Can you do Tapping with...?

[ninthwondernj]

Can you do tapping with any (well made) bass period? or are there certain specifications that the bass must have in order to tap?

P.s. Yes iam clueless

[Whafrodamus]

You can tap, slap, pluck, pick, and play any bass. They just need to be setup well.

[ninthwondernj]

now what do u mean by setup?....
as in what would i need to do to setup?

[lemur821]

A setup is when your bass gets adjusted to play like you want it to. A basic setup will involve adjustments of the truss rod, string height, and intonation correction. Normally you'll have new strings put on at the same time.

For tapping a low action setup with light strings is best, but you can tap with a more general setup too.

[Dasein]

I love tapping and pulling off on bass. Listen to Stu Hamm's stuff for awesome tapping. I started doing it after I heard his verson of "Linus and Lucy" on dvd my friend had.

But remember, tapping sounds like crap unless you master pulling-off. Just smashing the string down produces thin wussy notes, but when you pull-off effectively it leads into the next note with a lot more emphasis and clarity.

Les Claypool doesn't really do pull-offs too much but he doesn't so he achieves those silly sounding taps.

[Redhotbassist]

Its easier for tapping when the strings are setup (saddled) low closer the the fretboard, if there like more than half an inch off the fretboard its a bit of a struggle.

[lemur821]

If they're anywhere approaching half an inch you're in trouble for any kind of playing. Most people like their strings around an eighth of an inch above the frets. Some go lower; some go higher, but a quarter inch would be pushing it.