Thick Fingers

[Swimming Bird]

So I was hanging out at one of my favorite shops, Atomic Music, just playing around with some pedals and a guy comes in with a bass he put together himself. He was complaining about not being able to get any highs out of the instrument and sure enough when he played it it was all booty.

Eventually it came my turn to give it a try and I get a completely even frequency response -- no big booty, but nice highs and mids, pretty (if not beautiful) harmonics.

The only difference I can figure is in the hands. His fingers were huge and thick and I have very thin, long piano-player fingers. Has anyone else come across this? Does finger mass/size really affect tone THAT much?

[nysbob]

It's definitely "in the hands" as they say - but I think that has much more to do with your string attack than the physical "contact patch".

[gweimer]

Originally Posted by nysbob

It's definitely "in the hands" as they say - but I think that has much more to do with your string attack than the physical "contact patch".

I have to agree. I've been cursed with stumps all my life, and I still manage to get an angry Ric out my basses on occasion. I can't do that 7 fret stretch that Rob Grange used to do, but I have managed to learn how to get some tone here and there.

[salcott]

My index finger has a more pointed attack than my middle. It's purely a result of the amount of meat on each. Make your physical idiosyncracies work FOR you.

[lm183902]

I have ridiculously crooked fingers, and it definitely effects my playing, but not necessarrilly the sound. On both hands, my index fingers twist inward pretty bad, and the middle fingers are just bent inwards horribly. When I have my hand on the neck of a bass, my middle and ring fingers point in towards each other, which makes playing in lower positions quite taxing. My fingers are pretty long and skinny, but the crookedness takes all hopes away of having incredible chops.

It's pretty sad that the one thing I love to do in life, my body wasn't designed to do, but I've definitely made it work over time. Some things may be a little more difficult for me, but I've found a few workarounds.

Oh well!

[The Lurker]

Originally Posted by nysbob

It's definitely "in the hands" as they say - but I think that has much more to do with your string attack than the physical "contact patch".

I agree with this. Were it otherwise, Marcus Miller would be waking up in a tub of ice in Tijuana and realizing with horror that he'd been drugged and his hands amputated for sale on the black market.

[DistantTremor]

Originally Posted by The Lurker

I agree with this. Were it otherwise, Marcus Miller would be waking up in a tub of ice in Tijuana and realizing with horror that he'd been drugged and his hands amputated for sale on the black market.

LOL

I'm putting that in my signature.

With a little editing to fit it, of course...