Sloppy buzzy b-string popping

[Michael Campbel]

I'm just starting to learn slapping and popping and working on some exercises my instructor has given me. I'll ask him about it at my next lesson, but my B-string is just god-awful. When I pop it, it buzzes like a freaking chainsaw. And trying to get a short staccato note from it is really hard.

Is there a setup rule-of-thumb for this (high action? low action? tight? loose? Thick string? Thin string), or is it just solely my own inexperience and lack of technique?

[bassic.science]

Is this the B-string as in the low B of a 5-string bass? I don't know if you can get good crisp tone from popping that, but I almost never pop that string (or even the E for that matter) so that's why I'm wondering if that really is the string you're talking about

[Michael Campbel]

Yes, sorry; low B on a 5-er.

[killersdude]

Originally Posted by Michael Campbel

I'm just starting to learn slapping and popping and working on some exercises my instructor has given me. I'll ask him about it at my next lesson, but my B-string is just god-awful. When I pop it, it buzzes like a freaking chainsaw. And trying to get a short staccato note from it is really hard.

Is there a setup rule-of-thumb for this (high action? low action? tight? loose? Thick string? Thin string), or is it just solely my own inexperience and lack of technique?

Try popping it with less force, it doesn't take excessive energy to get a good slap sound (unless you're slapping like flea). Honestly, if you are slapping through the string, there's no need to pop the low B. It's so low that you'll likely get a similar sound (to a popped note) if you just slap through it. Not that it's a rule to live by or anything, but my general technique with slap bass is to never pop lower than the A (and even with the A, I am very sparing). Hopefully this helps/makes sense, as I am typing it in the middle of an arranging class. Haha