What technique for Treasure (Bruno Mars)?

Searching for covers on YouTube I see people either slapping/popping the bass line or thumb plucking/popping. How would you approach it?

Link to the song.

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Personally, I’d stick with an aggressive plucking technique using a bass set up with some good round wounds. Might be a good choice for a BEAD tuned bass??

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He appears to use a combination of palm mute/thumb picking with pops and then fingerstyle. Watch the 2013 BMA video if you want to see how he does it. That’s how I’d do it too but you can do it however you like as long as you get the tone you want.

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Check out dan Hawkins YT video on it too.

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Pluck the low notes, pop the high notes!

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Yeess, you are alive!!

Thanks for the replies guys! I’ve seen some covers where people pluck with their thumb and then pop with the index. IDK if there’s any validity to this but I read that you shouldn’t pluck with your thumb? Or do you think it’s a situational thing?

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In general, no, not the way to learn, as it limits you in speed.
But that does not mean that folks don’t do it for tone or effect etc.
Hard to pluck with your fingers and pop with your pinky, so makes sense here.
Macca sometimes plucked with his thumb too, vs. a pick, which is his normal style of playing, which also makes sense vs. fingers as he is not that kind of player.

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Yes, that’s how you play it, you play the notes on the E and A with your thumb and pop the octaves with your index finger. Everything else is regular finger style.

Plucking with your thumb or thumb + index is also a common technique to get a sound like an upright bass.

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+1 to this.

I think you can do this particular bass line with thumb plucks or finger plucks, whatever floats your boat full of treasure. :pirate_flag: :sailboat:

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