Fast spike while slapping

[attorianzo]

I get a very fast spike slapping my bass (Musicman Stingray).

It is so fast that my EBS compressor doesn't work on it (late attack, I suppose).

Does anyone of you got the same problem?

How can I fix it?

I am thinking to buy a limiter but, despite the spike problem, I am happy of my EBS multicomp..

[funkstag]

By spike do you mean an extremely loud noise? Could it be that your strings are hitting your pick up?

[taphappy]

'specially if you're hitting those exposed poles.

[slaphappychappy]

I'd back the pup off . As I thump with alot of force it happens to me on occasion.

[attorianzo]

Originally Posted by funkstag

By spike do you mean an extremely loud noise? Could it be that your strings are hitting your pick up?

Yes, while thumbing, I experience a very high and fast peak. Too fast to be cutted by the EBS compressor.

Strings does not hit the pick up.

[taphappy]

Can you pop a clip on soundcloud or some such so we can hear?

[attorianzo]

Originally Posted by taphappy

Can you pop a clip on soundcloud or some such so we can hear?

Ok I've uploaded a short slap pattern with absolutely no effects.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25715925/Slap_spikes.mp3

Here it is the wave of that pattern I have recorded, showing the high and fast peaks.



As I said, the EBS compression don't helped..

Any suggestion?

[Jazz Ad]

The solution is to back the pickups to lower output level and avoid strings hitting the poles, as obviously happens in your clips.
Since you don't seem to like it much, I'm affraid I'm helpless.

[Dirk Diggler]

Well there is nothing in that audio clip that makes me think anything is wrong at all. That's what a slap tone is, the sound of the string slapping against the top fret. I don't hear the pickups being hit at all.

I have found that I almost never use compression on slap parts, to me it does it already naturally and automatically.

If you don't like the sound of slap, simply play with your fingers.

Now if you want to discuss trying to get levels better between slapping and fingers, that's a whole different subject.

Oh and one last thing, I have found that stomp box compressors won't do the job, I really prefer a software compressor or rack compressor.

IMHO of course, hey you asked.

Good luck,
Dirk

[slaphappychappy]

You can try abe laborials way as well, which is popping with your thumb instead of slapping. It maybe a little less harsh. You tube his lessons and he explains it id you find the right one.

[Silent Fly]

It might be due to the subsonic content in the note attack.

As a test, you can try to lower the low frequencies with an EQ. Ideally, you should try to cut everything below the lowest note of your bass.

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler

I really prefer a software compressor or rack compressor.

Good luck,
Dirk

Ditto. IF you're playing live, then unless you're playing a crazy high end situation and backing Beyonce or something, that little click sound is going to absolutely get lost in whatever room or stage you're playing on.

If your're recording, there's plenty of compressors out there with absolutely no latency in their attack. It might help with that.

At the same time, it sounds just like slapping sounds. That click sounds like the strings hitting the bass when you slap. You may also try moving your hand somewhere between the end of the neck and the pickups, but you'll still hit the bass somewhere. You could also try slapping just next to the bridge to avoid the strings hitting the bass anywhere, but then you won't have anywhere to pop the strings with your other fingers.

I'm not sure that you'll really be happy with anything that a compressor might do for you.

If you have an parametric eq with a really tight Q, you may be able to find that frequency and cut it out a bit, too. That might be your best bet.

As a last resort if you're recording, you can go through the entire track and automate the level to take out those peaks if they're really bugging you. It'll probably take you close to an hour. If you're really making a quality recording worthy of worrying about that little click sound, then spending an extra hour on the bass track isn't that much time.

[attorianzo]

I am absolutely sure, cause I checked, that strings doesn't hit the pickup.

Moreover, consider that it's a classic stingray 4 strings. The pick up is close to the bridge whilst slapping I hit the last fret (quite far then..).

(look at the pic)


I really don't know if anything is wrong in my bass (a damaged pickup?).

Every compressor has an attack delay, the peak I get, as you can see in the audacity pic I posted, is extremely fast..

I wonder if anyone of you, recording hisself, gets a peak like that slapping his own bass..

[Ubersheist]

Originally Posted by attorianzo

I wonder if anyone of you, recording hisself, gets a peak like that slapping his own bass..

Yes. Every time.

The strings will hit some part of the bass, usually the frets near the end of the neck. That's almost certainly what's giving you that clicking sound.

That recording sounds pretty standard for slap bass, as others have mentioned here before.

Have you tried recording other basses? Are you not getting that sound elsewhere? Do you run your bass through an EQ with some highs pushed up somewhere around 8-10k or so? Have you tried recording through a different amp or preamp?

