A pop when I slap.. Not the good kind.

[Sgt Baker]

Yo dudes, I recently purchased a Hartke ha2000, which I'm running through a Hartke hyrdive 112, each time I slap the E string with a good amount of oomph, I get this weird like 'popping' sound. I can live with it, cuz when I slap lighter it doesn't happen, but its still kind of annoying. Any thoughts on the cause or possible solutions?

[geoff_in_nc]

Strings touching pickup polepieces? Put some electrical tape over your polepieces and see if it stops. If it does, try painting the polepieces with clear nail polish, and/or lowering your pickups.

[elgecko]

I'll second that.

[Sgt Baker]

Ill do just that! Thanks dude, the polepieces on my MM are freakin raunchy lookin as it is, Ill try it out and get back to ya. Thanks again mon

[murphy]

Or try lowering your pickups til the string doesn't hit them

[Russell L]

Sgt, if what was recommended above doesn't work it may be that your speaker doesn't have enough excursion or stiffness of suspension to handle the powerful spike that goes through it when you slap. I have had the same problem with my Markbass 112 cab. It wasn't the pickups, frets, or anything like that. I was told by some right here on TB that it was the voice coil hitting the frame when the speaker ran out of excursion. And, I was told that it won't hurt anything unless it keeps doing it. The speaker can lose its springiness and become floppy, so to speak, making it even more likely to do it at lower volumes. The solution for me was to either keep the lows rolled off enough or to play at a lower volume. I have eventually, however, bought a 115 cab. It doesn't do it no matter how hard I slap. (Actually, I don't slap, but rather let my hand plop back down on the strings between notes for a percussive, muting rhythm sound). Anyway, just thought I'd pass that along. Check your lows to see that you aren't pushing too much.

[Son of Bovril]

if it's not the pickups an is what Russell suggested, a compressor will help prevent that

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Sgt Baker

Yo dudes, I recently purchased a Hartke ha2000, which I'm running through a Hartke hyrdive 112, each time I slap the E string with a good amount of oomph, I get this weird like 'popping' sound. I can live with it, cuz when I slap lighter it doesn't happen, but its still kind of annoying. Any thoughts on the cause or possible solutions?

It's probably the driver voice coil bottoming out. Do it enough and the driver will be toast. The cure? Don't do that.

[Jerrold Tiers]

SOME hartke amps will "pop" due to protection being a little over-active...... I don't know how widespread it is, we had one in that did it in similar situations.

Otherwise probably speaker coils hitting.... that's fairly common with higher power amps and certain speakers. An SVT-4PRO will do it to the lower power 810 units, for instance.

[OOZMAN]

I dunno about you guys, but the way i slap, its impossible to hit the poles. I slap pretty much on the 24th fret, and no matter how hard i slap, the string doesnt go anywher near the pups. Where do you guys slap? Do it in slow motion, and press really hard and try and hit the pup, am i strange?

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

It's probably the driver voice coil bottoming out. Do it enough and the driver will be toast. The cure? Don't do that.

Bill, will there be any tell-tale signs that it has been done too much when you're just playing normally?

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Russell L

Bill, will there be any tell-tale signs that it has been done too much when you're just playing normally?

The most obvious sign is a creased cone. There may also be some buzzing if the end of the coil has been crunched.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

The most obvious sign is a creased cone. There may also be some buzzing if the end of the coil has been crunched.

Thanks, Bill.

Whew, I think my 12" is ok then. Actually I have retired it since I got the 15".

[jg919]

Hi!
Another anomaly I find with MM basses is when a player lowers their strings tto much and upon slapping, the string (either hits the pole pieces as previously mentioned, or) the string creates a 'pop'-like sound when caught between the highest fret and the bridge saddle.
Due to the great space b'w the neck and pickup, a lot of people tend to slap there, as opposed to over the fretboard - try holding the string against the highest fret (even with the p'up(s) loooow down) and slap it a good strong one - this is the 'pop' I mean, and you can even hear it on Louis Johnson's bass solo on "aint we funky" - the notes he slaps have that 'pop', and his action is really low...
Anyway - hope this helps! I try to use a moderately low action, not oo low - with moderate p'up height - not too low, not to high as to be too boomy - I like to let the sound breathe a bit.
Thanks! JOHN

[chadds]

This could be a diet issue. At least try Beano.