Fretless slapping

[Hookha]

I have fretless bass.

I love to do slapping!

how can I set my amp EQ or my Fretless bass guitar for the best slapping sound?

[lemur821]

What's the best slap sound?

[djlufkin]

I learned how to slap on a fretless. The attack is flatter and sustain is weaker than with a fretted. So in terms of eq, you might want to add some mid and high, but not a lot. Also, if your action is too low, the string will thud against the neck, dampening the bang you get more easily with frets. Hope this makes sense.

[slybass3000]

Don't expect to have the same sound on a fretless while slapping.
On the fretless you will have a more woody sound which is really cool.
The lack of frets will not give you the metallic sound of the fretted bass.
Don't bother trying to reproduce that with EQ.

SB

[ARCtrooper225]

Originally Posted by slybass3000

Don't expect to have the same sound on a fretless while slapping.
On the fretless you will have a more woody sound which is really cool.
The lack of frets will not give you the metallic sound of the fretted bass.
Don't bother trying to reproduce that with EQ.

SB

Because we all know that sound that we hear wood and metal make, throw a rebar into a forest and hold onto your horses!

[slybass3000]

Originally Posted by ARCtrooper225

Because we all know that sound that we hear wood and metal make, throw a rebar into a forest and hold onto your horses!

Sorry but I don't get it! I speak french. Please explain if it is worth it!

[Disco_Gee]

Originally Posted by slybass3000

Sorry but I don't get it! I speak french. Please explain if it is worth it!

Brother, I speak English and I don't get it.

[Planet Boulder]

Solo your bridge pickup (I see by your profile that you have a JJ setup on your fretless). Works for me and i slap on my fretless.

Be forewarned, by slapping on a fretless, you are likely to wear down the heel of your fretboard. But then, I'm wearing down the heel on one of my fretted basses, so what the hell - slap yourself to sheer bliss!

[FretlessArt]

The DR Highbeams or Lowriders have a chorus like quality to them that may help a little.

Study Stu Hamms Right hand technique were he has a strong mid thumb attack to the string around the 23rd fret and He is actually strumming the D and G strings with his middle finger rather then pulling a hard pluck.

You can play percussively this way with your right hand, mute the strings at harmonic positions with your left hand and Funk away on your Fretless Baby...

[djlufkin]

I've always rolled up my sleeve to keep from inadvertently muting the strings near the bridge, but lately, I've been using the bare form arm to lightly mute near the bridge which makes the slapped notes even more staccato, adds some interesting harmonics and helps to isolate the activity of the left hand, if that makes any sense.