The best thing to do is for you and everyone else in the band to turn up the volume as high as possible and give it more time, soon you won't hear the scratching sound.
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I'm having this problem...
- Thread starter Geezer Brown
- Start date
You might be best to check out some other metal players and see how they do it and what they sound like. You need to be content with your style. This includes how you look, what you sound like and how you feel when you play. As a performer it is a package deal. Some great players play low and some high. Some guys who play low look cool some don't. Same with guys that play high. Low can be down and dirty real lose. High can be locked in tight and driving the groove. Be what you need to be and don't worry about all our opinions. But if your genuine in asking advice about pick angle and attack you will likely need to go higher because it is a problem of angles and geometry. That Is why you are getting the responses that you are getting.
Something i've noticed is that my bass is in the right hand "comfort sweet spot" an inch or 2 lower when I'm playing with fingers than when I'm playing with a pick. So you could try switching to fingers.
Edit to add: + 1 to switching to flats to eliminate the pick noise
Edit to add: + 1 to switching to flats to eliminate the pick noise
I think the only option to your problem is raising it. Just raise it a little and try it. I bet it bothers you more than it bothers the crowd. Does it really matter where your bass is hanging if you ROCK? I wear my bass pretty high and I don't give a sh!t what other people think because it's easier for me to play. (I play hard rock and fusion so yeah I know its a different crowd)
I wear mine around the same level. I have found that, if you are picking near the bridge (which it looks like in your pic), you will realistically not reach the higher strings easy. However, I find picking near the bridge on those strings to sound...not as good. If you pick a little closer to the neck for those strings it might help. Easier to reach, easier to get the angle you want. As far as eliminating the "scratch" sound, you'll either need to take out your treble and upper mids in your eq, roll the treble off on your bass, or try flats or ground wound strings.
I can actually relate. I found the ADG strings on my Spector to sound too scratchy and thin when played with a pick. I put flats on it, and problem solved. New problem- I miss the tone of rounds. Put GHS Pressurewounds on it. Perfect.
I can actually relate. I found the ADG strings on my Spector to sound too scratchy and thin when played with a pick. I put flats on it, and problem solved. New problem- I miss the tone of rounds. Put GHS Pressurewounds on it. Perfect.
I play low and I'm an old fart. My right hand is comfortably at crotch level it has been there since I was a teenager, but I digress. Although I play low the neck is usually heigh up like the bass is at 45 degrees. I wear straps the allow me to slide the bass around changing the angle, sometimes I get that sucker close to 90 degrees when I'm getting into it. Moving the bass around helps with fatigue from the weight too.
As for plucking pick I always attack the string at an angle. Try different thicknesses and materials.
As for plucking pick I always attack the string at an angle. Try different thicknesses and materials.
I'm starting to think the OP is a troll, he hasn't even responded to anything and the whole premise is just ridiculous, plus the "I just want to be the best bassist I can be" thing really put it over the edge for me.
Oh really dude? Just because I have school and work and am NOT on TB at all hours of the day makes me a troll?? Go smoke a bowl and take off some of that stress, don't come in here with that attitude.
I wear the bass low because thats how I like it to look. As for the crowd, I could really give 2 lumps of excrement what they think. I may consider the flatwounds, although they were never really my thing, I've been listening to a lot of Steve Harris stuff and it's starting to convince me a bit.
I've seen a lot of good bassists that use picks, wear their basses low, and manage to kick butt while doing it (Rex Brown, Mike Inez, Mike Starr, Krist Novoselic) so i'm really curious to see how they pull it off
as for my technique, I play more with my wrist, whenever I try to do it with my arm, things get way too sloppy
IMHO it's simply a trade off. Do you want to look cool, or do you want better ergonomics? I like the look of a low bass, but I've never been tempted to use it because it's so uncomfortable and limiting for me.
Simply put, I've never been good enough to trade playability for a cooler style, but Rex Brown most definitely is...love his sound and look.
Simply put, I've never been good enough to trade playability for a cooler style, but Rex Brown most definitely is...love his sound and look.
To add to my previous post, would Rex Brown be a better player if he jacked up his bass a little more? Hard to say because that's his thing, but I suspect that with a little practice, the answer would be, "yes."
