Whammying

[astebass]

Does anyone know if you can whammy a bass without a pedal? Like you know, move it up and down with your fingers? I tried that but it doesn't work.

Thanks

[JimmyM]

You can buy a bass with a whammy or have one installed. You can play a fretless. You can detune your string (although this will knock you grossly out of tune if you're not careful). You can actually bend the neck and lower the note a little. That last one I don't recommend as it will tear up your bass pretty well.

[jackthestripper]

you could use bends and vibrato to get subtle whammy effects. it's probably easiest to just use the pedal.