Tips on getting those harmonics out?

Tupac · #1 08-22-2011, 04:16 PM

I can get them to work, just not loudly. They sound utterly puny in volume compared to fingerstyle. I lift my finger off as quickly as possible.

How did Jaco do it?

Ezmar · #2 08-22-2011, 06:26 PM

Well, in general, you have to be very precise about your finger placement. For example, the 3rd 4th and 5th fret harmonics; 5th is ON the fret, 4th is slightly BEHIND the fret, and 3rd is slightly AHEAD OF the fret. Just learn where they are. And The older the string is, the worse the harmonics will be. If you don't already, use Stainless Steel Rounds, because they have the best high register response. also make sure that you're not rolling off too much of the highs on the EQ.

M.Wrenn · #3 08-22-2011, 06:30 PM

compression

Strohsx · #4 08-22-2011, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.Wrenn

compression

And mids

Also a good setup

Ezmar · #5 08-22-2011, 06:32 PM

Not too much compression, because that makes your entire sound less dynamic. If you're playing stuff like Jaco, you need to have that wide dynamic range. Compression will help make the quiet harmonics as loud as your regular notes, but at the cost of dynamic contrast.

Jazz Ad · #6 08-22-2011, 06:35 PM

Lots and lots of hi mids and practice.

bskts247 · #7 08-22-2011, 06:35 PM

what i do is this. i keep the highs slightly higher than the lows on my amp, turn up the mids and keep the gain (if you have it) at around half. if you have an active bass i would turn up the mids and the highs all the way and then the bass at half. on any bass the best thing is to keep the tone all the way up and if u can (like on a jazz bass) keep the neck pickup off and the bridge pickup all the way up. i hope that makes since. if it doesn't i learned all my harmonic stuff from videos on youtube. there are good harmonic videos. here is victor wooten explaining it

Slap Harmonico - Victor Wooten - YouTube

grendle · #8 08-22-2011, 08:44 PM

Roll off the front pup a bit. It usually makes the harmonics jump more.

JZQuantum · #9 08-23-2011, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grendle

Roll off the front pup a bit. It usually makes the harmonics jump more.

What he said. If you have a jazz type bass, soloing the bridge pickup will make them seem to jump from the fretboard. Of course you'd need to have a good technique too...lightly touching the string with the fretting hand at the proper location and plucking with the right hand. Then of course there are false harmonics as can be heard in the beginning part of the song "birdland" that jaco played. Google it if you don't know already.

**colcifer** · #10 08-23-2011, 08:28 PM

Like was said, lots of high mids, high action, and...

Practice

chaosMK · #11 08-24-2011, 01:22 AM

Good equipment helps. Brighter EQ helps.

My first $80 bass (a "Biscayne 4".. what the heck is that?) with rusty strings through a Gorilla-5 guitar amp made harmonics and bass playing in general an uphill battle to say the least.

mpdd · #12 08-24-2011, 10:30 AM

my mij62rijazz and d180 produce some pretty ballsy harmonics on the e and a strings with a 115

JTE · #13 08-24-2011, 11:01 AM

Yep, it boils down to:

A. Knowing where the node is on the string and fingering them so you don't damp them.
B. Having a rig (strings, pickups, EQ, etc.) that produce enough high frequency to hear them clearly.
C. Using the pickups that will sense the harmonic- a Precision PUP is right under the node for certain common harmonics on the D and G strings, so they don't come out of the amp^*
D. Plucking them hard enough to get the relative volume up.

^*I worked out a very cool intro to a song using harmonics. I practiced it home unamplified, and we rehearsed it while I was playing my StingRay. At the first gig I was playing the Precision, and had forgotten that two key notes were nodes the Precision PUP wouldn't sense

John

Rockin Mike · #14 08-24-2011, 11:05 AM

It helps to have really hard calluses on your fingertips. Cuts down on damping.

nysbob · #15 08-24-2011, 11:29 AM

I sometimes do a short solo that's all harmonics and use a ratt pedal to bring the gain and highs up a little.

Sharp attack with your plucking hand also helps.

Jay2U · #16 08-24-2011, 03:55 PM

Knowing where to find the harmonic is step one. The next step is knowing where to pick or finger the string. Some examples:
1) The harmonic at the 12 th fret is simple to accomplish. Now try it after picking the string at the 12 th fret. You'll notice that touching the string for producing the harmonic now perfectly mutes it.
2) Touch a string at the 7 th fret and agitate the string just between the bridge and the neck. This should produce a nice harmonic. Now repeat this hitting the string near fret 19. It won't produce anything but 'THUMB'.
The higher the harmonic, the more critical this is.