just can't get a strong sound

[Pumpkin_Howie]

i started slap but i can't get a good strong sound out of the A and D strings when i slap them. i get a good one out of my E string though. I will put up a video of what i'm doing if it helps. thanks for any help

[the_fonz]

don't know how many times this has been said
POP D, PRACTICE A.

[chaosMK]

If you have a really cheap bass, super old nickel (as opposed to steel, which have more zing to them) strings, or the cheap bass is setup badly, it can be damn near impossible to get a decent slap sound (also, if you are going through a crappy guitar amp or something along those lines). I've been there.

[daffy]

I'm just starting to pick up slap technique after lots of finger style.

Took me ages to get a decent fat, slap sound out of each string, and while you don't often slap the higher ones, it can be very useful at times.

I found that I needed to slap the higher strings a little harder than the lower ones, and also a *lot* more accurately to get a good sound. There's a length of string at the end of the board where you can get a slap tone, and the G string slap range is a lot smaller than the E. I also found that I had to angle my thumb down a little to hit the G string properly in the right place.

Note that I didn't say I had to hit hard, but just harder than the low strings - I found it relatively easy to get the low strings sounding good, but once I got all the strings working my low string tone improved even more. Once I got the sound, then I worked on getting it consistently, then consistently at speed.

[JLW]

The only string that I pop is the G string (perverted jokes are all too easy for that one).

I find it WAY more efficient to slap the E, A and D strings and pop the G string.

At the same time, I play slap a lot and practice it several hours per day so I have a very accurate slapping technique. So it takes a lot of practice. If I could, I would just slap all 4 strings, but the G string doesn't create a strong enough sound when slapped. It needs to be popped.

I only pop the D string if that particular note needs emphasis.


The best way to get a good slap tone is practice. Seriously. Just keep doing it. over and over again. Odds are it isn't your bass. I learned to slap on the crappiest bass imagineable. Just keep trying.