Where is your right hand? Neck pickup or bridge?

[RayO5421]

Hey all,
I've been wondering about where is a good spot for your right hand to be when you're not playing with a pick. I know a lot of tone and playability comes from your fingers. Assume you've got a Jazz or a P/J; we all know where you Stingray guys are.

For a long time I was in on the Split P pup on my P bass Deluxe then a few months ago I was enjoying the tightness of the back double J. Now I'm switching between them to try and find which one I like more.

I'm just curious to see if you guys like the mellowness of the neck pickup or the tightness of the bridge; you jazzy people may even like the sweeter, thumpier tones of the neck/board.

I'll add a poll if you'd like.

 

[John Wentzien]

I use both depending on the texture I want to get for a piece of music.

 

[JimmyM]

Different places for different tones.

 

[magickbass]

Personally I prefer the pup closest to the neck. But as others have pointed out, it all depends on what tone you think is best. I have noticed that when playing a down tuned bass, say 1 and 1/2 steps down for a Black Sabbath song, I will move to the bridge pup to prevent a lot of clacking from strings hitting the neck.

 

[Marcury]

I move from right over the end of the neck to the bridge and in between depending on the tone I need for a given tune or section.

 

[Audiophage]

Fretboard, I'm a lefty.

 

[JustJeffJr.]

I switch...
Neck = Big and Fat
Pickup = Fast and Punchy
Bridge = How Should I know?

 

[mikeswals]

I really only use two hand positions....
If you imagine a Jazz Bass:
98% of the time I pluck right between the pickups.
The other 2% is up at the neck either plucking dub or slapping.

 

[Flintlock]

In between neck and bridge pickup on a jazz style bass. The bottom sounds pretty heavy, without the boominess of a further up the neck position. Higher strings sometimes sound a bit twangy though...probably my technique is a bit shoddy.

 

[Geddy Claypool]

Most often on a Jazz, I'm right between the two pickups. You get just the right amount of tension there, and there's plenty of room for whatever technique you'd like to throw out there.

For gallops and such though, I'll move toward the bridge, And for a fatter tone, I'll go toward the neck.

 

[Nakedfish]

I usually play somewhere over the end of the neck or an inch or two in front of the neck pickup. I rarely play close to the bridge pickup.

 

[nysbob]

All over the place. I've got these awesome movable joints.

 

[Atoz]

I play pretty close to the bridge most of the time.

 

[DWBass]

In between. I prefer to play down by the bridge pickup but I find most jazz bass bridge pups are so close to the bridge that the strings are very taut so I play a little higher right in between both pups. The MM Stingray has the pup in the perfect position to play over.

 

[Rickett Customs]

I always tend to dwell in the middle and move forward or backward depending on the attack i'm going for, funny that it's mentioned, I do not consciously think about moving forward or back, it just happens.

And for me, it's my left hand instead of my right.

 

[Gawd]

near the bridge during fast parts with fast plucking, the tension helps. middle for most other things. and near the neck for soft melodic parts.

 

[Diddii]

depends on the riff im playing... if its insane fast (metal..) my right hand is at the 20fret of the neck... ortherwise i mostly play above the pickups... and rest með thumb on th pup.

 

[Georynn]

For my average tone, I play about 1/4 of the way between the bridge and the neck pickups... I'll move it around depending upon the tone needed for a specific section or song.

 

[MonetBass]

Different places for different tones.

Same here. I'm all over the place depending on what I'm playing.

 

[professor_bills]

I always tend to dwell in the middle and move forward or backward depending on the attack i'm going for, funny that it's mentioned, I do not consciously think about moving forward or back, it just happens..

+1.......
I play Rick so I tend to be mostly over the bridge PU which I had to remove the cover because it drove me nuts. But if you videod me you would probably notice me wondering around a bit.