How hard do you play and why?

[PSYCHOTIC]

I play with high action cuz my bridge sux and it helps with my technique. I can't have a straight neck because then the strings wont vibrate enough when the action is that low. I think wooten plays up and down a lot. I play more towards the body from the strings. this results in too much bounce from the fretboard. This is only for when I play hard and want to get the click clack sound without the notes dying out immediately. works for me since I dont do that much tapping stuff live and thats the only hard thing to do with high action for me. I believe whatever works for you is best.

 

[tom_20]

I play with high action cuz my bridge sux and it helps with my technique. I can't have a straight neck because then the strings wont vibrate enough when the action is that low. I think wooten plays up and down a lot. I play more towards the body from the strings. this results in too much bounce from the fretboard. This is only for when I play hard and want to get the click clack sound without the notes dying out immediately. works for me since I dont do that much tapping stuff live and thats the only hard thing to do with high action for me. I believe whatever works for you is best.

Yes, whatever works for you is indeed best.

 

[Varcolac]

Dynamically. I let the amp do the work.

Most of the time, I pick rather lightly. The amp should carry my sound through the other instruments, while leaving headroom for my technique and effects to carry me louder. If I want a line to stand out, I dig in more, both fingerstyle and with a pick. If I really want it to stand out, I have an EQ pedal to let the attack through some more. If it absolutely, positively, indubitably must be heard, then there's always the overdrive. Playing on 11 all the time is an easy way to get very boring very fast in my opinion. It's all about dynamics.

 

[BulbofPassion]

I usually pick and it's easy for me to get carried away and end up being fairly violent but I still try to keep it at medium. It does depend though. If I'm not meant to be heard as much or I'm doing something intricate that requires focus and insane accuracy I'll tone it down but, if I'm doing something more driving and simple or even something intricate that I've gotten down really well, I'll go ahead and pound away. It also depends on the riff. Some parts of it might sound best delicately picked and then others it could be better to beat the strings.

 

[countbassiedad]

I play with a soft touch because it is easier on my hands but have noticed that doing so requires more finesse and disciplne in order to keep the tone even - seems a lot easier to change dynamics without intending to.

 

[Monkeygroover]

I do not agree on 'let the amp do the work' , the hands should do the work. I hardly practice with an amp, always unplugged, you can hold, or lean, with the the headstock against the bathroom or toilet door or a closet sounds great if you have a good instrument.

I do pluck really hard at times and do get more out of it, as for tone, bass and drive, specially on tube amps (Ok, amp is not unimportant)
you get more dynamics when you learn to play with a heavy attack and will never have trouble keeping up with i.e. soloists and drummers that go all the way.
I can also play very sweet and soft.
I often use damping with my hand on the bridge and play with my thumb, works very good for old soulstuff, wich i love to do very much

 

[msaone]

For almost my whole bass playing life I've been under amped. I recently bought a fender rumble 350 head and 410 cab. Before that, always a 100+/- combo. As a result, I played so hard I broke at least one string a week and started to have wrist problems.

With the bigger amp, I'm playing much lighter and my wrist doesn't hurt anymore.

 

[alembicguy]

I play so hard that sometimes a little pee comes out. 😉

 

[arock0627]

Playing too hard is gonna mess you and your bass up, especially if you're rocking a mid to low end bass.

I ended up having to give up bass for a few years because the hard playing helped give me tendonitis AND carpal tunnel in my right hand. Not only that, but I went through necks and nuts like a vampire gay bar.

Ease up. I dig in enough to get a nice growl but anything past that and you're just doing damage to yourself and your instrument.

 

[tmntfan]

Economy of motion: play as little (soft) as possible for the best sound.
Let the amp do the work.

 

[zfunkman]

I too play funk, however, I play with my fingers and never pluck or slap as hard as I can. You've got to leave a little in the tank if you want to have any dynamics. Your bass and amp have volume controls . . . USE THEM.

 

[phillybass101]

I'm 57 and leave all that hard playing stuff to the younger cats. I'm like an old seasoned boxer. I play more clever and smart, and with finesse and expression. Consequently I have never had a problem with my hands or developed CTS after 42 years of playing.

 

[dalkowski]

Too hard because I spent too many years practicing without an amp. Dumb.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

I play lightly. The reasons are many, but I have found that the lighter the touch the bigger and warmer the note. When you dig into it hard, it changes the tone and not in a good way. Read this last Bass Player mag and check out what Family Man Barrett has to say about it.

 

[simenandreas]

I am playing bass switching between slaphand and fingerstyle. If I have hard fingerstyle, my slap disappears. Too bad you cant be as dynamic with your slaphand as your fingerstyle

 

[Jarrett]

An old wise bass player once told me, don't play harder, just turn up louder.

 

[Rockin Mike]

After decades I figured out that fantastic low action requires a very light touch. Volume comes up at the amp. When I want to play aggressively, I just play twice as hard as my very light touch, and that's still pretty light, and I get a tiny bit of fret buzz in there which, when amplified, sounds like a mess of angry hornets. So, light touch for me.

 

[Feezelbum]

Too hard because I spent too many years practicing without an amp. Dumb.

I also practiced a lot without an amp when I was a kid, and had to pluck hard so I could actually here the tones. I developed a very aggressive pluck, which my instructor relates to banging the keys of a typewriter, ala "Thunderfingers".

I have forced myself to be more cognizant of it, and lighten my touch when I play, but sometimes, I think I just like the thud and rattle....

 

[4dog]

I play fingerstyle and i guess i just get excited cause i play hard at shows, soft at rehearsal not sure how to change that after thirty plus yrs .

 

[Clef_de_fa]

I play soft, I can play louder or quieter if needed. I never used a compressor/limiter no need for that.


even with that few people really play with dynamics, on recording it is even, everything the same loudness.