Odd techniques

[Phlapp]

Hi all, I'm gunna struggle putting into words what I mean so please bear with me (my first post!)

Every now and then I hear on a track some cool/weird sounds coming from the bass player, normally during a drum break or a quiet spell or when the bass groove takes a break and the player adds some 'sound effects' during a drum fill. I don't just mean the odd slide up and down the E string but some odd tapping/harmonic type sounds.

I was wondering if you peeps could tell me some of the weirder techniques for getting sound effect type sounds from my bass.

Hope this makes sense!

[Swimming Bird]

Well, I'm going to assume that this technique would be some sort of odd sound in place of a fill. If so, I think I know where you're coming from on this...

If you're going for high pitched sound, tap or play some partial harmonics for an upper-octave fill. Slid harmonics sound amazing too.

For a lower registered odd sound, go for feedback (if you can manage it - it's hard to do with a solidbody bass at reasonable volumes) or beat your bass to get a sort of simulated feedback that's a little percussive. What I mean is whack either the body of the bass or the bridge (but not the strings) with your hand. Really. It sounds odd, but I think it can be cool. Better yet -- whack the bridge then hammer-on harmonics.

[K2000]

Do a Search on this forum, there was an extensive thread on this topic with some cool ideas. I can't remember when I saw it though.