How to get that crisp slap bass sound?

[Dickie_uk]

Hi,
I've been watching some absolutely brilliant South American slap bass players on YouTube. And they seem to have such a crisp sound. Whenever I try it it sounds awful and all rattly. The 'pop' doesn't sound too bad but the slap is terrible. And also I don't know how they slap/tap the D and G strings as they have no weight?
I guess my technique is lousy but also my bass set up must be wrong? I use medium guage roundwound strings and have them set pretty low as I don't have very strong fingers. My hands are probably more suited to guitar but I just love the rythmn section.

[Brad Johnson]

Keep at it. Practice is the key. You have to get better at controlling the string. Setup is important but I know guys with high action who sound great slapping. Work slowly vs. trying to have speed right out of the gate.

I actually play with pretty light left (fretting) and right (slap/popping) hand pressure, something I got used to doing... with practice. Good luck.

[Kwesi]

+1 to what Brad said. A lot of it is in the bass itself to. If these bass players are playing Ken Smiths and you've got a P bass it just isn't gonna happen, lol. If you are getting a lot of string rattle it might be worth it to either learn how to set up your basses or take them to someone who can.

[Dickie_uk]

Thanks guys, I will persevere.

I have heard somewhere that the thumb is supposed to bounce off the string. I will keep on trying.

[pandaman37]

watch youtube tutorials, learn all that you possibly can. i learned off of youtube, only been been playing 2 years and im in a couple bands, nothing super awesome, but hey, its what i started playing for.

keep playing man, maybe post youtube vids or get in contact with other bassists who can help diagnose your problem.

[Dellers]

I agree with the posts above. Practice is the key, I pretty much learned slapping on my own. It just took me a couple of months from I started playing bass to my slap technique was decent enough to play songs without too much trouble. Just practice, you'll get there. And yeah, there's a ton of stuff on youtube that may help you get there.

[FrettyBassGirl]

Im bad at slapping full stop, it's my only doubt with my bass playing, any tips??

[FrettyBassGirl]

Originally Posted by FrettyBassGirl

Im bad at slapping full stop, it's my only doubt with my bass playing, any tips??

Especially the higher strings, I can only seem to hit the low E string.

[jgroh]

Its is all practice. Try running scales up and down the neck but slap the notes. Play songs you play now with your fingers (or pick) but use your thumb instead.

[Remguy]

1. Learn to produce good slap sound with the amp off
2. Use bony bump on side of thumb to bounce off E and A strings, side of thumb at fingernail to strike though D and G strings
3. Motion is like turning door handle
4. Turn on amp* and clean up sound, i.e. L and R hand muting

*cut mids and use compressor/limiter if you have one

[conqr]

Originally Posted by Remguy

1. Learn to produce good slap sound with the amp off
2. Use bony bump on side of thumb to bounce off E and A strings, side of thumb at fingernail to strike though D and G strings
3. Motion is like turning door handle
4. Turn on amp* and clean up sound, i.e. L and R hand muting

*cut mids and use compressor/limiter if you have one

Don't agree with turning amp off at first. A new slapper needs the amp to learn the AMP must do the work. He works on 'unsticking' his hands from the bass, lightening up his touch and turning his hands into glorified drumsticks. Slap is light but firm percussion.

AFTER muscle memory has kicked in and he knows what the right touch feels like in both hands, then he can practice anywhere with or without an amp, hard or soft as desired.

[Remguy]

to each his own, Conqr. I feel that the extra noise caused by incorrect slapping is discouraging and distracts from correct form. Since you and I can hear our presumably correct form with the amp off, it goes to reason that new slappers will home in on correct form without hearing all the extraneous garbage emanating from their amplifiers. Think of it as a cheap filter. I do agree, however, they have their jobs cut out for them learning to clean up their sound once amplified, but hey, don't we all? I wouldn't correct a new swimmer's form the first time I threw them in a pool, I'd just care that they kept their heads above water (in this case, slap that sounds reasonable, plugged or unplugged). Don't you agree?

Finally, let me say IT'S JUST A SUGGESTION. I am not a fully qualified, full time professional bass instructor, I am another hack slogging along with the rest of the herd who has learned to slap reasonably well in the last few years and wanted to pass along some suggestions. Thank you.

