So I Got a Bass...

Squire uses a plectrum. I think Geddy uses his thumb as well or something strange, but it should be possible to play with just two fingers given plenty of practice. If not you could try using three or four fingers - it helps sometimes but not others and I spent a year trying to do everything with four fingers (and thumb, sometimes) but now I pretty much just use two.

Soulman wrote: So I was wondering if any of you experienced bassists can give some advice on playing those fast notes while finger picking. Thanks.

Definitely use your fingers and try your damnest to hit all 7 strings with them.  Ideally, try to do this very quickly without missing a note and do this to a happy, nice, pretty rhythm.  That's about it for Fingerbass 101.  You'll be an expert in no time.

I tried to play with all four fingers, but I opted for
three fingers and a thumb.
You can drive the bassline with your thumb. And still
have three fingers to play melody and counterpoint
(cranking Entwistle triplets).

A pick is helpfull when you have to play 1/128 notes.
Or, to get that pick attack sound.

Point is, I don't limit myself to one technique.
All my basses have four strings.
Bummer.

 More... notes? What else?

DracoMordag wrote: practice. non-stop.

Amen to that.

I use a pick. I've been playing guitar and bass that way for the last 39 years so I'm not going to change now

seabre wrote: You can't play that fast with a pick. :-P

Watch me now.......here I go!!!!!!! \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Check out that wave form!

Edited by Schizoid Man

Well it's been almost three months since I bought the bass that I mentioned (about the same time I made this thread). I'm not much of a disciplined practicer, but I pick up the bass whenever I feel like practicing, which seems to be often.

I found an article about a month ago on routines that you can do to play with four fingers, to gain maximum speed. So far I'm able to play with three fingers qutie efficiently; reaching the 64th note is quite easy for me now.

Recently I started kind of listening to Victor Wooten. I had heard a song on an internet radio station where he did a improvisation around the good ol' tune "Amazing Grace", I was astonished at how fast he could play slap bass.

My question now is:

Can anyone tell how I can play slap bass like Victor Wooten?

Well, Wooten is a monster. And, he has basses that cost, like 10000 bucks each... exclusive  Foderas and stuff. The thing is, I think, is that he has his strings incredibly close to the fingerboard, so that when he gives that string a thump with the thumb, it'll slap twice if he wants it to. Then he'll also strike the string on his way up with the thumb, so that he almost uses it like a pick. I suppose that thing with the string slapping twice for each slap also applies to the rest of the fingers...would explain the odd sound he gets on tunes like Classical Thump.
 Do NOT try his technique within a couple of years!!
 I think you have to be a slapper extraordinaire before thinking about developing his style... I suppose it's POSSIBLE, but Wooten is an extreme wonderchild, and he's so good that he gets the basses he wants for free. I think that you have to have a fat wallet to be able to even try playing like him...and what if you fail? 8000 bucks for your Fodera, thrown into the sea...

 Anyhow, I don't use picks either, until just recently. I like recording music at home, but I've got no good way to mike my bass... my amplifier sounds sh*te, and I don't have microphones or a mixer. I don't have a bass pod, either, but! I bought a sh*tty guitar some years ago, and spent some more money on a guitar pod, to be able to get some decent sounds out of it. For years I used the best clean sound I could get for my bass, and played through it, but it never sounded very good. After all, it IS a guitar pod, and making a bass sound like a GOOD bass just didn't work. The solution was to use some compression, some distortion, and a pick, and you almost get a Squire or Nomeansno sound. Groovy!
 But, that's just when I'm recording. When I play, I always use my fingers, since my plectrum technique is sh*te, and I don't want to scratch the bass. The poor baby..

Thanks alot for your responses bityear