Bass Questions (Everyone Contribute)

[LuisSavesTheDay]

Lets make this thread a nice informative "FAQ Thread"

I usually use my index, and middle finger to play on the bass, unless im slapping. The only problem is, i go Really Slow when i do that. Do i just have to practice more with that, am i doing it too hard, am i doing it in the wrong spot on the strings? Im lost.

When you pop, are you only supposed to use your index finger, or can you use any other finger too?

(More questions coming soon.)

[LuisSavesTheDay]

I take it NO ONE has any questions?

[Sir Speedy]

I don't know , man , i use a pick , like my Idol Tom Araya , of Slayer.

[forgottenking2]

Your alternate fingering is correct, index middle works and sometimes I add the ring finger (i.e. when playing fast tripplets and stuff...), if you want to gain facility, finesse and speed you gotta practice so you know what you have to do. Concentrate on keeping the attack even, use a metronome and eventually speed will come.

As far as pulling the strings (I'm assuming that's what you mean by popping) you can use your index, middle or ring finger for that.

Check out "Slapping Bass Lines" (berklee press) it's a very good book and it'll get you grooving soon.

Regards,

[LuisSavesTheDay]

thnx bro. I started learnin Master Of Puppets "funked out", and i almot ahve it up to speed.

[LuisSavesTheDay]

I could careless if this is proper, but for some melodies on bass i play the Guitar as if its a Classical. I only do this for certain things such as "My friend of Misery". How do you guys play melodic lines on bass?

[mattblack850]

When you pop, are you only supposed to use your index finger, or can you use any other finger too?

A lot of the old funksters used to slap with the thumb then snap the pop with either the ring or pinky finger, as with most things whatever feels right for you. Me personally use my pinky for the top string and ring finger for the third string, but as I said it's a personally subjective topic.;)

[LuisSavesTheDay]

Thats odd. It feels weird using my pinky or ring. I think ill stick with my index and middle, then practice my pinky and ring finger. Thnx BRah

[Factor]

New question:

I have trouble "rolling" my finger from fretting, say the F at the A string, to the C at the E string. I want to lift the finger as little as possible. Any tips for practicing this?


thanks in advance

[GuitarLausing]

hello factor,

In this case, i just slam my finger from the A string to the E and hope it doesn't hurt. I really cant explain what im doing except it feels natural. You could try:
just place your thumb at the pickup (or wherever you support it, just dont touch the E string), and then roll your middle or index from string to string. Kinda like economy picking.

Or you could pluck the A string with your index/middle and the E string with your thumb.
Theres a lot of approaches, experiment, and practice.

[Factor]

hello factor,

In this case, i just slam my finger from the A string to the E and hope it doesn't hurt. I really cant explain what im doing except it feels natural.

While that was a good tip, I didn't explain myself clarely enough.

It's the fretting finger which I need to roll, say for a descending F major arpeggio, from the F to the C. I need to be able to roll it much in the same way I would do when ascending the same arpeggio, without having to lift the fretting finger too much.

[GuitarLausing]

Can you give a concrete example?
I place the thumb on the back of the neck (not baseballbat-style) And when i go to the C, i do a half barré, half slide thing. I noticed that i push my håndled (the junction between the arm and the hand (what is it called?)) away from me/"out" while i do it, to sorta get around the neck to the E string.

[mattblack850]

i push my håndled (the junction between the arm and the hand (what is it called?))
The wrist!!:)

I kind of understand what you mean, I tend to move my forearm around quite a bit when I'm playing arpeggiated runs, but only to help line up my hand for the next part of the run, a kind of 'forward planning' technique!!!!!

[LuisSavesTheDay]

I have a new questions guys/gals. Sometimes when im playin, i dont know if i hit the string to hard or waht, but it will rattle. I personally dont like 30% of my notes to rattle when im playing for someone. I raised the action, and the string STILL hits the fretboard when i play. I have to play it REALLLLY soft in order for it not to rattle, and even then, it still does (sometimes). Any suggestions?

[JailHouseRock]

I got few questions:

- How to avoid left hand injuries?
- How do you heal it?
- How do you avoid it?

My bassist often got this problem where he'll injured his left hand's fingers after our jam sessions. Perhaps I could pick up a tips or two and let him know about it. Besides I also got this probs whenever I play bass guitar more than 45 mins or so.

[GuitarLausing]

I got few questions:

- How to avoid left hand injuries?
- How do you heal it?
- How do you avoid it?

My bassist often got this problem where he'll injured his left hand's fingers after our jam sessions. Perhaps I could pick up a tips or two and let him know about it. Besides I also got this probs whenever I play bass guitar more than 45 mins or so.
Thats weird, when I play bass, its usually my picking fingers that hurt!

