Best bass for finger style?

[bassdude51]

There is no "best bass" for finger style.

But..........the Precision Bass is the "KING" of finger style basses.

We already know that, don't we?

 

[Stranger Danger]

It’s like asking what is the best fork for eating

 

[BassicJazzy]

Jazz basses conveniently have two nicely placed pickup/thumb rest locations. lol

You are correct. I hadn't really looked at this closely before today, and found that I do not anchor on the p'ups on my Ibanez SRs, they are too wide, so I am not in position. On those I anchor on a string. I anchor on p'up on P bass and on the bridge p'up of the J Bass.

I never pay much attention to the right hand. Interesting what you find when you pay attention to it? And when did I grow that extra pinky? Damn food additives!

 

[pluki7]

Any bass that has binding on the body (a la Rickenbacker) is not going to be comfortable for fingerstyle, because the body edge will hurt your forearm.
Using a pick will be fine on them, because the way we rest our forearms on them will be different.

 

[OnlyFlats]

It's about ergonomics.

+1!

If you anchor your thumb on the body/pickup and not floating thumb or shifting to anchoring on a string, try:
- playing the same piece standing Vs sitting, noticing the different angles of your hand even though it's anchored to the same spot
- experiment with DIY anchors that aren't your pickups. My favourite are the little rubber chair or furniture leg stoppers you get from the hardware store. A small piece of chopstick stuck on with electric tape (that won't leave residue) works too. Trial an anchor position closer to the low E, and anywhere else
- consider the tactile feeling of your thumb anchor. If it's not comfortable it can trigger you to hesitate or be a little distracted. I've sanded the edges of pickups to address this.

Technique: to get your 3rd finger (ring finger) into play, just go back to basics. Play single note 16ths slowly, incorporating that 3rd finger. It's gruelling but works. Slow graduate to slow acdc songs. It doesn't matter what order or cycle you use your 3 fingers in, just let your hand and brain work it out without much thought.
I started out 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3, then did 3-2-1-3-2-1-3-2-1. Now I can use my ring finger for low E and A string while my other 2 reach further for the high D and G.

Once you've worked on these, you'll be much more informed on a future bass purchase with ergonomics that you prefer. Or you'll be happier with your current bass

 

[el murdoque]

+1!

If you anchor your thumb on the body/pickup and not floating thumb or shifting to anchoring on a string, try:
- playing the same piece standing Vs sitting, noticing the different angles of your hand even though it's anchored to the same spot
- experiment with DIY anchors that aren't your pickups. My favourite are the little rubber chair or furniture leg stoppers you get from the hardware store. A small piece of chopstick stuck on with electric tape (that won't leave residue) works too. Trial an anchor position closer to the low E, and anywhere else
- consider the tactile feeling of your thumb anchor. If it's not comfortable it can trigger you to hesitate or be a little distracted. I've sanded the edges of pickups to address this.

That's really a good tip. I've owned a Music Man Bongo at one point and that had a curve in the pickup's upper edge that felt incredibly comfortable. I did copy that radius on a piece of oak wood and then sanded off everything that did not look like a thumbrest and stuck it to my P bass with double sided tape.

 

[loukash]

I've glued little self-adhesive rubber feet/doorstoppers on my bass guitars at the spots that are the most comfortable for my short fingers while giving me the sound I want. The only exception being the Ibanez SR1200VNF where the Nordstrand pickups are just exactly where they're supposed to be.

So here's my fretless Eko, for example:


For the record, being originally a guitarist, for many years I played electric bass mostly with a pick and only began to seriously practice finger style after I turned 50. But hey, it's never too late; after all, I got my first upright bass only 10 months ago and now I'm already playing it almost exclusively.

 

[ardgedee]

There is no "best bass" for finger style.

But..........the Precision Bass is the "KING" of finger style basses.

We already know that, don't we?

View attachment 7315965

Didn't he pick with his thumb?

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Pbass with a tort guard of course. This IS Talkbass after all.

Hey, I resemble that!