Where is your right hand? Neck pickup or bridge?

[Johnny Crab]

Different places for different tones.

+1

A big part of your sound is where you play.
The other part(s) are HOW you attack(or not) the string and callous condition....

 

[GearHeadBassMan]

i usually play in front of the pickups right before the neck with a pick. it's a bit odd, but its just what i do naturally and i love the rough sound I get from it

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Right over the bridge pup. I just love the sound there

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

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'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 have no spot in particular I like more than another. Each one is good, and I think it's good to learn to play different places on the string (and to use whatever pickups/electronics options on the bass itself) to open up as many useable and different tones as possible.

I don't think a poll on this is needed though, as it's so much a matter of preference where you pluck and which pickups you use.

 

[Body]

I'm mainly on the bridge.

 

[Nashrakh]

I like playing over the neck pickup... love the sound.

Sometimes I switch over to the bridge position for added attack... but i don't really like the feeling...

 

[Rocinante_x1]

I move my hand from the bridge pickup to basically anywhere else up to the fingerboard. Depending on the sound i want.

 

[dreadheadbass]

i play with a floating tech so my hand moves around a lot generally though i'd say it inbetween the 2 pickups on a jazz style bass or right over the pickup on a p bass i will however slide towards the bridge when i want a more metallic sound or even right up to where the neck meets the body if i want a nice low mellow bass sound

 

[ament_fan]

i'm usually over the neck pup or in between the two. but i've been known to go over the bridge for more punch, more so in the gigs i've done lately, some songs needed that tone. it really depends on what you want to bring to the music. but if you're asking where i naturally go when jamming, before i actually start thinking of a specific tone, i almost always gravitate toward the neck. it's just more my style.

 

[JPaulGeddy]

I must be in the minority, I actually prefer the tension between the neck pickup and the neck. I hate playing over the bridge pickup. I'm a pretty hard player, so guess I just like to feel some 'bounce'.

But yeah, different places for different tones.

 

[StarscreamG1]

My right hand is all over the place. It all depends on which bass Im playing and what Im playing and the sound Im looking for. If I had to pick a spot, Id say just past the neck joint (just in front of the neck pup) or right over the bridge pup. Those two places seem to be where I start off and I go from there. My T40 though I almost always have my hand between the pups.

 

[BigBassBob]

I play different spots for different tones as others have. However, I have an American Deluxe P V and I play between the split P and the humbucker while resting my thumb on the low B. On most P basses I normaly play right over the pup or just behind it. On my Rick, I always tend to play behind the bridge pickup but I've decided to take the cover off of it so I can play ontop of it instead (it's the exact same spot to where I play on my Deluxe P).

 

[sedan_dad]

Anywhere from over the 19th fret to just in front of the bridge.
There is no best spot.
No rules . What ever sounds best at that moment.

 

[RayO5421]

Anywhere from over the 19th fret to just in front of the bridge.
There is no best spot.
No rules . What ever sounds best at that moment.

I, the poster of this thread, am going to have to agree with you. I spent an entire day (I'm sick ) playing all over the place (tapping and slapping too) and decided that there really is no wrong place to play. I just wanted to see where most TBers have their hands.

 

[pinkzepphish]

i like the sound from the neck pup, but its so floppy up there i can barely get my notes in, so im usually on the peck pup. Just starting to experiment with the bridge pup too.

 

[Ramstien]

I find it to be more comfortable to play at the bridge, but it hurts my fingers after a while.

 

[Darkstrike]

Usually over the pickup Im using at any given moment, but I can be anywhere on the thing.

 

[Parabolic Box]

All over the place, but usually around the area of the neck pickup.

 

[myro255]

does anyone else play over the neck, at around the 15th fret?

I like this tone; I can play really softly and get a good phat bottom, then my hands are there to tap chords.

 

[rarbass]

Different places for different tones.

+1

Jaco played by the bridge.
Geezer Butler played over the neck, in the early days at least.
Geddy Lee seems to play right in the middle.