Playing Slap...How do I eq my sound?

[Goose72]

How do I set up my jazz bass to get that really snarly slap sound?(give me a number to postion my knobs on...neck p'up, bridge p'up, and tone)
How should i eq my amp?(it has Bass,Mid, and High)

Thanks guys...sorry if this is the wrong place for this.

[Vengoropatubus]

This might not be the best place for this, but I'll take a shot at answering anyway.

I find that my "snarliest" slap tones come when I use only the bridge pup on 10, and turn my tone up until it sounds right. On the amp, I suggest cutting the bass, raising the mids and leaving the treble around 5 somewhere.

Disclaimer: Your experience may vary, depending on what sort of jazz bass you have, what sort of pups it has on it, what sort of amp you're using, and what your signal chain might look like.

[uethanian]

for me, i like having both pickup knobs at an equal strength, and having the tone at about half way.

and for the amp, i like
bass:5, bass-mid:7, treble-mid:5, treble:7

[Koki]

I like to boost the highs and lows and scoop the mids on amp. I use both pickups.
As for tone control on passive basses, I don't use that at all, I like clear, not muddy sound, especially for slap

[Vengoropatubus]

You don't get a growly/snarly tone from scooping mids though, do you?

[alexofc69]

I use about 55% neck PU, 45% bridge PU. Turn the tone know to about 70-75%. On my amp SCOOP THE MIDS! Boost your lows and highs. I add growl to my slap tone with my Tech21 SansAmp (thats a whole other mess of settings).

[Koki]

Originally Posted by Vengoropatubus

You don't get a growly/snarly tone from scooping mids though, do you?

I cut the mids for slap so the highs get that snappy sound and lows give the low end.. As for fingerstyle I boost the mids to get that growl.. You can boost the mids for slap but than you get that claypool sound which I don't like, sounds too plastic

[Alun]

Which players do you like regarding slap sounds? That'll give me a better idea of how to advise.

Cheers,
Alun

[tbone409]

bridge pickup on full, neck pup on to taste, tone knob cranked
as for eq if i have new strings i can for the most part leave it flat. for older strings a slight cut in the low mids and a very slight boost in the highs.

slap influences on me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHdN_...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abkep...eature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-2kqXic5aY4

[T. B. Player]

IMHO, depends on the pre-amp in your bass (don't know if it's modded or stock).

In my experience, stock electronics are crap in just about any commericially available instrument, so a changeout is your first step - to a Bartolini, Aguilar, Demeter, Glockenklang or Audere. The second thing to remember is that your tone will change based on the room you're playing in. Tone is just a matter of changing frequencies, and although the electronics and the amplification will tweak freqencies to give you the "tone" you're looking for, the shape of the room and the material within it will have an effect on what you hear. You might set up a great tone, and take it into a room where you start to feedback on a particular note. You'd have to adjust the frequency range of where that note will fall in the Hz spectrum, which will change your tone.

All that said, the woods of your instrument are the first "tone" establishers.

On to the pre-amp electronics -

If you go with a Bartolini, I've found they really don't "kick in" until they're past the halfway point. For me, I turn everything all the way up - just like you do in a studio. If your not using amplifiers in the studio, and just listening through headphones, then turning them all the way up gives the producer and engineer complete control over the sound. Similarly, when performing, you can then shape your tone you're looking for with your amp, and then use your bass controls only if you want to back off. This also saves everyone from "turning up" whenever they can't hear themselves and a gig turning into a noisefest.

IME, the absolute BEST sound I've ever got out of my basses is when I run them through a mixer and into the computer for creating tunes. I've never liked the sound through any amp I've ever played through that I can afford except my vintage Polytone...and that's for jazz. Maybe one of these days I'll run my instruments through a Thunderfunk or Eden Navigator head and a couple of Schroeder cabs...but until then, I just gotta settle for what I can get.

Try running your instrument controls all the way up and just adjust your amp head. REALLY works great if you have only a 2 band EQ on your bass.

Z

[T. B. Player]

Originally Posted by tbone409

bridge pickup on full, neck pup on to taste, tone knob cranked
as for eq if i have new strings i can for the most part leave it flat. for older strings a slight cut in the low mids and a very slight boost in the highs.

slap influences on me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHdN_...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abkep...eature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-2kqXic5aY4

Quite EXCELLENT examples. Note the Marcus Miller and Griglak are very close in tone with a dryer snap, and the middle video had a little more midrange to it. That's all a function of the fingerboard - maple gives you the dry snap, rosewood gives you a more mellow, "rounded" tone. The wood of the body of the bass plays a more important role in your "groove" of the bass line rather than on the snap/pop/slap stuff. If you're using your electronics to fight the tonalities of the wood, it's a losing battle.

Z

[juraj]

Originally Posted by Goose72

How do I set up my jazz bass to get that really snarly slap sound?(give me a number to postion my knobs on...neck p'up, bridge p'up, and tone)
How should i eq my amp?(it has Bass,Mid, and High)

Thanks guys...sorry if this is the wrong place for this.

On my head EBS 350 I have bass and high flat,I boost littlebit mid 300 -400 hz for Marcus sound,and I add littlebit bass on Sadowsky preamp.Compresor helps lot.Both pickups on.(dont forget to wash your strings :-)

[Lincoln]

The Marcus Miller method is fairly simple - turn both pickups all the way on.

Also, Ash/Maple combo makes a difference as do high output pups and a an active preamp.

[Scot]

Both pups all the way up. Boost bass a little and cut mids to taste. Boost highs to taste, depending on the age of the strings.

[mccartjm]

try stainless steel strings and low action before you start messing with the EQ

[AlphaMale]

On a 3 band EQ
Cut the mids all the way. Leave high and lows in the at 12 o clock. Boost them if you'd like, just try not to get nay distortion. I'd boost them all the way if I could get it clean. Also turn your Tone up all the way on your bass.

[CapnSev]

I find that the best slap tone for me, is just plain ol' flat.

[chicagodoubler]

just like the previous poster, I prefer to leave it alone. Find one tone that works for you for all the styles you play and work on getting the sound you want out of your hands! That way you don't have to fool around with EQ settings between songs... when you should be checking out your audience and drinking libations.

Me, I prefer rocking out to messing with knobs.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by alexofc69

I use about 55% neck PU, 45% bridge PU.

+1

But my tone is at about 4/10 (usually it is at 2 or less) and bass as always is at 10.

Difference between my normal setup and my slap setup is a bit more high end and a bit more neck p/u.

[chicagodoubler]

Guys, seriously.

There are not that many songs where it's appropriate to slap the whole time, unless you're in a Graham Central Station cover band. Watch Oteil and Victor- they don't change anything going from fingerstyle to slap, and their tone stays fat and thick the whole time.

Good tone is good tone. And it comes from your hands.