What are some lesser-known bassguitar techniques?

[iTzPrime]

I've never seen them done much on EBG, but sweeps maybe. Some would debate their usefulness, but you specifically asked about niche techniques...

They sound badass.

Hybrid picking with pick and fingers combined, like country guitar players does. Pick with a pick and pop- slap with the rest of your fingers. I've heard only one to pull this off with aplomb. Old southern fusion stalwarts Dixie Dregs bassist Andy West is the only one I've seen do hybrid picking on bass...Song "Night Of The Living Dregs" starts at 27:49 hybrid bass solo halfway in...

Modern version of that

 

[basst scho]

 

[Katoosie]

Cant believe it took 5 pages for somebody to finally post this.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

What are some lesser-known bassguitar techniques that can elevate a bassist's playing to the next level?

Over the years I know and use the most familiar playing techniques and sometimes I use them all interchangeably: Fingerstyle, Slap and Pop, Using a Pick, Tapping, Palm Muting, Harmonics, Slides and Glissandos, Double Stops, Walking Bass and Raking. (no Makita for me ;-)

Am I missing anything?

Bassface

 

[Acoustic356]

There are a lot of techniques in this video that bassist don't use that are kind of next level:



Charles Beethoud breaks them down:

 

[JPK_DK]

I feel there should be at least an honorable mention to Charlie Hunter:

 

[Spirit of Ox]

Checkout Jayen Varma.

 

[eddododo]

Harmonic / octave tapping is one I did a lot as a kid in the bedroom, and I haven’t seen it used a ton, and some of it I’ve never seen used at all.

so octave harmonic tapping: you fret with the left, say C on the 3rd fret. With the right hand you hard tap at the high C on 15 of the same string, bouncing the right hand finger off without holding it down. You will hear both the root and the octave harmonic ringing to some extent.

Harmonic tapping is much the same, but your right hand is striking a harmonic node other than an octave. Particularly I liked to use open strings on the ‘left hand,’ while tapping on fret 9 of both G and D strings- the result rings out a kind of Gmaj7 as d and g ring with f# and b harmonic

 

[Koshchei]

I don't recall seeing any bassists sweeping with a pick, although I suppose there are people doing it.

I've occasionally seen it done with thumb for downstroke sweep. Upstroke "sweep" with fingers, a.k.a. "rake" is just standard descending line fingerstyle plucking for a lot of folks.

Thumb-based sweep makes sense if covering five or six strings on basses that have that many, but I don't really see the point on a four-string bass where you can just use thumb and fingers on separate strings, classical guitar style.

You can do it with pick or fingers, but it's not as clean sounding as on a guitar. The much larger string mass makes it hard to control dynamics at speed, particularly on the top string. That said, it can still be quite useful. Just not as applicable.

Sweeps with legato hammer-ons are more useful, better sounding and more controllable (think Yngwie's solo intro to Rising Force, Demon Driver, or Eclipse). Here's an example applied to the beginning of Cliff Burton's Pulling Teeth:

 

[Koshchei]

That's a Flamenco technique called "Rasgueado"
Do any of you use rasgueado?
Stanley Clarke borrowed it and used it on his hit "School Days"

Yep - I use it. Flamenco and classical guitar techniques work beautifully on bass.

Here's an example of tremolo plucking:

 

[JPK_DK]

There is a technique that Damien Erskine calls "synth sound emulation" (and which goes back to Bubby Lewis) where you pluck the string exactly one octave up from where you fret (on the same string, obviously). This means, you need to move the position where you pluck with your fretting fingers (to always remain at the one octave distance). This will give a very overtone-rich tone and sounds not unlike a bass synth (-ish). Try it out!

 

[iTzPrime]

O another one is the fake sub tone. Play a note (for example the G on the E string) and pluck the G an octave higher instead of being close to your pickups. Cancels the overtones and makes a deep sound

 

[BeMoreFrench]

OP, Ok so I’ve had my fun saying goofy stuff in your thread and I should probably contribute something of value (hopefully).

