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HELP - Slap bass continously makes buzzing sound

E

Emmanuel Mata

Dec 26, 2019
17
2
#1
Hi guys, so im relatively new to bass, as I had been playing for about 6 months now. But to slap Im not sure how to adjust my bass. I have a Ibanez GSR200 with a walnut finish that I just got for Christmas. I've looked at multiple threads and youtube videos but I just can't seem to get it right. I've tried to adjust the truss rod and to get it straight. and lowered the action all the way because people seem to have fix that problem like that. All it did was make it worse and it made it more buzzy. I'm kinda helpless here and don't wanna spend money to get it checked out to fix to my liking because I dont have extra money for that. I know its soecifically fret buzz because the strings aren't hitting on the pickups.
Do I need to bow my bass up, down or keep straight?
After, how do far do I need to lower or raise the bridge for the action to follow?
Is there anything else I need to do in order to fix this?
Oh and the amp I use is Ephiphone Electar 10. Not really made for bass but its what I could get my hands on.
Please help, I just wanna slap
Thank you
 
#3
Do you have any musician friends, family, or teachers who can try your bass and give their opinion whether or not it "feels right" to them? If someone you trust tells you there is definitely a problem, then you will feel better about investing the money to get it fixed.

On the other hand, if an experienced musician picks up your bass and sounds great, then you can relax and know your instrument is okay. In that case all you need is more lessons and practice. You are just a beginner and slap style can take a long time to learn. ;)
 
#4
Mushroo said:
Do you have any musician friends, family, or teachers who can try your bass and give their opinion whether or not it "feels right" to them? If someone you trust tells you there is definitely a problem, then you will feel better about investing the money to get it fixed.

On the other hand, if an experienced musician picks up your bass and sounds great, then you can relax and know your instrument is okay. In that case all you need is more lessons and practice. You are just a beginner and slap style can take a long time to learn. ;)
Click to expand...
It's not that I think there is something wrong with my bass. I can play it well and it sounds fine with just a little fret buzz here and there(but I understand that takes practice). Its a matter of the certain requirements and setup used to help get rid of the buzz fret when slapping. When I slap with my thumb while fretting a note, it makes fret buzz and a clicking sound. I also know there is going to be slight clicking, I think, butI see other players able to do it without ahving that click in there.
 
#5
If your bass is correctly set up for finger style then it is also correctly setup for slap style; there is no difference in the setup.

Likewise if there is fret buzz when playing finger style then there will probably also be fret buzz when playing slap style.

Personally? Every time I buy a bass, I immediately change the strings and give it a full setup.

ALL BASIC SETUP QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE
 
#8
Just to add... i have my action setup so that it just buzzes in the frets when I play with my fingers. Most people would think it’s too low, but, I have it set that way because it works best for slapping which I do a lot of. But, I don’t have the buzz problem you’re having.
 
#10
tshapiro said:
Could you take a video of what’s going on? That would help a lot if I could watch what you’re doing first.
Click to expand...
Here's a video that I uploaded to Youtube because this site wasn't allowing me to put up a video. I put everything back to normal. The fret is straight. I think the bridge is at normal height. and the strings aren't touching the pickups. When i lower the bridge it seems to become more buzzy. I tried to backbow the bass so the strings can touch the fret, which I had read is what makes the slap but it makes it sound worse. So Im pretty clear on the low action for slap. Im just not sure how to bow my bass, or to bow it at all.
 
#11
Emmanuel Mata said:
Here's a video that I uploaded to Youtube because this site wasn't allowing me to put up a video. I put everything back to normal. The fret is straight. I think the bridge is at normal height. and the strings aren't touching the pickups. When i lower the bridge it seems to become more buzzy. I tried to backbow the bass so the strings can touch the fret, which I had read is what makes the slap but it makes it sound worse. So Im pretty clear on the low action for slap. Im just not sure how to bow my bass, or to bow it at all.
Click to expand...

You're doing it wrong. You don't want a neck backbowed, nor do you want the strings so low that they hit the frets with no effort whatsoever. I like low action, too, but you've gone from one extreme to the other, and now you need to find a happy medium.
 
#12
JimmyM said:
You're doing it wrong. You don't want a neck backbowed, nor do you want the strings so low that they hit the frets with no effort whatsoever. I like low action, too, but you've gone from one extreme to the other, and now you need to find a happy medium.
Click to expand...
So what would you say your happy medium is? I know that it does differ between every bass, but I would assume it shares something throughout different ones. I was told today that once I get it right, I should not hear any of that clank whatsoever. That the main sound you will make it that slap thump that is desired.
 
#13
Emmanuel Mata said:
So what would you say your happy medium is? I know that it does differ between every bass, but I would assume it shares something throughout different ones. I was told today that once I get it right, I should not hear any of that clank whatsoever. That the main sound you will make it that slap thump that is desired.
Click to expand...
The problem is that unless your strings are so high as to make it completely unplayable, you can easily get the strings to clank into the frets when you slap. It's just not that hard.

