Where do you pluck the strings and why?

[JimmyM]

I have no particular spot I use for everything.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

I'm usually right over my pickup, which is probably 7, but I'll run up to 10 if I'm trying to extract highs or down to -3 if I'm trying to do my best upright emulation.

If I need to play fast for some reason, that 7 is the spot, though. That's where my fingers are the most comfortable with the flex of the strings.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I'm all over the place depending on what's needed.

 

[micguy]

I’m between the 12th fret and the neck pickup. How I pluck the strings varies a lot, from gentle plucking to bouncing strings off the frets (Think Flea).

 

[jamro217]

The whole area from 0-10 is my "tonal pallette" of different sounds. I couldn't imagine restricting myself to just one!

As a practical note, if you want a consistent tone over the full range of the instrument, then your plucking hand should follow your fretting hand as it moves up and down the neck: Pluck closer to the neck when you are playing open strings and low notes near the nut, and pluck closer to the bridge when you are playing higher notes farther up the neck.

A lot of players don't realize this simple reality, and buy fancy compressors and EQs to "even out the high and low notes," not realizing the tone is in their fingers.

Well said. If you use a mathematical approach to this the percentage of string length between the bridge and open or fretted position should remain constant. Put another way, if you look at it as a function of keeping your picking fingers in the same area in relation to overall string length, the ratio of overall string length to that of space between picking hand and bridge should be equal. How you managed to relay this information in such simple terms is commendable.



To answer the OP, I use whatever method of picking achieves the tonal goal sought. On a fretless, I usually use my first two fingers pointed towards the bridge about where the '70's position J bridge pup is located, and pick with the fleshy side rather than the fingertips. This gives a warmer tone with a bit more definition. On the fretted, it's usually closer to a perpendicular angle using fingertips around the P pup position. This is generally speaking and in the course of a given tune the position may vary.

 

[bearfoot]

I've always liked to pluck just behind the standard P-pup placement, and sometimes further back, over the J-pup.

Even for slap, playing over the fingerboard has always felt unnatural to me. For slap I move up just in front of the P-pup. But I am no Slapmaster. I just do an accent here and there.

You asked why also - it's where I find I can get the best articulation for my playing style, which is 95% fingerstyle.
The only time I pull a note over the neck is for a big accent, like the last open A or E of a song. Sometimes with a little volume knob "tremolo".

What’s your preference and why?

also I think string gauge figures in to this, in my case I prefer extra light, nothing over a .40 for G.

 

[TheLowDown33]

I tend to subconsciously adjust my "EQ" by moving my hand all over that area. While I dont eschew knobs and switches, you'd be surprised by the amount of tonal change you can achieve by simply moving your plucking hand. I also notice that when I play faster, I'll try to find the spot of optimal tension, which is usually towards the bridge.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I mostly use P-basses and pluck between the end of the fingerboard and the pickup. So 2 maybe? I like the tone I get there and also the response from the strings. I generally don't like the more nasal sound I get from plucking closer to the bridge on a P and I don't like the playing dynamics I get from the stiffer feel down there either.

But that's on a P-bass. Not all basses sound great in that position to my ears. Like a Stingray. I generally pluck a bit closer to the bridge on Rays, 4-5 maybe. But a Rick would be more like 2 again... every bass is different.

 

[rashrader]

Considering that I play fretless about 75% of the time, I play in the entire range.... I like the Jaco Sound at the bridge pickup, but I also really dig the increased mwah you can obtain by plucking up at the fretboard. It’s all about my mood and the song. On a fretted, it’s a bit more confined to playing over either of the pickups.

 

[StatesideRambler]

I play more than one song in each set so I play in the appropriate position for the song we’re playing. Sometimes during a song I’ll move around a bit to emphasize or highlight something or to complement what the others are playing.

 

[MCS4]

But most players seem to hover around 8 out of 10, darn near close to the bridge. Not only does the bass sound too thin to my ears when I play it here (but ironically not when watching great players on YouTube) but the strings have some extra tension here I’ve never spent enough time with to get used to and it slows me down.

The thing about gear and technique choices is that they are highly interactive with your other gear and technique choices. If you have your gear set up to sound optimal for a preferred playing position that is closer to the neck, it is not surprising that the sound would seem thin when playing near the bridge. Those players you mentioned who spend a lot of time on the bridge but don't sound thin probably have their gear set up overall for for a slightly bassier tone than they would use if they favored the neck more often.

