Bass Slide Intro to Pearl Jam - Even Flow

[Jim Powers]

Anyone know how it's done? Sounds like the bassist rings the strings with a flick of his finger then slides up the neck, but it seems like there must be an octaver or other effect involved to get the high pitch ring.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

No octaver there. A sliding harmonic is an effect that can be easily achieved on a fretless bass (it can be done on a fretted too, but within a comparatively limited range): Play the harmonic as you normally do and then slide your finger on the string, "fretting" it when you reach your target pitch (Click here for another brief example from a song I recorded with a rock band). In "Even Flow", a sliding perfect fourth interval can be heard, so Jeff Ament most likely did it on two strings at the same time.

Hope this helps.

Edit: Hey! A fellow Rickenbacker Club member!

[elpelotero]

if anyone can post a vid of how to do this, it'd be awesome. I've been trying to do slide harmonics for years and have no results to show.

how hard or soft are we supposed to press down?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by elpelotero

how hard or soft are we supposed to press down?

As hard as you like, as long as the string makes contact with the fingerboard only when your finger reaches the target spot.

[Alun]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

As hard as you like, as long as the string makes contact with the fingerboard only when your finger reaches the target spot.

Hmm, that's not really true, or certainly not the way I can get it to work, or have ever seen it done sorry.

The way I would suggest is - play the harmonic as normal, press down so that the string is "fretted" and then slide it as desired. Sliding without pushing down the string to the board will not make the sound you're referring to as far as I can make out.

Cheers,
Alun

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Alun

Hmm, that's not really true, or certainly not the way I can get it to work, or have ever seen it done sorry.

The way I would suggest is - play the harmonic as normal, press down so that the string is "fretted" and then slide it as desired. Sliding without pushing down the string to the board will not make the sound you're referring to as far as I can make out.

Cheers,
Alun

I think the problem here is the order in which things happen. If you press down the string against the fingerboard before doing the slide, you'll kill the harmonic and what you'll get is a "regular" sliding note. The string must be pressed against the fingerboard, for sure, but just at the end of the slide in order to keep the harmonic alive. That's the reason why sliding harmonics don't work that well on a fretted bass: The frets kill the harmonic so early in the process.

[joelb79]

so couldn't you just use a slide?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Alun

Hmm, that's not really true, or certainly not the way I can get it to work, or have ever seen it done sorry.

The way I would suggest is - play the harmonic as normal, press down so that the string is "fretted" and then slide it as desired. Sliding without pushing down the string to the board will not make the sound you're referring to as far as I can make out.

Cheers,
Alun

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I think the problem here is the order in which things happen. If you press down the string against the fingerboard before doing the slide, you'll kill the harmonic and what you'll get is a "regular" sliding note. The string must be pressed against the fingerboard, for sure, but just at the end of the slide in order to keep the harmonic alive. That's the reason why sliding harmonics don't work that well on a fretted bass: The frets kill the harmonic so early in the process.

OK. I re-checked it in slow motion and you are right. If I slide on the string without pressing it, no sound will ring. The combination of pressing + sliding creates the effect. Never took the time to analyze it in slow motion. Thank you for that!

[Alun]

No problem

And yes, joelb79, you could use a slide but if you do , you'll probably find it easier to use arrtificial harmonics if you do - I always struggle to get natural harmonics with a slide ( you could always use a finger for the harmonic then place the slide in exactly the same spot, but it is tricky to do accurately).

Cheers,
Alun

[EmperorDoom]

What Jaco does is he mutes the string with his right hand thumb and picks behind his thumb with his fingers. its called a false harmonic and you can play it on any note.

[Jim Powers]

Thanks for the replys; I suspected a fretless was necessary since there are not fret sounds in the slide on the recordings. I'll add it to my list of reasons I should add a fretless to my stable!

[elpelotero]

here's a vid of them doing it live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXV001UEGM

seems like a fretless to me. (i.e. i'm screwed!)

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by elpelotero

seems like a fretless to me.

Exactly. Good video!

[KYJazzy]

you can't do it unless your skipping backwards sliding 5 feet on one foot.

'snot a tv studio.......JOOOSHH!!!!

[Jim Powers]

Originally Posted by joelb79

so couldn't you just use a slide?

Joel, I think he's got a small slide on his ring finger after studying the video.

[mutedeity]

You can always bend the note once you press on the fingerboard with a fretted bass, this limits you to how far you can bend the string though. The slide is possible though, but takes a lot of practice since the frets do have a tendency to intone other fundamentals as you move over them. I learned to slide harmonics on fretted way before I even had a fretless. Still, playing them on a fretless sounds a lot nicer in my opinion and you have more control over them.

[stedtale]

sliding harmonics...on a fretless...pretty simple.