hi ive got a question for all the msuicman stingray players. when fingerpicking do you rest your thumb on the pickup, if so is that not really hard to fingerpick since its really close to the bridge?
Thanks
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musicman players?
- Thread starter Martin1989
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there's more tension around there and i'm heavy handed so that gives me some speed without that big string buzz clank.
Lately i've been moving around though and when i want to soften up i kind of do that floating thumb thing but with my ring finger. Could be a bad habit but it's comfortable (usually the sign of a bad habit.)
to answer your question more directly i try to fingerpick right on the pup or just below it. my hand is more of a "holding a bouncy ball with three fingers" shape as opposed to a thumbs up shape. does that make sense? it keeps my fingers away from the bridge.
Lately i've been moving around though and when i want to soften up i kind of do that floating thumb thing but with my ring finger. Could be a bad habit but it's comfortable (usually the sign of a bad habit.)
to answer your question more directly i try to fingerpick right on the pup or just below it. my hand is more of a "holding a bouncy ball with three fingers" shape as opposed to a thumbs up shape. does that make sense? it keeps my fingers away from the bridge.
I used to play an Ibanez SG with 2 pickups and was used to having a nice spot to rest my thumb, so when I first started playing my Ray I really found it odd, and hard to work with. I started off resting my thumb on the end of the neck where it meets the body, then on the pickup. They both felt wrong at first, but after playing a while I began to develop an ear for the different tones and recognize the natural style of playing I had at each spot. Now I use my wrist/thenar eminence (the big pad of muscle at the base of the thumb on the palm that flexes when you touch your thumb to your pinky) as the main anchor point and kind of float my thumb along the pick guard/E string as a secondary anchor point, instead of relying on the tip of my thumb to always be placed. I now find that "home" is right between the neck and p-up. But then again, I'm not one of those guys you could call "educated" on the proper way to play bass.
+1 - playing over the pup also gives you mounds of attack. Also, as mentioned, the tendency for the strings to buzz on the frets is reduced since the string is vibrating less, which allows for lower action overall.
I adjust my fingerstyle to give the strings less 'pull' and let the instrument do its job when I play an MM-style bass. This has the side effect of giving tons of swell when you need a change in dynamics in a song (e.g. light bridge into loud solo section).
It does take some getting used to if you're used to plucking on a P or near the neck pickup on a Jazz bass but the end result is well worth the effort.
I got used to anchoring on the bridge pickup on basses for a few years now so when I play my Precision it feels strange not to have an anchor there. It just doesn't feel right to put one there on an '81 Special either despite the fact it's not 70s or older vintage.
haha, no problem. It's shorthand for pickup. Some of us just can't handle typing those extra three letters...
You'll get used to it. I prefer playing back there now. It has much better attack and control than playing up by the neck.
I've got an HH Ray and despite the front pick up finger rest option, I feel more comfortable using the bridge pickup. (Yet on my jazz, I prefer to use the neck pick up as a rest. Go figure).
cool thanks for the info, is it a stingray better with a maple or rosewood fretboard or is it preference?
there aint too much sound difference. maple is slightly brighter i think, while rosewood a bit darker!
i think maple just looks AWESOME!! id get maple, if i had a stingray
i think maple just looks AWESOME!! id get maple, if i had a stingray
My thumb rests on the E string when I'm playing on A/D/G. When I'm playing on E it "floats" above until I'm done on that string, then it goes back to resting on it. Works well for me.
there aint too much sound difference. maple is slightly brighter i think, while rosewood a bit darker!
i think maple just looks AWESOME!! id get maple, if i had a stingray
Having played two Stingrays side by side, through the same amp, one maple and one rosewood, I can tell you that the maple is brighter. For all the people who are going to say "fretboard wood makes no difference", I could clearly hear the difference.
The maple isn't too much brighter, but it has a "snap" to it that the rosewood doesn't have IMO.
I do a floating thumb deal right to the left of the pickup. My thumb kind of touches the side of the pickup.
scottbass
Bass lines like a big, funky giant
I added a Fender thumb rest just above the E string near where a P-bass pickup would be. But I seldom use it. I rest my thumb on the front corner of the pickup and play just in front of the pickup, not directly over it. I also LOVE DR strings - they are lower tension than Ernie Balls or just about any other roundwounds, which makes it a little easier to play closer to the bridge. I use DR Sunbeams.
Personally I think D'Addario XL's sound the best on my SR4.
I had a very minor case of the "weak G", but the D'Addario's fixed that.
I used Slinky's before, and now I see them as uneven (in volume) and not as good as XL's.
Still got to try DR strings one day.
