I think that arrangement was very specific to JD only, so it’s not really something I’d want to encourage for the OPs development.
Most band leaders will be the guitarist, and if a potential bass player recruit comes along wanting to play in guitar territory, he/she will certainly feel the sharp end of the guitarist’s boot from the band.
I don’t know… I think you see this across the post-punk genre. Lots of really strong, leading bassists. Dave Allen, Simon Gallup, Steve Severin, etc.
I mean Robin Guthrie was a notorious jerk at times and Simon Raymonde still held his own.
You’re probably right for other genres though.
Okay, well thanks guys for all your replies, perspectives, and tips. I’ll leave you at your conversations and discussions, because I see that the topic of playing with crooked fingers on higher end notes, is ‘getting off topic’. That’s totally fine with me, you guys helped me to think about and do some more research on the anatomy of fingers and how to play as comfortably as possible.
Have a good one everyone
My pinky isn’t crooked, but my pinky is short like yours. When I started out, I really struggled mightily on the upper frets-- especially with the pinky. Two things helped me.
Tip the neck up. I have my headstock nearly as high as my ear, and it helps. You may end up looking like Brian Wilson, but it works for me.
Orient the neck out with respect to the torso; that is push it away… This creates space to help get that neutral position since it allow your hand to come from behind and under the neck more easily.
Yeah. Bottom line, if you’re in a band and the guitarist throws a hissy fit and kicks you out because you want to play a lead role sometimes… he’s doing you a favor. Bullet dodged, let those jerks find a failed guitarist or something to play bass.
A lot of this can also be solved by being the bandleader - you form the band and then fire asshat guitarists 
Yes Lemmy 
Haha yes exactly.
It’s funny. Bandleader is actually a strong concept here. Someone is definitely in charge, and it’s a commonly known fact about bands.
Like, sometimes two bands will have mostly the same people, and the primary difference is which one is bandleader.
Index and pinky fingers together? I think you meant the ring and pinky finger.
Definitely these two things.
If you put your arm down by your side with your forearm out front and your palm up, your fingers point straight out from your body. As you move your hand toward your centre line, your fingers form more and more of an angle until eventually your fingers will point to the side… If you don’t push your guitar out at more of an angle, you’re putting your hand in a very poor position vs the neck. Similarly if you keep the neck parallel to the ground.
Try it without holding a bass and see what position your hand has to be in to be comfortable.
To be honest, imo, your best bet on technique-related problems is to work with a bass teacher.
A teacher will help you to fix posture, left and hand technique, and so much more live, while he sees you play.
Having BtB is great, but if you’re learning from scratch, getting help and guidance from a seasoned player is vital to not gimp or even hurt yourself.
Where I live, just finding a music store, let alone finding a bass teacher that speaks English is a major challenge.
There’s some truth in this, but it can be done on your own if you are determined. It took me a while. What I had to do was study video of Josh and other teachers. I studied guitarists as well. For a while I thought my short pinky was the issue, but no-- the solution was there. You just have to study. Where’s the head stock relative to which body part? The view that would really be helpful however is a shot from above the bass player.
One piece of advice that I got that really hurt me was: “Sit instrument in your lap, adjust the strap for that. When you stand it will be in the same position.” Certainly the same position part is great, but in my case I have a longer torso and shorter legs on my 6’ frame. The result was that the bass hung too low, too far from my shoulders, and that hurt my access to the fret board-- especially the high frets.
It took me a long time to figure it out.
Tbh, it’s a case of “you don’t know what you don’t know”, if you don’t have any experience playing similar instruments, you have no way to identify technique problems (some are things that you’re not doing optimally and others can lead you to carpal tunnel or tendonitis).
It’s a bit different if you have experience with similar instruments (like if you’re just starting with bass, but you played guitar before), but not that different.
It’s not like academic knowledge where you can get it your own way with just effort…
…to each, their own, but I’ll never recommend someone to learn a new instrument completely by themselves.
Just a thought, but if you’re convinced the crooked pinkie is holding you back, have you considered trying to learn to play left handed?
The crooked pinkie wouldn’t be an issue for plucking.
Thanks for the idea. However, the crooked fingers are symmetrical on the other hand, so both hands have equally crooked fingers haha.
I did consider playing left handed, but I found that this only led to confusion and miscommunication within my mind. Even though I’m Left handed, playing right handed feels more natural.
Same here. All those years of playing “air guitar” right handed…made playing a real bass right handed seem more natural. And, most lefties are a bit more ambidextrous anyway.