The Combo Club

[swink]

I find it takes great care on my part to make the index and middle fingers sound the same. The middle finger's longer.

Same here (2cm), and twisting the wrist to compensate is asking for injuries.
I have resigned myself to the fact that my right hand has a mind of its own, and as long as it touches the right strings at the right moment I can live with it.
i-m-i-m-r-r-m-m-i-i-m-r-i-m-i-r is not an abnormal sequence here. (my index and ring have the same length )

 

[GwenOnBass]

Sorting out my index-middle sequencing is a lot of work!

 

[iagtrplyr]

Call it off! The fun was just starting .

Sad, I was just getting to know ya.


I do too, but have to look out for who is looking .

I knew I had set myself up for that one...

Take your time. I might feel obligated to return the same but can't get through my first without screwing up .

Oh, I always thought the screw ups came with the music I was recording. Wow, you learn something new ever day!

 

[iagtrplyr]

Sorting out my index-middle sequencing is a lot of work!

You tell ‘em, M. Why use up brain cells to keep up to three digits when you, me, Geddy, and Jamerson can do it with one, though I’m not putting myself in the others’ class!

 

[swink]

Sorting out my index-middle sequencing is a lot of work!

And due to the gap the middle will sound brighter than the index

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

My two main plucking fingers (index and middle) are quite distinct from one another, but I try and use that to my advantage. The middle finger is brighter than the index finger. So if I want a brighter tone, or I want accent a note, I use my middle finger. If I want a thumpier, or smoother, tone, then I use my index finger.

 

[Recon1342]

My two main plucking fingers (index and middle) are quite distinct from one another, but I try and use that to my advantage. The middle finger is brighter than the index finger. So if I want a brighter tone, or I want accent a note, I use my middle finger. If I want a thumpier, or smoother, tone, then I use my index finger.

You can also use the difference in tone to accent different parts of the rhythm. Syncopated rhythms are cool!!!

 

[iagtrplyr]

My two main plucking fingers (index and middle) are quite distinct from one another, but I try and use that to my advantage. The middle finger is brighter than the index finger. So if I want a brighter tone, or I want accent a note, I use my middle finger. If I want a thumpier, or smoother, tone, then I use my index finger.

Then this discussion begs me to ask: does anyone use their thumb? I watched players use it, I’ve read where it offers an intersection tone as well as allows the fingers to do others things, and I believe Macca was a thumb-player. Good enough for me until I tried it and afterwards I decided I’d rather learn to write in Chinese...backwards! Anyone else?

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I use the thumb if I'm popping and slapping, which I do very little of. I recall this technique was getting big around the time I quite playing (1993), so I learned it a bit. I think it then because trendy and then not so much. It is not a technique I've decided to revisit. Maybe someday, but not today.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

I use the thumb if I'm popping and slapping, which I do very little of. I recall this technique was getting big around the time I quite playing (1993), so I learned it a bit. I think it then because trendy and then not so much. It is not a technique I've decided to revisit. Maybe someday, but not today.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Sorting out my index-middle sequencing is a lot of work!

Agreed. That’s yet another use for practicing scales: pluck i-m-i-m-... then play it again plucking m-i-m-i-... You should be as comfortable with the second as with the first, which is the default. There’s so much benefit to practicing scales that I’m taken aback at how few people there are who do so.

 

[GwenOnBass]

There’s so much benefit to practicing that I’m taken aback at how few people ... do.

FIFY

 

[RodRy]

Hey, why am I up at 1:20 AM again? Oh yeah, day off tomorrow. Been playing the last couple of hours and having a nice time in the peace, quiet, and Terror. I'm working right now at getting the Orange and Precision to play nice with one another and it was good. Upon plug-in, there's a nice burble coming off the strings and into the amp. I can accentuate it with some pedal grind (TB is in clean mode with gain anywhere between 9:00-12:00), or I can drop the gain, cut off the OD, and add a touch of bass and get that familiar tone we all grew up with.

Songs I worked on but didn't record (sorry SR, I will tomorrow) were 1) Samantha Fish "Watch it Die" - Rockin' blues. what she can do with literally three notes makes me wanna join in. 2) Beginning to look at "Goldeneye.' Yep, that's enough explanation. 3) Doobie Bros "South City Midnight Lady." Felt like some easy listening Patrick Simmons tonight and I used to play that in a duo a few years ago. Tiran Porter has nothing to worry about, but I do love that song. Thee were a bunch of others and that was the fun part. Just getting a good tone down with the two pieces. Now tomorrow, I may try digitalizing some of it. Good night, all!

Samantha Fish is fantastic! She really knows how to get just the right amount of mojo into her music. Very skilled and dedicated player and performer. Are you also familiar with Larkin Poe? They make some great music too, although neither plays bass.

 

[RodRy]

I prefer to use two fingers, cause then each finger does half the work. Lessens the likelihood of injury. AC/DC is good for this, and my warm-up drills are good for stretching both hands- Start with E (or B if you’re playing a fiver), and play eight 1/8 notes of each note til the fourth fret, then move to the next string. All the way up, all the way back down. I usually do two repetitions, one slow, one fast.

Seems like this is also a good practice for my 3 finger technique (each finger does 1/3 the work!) too. Lately I've found my fingers are not so good at keeping time as they used to be. Of course, galloping triplets are a snap, but smooth, easy, each-note-sounds-the-same-as-the-others is not so good these days. I better get some shedding time in!

 

[swink]

does anyone use their thumb?

Whilst palm-muting and also when playing fast succeeding octaves.

 

[RodRy]

Sorting out my index-middle sequencing is a lot of work!

Wax on, wax off.
I have found that I tend to play r-m-i-r-m-i when I'm running through a pattern. For a standard 1/8 note count, my "1" progresses across all three as I go. If I pay enough attention, it helps me know where I am on the measure. "Oh, my 1 is on my index finger? This is 3rd bar then." Maybe I have bars and measures confused?

The big consistency item for me is fingernail hits. Each fingernail has it's own termination point from the end of the finger (caused by injury as much as genetics) and it's hard to keep them short enough to ensure that they sound consistent. Ah well, the challenges of a mediocre bassist, eh?

 

[RodRy]

And due to the gap the middle will sound brighter than the index

You have a gap in your finger?

 

[RodRy]

Agreed. That’s yet another use for practicing scales: pluck i-m-i-m-... then play it again plucking m-i-m-i-... You should be as comfortable with the second as with the first, which is the default. There’s so much benefit to practicing scales that I’m taken aback at how few people there are who do so.

The hard part for me on scales is staying focused. They are just so boring. But if I break it into 5 minute sessions, I at least convince myself that I'm doing some good.

 

[swink]

You have a gap in between your fingers?

Don't you? Maybe you should consider taking off your mittens while playing.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Wax on, wax off.
I have found that I tend to play r-m-i-r-m-i when I'm running through a pattern. For a standard 1/8 note count, my "1" progresses across all three as I go. If I pay enough attention, it helps me know where I am on the measure. "Oh, my 1 is on my index finger? This is 3rd bar then." Maybe I have bars and measures confused?

The big consistency item for me is fingernail hits. Each fingernail has it's own termination point from the end of the finger (caused by injury as much as genetics) and it's hard to keep them short enough to ensure that they sound consistent. Ah well, the challenges of a mediocre bassist, eh?

My body chemistry doesn't support playing with my fingernails. That said, I believe we all take good care of our hands.