You do not need to define “the” sweet spot. You will develop a feel for different areas of the picking area the more you play, and it will vary while you play depending on what sound you’re going for in that moment. It should happen naturally and not necessarily as the result of deliberate thought.
That’s what I thought did the players really learn the spot from the older players or just find it themselves. It comes naturally since there’s not many places to pick so depending on what tone/note your hitting you naturally go up and down.. up higher more smooth surfy down by the bridge more hard and sharp
This, it will also vary on every guitar and when switching pickups and pedal/amp effects. Almost as much variety as what you can do with the left hand, I'm surprised there's not more people aware
Please don't take this the wrong way, but that smile when you were younger is just wholesome. I hope I have a son that smiles like that one day, and yes I will get him a Telecaster
@@Sunny-yg2pqnot if us actual music people bring back the real music get rid of auto tune and all this other new crap if we do that the good ol music comes back even 90s rap wasn't bad it actually had meaning and still used instruments and not the same beat and auto tune and just say yea oh yea and repeat
@thepugking319 auto tune is an instrument just the same as anything else. It’s not just a point and shoot kind of thing, and it is usually just to make it sound a little better. Nobodies vocals are perfect, and auto tune just makes better music.
@@Micah_clark you did not just say that autotune is an instrument. You're actually stupid. Autotune is an effect. Auto tune is not a stand alone thing. That's like saying that reverb on a guitar is an instrument.
This is why John is so insanely good, because he doesn’t purely pick by the neck. Look at all the videos of this last Dead and Company tour. He almost exclusively picked by the bridge the entire tour. He knows exactly how to play for each situation and for the tone he’s going for.
@@tomekk.1889 you get different pitches and varying volume levels of the harmonics when you pick them in different areas. You can tell a lot about a guitar player by how placed theirs are
Most guitarists, myself included, usually play every position possible between the bridge and neck pocket. One must in order to find the right tone for the right note/ chord Pinch harmonics (squeals) at the right place can change the emotional tone of your music. They can be achieved anywhere in between the bridge and neck, but it is better when you know your instrument and where to find the “one” to convey what you are feeling and hearing in your head
Changing the tone of the guitar with the position of de right hand is an essencial in classical guitar, I recommend everybody to play both electric and classical guitar cause most of techniques are valid and interesting for all stiles of guitars
I’ve been playing for 20 years and I can honestly say I haven’t really made the connection that other players have a preferred spot, I always just moved toward the neck or bridge depending on tones I wanted, thanks for the video!
I would have liked to have heard you play a bit more to showcase the differences in pick placement. Thanks for the list of players to listen to and compare.
Sweet spots are real. Depending where you strike with your pick definitely impacts tone. It just does, maybe some models of guitar has a wider array of range depending where you pic, others may have lots of small micro placements that strongly effect tone.
Srv got his biggest inspiration from Lonnie Mack. You can look it up. Stevie bought his first record called the wham of that memphis man. He loved lonnie they even did an album called strike like lightning
The sound you're going for and whether you're playing rhythm or lead, are how you'll decide what pick-up(s) you'll play over. If you watch any of SRV's live performances (and no, that 2 sec clip doesn't count,) you'll see that where and how he picks, change constantly. Closer to the neck for solos and anything he wants to make sure is heard clearly over the rest of the band, then when he's strummin out chord progressions, he goes more towards the middle and/or near the bridge. Dude definitely used the space around all of his pick-ups. Doubt he'd have a custom built with three if he wasn't planning on using them all lol
the sweet spot is the area that balances technique and tone. wherever you can do what you need to do and still sound good is the right place. the trick is knowing what sounds good.
Honestly this is the first video of yours that I’ve agreed with in quite a while. It’s actually a testable experiment that has a noticeable result. Electric guitar tone is all about the electronics and the strings are used to generate that signal. Changing the point of impact would have a significant impact rather than the solid surface that it’s being slightly reflected off of. Tone wood, in theory, makes a very slight difference that no one would ever notice because we’re not amplifying an acoustic noise, we’re amplifying a response to a change in an electromagnetic field. Solid body guitars are meant to generate as little acoustic noise as possible which makes the reflective surface much less of a factor than anything electronic.
