Hi there!
Question….
Does anybody ever feel like they resting their thumb too heavy on the e string like when the pace of the song becomes too quick ?
Just wondering and wanted to know if somebody could offer any advice.
TY!!!
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I do and have to make a concentrated effort to lighten it up. It takes time and practice. Just concentrate on keeping the pressure the same regardless of how fast you are plucking.
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I went through a phase where I had massive thumb pain from “resting” it on the pickup end. I say “resting” cause I found I was apparently trying to drive my thumb through the pickup and the bass to the backside with all the pressure I was exerting.
Relaxing is one of the biggest tips/help you can get. Hard to do when learning but comes with time and attention
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When you start digging in it’s natural to increase intensity but if you increase pace/tempo intensity and pressure would be a speed killer, as you’ll find out seen enough. Your ability to float over strings to mute will be reduced or gone,
Try to find the balance between relax play and expressive plugging you’ll need both but if/when you find yourself using your thumb as an anchor stop yourself and relax your wrist.
Get a thumb rest or a finger ramp. The ramp helps a lot with speed because it provides a constant plugging contact and preventing your fingers from over digging. I have them on many of my basses, the plan is to install on all my basses.
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Where did you get all these ramps? Any particular companies/websites you can recommend?
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I got them from BassBonk on Reverb but the guy is not really making them anymore. He comes and go and put up very few in the last 18 months. I bought a cnc machine to try to make it myself. It’s a steeper learning curve than I anticipated but I got the first part done from Fiver tested on my 3Dbprinter, now it’s just gotta sit down and choose the CAM software and start setting up my cnc machine.
Here’s the progress so far
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Thanks for the info. Your ramps look good to me!
But, no 3D printer or CNC machines here, and no plans to get any, at least anytime soon (never say never!). Maybe I’ll keep an eye out for BassBonk, but it’s not an urgent need. I just like to keep track of options, in case I need something in the future.
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Theres a company called Shapeways that make them too @Never2Late
And a few appear on eBay every now and again.
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