Double Bass Help please - jazz slap (milt Hinton style)

[Huy Nguyen]

I've got Garbos and a gut G and working hard on this stuff again. I think I'm finally close to it - even somewhat like Milt's technique visually. Unlike what I wrote years ago, the thumb is free and I'm actually slapping with just a few fingers on the D/G strings. Much mellower sound not to mention that it's easy to keep real close to the fingerboard.

That wrist thing in the latter videos, that's key to speed but it wont' work without being completely relaxed. When you go fast it's not so pronounced. I noticed that also that it's easier to go faster if the fingers extend and the hand stretches out (while being relaxed). just love this stuff. It's hard but rewarding.

The crazy part is that there are places in recordings where he's totally ripping it out - like a double time triplet phrase. I have absolutely no idea how he does that. On youtubes you hear him doing it but the video is a complete blur.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Coupla updates to this thread about my own discoveries.
My two favorite recordings of Milts now is
"Fascinating Rhythm" from "The Trio" with Bob Rosengarden, Derek Smith
"Back Home in Indiana" from "Bassically with Blue"

The later one is what I pulled alot to do this video that was also posted in this thread: Back Home in Indiana - Slap | TalkBass.com

I worked through my technique and tried to find the most efficient way to do it with as little movement as possible, prolly even less than what Milt did but obviously he had decades of playing compared to my pittance. I do try to combine it with what little I know of certain hand strikes used in martial arts.

In the end I found that striking with the blade of the palm first followed by a palm strike with the area underneath the index knuckle. I think this is opposite of what I see in most rockabilly slap styles, they do the palm strike first. Reversing it this way the hand is back in pizz position. As I pull the string away the hand rotates on the wrist' axis, giving momentum to the next blade strike. I might have to do a vid just to show this in slow mo. The videos of milt doing this are so fast and so relaxed it's really hard to see all the nuances.

In this way, I stay really close to the fingerboard just as Milt seems to do and has described. I don't get any blisters because the approach is virtually the same as with standard jazz pizz. I'm still not that fast as a lot of the top RB slap players are but I think that might come with time. Still haven't figured out the 16th note rapid fire figures Milt does on some recordings while still maintaining a jazz pizz RH position.

The biggest thing I found tho is that the hand has to be extremely relaxed. More relaxation = more volume & speed. One thing I pulled from the MA world is that you get a hard/louder palm strike if you open the hand as you strike the strings. I focus mostly on hitting the D&G strings since they have the least tension. There are other guys like Beau Sample who seem to tap their fingertips between the strings and makes for a nice mellow sound.

This stuff is lots of fun, but hard to decipher most of the time.