Where to put my thumb on my StingRay?

[Nephilymbass]

So I recently acquired a beautiful MM StingRay 4 string, single H pickup (3 band eq). Its my first Stingray - I've had a couple dozen Fenders over the years and most of my basses have 2 pickups.

Anyhow, I typically place my thumb on the top edge of the pickup as an anchor, and play finger style. If I do that with the Stingray, I find my fingers too close to the bridge for my preferred tone, or I'm playing over the pickup and catching those large pole pieces with my fingertip every once and a while.

I was thinking a thumbrest would be ideal, but: a) I'm not drilling holes in this bass! and b) I'd want the thumbrest in a spot covered by the pickguard.

Ideas? What does everyone else do?

i love my stingray and will probably suggest something a lot of people will think is crazy but I suggest selling the 4 and getting a 5 string. The b string is a great thumb rest and I always play the low b string over the pickup so I don't need anything extra for the low b.

 

[ashtray]

i love my stingray and will probably suggest something a lot of people will think is crazy but I suggest selling the 4 and getting a 5 string. The b string is a great thumb rest and I always play the low b string over the pickup so I don't need anything extra for the low b.

I will sell my StingRay when you can pry it from my cold, dead, flamey hand.

 

[Deleted member 284617]

Go with a ramp, or adopt a floating thumb technique. In the long run, if you're interested in faster and cleaner playing, floating thumb is quite a bit better.

(But why not both? I float with a radiused ramp, which makes it much more comfortable)

 

[dinoadventures]

Or you can make a nice ramp for free.

Home Depot....the laminate flooring section....free flooring sample blocks that just happen to be the perfect dimensions for a 4 string H pickup. Just cut off the little male tab on one end (I used a miter saw), then stick it on with a small piece of carpet tape. They have a big variety of colors to choose from.

I don't have a pic handy, but I made one for my L-1500 with a "Expresso" sample. Very dark, looks like ebony. Works great, looks great, removable, zero cost.

Show me this, please.

 

[packhowitzer]

 

[old-fashioned]

Maybe you'll get used to your MM StingRay and won't need any thumbrest. Every bass is different and can feel a bit strange at first... I exclusively played a StingRay for 15 years and never needed a thumbrest, then I had some other basses and lended the SR to a friend for more than a year. When I (recently) got my SR back, the first thing I felt lack of was a thumbrest. I believe I'll overcome...

 

[Kukulkan61]

Whatever you do don't put your thumb near the tail those things got a wallup of a sting..

 

[RRDieselbass]

Here's a zero mod thumb rest that fits on the pickguard using an existing screw and screw hole. Placement of the hole might be a little too high on a Stingray but it's a cheap alternative if you can make it work for you. Never tried it myself but have seen others that have.
http://www.amazon.com/Shepherd-Hardware-9131-Screw-On-Bumpers/dp/B00004YOFS

 

[ashtray]

Zero mod - kinda pricey, but no holes need to be drilled.

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Thanks - after looking around, this looked like the perfect add on for my bass. There were cheaper and more involved solutions, but this one will show up in my mailbox in a week and require 20 seconds to install and use with 0 chance of messing up, and a clean look - so I ordered one. I'll eat Raman this week... Thanks!

 

[Fondsdale]

Add a neck pickup.

 

[Guinness20]

I play a HH ray and I rest my thumb on the closest corner of the bridge pickup.

 

[Gazman]

That beautiful bass just won't ever feel right for you.

I suggest you pay me AUD$100 (roughly $3 of your American monies) and ship it to me for proper disposal.


Think yourself lucky, this bass could have been a major disaster for you.


...it's beautiful.

 

[Timmy-Watts]

Your thumb... you use that to spank the E string. Sometimes the A and occasionally the D.

 

[TripleDouble]

I made a rest/small ramp for my sterling once out of a spraypainted block of wood and some double sided tape. I ended up not liking it, investment was $3 and an hour of time, instantly removed and thrown away.

 

[bhoff5150]

I always anchored mine on the side of the pickup. Heck mine was a H H setup and I still anchored it on the bridge pickup.

 

[SteveHeissner]

I always anchored mine on the side of the pickup. Heck mine was a H H setup and I still anchored it on the bridge pickup.

+1 I don't have a stingray but I've played several and always just rested my thumb on the pickup.

 

[Spirit of Ox]

I thought with Stingrays you just bounce the side of your thumb against the strings. That's why there is so much blank space from the pickup to the edge of the neck. Just watch some old videos of the Louis Johnson, that's what he does.

 

[Gibme]

I play very close to the neck, and I can get my desired sound by resting my thumb on the neck. Use floating thumb or just rest on the small space of the pickguard.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I too would recommend the zero mod. I played a sterling with one bridge pickup for years and recently began playing closer to the neck. I like the tone and can play faster when i fingerpick up by the neck. I have a different bass now with a thumbrest near the neck or else I would probably get a zero mod myself.

 

[steve f]

I rest my thumb on the E string. When playing the E string the side and back of the distal phalanx of my thumb rest on the pickguard.
It's a nice technique I learned from flamenco guitar. It takes a little adjusting to but is a useful technique when needed.