Well. If this is what I think it is, then it is his calluses that need some workout.
If this is problem, then he has to practice more to get that hard skin on his fingertips. Ask him how much he practices everyday- make him practice more, because the only way to avoid the problem is to have that hard skin on the fingertips. Healing it = Cast a magic healing spell recited from the book of witchcraft! Remember that when doing this, no electric light must be present, as the magic inteferes with electricity and will probably toast your friend!





or


Give it time to heal, like anything. Just like your body is sore from working out, in a day or so it will recover and you will be stronger than before. I guess it kinda works the same way

[JailHouseRock]

His finger picking didn't hurt cuz he's using a pick. I didn't realised the calluses thing. Yes, that's the problem. I guess he didn't practice that much cuz recently he's more to soccer. He don't even have a guitar, lol. :mad:
I'll try to summon him some 'guitar spell'. Hmm..where's my paul gilbert cd?

Thanks!

[LuisSavesTheDay]

anyone know the answer to my question?

[GuitarLausing]

take it to a tech..

[mattblack850]

I have a new questions guys/gals. Sometimes when im playin, i dont know if i hit the string to hard or waht, but it will rattle. I personally dont like 30% of my notes to rattle when im playing for someone. I raised the action, and the string STILL hits the fretboard when i play. I have to play it REALLLLY soft in order for it not to rattle, and even then, it still does (sometimes). Any suggestions?
A few things,
Firstly, are you at concert pitch or tuned down at all?
Second, do you notice the 'buzzing' through the amp? Or is it just acoustically from the fret board?
Third, what scale-length is the neck,
forth, what gauge strings?

There could be more contributing factors but if we start from here we can narrow down the field wherein the problem might lie!!

[LuisSavesTheDay]

Im tuned to E
Buzzin mainly comes from the guitar, but comes through the amp too
34 inch scale
I dont know what the string gauge is, but i do know they are a little smaller then average.

[LuisSavesTheDay]

are you going to reply?

[mattblack850]

Sorry about the delay, but I've been trying a few things with one of my basses.

Firstly, as you're in normal tuning the strings should be at their optmum tension. Lighter gauge strings will always be a bit slacker and therefore feel a bit looser than normal (less tension) which could cause 'fret-buzz' when played heavily. Check the string height and intonation, or get a Tech to check the set-up.

Secondly, if the problem is 'fret-buzz' then I wouldn't have thought that you would hear this through the Amp so this actually suggests a different problem to me. If it's a constant buzzing through the Amp then it could be an earthing problem, again take it to a Tech.

My Yamaha bass will 'rattle' the strings when played hard (especially with lighter strings) but this is only audible from the fretboard not from the amp so does not affect the amplified sound.

Again, sorry about the delay and I hope this helps.:D

[hairballxavier]

I have a new questions guys/gals. Sometimes when im playin, i dont know if i hit the string to hard or waht, but it will rattle. I personally dont like 30% of my notes to rattle when im playing for someone. I raised the action, and the string STILL hits the fretboard when i play. I have to play it REALLLLY soft in order for it not to rattle, and even then, it still does (sometimes). Any suggestions?

When I first got a bass I was having the same thing happen. I figured out what I was doing is when I pushed down real hard on the strings I was bending the neck backwards and making it fret out. Learning to relax my left hand helped alot.

[Spino]

RE:
It's the fretting finger which I need to roll, say for a descending F major arpeggio, from the F to the C. I need to be able to roll it much in the same way I would do when ascending the same arpeggio, without having to lift the fretting finger too much.[/QUOTE]

I've just tried this and there seems to be two alternatives.
This presumes that you are using LH 1 finger per fret over 4 frets
to play the arp.I would place my " i " simultanously on both the
F & C but only sound the F ,then follow with pressing & sounding
the C note, what you're doin in effect is sounding one string while
muting the other with ONE finger, so the roll is really minimal,
alternatively you could use a different
finger pattern but it's not so economical... depends where you're travellin' to....Fmaj7 arp
m on the E
a on the C
p on the A
m on the F
i on the C
If you wanna stick with the roll ,try practising it as usual ,up
and down the neck it should get sorted pretty quickly if
you spend a few mins per day.It is hard tho .





Hey LuisS...
I've just spent half an hour trying to make my Jazz Bass
rattle & buzz with pullin the neck etc nothin doin, this might sound
obvious ,eventho nobody has mentioned it in their posts,
but the only thing I can come up with is bad LH finger placement ,
that'll make every note on every string buzz !!! Unless you've
got a prob with the nut slots or parts rattle or you're really
whacking the strings which is in itself a waste of energy and
does nothin for your tone.I might be wrong . Check it out

[Spino]

Re:My bassist often got this problem where he'll injured his left hand's fingers after our jam sessions.



Your bass player probably needs to warm-up before playing .Playing Bass requires a lot of left hand strength, that should be respected, otherwise he stands a good chance of putting himself permanently out of the game.A nice easy workout for about 10 mins ,just slow stuff should solve it ,and if he does'nt practise every day he's gonna need longer.

[hairballxavier]

Recently I got a 5 string bass. I'm really used to having a low E string on guitar and bass. Now I've got a low B string to deal with, something that seems very awkward to me. I'm having a tough time incorporating this string into may playing. Bassically it seem I only use it to walk up to the E from below, something that I couldn't do without that lower string and that's really cool. But it seems that I'm really missing out on the possibilities. I'm not really sure how to approach this new monster.

Anyone else here got a 5 string?

Any tips for incorporating this new string into my playing?