Where do you pluck the strings and why?

[juancaminos]

With a pick it's around 1 to 5. With fingers it's more to 4 and 5.

 

[Rev J]

It depends. In general between the bridge and the bridge pickup. I like the tension there and the brighter tone. If I'm doing 4 finger plucking a'la Matt Garrison (Thumb, Index, Middle, Ring) I usually move between the pickups as it gives me more space to work. If I'm playing walking bass or Afro/Caribbean music I play up by the neck.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Frndmoretti]

Just like the picture, I generally play with a pick over the P pickup. When I play fingerstyle I generally play or just over the pickup or on the neck geezer style

 

[MoeTown1986]

On a jazz bass, right over the bridge pickup. On a P bass, I use the chrome pickup covers as a thumb rest and play as far back (close to the bridge) as I can reach.

 

[DavC]

i move about also , but spend a lot of time down closer to the bridge ... that 70's position

why ... because i've always played a bit harder than needed / yet prefer lower action / and i strike to much down and thru ... so playing closer to the bridge helps tighten things up a bit ..!

you'd think after 45 yrs of bass i'd change my ways ..!!?? I blame Grand Funk

 

[matante]

There are songs I play where I pluck each note in a different spot. Exactly 12 frets up from the fretted note yields something Mike League calls "anti-harmonics". Try it. It's sort of freaky.

Just tried this. It is freaky. Sounds like an early '80s video game.

 

[Nephilymbass]

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’m all over the place from the bridge pickup to the 12th fret. Mostly over the pickups though as I tend to use them as a thumb rest when I’m playing the low b on a 5er or the e on my 4 string. I’ve been messing around a lot with the micheal league “natural octave” thing lately. Basic idea is to get a sub frequency by plucking the string an octave up from where it’s played. So if I’m fretting a C on the A string I pluck at the 15th fret. That’s been fun to mess with.

 

[selowitch]

With my Music Man StingRay 5H, I find that I like plucking just over the neck-side edge of the pickup. I can rest my thumb against the edge of the cover. The sound is a nice balance between punch and warmth. I love it.

 

[PWRL]

I move around a lot, depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. Often on a P, it's generally right in front of the pickup, but even that can change. Sometimes I move back toward the bridge if I want the wider spacing or increased tension, for whatever reason. Sometimes I turn the tone all the way down and head up the neck toward the bridge if I want it to boom a lot.

 

[Charlzm]

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 tend to go 8 or 9 (using the OP's scale) either right over the bridge position pickup or just neckwards of it. - I like the clearly defined attack and growliness that comes from playing in this zone. Notes get indistinct and mushy the closer to the neck p/u you go, IMHO.

Well, except on my Rick 4003. I play that one right over the bridge p/u because it's a natural place to rest my thumb.

 

[2F/2F]

Usually 0–3: the area from slightly on the fretboard to where the pickup cover starts on a P Bass.

The pickup cover prevents access to 4–6.

I also play in 7–8.5 on certain songs: the area between the pickup cover and the bridge cover.

The pickup cover prevents access to 8.6–10.

If we're talking about a Jazz Bass as opposed to a P Bass, then the lower zone gets a bit bigger, like 0–3.5, and the higher zone gets a bit smaller and shifted lower, like 5.6–7. You can get slightly closer to the bass pickup vs. a P Bass, but you can't get nearly as close to the bridge.

I probably played this way initially because I learned with a thumb rest in the '70's Fender location, and I always used to like warmer, bassier, less present bass tones. I didn't start occasionally playing closer to the bridge till I joined my current band 10 years ago, playing more fast and aggressive parts in certain songs, and desiring more midrange and snap from time to time.

 

[faulknersj]

I pluck at all points 1-10.. Depends on the tone the music wants...why just play in one place?

 

[HawldieMPB]

All over depending on what I'm going for at that moment. I find plucking location as or more versatile and useful than a tone knob. So, I move around a lot during a song

 

[Nev375]

I'm in the all-over the place camp too. I guess most of the time its just on the neck side of the pickup, but I'll instinctively shift one way or the other and vary the way my nails hit the strings for different attacks and tones.

 

[logdrum]

Electric - zone 7 - 10. I use palm mute and pick with the thumb for thuddier - thumpier sounds instead of going close to the neck. Upright. Some of the drone line pieces by Rabbath calls for plucking with your right hand, yes right hand while bowing. Still working on it - Since my bass finger board is 2 octaves + 4, I guess my plucking is from zone -25 to +3 on the upright -- Well really zone -24 to 4 -> normal playing.

 

[TrevorR]

Like others I also vary tone by varying plucking styles and position. Must of the time it’ll be over the neck pickup. Over the bridge pickup for a punchier brighter tone. Over the neck for a really round, mellow tone (or to sort of simulate a double bass - ish). A chum and I were discussing this a while back so I decided to work out the different plucking positions I’d be likely to use across a set or a gig. Came up with this...

 

[Fight4Bottom]

Minus 1 to about 8. Sometimes it's about the tone I'm after. Sometimes it's about my mood at the moment.

 

[OogieWaWa]

Heh, I notice a lot of folks rest their thumb on the pup(s) like I do. On my second bass, a Peavy Fury V, I added a 1/4" high by 5/16" wide by 6" long rounded wood piece that sat up against the upper side of the two pickups on the body. Then I could move up and down along the strings and it was still there no matter where I played. As a beginner, it was a good reference point so I'd always hit the right string. I've thought about adding one to all my basses ever since, but haven't done it. Still might.

 

[txdahaley]

It just depends which section of the song I'm in. If it needs a big bassy sound, I play around zone 2 or 3. If it needs a thin, tinny, tight sound, I play around zone 9 or 8. If it needs a nice blend of both, I play around zone 5, where a P bass pickup would be. There's no need to use the same tone all the time.

 

[devnulljp]

I pluck the strings....

















... on my BASS!!


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