The general evolution for a bass player to start with the bass really low, where it looks "cool" and then raise it 1/2" to 1" every year. Do you think all the "high waisters" started with their basses that high?
A lot of these posts aren't even trying to answer the question.
I have always played my bass low with a flatpick. Not quite Dee Dee Ramone low, but low enough that it's hard to find a strap long enough.
Rotate your forearm like it was an axle. Like a slapper would do. Don't go up and down from the elbow, and certainly don't go up and down from the wrist.
Use different grips between the thumb and forefinger to get the pick at the angle you want.
You should be able to get the pick parallel to the strings no matter what position or height the bass is in.
Picks of different materials sound different too. I'm using the Dunlop Jazz III Eric Johnsons now, the red ones. Being nylon they are not as clicky or scratchy as regular celluloid, and certainly less so than the Ultex and Tortex. Good gripping surface makes them easier to position too. The shape is hard to adjust to but ultimately gives you more precise control.
Really, though, the trick is in rotating your forearm instead of swinging it.
I have always played my bass low with a flatpick. Not quite Dee Dee Ramone low, but low enough that it's hard to find a strap long enough.
Rotate your forearm like it was an axle. Like a slapper would do. Don't go up and down from the elbow, and certainly don't go up and down from the wrist.
Use different grips between the thumb and forefinger to get the pick at the angle you want.
You should be able to get the pick parallel to the strings no matter what position or height the bass is in.
Picks of different materials sound different too. I'm using the Dunlop Jazz III Eric Johnsons now, the red ones. Being nylon they are not as clicky or scratchy as regular celluloid, and certainly less so than the Ultex and Tortex. Good gripping surface makes them easier to position too. The shape is hard to adjust to but ultimately gives you more precise control.
Really, though, the trick is in rotating your forearm instead of swinging it.
You are not them, don't try to hang your bass like they do. I wear my bass lower than most people because I have longer arms. I used to wear it almost below the crotch area and my picking was suffering. I raised the strap a few inches and now I can use a pick beautifully and my finger style playing is still plenty easy.
The important part of developing an image is being comfortable on stage and working with WHAT YOU HAVE. If you are comfortable on stage - that will translate to YOUR personal image and a great sounding band (at least in the bass department). It's a no-brainer here.
I to use to play my bass down damn near to my knees and the only way that I can reach the higher strings was to hunch over stretch my picking arm otherwise known as the right arm extended as far as possible while simultaneously lifting up my left shoulder lifting the base higher on my body so I can reach those notes and then drop to the regular posiition. After couple years of head banging while simultaneously trying to deadlift my bass constantly all night just a hit a few notes I decided this is 1 of those circumstances where I had to decide between pain and coolness as opposed to Comfort accuracy of speed actually playing as a musician which I was incapable of doing with the cool low slung bass now your other option is get yourself a monitor to prop your right leg up on and put the bass on it when you need to reach the the notes think of Robert Trujillo and Steve Harris
First off look at function, hang your bass on you, take your pick and place it on the lowest level string you play most consistantly (if you hardly ever play a G string then set it to the height of the D string).
Point is if hardly need to use lower level strings, you can assume positions to lift the bass up or lower the body down, to access them when needed.
But it goes without saying if you cannot reach any of the strings comfortably then you will struggle to play with consistency, and in your genre consistency is what it is all about.
Point is if hardly need to use lower level strings, you can assume positions to lift the bass up or lower the body down, to access them when needed.
But it goes without saying if you cannot reach any of the strings comfortably then you will struggle to play with consistency, and in your genre consistency is what it is all about.
Im about 5'6 5'7 pending on how sober i am. I wear my bass on the lowest notch of the strap, when i play my p-bass i've no issue playing clean lines and what not, just kind of do the "power stance" left leg out front, and right leg slightly bent. Since i've started playing my jazz bass, i've had to raise the strap a little bit though
Depends on the situation, I have lost quite a few jobs on the way I look, some of them I never even got to play, i was "not what they were looking for" as I came into the room....so turnaround and walked back out.
Depending on the situation it's not all about the music, it is naive of any player looking to be in the the "music business" to think other wise.
The reality is they are selling a product, and part of that is how the product looks.
