Are You a Soft or Hard Player?

[HardNHeavy]

depends on how much i had to drink.....anyyywhooo!


the song really negates that, i wont be digging in to "every breathe she takes by the police. But if i'm competing to to hear myself over guitar/drums on a harder song i'll turn up amp and play softer just so i can hear myself better without bangin on strings and gettin all distorted

 

[Iristone]

And then there was John Entwistle, who played rather softly but set up his basses with a low action so he could emulate the sound of digging in.
To me it depends on the sound I'm looking for, so it depends on the song, the venue, and the instruments (I e.g. play a bit harder on my Rick than Gibsons). I also set them up accordingly. I used to like some fret clank when I dig in to accentuate dynamics; now I use overdrive instead, so I can be totally silent when practising through headphones.

 

[JimmyM]

Question for the light touch folks like me: do you prefer heavy or light strings?

I used to play super thick flats but have switched to very low tension flats recently.

I made the switch to light strings, low tension, and low action years ago and couldn't be happier.

I have a fairly light touch most of the time, but I also will give the strings some what-fer when it's needed.

 

[superheavyfunk]

Depends on how funky that groove is. Go ahead and Pass the carrots and Peas, please

 

[BassFalcon]

Over the past couple years, much like @JimmyM, I’ve made a conscious decision to go with light gauges, low action, and a very light touch. I don’t have any science to back up my claims, but for me and my playing I feel that the combo of light gauge strings and a light touch allow the strings to vibrate more freely leading to a much richer overtone packed tone. It was certainly the case with my double bass, the higher tension strings were choking it, when I switched to light gauge I got much more volume and a much richer tone. The bottom line though, really, is that I prefer it quite a bit, so that’s what I use and how I play.

 

[fauxtoe]

There are some players known for playing very hard such as Geddy Lee of Rush…

I literally just got my first minor blood blister ever on my middle finger of my right hand playing to some Rush last night on my newly acquired Geddy Lee jazz bass. I hadn’t had a chance to open it up yet at full throttle and it really needs to be played very aggressively even with lower action to get his tone. I think the Rotosounds I put on contributed to the carnage a bit since I usually play with nickel wounds, but man it was a blast.

So my answer is that I cover it all. My normal playing isn’t usually hard enough to cause injury and I can play for hours without much trouble. I do have to keep myself conditioned though or else I’ll bruise my fingers if it has been a bit between gigs.

 

[JW56789]

When I started out, I'd fram the hell out of it, I actually would break strings with some regularity on several different axes (boy did I learn to hate finishing a set on three strings . . . . ). I finally grew out of it, and now I play firmly when need be but let those knobs do the work.

 

[SC Bassboy]

Like a lot of the other guys here I've always played hard but am working on refining my technique. The whole time I was actively performing and touring you would have thought I was angry at the bass. It was not at all unusual for me to break strings, ADG mostly but I have a few E strings on my trophy wall. At one point I even tried playing with a ramp but it just didn't sound right. "My" tone is similar to Flea's bass solo at the end of "Coffee Shop". Very aggressive bark and fret noise. That being said in recent years I've been having a love affair with fretless bass which has tamed my angry thunder fingers a bit. Looking back on it now I suppose not having enough amplifier could have started my down the road of hard playing in the early days.

 

[Resonance129]

I developed a pretty heavy handed technique from the beginning. It became my default. Didn't know it was heavy at the time.

As I've progressed, I've tried focusing on adjusting my plucking hand to be a little softer and more fluid, which generally tends to benefit my tone, feel, dynamics and accents, and just about everything else.

I WILL say, there's a time/place for both. Sometimes, the soft, syrupy, smooth tone just doesn't enhance the song the same way a clacky, heavy pluck does. Depends.
Good to be able to switch up the attack.

 

[DC in ATX]

I play way too hard; it's bad a habit I developed back in the 80's when the bass I gigged with had really high action and I could beat the tar out of it without ever making a click.

Over the past few years I've been trying to get my right hand under control for a much softer feel, and I am making progress there, but I don't know if I'll ever fully get away from it.

This. When I am doing my thing, I invariably err on the side of too much attack. When I am practicing and paying attention to technique, I work on playing lighter and letting the amp do the work. All else being equal, I believe lighter is better and I can only play certain songs or riffs with a light touch. But it’s not my native attack. Bad habits are hard to break.

 

[dkelley]

Very hard normally. BUT, in some songs, and very soft and gentle.

I'm a musician, not a machine.

 

[mcrawfordmusic]

I try and have a softer touch when recording. I’ve had engineers tell me they don’t even put a compressor on my tracks.
I tend to dig in a bit more when playing live though.

 

[grillman]

I like this kind of threads because they make me reflect on my playing.
It made me realise that not only do I play with different strength when I play different genres, I also vary my playing strength depending on the bass I am playing.

Medium to high strength on the P Bass
Soft to Medium on the Stingray (a lot hotter)
Soft to Medium on the Aria pro II fretless (More expressive)
Medium to High on the ESP Grassroots Luna Sea (Usually played with a plectrum)
Soft (neck pup) to high (bridge pup) on the Jazz

 

[jamro217]

I started out as a lead guitarist that used light gauge strings. The ability to make subtle changes in the fingering of notes led me to develop a soft touch. On the bass, the same is true. I bend notes occasionally and prefer light strings. Understanding how to produce a heavy tone with light equipment is easy. Playing nuances with super ultra heavy flats and high action might have worked for Jamerson, but not for mere mortals like me.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

It took me a long time to realize that just because I wasn’t using my elbow when I pick a la Jason Newsted doesn’t mean I don’t beat the beebeejeebs out of my strings. I back off and/or switch to fingers if it suits the song more, but my default is to play like my strings just posted another unfunny Jaco meme.

 

[AboutSweetSue]

I like to go a little soft and then hard. I’d say I go medium more often than not just to keep my stamina up but still bring auditory pleasures.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I grew up as a rocker and my very first bass had high action, so for decades I would dig in. Then in the early 00's I tried some TI flatwounds (very low tension, super flexible) for a rootsy/country/bluegrass project I'd joined... long story short, digging in was not an option on those strings! I had to play with a lighter touch, and TBH it was nice to relax my digits and let the amp do the work. But no, I didn't stop digging in on roundwounds for rock, so I can now do both.

 

[selowitch]

Playing with dynamics is one of those aspects of bass playing that sometimes gets neglected. Ideally you want to turn the amp up loud enough that you are compelled to play relatively soft at least some of the time but you can use your fingers to get louder when necessary.

It’s all about optimizing your volume so that your efforts to express dynamics are reflected in what comes out of the amp.

 

[Basslice]

Way too hard. Since the beginning in the '80s. I have not been able to correct this bad habit. I was in a trio with no drummer and I had to double as drums and bass.

I also get way too excited live and cramp up and blister during gigs. It is what it is.

 

[1bassplayinfool]

Light touch, but I'll dig in when the mood strikes... all about dynamics.