Thumb on Low B String only

[Grandpiano]

Hello, I am a pretty piano player and I just bought a 5 string Lakland 55-60. Trying to learn how to play. Muting the unwanted strings is a bit of a hassle. I see most of my friends and YouTube videos are putting their thumb on the low B string or pickup and just playing regular, not even worrying about the strings ringing. Especially when playing on D or G strings. I would prefer to play this way, instead of the floating method.

Is their bass setup a different way to achieve this?
Is the action lower on the strings?
Or maybe it's the bass they are playing?
Or is all the muting done with the left hand?

Thanks

 

[36hz]

Bass is like piano your sound/style is all in how you play it
The thing about the five string is playing efficiently
think of the b string as having the 5th below the root (like inverted piano chords)
you ll probably like the extended upper range

I dont play "claw hand" I angle my wrist so my 1st and 2nd rh fingers have the same attack through the strings

I always support my right hand mostly thumb on the 24th fret on the neck (for harmonics)
left hand to control note duration
right finger comes to rest on the string below it
I never rest the thumb on the E string

Do you mean open strings ringing?..keys of C & G 2nd finger position (pinky plays the D or G)

I play modealy so changing positions its
-1st finger 5th fret b string- then
-1st finger 7th fret A string
so if I make it to the g string Im at least at the tenth fret

Tho this would be a typical technique for a pro


the front pickup seems ok to use as a thumb rest but not the back

 

[Grandpiano]

Yes, I think you get what I am asking.
Resting the thumb on low B string or pickup.

Just trying to figure out how this done without the string ringing, especially when playing on strings D and G. The E and A ring ring ring

But these guys seem to have no worries with that.





There thumb don't move off the B string

 

[luciens]

Hello, I am a pretty piano player and I just bought a 5 string Lakland 55-60. Trying to learn how to play. Muting the unwanted strings is a bit of a hassle. I see most of my friends and YouTube videos are putting their thumb on the low B string or pickup and just playing regular, not even worrying about the strings ringing. Especially when playing on D or G strings. I would prefer to play this way, instead of the floating method.

Is their bass setup a different way to achieve this?
Is the action lower on the strings?
Or maybe it's the bass they are playing?
Or is all the muting done with the left hand?

Thanks

There's no way to not mute the open strings and not have ringing strings to some degree, is the only truthful answer. The only hope is that the played strings continue to overpower the ringing open strings that aren't being muted, which is kind of what you can observe in these cases in a couple of these vids where there's no muting.

Now, all that said, the floating thumb (which is what I use) isn't the only muting technique out there. Some players still anchor the thumb on a string, but they simply hop their anchor to the next string when they cross strings up or down. I believe Jeff Berlin uses this technique.
I've also seen muting done with the other fingers of the plucking hand, kind of tangling them and the thumb in the open strings as they move up and down. Seems like I've seen videos of Ed Friedland muting in that way, but I might not have made the right observation. But otherwise Ive seen it done.

I don't know if I've seen a successful muting technique with the fretting hand on the lower strings other than Francis Rocco Prestia, who played kind of with his whole hand over all the strings, and he just shifted up and down for the most part, and got muting for free that way.

In any case, you kind of don't really have a choice: either you'll have to adopt a muting technique of some sort or you're going to have ringing strings and that's kind of all there is to it . On a 4 string you can get away with the standard anchoring of the thumb but on a 5 or 6, your life will just be miserable without being able to mute.

Fortunately, there are a number of techniques and the floating thumb isn't the only option....

L

 

[Element Zero]

I played the way you are describing for a couple years after I got my first 5 string. I also started to develop a habit of using my pinky to mute the B or E string and my ring finger to mute the E or A string if I was playing on the D or G strings. Then a local player I really looked up to showed me a sort of hybrid floating thumb technique which I’ve adopted along with my pinky and ring finger technique. It may just take time to figure out the best way for you to adapt. I wouldn’t say that the guy playing in the second video has bad technique by any means (and woah what a monster player and fantastic tone) but works for him may not work for you and could potentially cause bad habits or worse, injuries.

 

[Adhesive_X]

Floating thumb

 

[getBAK]

I don't find this to be a huge problem as I tend to rest my thumb on the B-string when playing other strings. That doesn't work for everyone so if you need to solve the problem with hardware.
Some people run a mute, the Nordymute is probably the best one. The Fretwap is a cheaper approach, but only works on open strings
Some people just shove a piece of kitchen sponge under the strings - but that causes intonation problems by pushing the strings sharp

 

[Grandpiano]

So are you saying it could be the way my bass is setup? The action on the strings, etc? Or the bass itself?

I just find it hard to believe this can't be accomplished and still have a CLEAN Sound.
Are you doing all the mutting with your left or not mutting at all?

What bass do you have, if you don't mind me asking?

I don't find this to be a huge problem as I tend to rest my thumb on the B-string when playing other strings. That doesn't work for everyone so if you need to solve the problem with hardware.
Some people run a mute, the Nordymute is probably the best one
The Fretwap is a cheaper approach, but only works on open strings

 

[getBAK]

The mutes are not really part of a setup, they just slide into place and can come back off in seconds as an accessory.
This will illustrate


I own several basses, the problem you are having is not because of the bass or the string height, it's a technique issue that can be solved with an accessory.
The mute functions like the pedals on the piano

 

[36hz]

in the video I posted the lackland is a very responsive "poppy" bass with bright rounds generating many overtones.

in the second video you posted sharay is playing a P bass
notice how he plays in closed positions and how he covers the strings w his index finger

so its related to gear as well

 

[WestyBassBob]

If you watch a lot of bassists you will see that they use a rather straight finger to fret the string. This allows them to simultaneously mute the strings that are below the one being played while fretting the note. If you combine this with a floating thumb technique the muting issue is pretty much resolved.

But as some people say here, you're going to get some ringing of the open string. Usually this is not a problem. If you reduce the volume on your pickups that will help.

 

[Les Fret]

Some people run a mute, the Nordymute is probably the best one. The Fretwap is a cheaper approach, but only works on open strings
Some people just shove a piece of kitchen sponge under the strings - but that causes intonation problems by pushing the strings sharp

The OP should not buy these. Instead he must develop a good muting technique. So as a beginner stay away from fretwraps.

 

[Dr. Keebs]

Develop proper technique before investing in wraps, mutes, etc. Both my plucking and fretting hands control muting. As you run through your practice regimen, whatever it may be, you'll find an efficient way for you to do it.

 

[TOOL460002]

Left hand fingers flat, like you're playing with a mitten on. That is 90%+ of my muting.