sound with my thumb up in the air.

Any thoughts on this?

[ignignok]

Alot of it depends on what you're playing. Most people prefer to anchor there thumbs when playing fast, but just do whats most comfortable for you. Oh, and I seriously doubt you can play 32nd notes with 3 fingers

[EricF]

Originally Posted by ignignok

I seriously doubt you can play 32nd notes with 3 fingers

Anyone can play 32nds if the tempo is right. Why be a doubter?