[conqr]

Neither am I a pro Remguy, I guess we just came to that place of comfort from different directions. My reasoning is that unamplified, a very common mistake is exerting too much force/effort to produce a sound you can hear acoustically - this varies with instrument. I therefore feel it's safer to start amped to learn what a basic correct 'bounce off the string' feels like in the hands. Cheers.

[Remguy]

[Skitch it!]

Horses for courses, but I would say that practicing amplified does highlight the muting/accuracy requirement to get a cleaner approach/technique. I'd rather the problems emphasized to isolate and address them, my 2 pence.

[Remguy]

Okay, come you guys! I wrote my shtick for those frustrated beginners out there who started or added to this thread. Could I hear back from them if my suggestions help or hurt and skip the academic peer review process as if this were going to be carved in gold and put in a space probe as the final and definitive word on slap technique?

Oh, and I wish I had included something in my quicklist: start by slap-popping octaves. It's easier than scales, pop tunes, Marcus Miller solos, etc.; it gets the wrist going back and forth correctly and sounds fun-KAY. Can someone put that in the capsule before launching?

[Skitch it!]

Originally Posted by Remguy

Okay, come you guys! I wrote my shtick for those frustrated beginners out there who started or added to this thread. Could I hear back from them if my suggestions help or hurt and skip the academic peer review process as if this were going to be carved in gold and put in a space probe as the final and definitive word on slap technique?

Oh, and I wish I had included something in my quicklist: start by slap-popping octaves. It's easier than scales, pop tunes, Marcus Miller solos, etc.; it gets the wrist going back and forth correctly and sounds fun-KAY. Can someone put that in the capsule before launching?

Easy tiger, no-one is getting on your case as far as I can see. I herein apologize if my post was taken as such but it's just a mere suggestion, a difference of opinion on that particular point, no big deal, take your time.

[john grey]

Originally Posted by jgroh

Its is all practice. Try running scales up and down the neck but slap the notes. Play songs you play now with your fingers (or pick) but use your thumb instead.

This helped me BIG-TIME. I simply pulled everything I could manage over to my thumb. Eventually I was getting fairly clean "D" string notes. With popping I tried all sorts of things including "pinching" the strings & would run up to the "A" string. Starting simply with walking Bass lines, scales, doodles from songs, whatever.....I eventually added triplets with the same concept, etc.

This is where fresh strings makes serious difference at first. But after a time even old strings could sound fine when that tiny element of control of the contact point of both thumb and fret get to be second nature.
I have practiced without an amp. But I reserved this for rhythmic practice specifically. That was where the value of beginner's drummer's books helped a great deal as well. I still do it while watching TV. I'll work out a right and left hand agenda that's similar to playing bongos.

[Remguy]

I've had my pre/post/during dinner drinks and I'm now too relaxed to drive . I hear your feedback and understand where y'all r coming from - we all want what's best for newbies asking for our sage advice ('cause that RARELY happens in the real world).

I guess it's the time frame that's throwing people off here. I'm expecting my little checklist to take only a sitting or two. Just enough to get people up and running, producing a satisfying thwack when they whack. Once they can start and stop a note (and maybe slap/pop octaves up and down four semitones a la disco) they then need to play amplified as soon as possible for all the same reasons you have outlined so carefully in preceding emails. I heard Jaco say that it took him a year to play all the notes in Donna Lee and something like eleventeen years to learn all the notes and noises NOT to play in Donna Lee. My point is...

***BEGINNERS TAKE NOTE***
... keeping your bass quiet when using slap technique is probably more important
than learning to make the "slap sound" in the first place. This can only be learned
with the amplifier turned (way) up.

So basically, after the first sitting or two, I am in total agreement with you guys. So, if you will allow, my advice is simply to build a little confidence, and get a little satisfaction, while taking that first step unplugged while learning to make true slap tones on the electric bass.

Okay, hurl your rocks and bottles. Call me a heretic and burn me at the stack (he, he). What I'd really like is to hear from a newbie, maybe even the OP, someone who's actually tried out my suggestion and hear what they have to say about it. I am totally prepared to fall on my sword if my well-intentioned-but-off-target advice was not helpful or even counterproductive.

[Remguy]

Um...did ANY newbies try my suggestion...he, he (gulp)?