Slap Plate on a Fretless

PJSShearer · #1 05-19-2009, 04:19 PM

Some years ago I had a luthier add a slap plate to my Yamaha BB400S fretless. We played around with it - raising and lowering it a couple of times, but couldn't really make it work. Around that time I packed my gear away and only started seriously playing again a couple of months ago. I'd like to get it to work, but when I slap and pull I get the dull thud of the strings hit the fingerboard rather than the plate.

Has anyone out there in Talkbass land got a slap plate to work? if so, what's the secret?. Or, if not, do I need a slapring? ;-)

Stickk · #2 05-19-2009, 04:20 PM

What's a slap plate?

PJSShearer · #3 05-19-2009, 04:27 PM

A slap plate is a piece of metal added to the end of the fingerboard so when you slap a fretless the strings bounce off of the piece of metal rather than the wood so it sounds like a fretted bass. You can see it in the pic...

elBandito · #4 05-19-2009, 04:35 PM

When you slap and pop, strings dont always hit the end of the neck. Probably more towards middle of the length of the string.

PJSShearer · #5 05-20-2009, 04:42 PM

True as it turns out - even though the thumb punches the strings at the end of the neck.

Actually, I'd only really heard rumours that these things existed prior to having mine fitted and I've not actually come across another one.

At the time somebody did suggest another way to get this effect would be to have a single fret at the end the neck, but that probably wouldn't have worked either.

I recall seeing a "hybrid" bass advertised in Guitar Player - fretless to the octave then fretted to the end of the neck and I'm sure I saw a fretless Bass with an Aluminium finger board - that'd slap fine!!.

MooseLumps · #6 05-20-2009, 04:44 PM

i did see someone with a slap plate on a wishbass, but i never did hear it.

BigOldHarry · #7 05-20-2009, 04:47 PM

Never even heard of such a thing... and I've been playing fretless for... lord, 25 years (and when I play fretted, I often slap and pop).

go figure. You learn something every day.

JDGA fan · #8 05-24-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

Has anyone out there in Talkbass land got a slap plate to work? if so, what's the secret?. Or, if not, do I need a slapring? ;-)

Doug Wilkes did in the 80's (http://www.wilkesguitars.co.uk/pages/history.htm); he called it a percussive fretless bass.