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Thumb rest position: parallel or angled?

What's your preferred positioning for a thumb rest?

  • Parallel to the strings

    Votes: 97 42.7%

  • Angled toward the strings

    Votes: 38 16.7%

  • I use a carrot rest

    Votes: 92 40.5%
  • Total voters
    227
  • Poll closed .
Mystic Michael

Mystic Michael

Hip No Ties
Supporting Member
Apr 1, 2004
9,888
2,159
New York, NY
#1
After quite a bit of thought, I've decided to add a bit of new hardware to each of my bass guitars. My Carvin Icon 5s and Bromberg 5s will each get a ramp. But my Carvin SB5000, LB75, and my two LB70s will each get a thumb rest. I've already ordered - and received - them. So it's a done deal. Just gotta get 'em installed.

(Note: I am aware of the fact that many, if not most players, don't use thumb rests. I don't care. I've always played well by anchoring the thumb of my plucking hand when I play fingerstyle, and I'm comfortable continuing to do so. Besides, there's nothing about a thumb rest that will inhibit me from transitioning to the floating thumb technique - if/when I ever decide to do so. :eyebrow:)

So, here's my question: For those of you who have done likewise, do you prefer the thumb rest to be parallel to the strings, or slightly angled toward the strings?

My gut sense tells me that parallel would work just fine for me, as I see no real benefit to angling it. But I could be mistaken.

Would like to see some pro and con for each case. So please take the poll, then expound a bit on your choice in the comments.

Thanks,

MM
 
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#2
Angled looks cooler, but parallel is how I mount mine. Sometimes I put a slight angle to it, but I generally mount mine using existing pickguard screws and double sided tape. If it fits better with a slight angle, that is how it gets mounted, otherwise, Parallel!!
 
#8
I prefer having a slight angle because it gives you more options. Place your thumb closer to the low end of the rest when you want a lighter touch. Move your thumb up towards the high end when you want more distance so that you can get more power behind your strokes and really dig in.

But really I prefer just to not have one at all. Maximum freedom. Though, I do use the small cove rest on my Rick pickup bezel from time to time.
 
#9
i have a few basses with thumb rests but the only one that has it in a useable position is my Pbass, and its angled to match the pickguard curve (in front of the pickup, inbetween the pickup and the neck). not much of an angle, but a little.

when i put mine on originally, i used tape to stick the thumb rest to the guard so i could figure out the most comfortable placement for it. that, and i ended up using one of the pickguard screw holes for one of the mounting holes, so i only had to drill one hole in the bass.
 
#15
Projectile said:
I prefer having a slight angle because it gives you more options. Place your thumb closer to the low end of the rest when you want a lighter touch. Move your thumb up towards the high end when you want more distance so that you can get more power behind your strokes and really dig in.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much my take, having been a thumb-anchorer for over 33 years. But I have a few different types of thumb-rests. On my two P-basses, I use the stock Fender part aligned with the edge of the PG for a slight angle, but on my two J-basses, I had Jim Mouradian make me a clear Lucite crescent with one screw hole in the middle. A slightly longer screw fits the stock PG screw hole but accounts for the thickness of the thumb-rest. My thumb nestles nicely in the curved part of the crescent which aligns my hand at a slight angle to the strings. On my Ricks I either use the new clear Lucite curved thumb-rest that came out about two years ago or I use a thin pick (such as Just Strings sends with every order) bent in half and wedged under the low spot of the PG.
 
#16
joeyl said:
same here, I rest thumb on the E string, and if plucking E string, the thumb is floating :bassist:
Click to expand...

Yeah. Sure, that sounds viable. But I'd bet you almost anything that the great majority of players who claim to be playing with a floating technique are still anchoring something somewhere - even if it's anchoring the underside of the forearm against the edge of the body.

Now I don't know about anybody else, but I can't play with the same degree of precision and accuracy - particularly at speed - with my forearm pressed against the body, as I can with my thumb planted somewhere near to the strings, even if it's only very lightly planted. And from what I can see, "floating" is only a relative term anyway: trying to play consistently & accurately, straight down from the elbow, or even the shoulder, with no part of the plucking arm or hand touching the instrument until the fingertips reach the strings, simply isn't realistic - or even desirable.

In the meantime, sure, I often anchor my thumb against the edge of the pickup(s). But it's usually a pretty clumsy fit. And if I want to play the string somewhere farther away from the pickups, then what do I do?

Under the circumstances, a thumb rest seems like a very reasonable alternative. :eyebrow:

MM
 

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