I figured this out when I watched Frusciante play during the Stadium Arcadium days… Really makes a big difference when playing those funkier BSSM era tunes
I am a combination of both of those playing styles. It really matters what type of articulation I am look for. But I agree there is definitely a difference to the sound of both of those positions! Great short!
brother you are spot-on perfect example Cold Shot Stevie Ray Vaughan he is definitely playing near the neck farthest away from the bridge sweet tone you may sacrifice some volume that's why you turn it up a little bit more
I naturally lean toward the middle, but more toward my neck pick up. My number 1 is a Gibson Les Paul. I find myself changing where I play, depending on the song.
This is much more about tone sculpting than it is about technique. The sound of different picking/plucking positions change drastically depending on pickup blend too
I found my personal sweet spot, basically I have two of them and first sounds electric, cosmotic, while the other sounds like an old train. The way you position left hand fingers also can play a role, sometimes I pick the fret instead of space between two frets because it gives this ruby sound
I love that volume knob, just so freeeakin' close and in the way so on a strat style you kinda have to play away from the bridge.... unless you make another hole and move the volume knob lol
My street spot on my strat is the 10th fret in the d string. Dunno why but the sustain lasts a long time there and starts to have a beautiful little bit of feedback. Love it
My sweet spot depends on the pickup I'm using. Generally I pick closer to the bridge for the bridge pickup and closer to the neck for the neck pickup. Right in the middle for the center pickup. Simple concept that works.
Funny enough there is a "right" foot placement for biking. You're supposed to push with the balls of your feet. At the very least that's how you bike with clip ins.
@@Banzo_ Um the balls of your feet are really close to your toes are you claiming that clip ins are at the toes because that's not my experience with them. I tend to use a variety of foot placements without clip ins. Not necessarily based on incline though I can see the logic.
I often play around the last few frets of the fretboard, and the reason is so I don’t accidentally hit my volume pot, since that happens more often than not when I fingerpick and get really into the music. I could do a better job with my picking placement on acoustic guitar, since I feel that my electric guitar playing style isn’t ideal for acoustic.
There's more than one sweet spot depending on what tone for that moment you're in looking for. Experiment. I like the at the neck or even on the neck but also right by the bridge for that tin roof effect 💯
The explanation behind this is that spot right by the bridge is a harmonic position you are picking over. It's the same octive as the harmonic position on the 5th fret.
Yep, I have found out that in order to get the most stratty tone it’s not enough just to switch to the neck pickup but also to pick where the neck pickup is, gotta find it!
I play with my fingers… and lately, I’ve been playing with a coin instead of a pick when one is needed. Largely because I’m always running out of picks, but also partly because I idolize Brian May and he uses a sixpence. And similarly, Billy Gibbons has some of the best punch harmonics and he uses a peso.
My guitar style is somewhat percussive ish minded and I always pick up high close to neck like this. I thought I was just doing it wrong and occasionally would try to shift lower....but didn't care too much and go back to how I always did it.
I mostly stick to the neck, but you can get lovely tones when picking close to the bridge with a light attack. Doyle Bramhall II does it very effectively with fuzz.
I'm trying to be "that" kind of guy, but I noticed it in less than a year after I learned how to play. Never saw anyone talking about it and just thought it was some kind common knowledge.
I can get a mild phase shifter sounding effect by moving where I pick during a run. On a Stratocaster I strum (especially if strumming hard and fast) near the neck simply to avoid hitting the volume knob and pickup selector. Gibsons will forgive you for parking on the bridge. Strats will force you to be carefull and intentional about the location of your right hand.
Right hand position and dynamics go together, it's a matter of phrasing for what you're trying to achieve. Similar to pickup selection one artist might stick in one position their entire career and vary other things. More likely though they'll mix and match and weave all these things together. Look at Cory Wong who always sticks to the neck + mid position he swings all over the place in his pick position to get the tone for what he's playing often even between back to back down and up strums
Coming from jazz and classical but with a love of Jimi Hendrix my hand can never decide where to pluck from I also only started using a pick recently for the first 10 years of playing guitar It was all fingerstyle
While I’ve known about the audible difference in picking placements, I’ve never seen the line of influence between different guitarists using the same picking placement as their heroes. That is a really cool observation. And I don’t think that’s always something they do in purpose. Sometimes you see a picture and wonder how your hero picks and you try that. But I think a lot of these guys were probably looking for a certain sound and naturally made a habit of picking a certain way because it got them that sound.
