Volume loss when tapping

[funkalicious101]

ever time i got from plucking to tapping i seem to lose an increadible ammount of volume. is there any way around this without just turning up the volume on my bass?

[funkybassplayer]

tap MUCH harder. haha sorry man. i wish i cuolod help you. i have the same issue though. good question.

[ibanezcollector]

tap harder?

I ran into a similar thing, and I cured alot of it with just a little more pressure.

But you could also try boosting your mids a touch, or even a compressor pedal to juice up the signal a little. And make things more even

[funkalicious101]

yeah, im kinda new to tapping so i had a feeling i just need to tap harder

[Kalyptic]

The others are right to a degree. When i started tapping, it was really hard because i started on a real old bass with heavy strings. So what i did to get acurracy and make it easy to put on pressure is, i anchored the thumb of my picking hand on the neck, this gives better grip. you wont need to do it all all after a while, so youll be able to move around a bit.
You should also get an active bass if you dont have one.

hope it works out

[Rattlehead]

Also it much easier to tap if your strings are low, and it is also much easier to produce louder sounds.

[blackbassist]

lower your strings.
get a compressor?

just suggestions, not sure about the compressor one

[animal52]

I've got the same problem. I occasionally tap on my SR506 ( really really low action, active bass) but I lose volume... alot of volume. 90% of that is probably my technique, but I also wonder what kind of EQ and effects setup gives the most volume when tapping. Perhaps I'll have to try a compressor when I get the money.

[JimmyM]

Never cure technique problems with equipment. Forget about the compressor. Learn to tap harder and lower the strings a little.

[Rattlehead]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Never cure technique problems with equipment.

Why does everyone always say that?
Some techniques have natural characteristics that are very difficult to change, and equipment might be the way to go.
I'm sure you wouldn't tell someone who is complaining that their bass loses volume when they change from slapping to finger plucking that they have a technique problem and that they should practice plucking harder.

Although yes, I agree that for tapping, you should be able to do it without losing too much volume.

One other possibility we haven't considered is that maybe he or she is plucking too hard, so that the tapping is less loud in comparison. A lot of seasoned bass players will recommend playing with a light touch, for many reasons.

[Koki]

That's normal. Only thing you can do is to tap harder but that still won't be loud as plucking.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Rattlehead

Why does everyone always say that?
Some techniques have natural characteristics that are very difficult to change, and equipment might be the way to go.
I'm sure you wouldn't tell someone who is complaining that their bass loses volume when they change from slapping to finger plucking that they have a technique problem and that they should practice plucking harder.

Although yes, I agree that for tapping, you should be able to do it without losing too much volume.

Thank you for answering your own question. And BTW, yes I would tell them that it's a technique problem if their slapping was a lot louder than their plucking. But I would probably tell them to back off the slapping slightly instead of plucking harder.

Listen, equipment does not make up for poor technique, nor is it supposed to. Ever. Even a compressor can't make up for poor technique. It helps a little, but that's not what it does or what it's supposed to do.

[Rattlehead]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

And BTW, yes I would tell them that it's a technique problem if their slapping was a lot louder than their plucking. But I would probably tell them to back off the slapping slightly instead of plucking harder.

Hmmmm.
Then it would appear that I have a technique problem because my slapping is louder than my finger plucking. And I'd even say that I pluck relatively hard and slap relatively soft ... maybe I should be slapping even softer?
I'm not even sure that I can ... I'm learning double thump, and in order to get the upstroke on the thumb to sound as loud and clearly as the downward stroke you've got to use enough force so that the string snaps back onto the frets. The sound of the string hitting the frets that you get with slap makes it noticably louder than finger plucking.

Unless there's something I'm doing wrong? (and if so how can I fix it?)

Of course, when I finger pluck real hard so as to deliberately make the strings hit the frets, then they are about the same volume.


Anyway another example where I would argue that volume difference isn't necessarily a technique problem is between normal finger plucking and finger plucking where your finger doesn't rest on the string below it after it has plucked (which is necessary if you want to play parts with adjacent ringing strings). With this technique you are plucking pretty much directly away from the body of the bass, and you pretty much have to use less force to prevent the string from snapping back onto the frets.

Just some thoughts.

(btw I didn't, and still don't mean to be pretentious - I'm literally looking for insightful advice, and not meaning to imply that I'm right about anything I have said .... just in case I was beginning to leave that impression)

[lemur821]

In the case of tapping it's probably half technique and half equipment. 200 Hz or just above is a crucial frequency not to cut.

[Jazz Ad]

Compression is meant to help for that.

[Suckbird]

Well, don't tap then, it sounds like **** anyways.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Rattlehead

Hmmmm.
Then it would appear that I have a technique problem because my slapping is louder than my finger plucking. And I'd even say that I pluck relatively hard and slap relatively soft ... maybe I should be slapping even softer?
I'm not even sure that I can ... I'm learning double thump, and in order to get the upstroke on the thumb to sound as loud and clearly as the downward stroke you've got to use enough force so that the string snaps back onto the frets. The sound of the string hitting the frets that you get with slap makes it noticably louder than finger plucking.

Unless there's something I'm doing wrong? (and if so how can I fix it?)

Of course, when I finger pluck real hard so as to deliberately make the strings hit the frets, then they are about the same volume.

Anyway another example where I would argue that volume difference isn't necessarily a technique problem is between normal finger plucking and finger plucking where your finger doesn't rest on the string below it after it has plucked (which is necessary if you want to play parts with adjacent ringing strings). With this technique you are plucking pretty much directly away from the body of the bass, and you pretty much have to use less force to prevent the string from snapping back onto the frets.

Just some thoughts.

(btw I didn't, and still don't mean to be pretentious - I'm literally looking for insightful advice, and not meaning to imply that I'm right about anything I have said .... just in case I was beginning to leave that impression)

Nah, that's what the internet is for. Be pretentious all you want

So not having ever heard you play, you sound like you know what you're doing. I'm just wondering if you're making too big a deal out of it. Slap IS supposed to be louder than straight fingerstyle. I mean it's inevitable. But for what you gain in volume from the clanking, you lose in bass response, so it should sort of even itself out to the ears, but not entirely. It definitely shouldn't be a drastic kind of thing, but there should be a little more volume with the slap.

Now if you're sure you know what you're doing and you're still dissatisfied, then I'd say get a compressor. I use one. But I learned how to play and played professionally long before I ever thought of getting one, probably 5 or 6 years. But don't set it to squash.

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Compression is meant to help for that.

Not with EQ, I hope.

[Sir Edward V]

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

even a compressor pedal to juice up the signal a little

Compressor definitely helps.

to the debaters:

I think volume loss is a natural aspect of tapping and have no problem rectifying that by using an effect. Effects are made to make our job getting specific tones easier. You could create a volume swell with your hand on the volume knob, but a Slow Gear is so much more convenient. You could make wah-ish sounds by moving a tone knob up and down... And how hard would it be to bend a note one or two octave's up?? Sure being able to do those things well without effects would be very impressive, but I'd rather focus on the sound that is coming out of my amp than how it got there.

[chaosMK]

Compression, new-ish strings, a high quality bass can help.

My tapping is as loud as the rest of my playing.

On ranges of the bass where I've had volume issues while tappping (8-12 frets in the E/A/D area), I use a pretty percussive attack, more so than higher up (D/G 12-15)