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slap sound not right...

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Post  TJMcK Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:14 pm

Hi:

This is my first post on this site. So, I'll give a brief intro... I've played guitar for many years, but just picked up the bass a couple years ago. I've tried to learn the slap and pop technique a few times, but had no luck... this past month I have worked really hard to get this technique... BUT I can't get the slap down. I've spent many hours looking at videos and books trying to find out what I'm doing wrong... so now I'm so frustrated I thought that I would ask for help. And for all you pros, it's probably something simple that I'm doing wrong. Smile

I'm pretty sure my thumb and wrist movement is correct. But the problem is the sound always sounds muted (it's the same as if I mute a string with my left hand). In other words, I can't get the string to resonate. So, I'm wondering if: 1) it may have to do with the action of my guitar (how far the strings are from the fretboard), or 2) if I have a type of string that does not work well with slapping (I've forgotten what the wind is, but they are like piano strings).

TJMcK


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Post  lololiet Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:05 pm

I struggled with the same thing for quite a while.
The problem with me(and, I assume, with you) is that my thumb didn't bounce up again after slapping, effectively muting the strings by not coming off them quick enough. If your problem is similar you can try to "exaggerate" the bouncing up by holding your hand higher above the strings and making sure that you bounce up again just as high. If you do this slowly at first and keep doing it for a while your hand will automatically get closer to the strings again and your slap groove will never have sounded tighter!


If your problem is different though, please feel free to ignore everything I've just said.
lololiet
lololiet
A resident.
A resident.


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Post  TJMcK Thu Dec 02, 2010 6:43 am

lololiet wrote:I struggled with the same thing for quite a while.
The problem with me(and, I assume, with you) is that my thumb didn't bounce up again after slapping, effectively muting the strings by not coming off them quick enough. If your problem is similar you can try to "exaggerate" the bouncing up by holding your hand higher above the strings and making sure that you bounce up again just as high. If you do this slowly at first and keep doing it for a while your hand will automatically get closer to the strings again and your slap groove will never have sounded tighter!

If your problem is different though, please feel free to ignore everything I've just said.
Well, I don't think that it's my thumb that's not bouncing up fast enough because I dug out my old classical guitar and I could slap better with it then my bass. As well I tried slapping with my index finger (because at this point it can bounce better then my thumb)... and I still can hardly get any of the strings to resonate. I just found some new strings that I purchased a few months back... tomorrow I'll install them and see if it makes any difference. (However they appear to be roundwound strings like I currently have on the bass.)

Okay there's two things that I just read on this site: http://www.proguitarworld.com/articles/choosing-bass-strings.html
1)Most players use roundwound strings for their versatility in most styles while almost by there very nature are essential for those who use slap technique.
2) A light gauge is recommended for slap style players or those with weak fingers.

So... do you agree with this these two points? I'm alright with #1, but as for #2... I use a heavy gauge as I've re-tuned my four string bass to B, E, A, D. B is a 135, E is a 110, and so on. My question then is: How much harder is it to slap with heavy gauge?

TJMcK


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Post  Impulse101 Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:12 pm

Are you using your wrist? I notice that if I get lazy and just use my thumb to slap, it makes barely any noise. Make sure you're actually slapping the strings. They're made of steel, they can take it.

Impulse101


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Post  androssie Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:11 am

i have the same problem.. but only with the A string
it sounds muted, or less loud. the higher i get on the fretboard, the less noice it makes.
i use my wrist, but it think its the place of my thumb i hit the strings with
androssie
androssie


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Post  DubHertz Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:32 pm

I only play finger bass so i cannot comment. But I found this on the internet.

Make sure the neck of the bass is straight. You can adjust the straightness of a neck with the truss bar... the nut is usually found at the top or bottom of the neck. SLIGHTLY turn the nut to the right if the neck seems to curve forward... turn the nut to the left if the neck appears to be curved backwards. An easy way to see which way the neck is curving is by placing your eye near the top of the neck and looking down the side of the neck. If you encounter any resistance with the nut, DO NOT turn it... you can damage your bass. Take it to a qualified guitar tech. If you're careful, adjusting a neck should be relatively simple. If you'd rather leave your neck alone, that's cool too... it's not the end of the world. You can still slap your bass... adjusting the neck is something to do if you want your bass really dialed-in.
New strings. Generally, people like clear-n-cutting slap tones. If this is you, new strings are a must. When I used to play a lot, it wasn't uncommon for me to change the strings once-a-month... not cheap.
Light-gauge. Obviously, string gauge is a matter of personal preference. Most slappers though, seem to prefer lighter-gauge strings. Not only does it make it "easier" to slap, but you can also feel what's going on more... touch-n-feel is important to slap technique. I'd recommend 95-40 gauge or so.
Low action. Action refers to how high your strings are off the fretboard... the lower the action the easier slapping can be. Also, lower the action - the more fret buzz will be present... it's ok to have a little buzzing on a bass dialed-in for slapping. There are several ways to achieve lower action... the most common is by adjusting the bridge. At the bottom of your bass you'll see the bridge and saddles holding each string. There should be some screws on the saddle - turning the screws to the right raises the height, turning left lowers the height. Always tune your bass after you've made some adjustments, since tuning will adjust the bass too.
Bass amp settings. Ok, so now your bass is great... let's talk about the bass amp settings. First of all, most slappers like speakers that are smaller than 15" since a smaller speaker will produce tighter mids. EQ-wise, I like to boost the lows-n-highs a little while cutting the mids a little.
Technique. Lastly is technique. Good Technique can make a bad bass set-up sound good. Bad technique can make a million dollar bass sound like junk.
DubHertz
DubHertz


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Post  TJMcK Sun Dec 05, 2010 7:04 pm

DubHertz wrote:I only play finger bass so i cannot comment. But I found this on the internet.
Thanks DubHertz that was very helpful. I had a feeling there was more to slap then just technique. In fact, I already put new strings and adjusted the action to where it greatly improved the sound, so now I can actually get the correct pitch from the string. The only new strings that I had were still very heavy, and from the information you supplied it has verified that if I went with a smaller gauge string there would be an additional improve in the sound from slapping. Eventually I'll get there... Smile No wonder I gave up trying to learn slap in the past... this isn't coming easily.

I'd be interested to know though... if others are slapping with heavy strings (EG .135)

TJMcK


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