For those who feel like they want to unlock more sweet spots for picking during solos, pick closer to the neck or bridge DEPENDING on the phrasing. Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, and the like varied their picking spots to hit the right voicings for their passages. It's an acquired art, not to be earned within an hour. It just grows on you
Ill never not be blown away by seeing a flying V in the hands of Albert King…nothing about him seems like a V would fit him but there it is, looking damn fine
I found my sweet spot from watching bluegrass legends like Tony Rice and Norman Blake, under the sound hole in an acoustic guitar. On the electric, I found mine watching Jerry Garcia and Trey Anastasio play a little above the bridge pickup. So, the bridge is where my hand sits.
I feel like a lot of it also comes down to just how many places you can put your hand with like a 10 inch length there’s not really a lot of variety so most of people look familiar I’m sure they would be picking different spots as well if they had longer strings😂
You don't necessarily find the sweet spot by watching players, I found my sweet spot on my own (neck) because it made the sound more clean when soloing
I discovered John Mayer back in june after a group of guys at a bar told me I look like a better looking lookalike of him and listened to his songs so much that he is now #7 in my all time most listened artists on my Spotify account. And I have had this account since around late 2019. My favorite songs from him are: 1. Neon 2. No Such Thing 3. New Light 4. Gravity 5. You're Gonna Live Forever in Me 6. Stop This Train 7. Waiting On The World to Change 8. Free Fallin' (Tom Petty cover)
Развлечения
I mostly play metal so my hand is basically glued to the bridge position so I'm always ready to go into palm muting 😭😭😭
Valid as fuck, same thing for me. Picking at the neck feels wrong and unstable somehow
@@VicRattlehead1985 EXACTLY YOU GET IT
You made me realize that I’ve always been playing in the bridge position too lmao
I didn’t even know people played at the neck…
Ikr. It just feels so nice! No other place to put your picking hand afterwards. It fits like a glove
"The right hand can work wonders for your guitar tone"
*shows Albert King, a left handed player*
the clip of young mikey was so wholesome for some reasona
You do not need to define “the” sweet spot. You will develop a feel for different areas of the picking area the more you play, and it will vary while you play depending on what sound you’re going for in that moment. It should happen naturally and not necessarily as the result of deliberate thought.
That’s what I thought did the players really learn the spot from the older players or just find it themselves. It comes naturally since there’s not many places to pick so depending on what tone/note your hitting you naturally go up and down.. up higher more smooth surfy down by the bridge more hard and sharp
@@stringbender3 they just found it themselves, according to the sound they wanted.
Agreed!💯
This, it will also vary on every guitar and when switching pickups and pedal/amp effects. Almost as much variety as what you can do with the left hand, I'm surprised there's not more people aware
This is spot on
Please don't take this the wrong way, but that smile when you were younger is just wholesome. I hope I have a son that smiles like that one day, and yes I will get him a Telecaster
No sir he will be listening to 21 savage and that rap crap in pursuit of his career in crap music. But in all seriousness it is infectious smile
you're gonna make a great uncle
@@Sunny-yg2pqnot if us actual music people bring back the real music get rid of auto tune and all this other new crap if we do that the good ol music comes back even 90s rap wasn't bad it actually had meaning and still used instruments and not the same beat and auto tune and just say yea oh yea and repeat
@thepugking319 auto tune is an instrument just the same as anything else. It’s not just a point and shoot kind of thing, and it is usually just to make it sound a little better. Nobodies vocals are perfect, and auto tune just makes better music.
@@Micah_clark you did not just say that autotune is an instrument. You're actually stupid. Autotune is an effect. Auto tune is not a stand alone thing. That's like saying that reverb on a guitar is an instrument.
Really knowing when to move is a good trick too. I do that all the time. Makes a whole new timbre and dynamic possibilities
yup, doing rythim in the bridge and soloing in the neck, or alternating when needing to add texture to a song etc ppl are too uptight with beliefs
Wait until Mikey finds out about Marty Friedman's picking technique
Vernon reid!
Jeff beck!
Love reid, but i DETEST seeing him pick! And beck too. 😮
That weird wrist placement
@@ConanObrien22 mhm I've been copying it because it does work in the context of playing his leads
And Frank Zappa, his picking freaks me out
This is why John is so insanely good, because he doesn’t purely pick by the neck. Look at all the videos of this last Dead and Company tour. He almost exclusively picked by the bridge the entire tour. He knows exactly how to play for each situation and for the tone he’s going for.
