Tap harmonics?

[Hippos Melas]

So I've searched and read several ways to do tap harmonics. The most common response is that you should fret a note then tap the octave above it to get the harmonic. However, I'm interested in how to do tap harmonics like this guy does in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzIT6iWsIA4

He's obviously not fretting all those notes...his left hand hardly moves.

[MonetBass]

Just as you can get several harmonics from an open string (octave, 5th, octave, Maj 3rd, etc), you can tap the various harmonic intervals for a fretted note. That's what the guy in the video is doing.

[Hippos Melas]

Oh. So he's fretting a note somewhere and tapping the correct intervals for the harmonics?

[Invisible_Kid]

Looks like it, Hippos.

[perfektspace6]

Originally Posted by Hippos Melas

So I've searched and read several ways to do tap harmonics. The most common response is that you should fret a note then tap the octave above it to get the harmonic. However, I'm interested in how to do tap harmonics like this guy does in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzIT6iWsIA4

He's obviously not fretting all those notes...his left hand hardly moves.

That is a very cool piece he plays.

Keep in mind that a lot relies on the way you EQ and the type of strings you use.

You are going to need to boost the treble end of things quite a bit and using steel or nickel rounds is going to help a lot. Billy Sheehan is a good example of the type of tone that produces great tapped harmonics. He has a solo piece from the eighties that has some amazingly clean tapped harmonic runs. Not a monster Billy fan but this piece is killer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvR3H...eature=related
-A whole bunch around the 40 sec. mark

[Hippos Melas]

Boosted treble won't be an issue at all. Any tips on actually getting them to ring out though? I can't seem to get good quality tone out of my tapped harmonics. How do you do them properly?

[LanEvo]

Originally Posted by Hippos Melas

I can't seem to get good quality tone out of my tapped harmonics. How do you do them properly?

If you want harmonics to really jump out at you, it helps to run some gain and/or compression.

If you want to do the same thing at lower gain levels and without significant compression, you'll generally have better luck emphasizing the bridge pickup. Single-coils seem to help, too. A Jazz Bass with the bridge pickup "dimed" and the neck pickup rolled off is generally pretty easy to ping.

Originally Posted by Hippos Melas

Boosted treble won't be an issue at all.

FWIW, I've found mids to be just as important as highs. Listen to anything by Jaco, for example. He generally has his treble turned way down and his mids emphasized, yet he has no trouble with harmonics. You don't need tons of highs to get that clean, crisp ring.

[retardedpossum]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzIT6iWsIA4
i love this!

[Hippos Melas]

Originally Posted by LanEvo

If you want harmonics to really jump out at you, it helps to run some gain and/or compression.

If you want to do the same thing at lower gain levels and without significant compression, you'll generally have better luck emphasizing the bridge pickup. Single-coils seem to help, too. A Jazz Bass with the bridge pickup "dimed" and the neck pickup rolled off is generally pretty easy to ping.

FWIW, I've found mids to be just as important as highs. Listen to anything by Jaco, for example. He generally has his treble turned way down and his mids emphasized, yet he has no trouble with harmonics. You don't need tons of highs to get that clean, crisp ring.

I have a Musicman Sterling HH...I guess I'll run it in single coil mode on both pickups for starters. Or just run one pickup alone and boost the mids and treble. I was more inquiring about form though. Where do I tap: on the frets, just behind them, etc?

[oniman7]

http://www.youtube.com/user/GBagley#p/u/5/VEremP5vo-E


Thought this might be relevant to your interests. The first 4 minutes is the new version, the last 4 minutes is the original recording.

[perfektspace6]

Originally Posted by Hippos Melas

Any tips on actually getting them to ring out though? I can't seem to get good quality tone out of my tapped harmonics. How do you do them properly?

You are probably killing the harmonic by not performing the strike quickly enough.

Practice quickly tapping the string with a sufficient amount of force directly on top of the fret-wire and doing it quickly enough so that you allow the harmonic to ring out without dampening it unintentionally.

I typically do this with my pointer and middle finger coming down at the same time with my wrist moving slightly. Middle finger gets the job for a single harmonic, the pointer is added for another (if needed), the ring finger for another (if needed).

Not sure how else to explain more explicitly. You will know it is right. It won't take that long to get the the technique down. Not sure how useful it is but it's fun to play around with.

[Hippos Melas]

So I'm hitting the string directly on the fret wire? Ok...I'm doing that part right. I'm definitely dampening the string too much though. I'll work on that next time I pick up my bass after work tomorrow. Thanks!

[stepswork4me]

Definitely use a very quick percussive tap.

[stepswork4me]

...also, lift your hand quickly and don't allow your palm to hit your strings as you lift.

[Hippos Melas]

Awesome. Thanks for the info and help!

[perfektspace6]

When I saw this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wh4Z...eature=channel

I thought of this thread. Gives a good visual for one way to tap harmonics. He's a slap guy so using his thumb ( I assume that's why) but same idea.

(The Metallica covers are pretty damn cool as well)

[varunkapahi]

its the warwick mids