"The Pinch"

[Pauler1976]

This is how I pretty much play for songs that i'm playing close to the neck for deep tones.

 

[Topkat13]

Yes and yes.

 

[devnulljp]

This is similar to classical guitar playing.

Classical guitarist don't rest their hand on the bridge. I spent years learning how to do it properly after bad technique on electric guitar.

But, yeah, I play bass with thumb and fingers sometimes.

 

[Axtman]

I was not referring to pinched harmonics. Confusing choice of words on my part. I was referring to playing bass while muting with thumb AND fingers. I usually play bass with my fingers, but when I occasionally play bass while palm muting I play just with my thumb and downstrokes.

Here is an example of playing bass with thumb only.

 

[H K]

I am seeing bass players play bass with what I call "The Pinch". They rest their palm on the strings near the bridge and pluck down with their thumb while plucking up with their index finger. This is similar to classical guitar playing.

Does anyone here play that way or notice others playing like that?

I use that from time to time.

On songs like Marcus Millers "Detroit" for example, you have to do it every chorus.
It's a technique/tool like any other (strumming, picking, plucking, tapping etc etc).

 

[KevInDaBassment]

This guy does it a lot.
Also does the awful thumb-over-the-top-of-the-neck with his left hand.
No way he's gonna make it.

View attachment 5434618

Perhaps he should take up professional wrestling instead? Wonder if he'd need to get a new stage name...

 

[Derek Kay]

More of Sting showing the style live
Also fretting the E string with his left thumb
I always liked his bass playing

 

[MCS4]

Yes, I do this sometimes, although I agree with some others that when I hear "pinch" I think of pinch harmonics, so I would not apply that term to this technique.

I mainly use it when I want to do a lot of palm muted playing with my thumb for a very muted/thumpy/old school sound, with my other fingers mainly available for accents or working in if a part gets a little faster and the thumb alone won't cut it. I also find myself defaulting to this type of hand position sometimes when I'm messing around with chords or solos in the upper register, where I don't use the thumb much aside from assistance with muting but find the positioning of my other fingers to produce a slightly more appealing tone and make some parts a little more natural to play compared to more "standard" positioning.

 

[Swerve]

Yes I use this technique all the time. It's even more fun on a short scale bass. I use my palm down by the bridge to mute the string(s) and downstroke with my thumb and pluck with my index finger. You can get real tubby-wubby-dubby with it.

 

[DaveParker39]

It's one of the ways to do those disco octave runs, occasionally if my hand gets tired during a song where I'm doing it with my first and second fingers ill switch to the thumb for a couple.

Also just serves the sound sometimes if you are trying to get that muted short note sound

 

[DJ Bebop]

Gary Willis?

Looks like he does some of that…

 

[Axtman]

The beginning of the video is an example of what I have been talking about in referring to the pinch. At 0:45 Dale switches over to finger style.

 

[ACRock]

Looksl like Stings (and other bassist's) palm mute style. Thought you talking more about this style

 

[5StringBlues]

Stingy

 

[Barticus]

Yep I do too.. floating thumb + index, middle, ring and play with a ramp like these.