For example, my most common playing position with fingerstyle is just ahead of the bridge pickup on a jazz-style bass (i.e. on the side of the bridge pickup farther away from the bridge), whereas my most common playing position using a pick is just behind the neck pickup (on the side of the neck pickup closer to the bridge), meaning that I spend most of my time playing between the two pickups. These positions seem to give me the best overall tone given that I play a lot of intricate rock and metal parts for which the higher tension and lower bass response of playing closer to the bridge with my fingers seem to benefit me in terms of speed and articulation, whereas I move slightly closer to the neck to get the same balance with a pick (since I naturally get more attack and less bass response when playing with a pick).

Accordingly, my gear is set up to sound optimal (with plenty of bass response and low mids) near those positions. One result is that this makes my tone when playing very close to the neck extra-bass-heavy and thick,which probably encourages me to use that position even less often in typical playing than I would otherwise, unless I need a very thick tone for a particular part. If I played closer to the neck more often, I would probably set up my gear for an overall thinner tone that would give me more articulation and a quicker response when playing in that area, which might lead to the bridge position sounding relatively thin.

 

[fhm555]

Anywhere from up on the neck to just ahead of the bridge.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Depends on the bass and what I'm doing. The space between the two mounting screws at the top of the MM pickup makes a perfect thumb anchor point. For me that's a more aggressive area. For most purposes the area at the end of the fretboard suits.

 

[onosson]

Everyone saying that they use different positions for different purposes/songs is exactly right, but I'll expand on that a little bit. I tend to use two "zones" quite a lot.

The first is probably around 3-4 on your scale - generally this ends up being just in front of the (neck) pickup, depending what bass I'm using. This will get a full, smooth tone with quite a lot of attack - if I want to lessen the attack a bit, I might shift towards the neck a bit. This is the best region to use a double-bass like technique, using the side of the index finger for plucking rather than the fingertip.

The other zone is down near the bridge, probably 7-8 on your scale. I almost never use fingertip playing here, instead I rest the side of my palm on the strings and pluck with my thumb, index and middle finger (sometimes ring finger) like a fingerstyle guitar player. This gets a lighter but more articulate tone, especially in combination with muting from the palm.

I do use other positions and techniques, but I definitely gravitate towards one or the other of these zones for a large part of my playing.

 

[Two-Spirit]

4 or 5? Just past a p bass pickup toward the neck. It's more about comfort than tone. I play floating thumbs so my hand rests against the body just past the bass' waist. I can get a good tone anywhere neck side of the bridge pickup.

 

[cchorney]

Exactly between the bridge pickup and neck pickup for most playing. I move over the neck for an attack-less upright sound, and down next to the bridge for a Latin or Steinberger-ish sound.

^^^^
This is what I do as well.

Also, I read somewhere that Jaco played very close to the bridge because the greater tension there allowed him to play faster but still have it sound articulate. Don't know if that's true or not, but other people may play down there for the same reason... or because that's how Jaco played.

 

[funkinbottom]

If I'm playing reggae ill be plucking over the 20th fret or if I need that "Jaco" tone, ill be at the bridge. Im all over the place.

Pretty much that ^. On average, between 4-6.

 

[nilorius]

I mainly play on my soupbar pickup with is very close to the bridge, the second place is - right on my frettboard, to imitate the upright sound. And i play fretless, G.Willis style.

 

[Ric5]

So picture the “plucking zone” of your bass. Now lets pretend that where your fretboard ends would be “1” and the bridge would be “10”, where between 1 and 10 do you prefer to pluck the strings with your fingers (in fingerstyle), and why?

I am usually about 6 out of 10. I like the rounder, warmer tone you get here. But most players seem to hover around 8 out of 10, darn near close to the bridge. Not only does the bass sound too thin to my ears when I play it here (but ironically not when watching great players on YouTube) but the strings have some extra tension here I’ve never spent enough time with to get used to and it slows me down.

Seems like maybe that’s the place to be when you get used to it as most of the top players seem to stick in this zone for fingerstyle playing.

What’s your preference and why?

I pluck, pick, whack, slap, and hit the strings anywhere between the bridge saddle and the fretted note

But most of the time I tend to be back by the bridge … I like the attack and tone closer to the bridge but also I can palm mute that way

 

[electracoyote]

I play a wide variety of basses, so consistency is just not happening.

"Where's the best thumb hold and anchor point?" That's where I'll be a-pluckin'.

On two-pickup basses it's usually the neck pickup. On fivers, I sometimes anchor my thumb on string five and float it when playing string five. In fact, once I started playing fivers, I finally developed a floating technique.