I don’t think I saw anyone mention this yet because it’s not a bass guitar technique, but I found Simandl and open string technique, both DB techniques, pretty useful on bass guitar. This can be done without even touching a DB, but I also would recommend getting yourself a cheap upright and only playing that for a period of time. You’ll be amazed how different the fretboard appears once you return to the BG. You’ll also be shredding runs and grooves that include open strings, something that was missing in my prior technique.

You may already play DB, if so ignore my blather. Have fun!

Why do you think most of the funk jams are in E dorian ?

 

[Stedkey]

Funk fingers:

Played on a WT with a bassist who occasionally used FunkFingers. I was interested so I got some for myself - I found them very hard to control and never used them in public. Still have them somewhere……

 

[Deleted member 368008]

Pick sweeping or alternating pick on a bass has been done, but it is rare. People doesn't really have the time and patience to work it up to speed... watch this bass player to the right, (it's 2 bass players in a show off tune) occasionally close ups of his picking hand...not sweep as such, or rake, but alternate...



Swedish prog/fusion band Tribute from the 80s. Gideon Andersson I think the guy's name is. The one at the left is Christer Rhedin.

 

[Deleted member 368008]

Played on a WT with a bassist who occasionally used FunkFingers. I was interested so I got some for myself - I found them very hard to control and never used them in public. Still have them somewhere……

They sure are. The "Expanding Hands" company who makes and sells them now, with license from Tony Levin, are going to pull out by the end of this year, so if anyone is interested, you have to hurry up ordering.

If you think you can play fast with them, it's a no go zone. Only the occasional short "bouncing" or "paradiddle" you can make but as they "sway" and waver in the air from this bounce it's impossible to stop them from this "recoil" so to speak. You can't let them self bounce like you would with an actual drumstick, because they are too short. If they were as long as drumsticks they would be even more harder to control. I've asked "Expanding hands" for customization but they refused. It's the surgical tape that is too soft, and if you have to make something that make them stick with further rigidity, it may cause harm to your fingerpad and "strangle" the bloodflow, so your finger will turn blue within a minute or two. I've used them in public. They ARE a parlor trick of course, and using it only in one or two tunes. If doing covers of Peter Gabriel's, like "Sledgehammer" and "Red Rain" they work a charm as those tunes doesn't require fast funk thumb slap picking. As well as Paul Simon's "Call me All" although it isn't made with those at all in the first place. They do raise the actual volume and decibels quite a lot just by using them since you hit the string from above, and the oscillation is more down upwards than side to side or circular motion.

There's a certain pop and transient attack to them that I like, the percussive thud, you can't get with thumb, pop and slap with fingers only. You need some compressor or limiter though for keeping their volume down, or maybe switch over your pickups to the single coil position to lower the actual output from the bass. If your bass consist of single pu only, maybe that's impossible.

But they do make a sound that's not available with other techniques, and it is another technique that is required to hone in.

 

[Deleted member 368008]

Tony did a thing where the drummer played the strings with his sticks and Tony fingered the notes. I can’t remember which song, maybe Sledgehammer?

It was "Big Time" from the same album. I've seen a documentary of it, but it seems not to be able on any YT snippet or else. Jerry Marrota (the drummer) kneeled, and the Music Man bass of Tony's was set up on one of those guitar stands that holds the guitar or bass in playing position. He couldn't hold it himself, beause it moved around too much. Jerry had to play the thickest strings only, as the thinner was too easy to miss.

Then they /Tony and Peter Gabriel/ "invented" Funk Fingers, that Tony still uses live, with Peter Gabriel, and others occasionally.

 

[Deleted member 368008]

Here's a demonstration of Abraham Laboriels technique (Abe was mentioned earlier too):
Intriguing and interesting, and he pulls it off like...he doesn't even know the word struggle...

 

[trothwell]

Here's a demonstration of Abraham Laboriels technique (Abe was mentioned earlier too):
Intriguing and interesting, and he pulls it off like...he doesn't even know the word struggle...

Part of what he's doing there he calls a "strum roll" technique... I like that sound so much, and set about practicing it... finally got it down pretty well after literally years of working at it....

 

[TOOL460002]

I sometimes thumb slap chords, but probably the weirdest thing I've ever seen live was the Steuart Liebig quartet (I think... was 05ish). He used these little metal clips that were kinda like mini capos. Been trying to find a video but I am clearly not searching the correct thing.