using midrange in slap

Dincrest · #1 03-12-2005, 10:16 AM

Okay, the common sentiment that goes around is that to get that killer slap tone, one must boost the bass and treble while cutting the mids. However, in my own experiences, I find that boosting mids adds meat and authoritativeness to my slap tone and I like that.

I do boost the bass and treble to the max on my bass preamp, but on my combo amp's 5 band parametric EQ the mid-mids and high-mids are at 3 o'clock while everything else is at 12 o'clock.

So who else likes to boost their mids in their slap tone?

Wrong Robot · #2 03-12-2005, 10:42 AM

I sometimes boost the mids and think it sounds cool, until I hit record and then inevitably cut them out.

zonermusica · #3 03-12-2005, 10:53 AM

Yeah, I find that boosting the mids creates a good tone. After all if you think about it the good cabs now days have room for the mids. I remeber when i was first learning bass i was tought to have the mids turned down and the bass and trebble up. Now i play completely different. Sometimes if i want to create a fretless timbre on the bass i crank the mids almost full and bring the bass down. Using the mids on a higher setting can make your bass sound better. Use your ears. If you think about it, the mid is what helps create a warm and three way type sound.

keb · #4 03-12-2005, 11:59 AM

I use a more middy sound, I suppose about 50% of the time I'm slapping. I'm kind of a mid freak though, and I just like it for being something different, it's not that usual scooped Joe Slapper bass tone. If it doesn't work for the song, though, of course I'll go a different route.

nonsqtr · #5 03-12-2005, 02:16 PM

Slap tones are a dime a dozen. Slap is a "technique", not a tone. F'r instance, Mark White from the Spin Doctors (a TB'er), has a really nice low-mid sound, not excessively bassy, but you can definitely catch the "pop" in his thumb work. It's an excellent sound IMO, it delivers the message, without getting too heavy. I have several basses that have a "midrange switch", where you can control the frequency of the mid boost-or-cut. Usually, for slap work, I set them around 250 Hz or so, and cut "just a tiny bit". Mainly it depends on what your bass will deliver, and the punch of the pickups. I've done plenty of slap with a JPJ-style sound, which has the lower mids boosted way up. It sounds good that way too.

Petebass · #6 03-12-2005, 07:09 PM

Mids aint mids. My slap setting has 250Hz cut a little but I boost 1.5K. 250Hz and 1.5K sound nothing alike, you they're both cassified as mid frequencies. It helps to be specific in this case.

The say to boost lows right? I boost 120Hz but cut 60Hz a little and cut lots of 30Hz. If I dont, my speakers move further than they should.

This is my live gig setup. Recording requires a whole different approach.

And that's just MY taste. Everyone likes it a bit different.

Schwinn · #7 03-13-2005, 05:24 PM

I don't really mess with my eq much for slap. If I'm playing finger style on one song, slap on the next, and with a pick after that, there is no time to fiddle with eq. I generally boost mids a little though, or play close to flat eq.

What I DO have to adjust for slap is compression. I don't use compression normally but for slap, I found it helps to add a little compression to level the peaks involved. So I just roll down the threshold on my compressor for the slap stuff. Your experience may vary depending on your technique and style.