Working on slap tone

[BassplayerBrian]

I keep hearing people say a lot that the sound is mostly in your hands, which I believe is true, and I've found a sound that I'm slightly comfortable with fingerstyle, but I want to be able to go between fingerstyle and slapping without having to go and dick around with my EQ.
What sorts of things can one do with their technique to work on making that slap sound really fat without touching the EQ? My slaps are very precise(at least I think so) and they hit hard and I think it sounds okay, but I think it's possible to get better and I was wondering what areas of the slapping motion/striking surface you guys would try and change to bring out a fatter sound?

[Wootsticks]

The mids, cut them a bit.

EDIT: Oh, without touching the EQ, sorry. Maybe pluck closer to the bridge and slap a bit closer to the neck to bring the two sounds closer together.

[JimmyM]

It's all in the thumb and hitting the string where it makes a full-sounding note as opposed to a clack. You don't have to kill the string, but you should hit it with some force. And concentrate on making a clear and ringing note.

[Wootsticks]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

It's all in the thumb and hitting the string where it makes a full-sounding note as opposed to a clack. You don't have to kill the string, but you should hit it with some force. And concentrate on making a clear and ringing note.

I used to do this. I would beat the **** out of my bass, but in the end it ended up sounding muffled and, well, bad. Slow down a LOT. Like, you might practice something in half time, but I mean WAAAY down. Let the slapped notes ring. Then slowly work back up to speed, and there will be a drastic improvement.

Don't look at flea, it don't take your whole arm to slap.

[Hella]

Like I read somewhere else on this forum, the term "thump" is more accurate than "slap" because you don't have to murder it with your thumb.

[BassplayerBrian]

i see, so i need to go over the basics again and that should help more? Sounds like a good plan to me!

[GreggBummer]

I agree with what everyone said. Just a alternate point of view...

If you need two different EQ settings you could always use an EQ pedal. I have buddy that does this... I don't find it necessary, but it is a technique.

[SubGuitar]

Following through on the slap (eg. wooten) will push out the low end better than bouncing off (eg. mark king). I find that you can get more volume with less aggressive attack using this method, and it sounds a lot thicker.

I find the harder you pop a string the more 'twangy' it sounds, and so using a lighter pop actually sounds fuller.

Compression can help too, as it will tame those high pitched transients.

[Stumbo]

Which bass do you have?
What kind of strings are you using?