Physical effects

[stranded horse]

Try using an electric screwdriver above your PUs.

 

[Buchada Azeda]

Import a drum beat to your iPod. Grab one of the earphones, place it over one of the neck pickup's coils, and press the play button. While the pickup 'hears' the drum beat, play a funky bassline through an envelope filter (e.g. EHX BassBalls).

 

[Tenma4]

Not overly radical, but has anyone tried these:

http://store.daddario.com/category/154799/Adjustable_Insert_Pick

I've tried these. They sound a little softer than I wanted. I actually liked the sleeve with a relatively thick brass pick in it. I don't care too much for the plastic picks that came with the sleeve.

 

[ColinGWood]

Use a slide, but with your picking hand - apply some pressure and slide up and down the strings. Makes some cool glisses... also, try holding the slide between the p'ups and the bridge, and pick/finger between...

ive put a slide on my picking index finger, and used the round end at my finger tip to tap on the strgins RIGHT above the bridge. You get some real cool bell sounding tones like that... im using a glass slide btw, its real percussive and clear.

Works better on guitar though, must admit

EDIT: use a flanger or phase pedal with this technique. straight outta middle earth sounds

 

[JES]

Old Pink Floyd trick: turn up a distortion into a delay. Take a slide in your right hand (assuming it's a ring handed bass) and just start rubbing it fast perpendicular to the string over a fret. Nice singing whine.

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

drumstick whacking the strings. does that count?

There's also Tony Levin's "Funk Fingers."
Basically drumsticks attached to his fingers for playing a mutant slap-bass style with.

 

[Wud]

I remember seeing a Gong offshoot band in Liverpool in the 80's... Planet Gong I think it was.
The Guitarpissed was using a stainless steel Vibrator for the droning gliss sound they like to use in the prolonged hippy bits.
He also got mad crazy sounds by turning the motor on and off repeatedly while going through tons of effects.

 

[JmJ]

I like to set the strings(right between the nut & first fret)against the edge of a speaker cab & use it as a howling-w/feedback slide.

I used to do that but used the top of the headstock to touch the cabinet. Good clean fun!

 

[John The Floyd]

There's also Tony Levin's "Funk Fingers."
Basically drumsticks attached to his fingers for playing a mutant slap-bass style with.

I've been thinking about purchasing some funk fingers, although there seems to be a lot of hate out there regarding them.

 

[Rumbles]

slides are always cool. Sometimes I use an allen wrench for a slide. Using a quarter for a pick makes pick slides easy.

I have used a slide and I have to say it sounds better on guitar. Still, through a synth or modulation it can produce some iteresting sounds.