How hard do you play?

[MegaSwing]

Years ago, I went to a club to see a band and wound up sitting in for a few songs. When I first picked up the guy's bass (he had toured internationally and had big-name recording credits, although I had never heard of him before that night), I totally spiked his input because he had his signal chain optimized for a super-light touch, and mine was comparatively much heavier. I could barely touch his instrument at first because all the gains were full-out. I had never considered the possibility before that anyone could or would play bass that lightly. Another bass-playing epiphany: 'different strokes' means exactly that.

 

[agreatheight]

I'm an 8 on a 10 scale. Think Geddy attack and you are in my ballpark.

 

[jaywa]

I play really light with low action. I barely have any calous and I never get blisters. I think it sounds better and gives you more room for dynamics. It also keeps your hands alive playing two 4 hour nights back to back.

This. Apparently I play pretty light cause last weekend I sat in on a few songs with a band using their bassist's J-Bass and rig and halfway into the first song the rest of the band looked at me and said "are you playing? Turn up, man." I get that a lot.

Also if you watch video of me playing you can't see my right hand move at all.

 

[pacojas]

light touch rules!!! notes are cleaner and still strong with plenty of headroom left for dynamics. did i mention great speed, when needed, is the best part!

EDIT: lower your action for optimum performance! gl.

 

[duderasta]

It really depends on the song.. I have over the years developed a lighter touch. I generally rest my thumb on the side of the neck. In that position I favor a light touch. When I really dig in, I drop towards the bridge a bit and switch to a floating thumb style.

 

[Metalbasshippy]

I go anywhere between just the lightest possible touch and smacking the living s**t out of them
Just depends what I'm playing

 

[fearceol]

I play really light with low action. I barely have any calous and I never get blisters. I think it sounds better and gives you more room for dynamics. It also keeps your hands alive playing two 4 hour nights back to back.

I am exactly the same. When I see the threads here in TB about blisters, I often wondered if I was alone in not suffering with them.

 

[jaywa]

I see the same thing in the drummers at my church. One guy gets on our kit and beats the tar out of it and it sounds like crap, another guy gets on the same kit and hits half as hard and it just sings.

 

[EatADeadGoat]

I keep a roughly even attack for the most part. Not too light, not too heavy, and it's been working. The bass still punches through, my hands function fine all of that good stuff. When soloing/noodling (basically the same thing IMO) I keep a lighter touch, usually because my noodles are more melodic than my standard riffing. When the notes are extremely slow, or there are plenty of breaks between notes, I rip into those strings and get that fret clank noise. I like it and my jam buddies like it. I actually did it by accident and then it was brought to my attention, so I use it when it's appropriate.

 

[Skitch it!]

I go anywhere between just the lightest possible touch and smacking the living s**t out of them
Just depends what I'm playing

+1 This, same here, Rock gig's - dig right in. Pop/Fusion/Blues etc, I'll adjust accordingly. As Metalbasshippy has posted, two extremes and everything in-between, you find the right intensity for the music your playing imo/ime.

 

[the yeti]

i've been working on a lighter touch... when i was young i played fairly hard, mostly for volume needs (underpowered amp maybe?). sometimes i still play harder than i'd like but i think i get decent tone.

 

[zaubertuba]

20 years ago, I played so hard I got a RSI (tenosynovitiss) in *both* hands--and had to give up playing bass entirely.

I'm now playing with an insanely low action and doing a lot of tapping. I wouldn't have been able to play again had I tried to go back to my old habits. Heck, my touch is light even when I slap the thing.

Not saying you *have* to play lightly, but the human body has limits--listen to it! If your hands are hurting they're trying to tell you something.

 

[Duke21]

I use a 0.7mm Dunlop nylon pick. Rather light/ medium touch, and lett the preamp do the work

Sent from my iPod touch using TalkBass

 

[okcrum]

I dig in fairly well, since I'm working my tone before the preamp, at the pickup. Think classic J bass growl. The strings I use now have a bit less tension than the Fender 7250/8250s I used to use, so I have changed things around just a little bit, both setup and technique. My speed hasn't really been affected so I must not be digging in too much, or I'm just slow.

 

[CapnSev]

I play with a really light touch and lower action.

 

[T-MOST]

I usually play with a light touch and low action. naturally I dig in harder if there is a need to. Most of the time There's No reason (for me) to play so hard .

 

[mambo4]

I vary my plucking to suit the song/phrase. I avoid playing with a really heavy touch in general so that the volume difference between various plucking methods is lessened.
I feel that plucking " hard" isn't actually what causes an aggressive tone.
I think it has more to do with angle of attack , how close to the bridge you pluck, and the speed you pull across the string...
and all these things can be hard to stay conscious of if you pluck really hard.

Gary Willis explains in 101 bass tips how really heavy plucking affects the fullness of your tone.
If you picture a sound wave of a heavy pluck, it has a big (loud) attack and a small (quite), long decay.
A less heavily plucked note evens the volume between the attack and the decay,
so over the life of the note the volume stays more constant: the note sounds fuller

 

[okcrum]

Actually, with enough practice, all of the above becomes part of the unconscious, including being able to play with attack down to just about inaudible.

 

[Crumbs]

I definitely have a heavy attack when I play. I like my action pretty high, too. When I first started I didn't have an amp so I think I developed the heavy attack because I was always playing unplugged.

Exact same here. I can play with a light touch, but it doesn't feel as right as playing heavily plus I get a much better groove when I dig in (which is always ).

 

[JimmyM]

i don't believe you have to go all gary willis, but the fact is that playing with a lighter touch is way more beneficial to your hands' well being. at the very least, nobody should be getting blood blisters and hand pains over it. that's a fast track to the end of your bass playing career.