So what I do is give the neck a very slight bow, put the strings down low enough to where I can get a little bit of rattle when I dig in but sounds pretty clean when I don't, and that generally works for me.
 
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#15
Emmanuel Mata said:
Hi guys, so im relatively new to bass, as I had been playing for about 6 months now. But to slap Im not sure how to adjust my bass. I have a Ibanez GSR200 with a walnut finish that I just got for Christmas. I've looked at multiple threads and youtube videos but I just can't seem to get it right. I've tried to adjust the truss rod and to get it straight. and lowered the action all the way because people seem to have fix that problem like that. All it did was make it worse and it made it more buzzy. I'm kinda helpless here and don't wanna spend money to get it checked out to fix to my liking because I dont have extra money for that. I know its soecifically fret buzz because the strings aren't hitting on the pickups.
Do I need to bow my bass up, down or keep straight?
After, how do far do I need to lower or raise the bridge for the action to follow?
Is there anything else I need to do in order to fix this?
Oh and the amp I use is Ephiphone Electar 10. Not really made for bass but its what I could get my hands on.
Please help, I just wanna slap
Thank you
Click to expand...

Welcome to TalkBass!!!

The biggest concept to keep in mind is this.

The lowest possible action isn't always the best action. Lower isn't always better. It depends on your playing style.

So, if your action is currently too low, follow a couple of the videos linked and raise it a little. But do it is tiny steps and small tweaks. Make a small adjustment. Then play a while and let the neck settle. If need me, adjust it again.

Good luck!
 
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#16
Thanks for uploading the video. It helps me see and hear better what is going on. :)

The "clack" sound is totally normal. Some players like it very much and do it on purpose. It gives the bass a more percussive sound and helps it "cut through the mix."

Once you get your bass set up properly, and with lots and lots of practice, you will learn how to control the clack. The ultimate goal is, you are totally in control, so you can make a little bit of clack, a lot of clack, or no clack at all. Currently, you are hitting the strings aggressively, and your setup isn't quite right, so you get lots of clack, all the time.

Check out this isolated bass track by Fieldy of Korn. Listen how some parts of the song, he makes a lot of clack, and other parts of the song, he makes less clack. There is a lot of aggression in his playing, but it is controlled aggression.



tl;dr The clack sound is a 'normal' part of a bass player's vocabulary, but you should be able to control the clack and only do it on purpose when it fits the song.
 
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#17
By the way, here is an instructional video that helped me when I was first learning slap. Notice how relaxed and in control Alexis Sklarevski looks. He plays with less clank and aggression than Fieldy. These types of variables in technique are how different players can each have their own unique signature tone.

 
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#18
DWBass said:
You need to perfect your technique. You're exerting too much on your thumb strikes. No need to hit that hard. Set your action low (minimal fret buzz). You also need new strings which is probably causing you to bang so hard with your thumb.
Click to expand...
My strings are relatively new since I got this gift for christmas. My parents bought it at guitar center, but i know they had to ask for it in the back since it wasn't on display. Meaning that no one was messing around and trying out this bass
 
#19
Emmanuel Mata said:
My strings are relatively new since I got this gift for christmas. My parents bought it at guitar center, but i know they had to ask for it in the back since it wasn't on display. Meaning that no one was messing around and trying out this bass
Click to expand...

Many bassists (including myself) change the strings on a brand new bass; we do not keep the factory strings.

But don't worry about that. It is possible to get a good slap sound even with worn-out strings. The age of the strings is not specifically your problem here, in this case.

I know you want to learn how to do your own setups, but the problem is that you don't know how your bass is "supposed" to feel when it is properly setup. Therefore I recommend either 1) Pay for a pro setup the first time (or ask Guitar Center; it couldn't hurt to ask them whether a free setup is included in the price of the instrument), and then do your own setups in the future; or 2) Ask your teacher if they are good at doing setups and can teach you how. My teacher didn't just teach me how to play the bass; he also taught me how to setup my bass, change the strings, adjust the amplifier for a good tone, what to look for when I am instrument shopping, etc.
 
#20
Emmanuel Mata said:
Here's a video that I uploaded to Youtube because this site wasn't allowing me to put up a video. I put everything back to normal. The fret is straight. I think the bridge is at normal height. and the strings aren't touching the pickups. When i lower the bridge it seems to become more buzzy. I tried to backbow the bass so the strings can touch the fret, which I had read is what makes the slap but it makes it sound worse. So Im pretty clear on the low action for slap. Im just not sure how to bow my bass, or to bow it at all.
Click to expand...


that's the way i like my slap to sound. a little clank works for me.

i suggest you play your bass for a while, get a feel for it, experiment playing harder and softer and get to know it. decide what you do and don't like, not from what you read but from what you hear and feel. then you can ask us about these thins.

but i don't suggest you backbow the neck ever, and i'm someone who plays with very low action. btw, a lot of the ibanez GSR200 and SR300 basses i've tried at the store for the last couple years have a backbow. the first thing i'd do is adjust it away.
 

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