Playing fingerstyle by the neck and slap&pop. Is it possible???

greencow · #1 05-09-2008, 06:34 AM

My bass teacher suggested we'd check out some new technique like slapping.

MY action however was extremely high because I play together with a pianist and she likes the sound you get when your right hand sits right at the neck or even at the 17th-18th fret(very round and full, not much highs).

So what I've done is I lowered the action quite a bit. I've also tightened the neck relief.(just my teachers suggestion for easier playing and it is easier to play)

My problem isn't fret buzz. It is that even when playing with a light touch I tend to get some clanks in because the string hits the fret next to the note being fretted(so when I play a B on the E string the clank comes from the string touching the 8th fret.) This just happens when I'm playing by the neck...

So do I really have to choose between playing styles? Or is there any way to get a nice round style while playing at the neck pickup? Also how much tension in my neck is enough and how much is to much?

bassist 4 life · #2 05-09-2008, 06:53 AM

playing by the neck will make your sound clankier since the strings are loose there. just try to make your touch lighter, you just switched from high action to medium/low action so itll take you some time to adjust.

What you want is that you want to have a little bit of relief on your neck, check the stickies on this forum. www.tunemybass.com, they have a descriptive setup tutorial there.

greencow · #3 05-09-2008, 12:26 PM

I already guessed it comes down to practice because I only start to clank the strings when I play something faster(which could actually be played by the neck pickup because faster bits tend to sound better with a little more attack to them.)

I've just lost my ability to play around with my dynamics...

Ok. So any other recommendations besides getting my attack strength under control?

Mushroo · #4 05-09-2008, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencow

So any other recommendations besides getting my attack strength under control?

Try plucking the string with less "skin" of your plucking finger. In other words, just "brush the tip" of the plucking finger over the string, rather than "hooking" your finger under the string and pulling it. This might sound "thin" at first, but with practice, you will be able to control the sound.

greencow · #5 05-09-2008, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mushroo

Try plucking the string with less "skin" of your plucking finger. In other words, just "brush the tip" of the plucking finger over the string, rather than "hooking" your finger under the string and pulling it. This might sound "thin" at first, but with practice, you will be able to control the sound.

Thx. I was wondering if it was ok to use such a light touch.

dbcandle · #6 05-12-2008, 05:30 AM

You may want to consider flat-wound strings.

You can get a less "piano-like" sound from round-wounds by plucking over the neck, but I the fundamental issue may be the type of strings you have. I'm assuming you have round-wounds.

There is a good forum on Talkbass about strings if you are interested.

GeneralElectric · #7 05-12-2008, 08:02 AM

You might want to try this in the technique forum

greencow · #8 05-12-2008, 08:39 AM

I am using flats. The bass is a Yamaha rbx 270 J/P pickups and gives a really nice variety of tone.

I guess the Hartke B300 is not the best amp for that mellow sound but I'm looking to upgrade on that.

About the strings though. Anyone here had any troubles with Ernie Ball flats. My E string seems like it is about to unwind at the bridge(I didn't put them on)