Floating thumb technique - do you anchor on pickup when playing the E ?

[RhysP]

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1384623591' post='2278900']
Sorry , I thought there were only two techniques (anchored on the pickup vs floating thumb - by which I mean anchoring
Scott Devine explains it in the video below, the thumb anchors on the string [i]above the one you are plucking[/i], and also rests on the other strings to mute them. I
[/quote]

I would say that method is "Movable anchor" rather than "Floating Thumb".

Personally I can't see either is neccesary on a four string, those techniques start to become useful as string muting becomes more of a concern on five, six & more strings.

I use floating thumb on my five string but just keep my thumb anchored in the same place on my four string.

At the end of the day it's what feels most comfortable to the individual.

[tedmanzie]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1384690923' post='2279444']
I would say that method is "Movable anchor" rather than "Floating Thumb".

Personally I can't see either is neccesary on a four string, those techniques start to become useful as string muting becomes more of a concern on five, six & more strings.

I use floating thumb on my five string but just keep my thumb anchored in the same place on my four string.

At the end of the day it's what feels most comfortable to the individual.
[/quote]

As a long standing pick player (coming from guitar) I found it fairly easy to mute strings using left hand combined with resting my right palm lightly on the non-played strings. (note - I'm talking about muting as in cutting out the ringing from unplayed strings, not muting as in 'dampening' to get a motown sound).

However when trying to play fingerstyle using anchored technique - i.e. thumb always on the top of the pickup - I found it difficult to mute the A-string when playing certain combinations of notes...

The 'moveable anchor' (good name!) works for me and feels comfortable, but I haven't got it 100% yet!