John Mayer is unbearable
This is incredibly important and similarly overlooked.
I find its all about the tone you want. For me sweet spots mostly come in handy when I'm doing pinch harmonics
That's literally how harmonics work 😉
You HAVE to move your picking hand to get different harmonics
@@mattbarachko5298Most people do it in the same position and it works well enough 😂
@@tomekk.1889 you get different pitches and varying volume levels of the harmonics when you pick them in different areas. You can tell a lot about a guitar player by how placed theirs are
I'm literally always up in the neck, sometimes even at the frets.
That's a Keith Richards style of playing
Me too, I prefer that full, rounder sound+neck pickup only.
Likewise
I would love a full video dedicated to this
Depends on what tone or style you're going for. There is no indefinite spot for everything. At least for me.
Most guitarists, myself included, usually play every position possible between the bridge and neck pocket. One must in order to find the right tone for the right note/ chord
Pinch harmonics (squeals) at the right place can change the emotional tone of your music. They can be achieved anywhere in between the bridge and neck, but it is better when you know your instrument and where to find the “one” to convey what you are feeling and hearing in your head
Awesome, great lesson. Thanks Marty!
i bridge pick when i need precision, i neck pick when i need finesse
Also picking from the bridge makes faster lines easier since there is less give on the strings
i love to pick ahead of the neck pickup around the 19-22nd fret. that way i get a tone i want and i don’t accidentally switch away my pickup selector
the only time bro has ever used a tele
These are good points my friend. I learned it intuitively from beginning on an acoustic.
I've only seen your shorts, but this is the first video of yours where I didn't feel conned into watching it. I actually learned something.
I really enjoy your videos. keep them coming!!
Changing the tone of the guitar with the position of de right hand is an essencial in classical guitar, I recommend everybody to play both electric and classical guitar cause most of techniques are valid and interesting for all stiles of guitars
Do more Eddie Van halen videos he is a god
No he's not.
She gets down !! That’s dope💪
I’ve been playing for 20 years and I can honestly say I haven’t really made the connection that other players have a preferred spot, I always just moved toward the neck or bridge depending on tones I wanted, thanks for the video!
that pic really does Mayer well...
I would have liked to have heard you play a bit more to showcase the differences in pick placement. Thanks for the list of players to listen to and compare.
You can also find a sweet spot for each pickup....very overlooked detail
Satch: "There's a sweet spot" 👀
Sweet spots are real.
Depending where you strike with your pick definitely impacts tone. It just does, maybe some models of guitar has a wider array of range depending where you pic, others may have lots of small micro placements that strongly effect tone.
John Mayer is truly a ‘guitar man.’ We are all so lucky for this
Same thing on bass. Theres a sweet spot pressure wise when youre plucking. Especially on higher frets
Srv got his biggest inspiration from Lonnie Mack. You can look it up. Stevie bought his first record called the wham of that memphis man. He loved lonnie they even did an album called strike like lightning
That's a nice sound 👍
It's cool, I watched this a few times again and again.
The sound you're going for and whether you're playing rhythm or lead, are how you'll decide what pick-up(s) you'll play over. If you watch any of SRV's live performances (and no, that 2 sec clip doesn't count,) you'll see that where and how he picks, change constantly.
Closer to the neck for solos and anything he wants to make sure is heard clearly over the rest of the band, then when he's strummin out chord progressions, he goes more towards the middle and/or near the bridge.
Dude definitely used the space around all of his pick-ups. Doubt he'd have a custom built with three if he wasn't planning on using them all lol
It's the subtle that open up the world
Note: If you like fingerstyle on electric, this still applies.
Came quite intuitively for years. Never noticed until years later when I saw the top side middle pickup was "eaten away" from always picking over it.
the sweet spot is the area that balances technique and tone. wherever you can do what you need to do and still sound good is the right place. the trick is knowing what sounds good.
i love picking it right before middle pickup in strat
I love the sound when playing at the neck
Yea take er home for us Mikey!!!!