[testing1two]

MXR, Keeley, and others make compressor pedals with adjustable attack times. Have you tried all 3 compression modes on your EBS pedal to see if one of them performs better than the others?

After listening to your mp3 file, I believe this is a technique issue. It sounds like the fundamental of the note is being choked off after the percussive slap (your popping sounds fine by comparison). This is likely because of the angle your thumb is striking striking the string. Listen to Ed Friedland slap using a bass similar to yours and hear how much more of the note comes through after the initial slap. ‪Music Man Sterling 5 bass‬‏ - YouTube

[Silent Fly]

Originally Posted by attorianzo

I am absolutely sure, cause I checked, that strings doesn't hit the pickup.

Moreover, consider that it's a classic stingray 4 strings. The pick up is close to the bridge whilst slapping I hit the last fret (quite far then..).

(look at the pic)


I really don't know if anything is wrong in my bass (a damaged pickup?).

Every compressor has an attack delay, the peak I get, as you can see in the audacity pic I posted, is extremely fast..

I wonder if anyone of you, recording hisself, gets a peak like that slapping his own bass..

I have exacly the same bass (different colour ). I run some tests and I'll let you know.

[Radek]

I've similar problem when slapping on Yamaha RBX A2. There are nasty spikes in beginning of transients. They vanish when I play less strongly and this problem doesn't exist at all when I'm using Yamaha TRBII.
For curiosity I've recorded RBX A2 acoustically where a similar pikes still persisted. So in my case it was just character of instrument (I'm sure that strings don't hit pickups).

[Silent Fly]

I run some test and my StingRay Classic doesn't produce strong spikes compared to my Fender Jazz.

I tried slap and fingerstyle with the same results.

Have you notice any difference lowering treble and/or bass on the on-board preamp?

[cracked_machine]

Honestly I think that sounds fine. Nice choice of music too ; )

[mcnach]

Originally Posted by cracked_machine

Honestly I think that sounds fine. Nice choice of music too ; )

I also approve of the choice of music

It doesn't sound at all like the strings are hitting the poles. If they did, you'd be sure because the pop is mighty and you just can't miss it.
I opened the clip in Audacity to follwo the wave pattern, and it just seems to correspond to what I also hear: loud popping of the G and D strings.

I just think the OP's technique is not yet smooth enough, and there's a big imbalance between his slapped and popped notes. But with practice, in no time things will sound a lot better. I would avoid pedals for this, and just keep practicing your slap, it will sound smoother as you become more proficient... and this won't take very long.

I'd also back off the treble *a bit* on your preamp, and maybe add some bass, just a bit too. That will probably help a bit getting a better balance. But you're pretty much doing what you have to do... it's just a matter of perfecting the technique.

I started out slapping playing RHCP songs, funny enough Aeroplane was one of teh first ones I tried, that and "Can't stop" I was also struggling with the sound and bought a limiter, a Boss LMB-3. It did help even things out, but it also seemed to rob me of a bit of the sound. Within a couple of months slapping regularly I played without the limiter and... it sounded good. So I removed the pedal.
I normally have a bit of compression in my live rig, using the compressor in my amp head (RH450), but I don't use a special setting for slap, I apply the same compression setting to everything.

Technique is the answer, in my opinion. And it doesn't take long to make it smooth from where you are now.

Oh, one thing that helped me improve... I haven't seen how you play, but I know how I played at first: my arm would sometimes be in pain because I'd tense up, especially my forearm... I'd also move my hand way too much, flapping in and out of the strings. A lot of movement. That did not help making my slap sound smooth and controlled.
What happened is I injured myforearm (not from slapping, but in the gym), and slap was making it worse. So I actually slapped less, but I still had to in my band, so I'd concentrate during rehearsals to move my arm just the amount that was necessary and just tried to be economical with my slap technique. What happened almost immediately is that I could play faster bits more easily, and I hit the wrong notes less often.

When I recovered I continued being careful about my movements, trying to be smooth, as it alows me to sound better and play fast more easily without getting tired.
In practice, if I'm by myself I can be very smooth, when I play live I can get carried away and you are a bit more active and move more... but because I have practiced at cotrolling my movements, I sound a lot better than I did at first. Again, that didn't take very long.

So, I'll stop my very long message

1) back of treble a bit and perhaps add some bass
&
2) keep practicing, and try to be economical with your arm movements: move what you have to, not more. And focus on relaxing your arm while you play, don't tense up

Your technique will improve much more quickly than you think, and you'll play better, faster, and without pedals.