Eddie wasnt watching anything he was listening
Honestly this is the first video of yours that I’ve agreed with in quite a while. It’s actually a testable experiment that has a noticeable result. Electric guitar tone is all about the electronics and the strings are used to generate that signal. Changing the point of impact would have a significant impact rather than the solid surface that it’s being slightly reflected off of. Tone wood, in theory, makes a very slight difference that no one would ever notice because we’re not amplifying an acoustic noise, we’re amplifying a response to a change in an electromagnetic field. Solid body guitars are meant to generate as little acoustic noise as possible which makes the reflective surface much less of a factor than anything electronic.
I always play at the neck if I'm playing something simple, but as soon as there's palm muting involved, I'm glued to that bridge
I figured this out when I watched Frusciante play during the Stadium Arcadium days…
Really makes a big difference when playing those funkier BSSM era tunes
This is a big thing on bass, absolutely massive. You definitely need this in your toolbox to do so many things.
100% agree. Been known by greats for over 100 years
dude make a longer video of this topic, its really interesting id like you to elaborate more
The sweet spot is wherever the pinch harmonics are
I am a combination of both of those playing styles. It really matters what type of articulation I am look for. But I agree there is definitely a difference to the sound of both of those positions! Great short!
brother you are spot-on perfect example Cold Shot Stevie Ray Vaughan he is definitely playing near the neck farthest away from the bridge sweet tone you may sacrifice some volume that's why you turn it up a little bit more
Definitely a close to the neck fingerpicking guy here. It just sounds right to me and it feels right. Same thing for when I play bass. 🤷♀️
I pick all over the place. Based on what sound I want at each moment
I naturally lean toward the middle, but more toward my neck pick up. My number 1 is a Gibson Les Paul. I find myself changing where I play, depending on the song.
This is much more about tone sculpting than it is about technique. The sound of different picking/plucking positions change drastically depending on pickup blend too
i will actually strum over the very highest frets most of the time, but i also palm mute chug a lot so i have to jump back and fourth
I found my personal sweet spot, basically I have two of them and first sounds electric, cosmotic, while the other sounds like an old train. The way you position left hand fingers also can play a role, sometimes I pick the fret instead of space between two frets because it gives this ruby sound
I love that volume knob, just so freeeakin' close and in the way so on a strat style you kinda have to play away from the bridge.... unless you make another hole and move the volume knob lol
My street spot on my strat is the 10th fret in the d string. Dunno why but the sustain lasts a long time there and starts to have a beautiful little bit of feedback. Love it
He had a butterscotch tele lmao 😂😂😂😂😂
My sweet spot depends on the pickup I'm using. Generally I pick closer to the bridge for the bridge pickup and closer to the neck for the neck pickup. Right in the middle for the center pickup. Simple concept that works.
Mike Lull told me about sweet spot in the 90s. I never knew what he was talking about.
guitar is amazing cause there is no wrong way as long as what you're playing sounds good
This is like saying there's a secret way to put your feet on the pedals of a bike. It's completely relative to you and what's comfortable for you.
Funny enough there is a "right" foot placement for biking. You're supposed to push with the balls of your feet. At the very least that's how you bike with clip ins.
@@nahometesfay1112clip ins are close to your toes. Flat pedals you reposition depending on if you're going up hill, down hill, and on flat ground.
@@Banzo_ Um the balls of your feet are really close to your toes are you claiming that clip ins are at the toes because that's not my experience with them. I tend to use a variety of foot placements without clip ins. Not necessarily based on incline though I can see the logic.
@@nahometesfay1112 No I was not.
@@Banzo_ when I say "balls of the feet" I'm referring to the joint below the big toe. Hopefully that clears up any confusion.
"john mayer, ladies man"
yeah you could say that couldn't you
I often play around the last few frets of the fretboard, and the reason is so I don’t accidentally hit my volume pot, since that happens more often than not when I fingerpick and get really into the music.
I could do a better job with my picking placement on acoustic guitar, since I feel that my electric guitar playing style isn’t ideal for acoustic.
“The nut and the bridge”
Bros really out here calling me out, that bridge had it coming
There's more than one sweet spot depending on what tone for that moment you're in looking for. Experiment. I like the at the neck or even on the neck but also right by the bridge for that tin roof effect 💯
i feel like anyone who plays knows how it sounds differently
The explanation behind this is that spot right by the bridge is a harmonic position you are picking over. It's the same octive as the harmonic position on the 5th fret.
Yep, I have found out that in order to get the most stratty tone it’s not enough just to switch to the neck pickup but also to pick where the neck pickup is, gotta find it!
I play with my fingers… and lately, I’ve been playing with a coin instead of a pick when one is needed. Largely because I’m always running out of picks, but also partly because I idolize Brian May and he uses a sixpence. And similarly, Billy Gibbons has some of the best punch harmonics and he uses a peso.
Couldnt agree more. Same goes for bassists. Tonality is heavily influenced from where you pick or pluck. Thats why p basses are so universal.
My guitar style is somewhat percussive ish minded and I always pick up high close to neck like this. I thought I was just doing it wrong and occasionally would try to shift lower....but didn't care too much and go back to how I always did it.
Spin the pick around use the round end srv did this many many times.
I mostly stick to the neck, but you can get lovely tones when picking close to the bridge with a light attack. Doyle Bramhall II does it very effectively with fuzz.
I'm trying to be "that" kind of guy, but I noticed it in less than a year after I learned how to play. Never saw anyone talking about it and just thought it was some kind common knowledge.
I can get a mild phase shifter sounding effect by moving where I pick during a run. On a Stratocaster I strum (especially if strumming hard and fast) near the neck simply to avoid hitting the volume knob and pickup selector. Gibsons will forgive you for parking on the bridge. Strats will force you to be carefull and intentional about the location of your right hand.
Never really think about it that much. Usually round the neck/middle pickups. Only reason to go near the bridge is for a more twangy bite.
Right hand position and dynamics go together, it's a matter of phrasing for what you're trying to achieve. Similar to pickup selection one artist might stick in one position their entire career and vary other things. More likely though they'll mix and match and weave all these things together.
Look at Cory Wong who always sticks to the neck + mid position he swings all over the place in his pick position to get the tone for what he's playing often even between back to back down and up strums
Mayer is a great guitarist. He can shred too.
Coming from jazz and classical but with a love of Jimi Hendrix my hand can never decide where to pluck from I also only started using a pick recently for the first 10 years of playing guitar It was all fingerstyle
Right over the middle pickup
While I’ve known about the audible difference in picking placements, I’ve never seen the line of influence between different guitarists using the same picking placement as their heroes.
That is a really cool observation.
And I don’t think that’s always something they do in purpose. Sometimes you see a picture and wonder how your hero picks and you try that.
But I think a lot of these guys were probably looking for a certain sound and naturally made a habit of picking a certain way because it got them that sound.
i like to anchor my palm around the bridge for rock and metal and i go towards the neck pickup for softer stuff. middle for classic rock and country
Yeah, im mainly a neck picker too, but i think thats only because of my arm length
Locking in to just one spot is like locking in to just the first five frets, exceptionally limiting.
Nice!
For those who feel like they want to unlock more sweet spots for picking during solos, pick closer to the neck or bridge DEPENDING on the phrasing. Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Brian May, and the like varied their picking spots to hit the right voicings for their passages. It's an acquired art, not to be earned within an hour. It just grows on you
Ill never not be blown away by seeing a flying V in the hands of Albert King…nothing about him seems like a V would fit him but there it is, looking damn fine
I found my sweet spot from watching bluegrass legends like Tony Rice and Norman Blake, under the sound hole in an acoustic guitar. On the electric, I found mine watching Jerry Garcia and Trey Anastasio play a little above the bridge pickup. So, the bridge is where my hand sits.
I feel like a lot of it also comes down to just how many places you can put your hand with like a 10 inch length there’s not really a lot of variety so most of people look familiar I’m sure they would be picking different spots as well if they had longer strings😂
You don't necessarily find the sweet spot by watching players, I found my sweet spot on my own (neck) because it made the sound more clean when soloing
I discovered John Mayer back in june after a group of guys at a bar told me I look like a better looking lookalike of him and listened to his songs so much that he is now #7 in my all time most listened artists on my Spotify account. And I have had this account since around late 2019.
My favorite songs from him are:
1. Neon
2. No Such Thing
3. New Light
4. Gravity
5. You're Gonna Live Forever in Me
6. Stop This Train
7. Waiting On The World to Change
8. Free Fallin' (Tom Petty cover)
As a 6-string player myself, I agree but I notice this more with beginner bass players picking too close to the neck.
I basically dig away at my neck pickup. Always have. Sometimes I get up on the neck a little. Not on purpose.
I generally pick right above the 2nd pickup cause I use a lot of harmonics