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How do I get the true slap bass tone?

#21
I agree with most of the previous posters that the sound is mostly with technique, but the set up of your equipment has an effect as well.

If you have a bass with two passive pickups, blend it a bit toward the bridge pickup. If you have active electronics, scoop out the mids a bit either by boosting bass and treble or lessen the mid control.

On your amp, scoop the mids a bit. Be careful though, if you scoop the mids too much you'll get lost in the mix in a group setting.
 
#22
As far as equipment goes, I have found that I prefer the sound of 10's with a horn or tweeter much more than 15's or other size drivers without the horn. That popular ping sound on the high notes just doesn't sound the same on cabs without the horn/tweeter. Some rigs produce a very uninspiring slap tone IMO.
 
#23
Im a sock said:
If you have a bass with two passive pickups, blend it a bit toward the bridge pickup.
Click to expand...

That's not necessarily true.

Sometimes on basses that I use that have two passive pickups I'll have both on and the slap tone is full and killin.


Im a sock said:
On your amp, scoop the mids a bit. Be careful though, if you scoop the mids too much you'll get lost in the mix in a group setting.
Click to expand...


Sometimes scooping the mids will be the missing ingredient to getting that tone that you're searching for,especially in a group setting.




The best thing you can do is just play and try as many different amp and bass setting you can think of.
 
#24
JAUQO III-X said:
The best thing you can do is just play and try as many different amp and bass setting you can think of.
Click to expand...

Best line of the thread. It addresses the "technique" debate ("play") and the equipment debate ("many different amp and bass settings").

As for limiters/enhancers/compressors, I hope no one was suggesting these are a substitute for good technique (I certainly wasn't), but it would be easy to compile a list of great slap players who use them to augment their already killer approach.

And if you're not getting the sound you want from your P Bass or Hofner, you have around a thousand other choices out there.
 
#25
JimmyM said:
Yeah, everyone needs to stop with the misinformation. Slapping isn't the least bit hard on your gear as long as you're not abusing volume. And though some do use compressors, they're not using them to "fix" technique problems. If you need a compressor to slap, then you need to practice more. Also, I have slapped on everything from a Precision with dead old flats to a neck-thru with EMG's to a Beatle bass. If you want the bright snappy slap tone, then yeah, get a Jazz or a neck thru with actives and new rounds, but slapping on flats is also quite badass, and in some ways even more so than on rounds.

But if you want the TRUE slap tone, buy an upright.
Click to expand...

+1 JimmyM! One of the coolest slapped songs is Steely Dan's Peg with the magical Chuck Rainey playing a P-Bass with flat wounds. His hands and note choices and muting (and not to mention the drums) made it sound so amazing.
 
#26
I can get a good slap sound, and use it on 4 or 5 tunes a night...my question is...

" How come when I'm playing finger style or pick style the limiter isn't kicking on onboard the amp, but when I play slap syle sometimes it will peg the amp, but it doesn't sound any louder than fingerstyle or pickstyle, but sounds mushy cause the speaker protection circuit is kicking in?"

I noticed this while gigging this weekend. Thanks

Patman
 
#29
It's a combination of all of these things(amp,EQ,bass,etc.).Ultimately,it's all in your hands, as one poster so succinctly put it!

It all comes down to what you practice, and more importantly, HOW you practice! I can't stress this enough!

Also keep in mind that,different instruments are going to respond differently under your hands in terms of tone,and feel,so whatever technique you use,...slap or otherwise,...will vary slightly under these conditions!

The best advice I can give is to,listen to all of your favorite players and try and emulate what they do! Try and capture their tone,and feel!

What's going to happen is,you'll develop your own way of doing this technique, over time! It's all in your hands!

Peace!
 
#30
As far as pegging the limiter and what not goes, it is mostly because people tend to thumb in the wronge spot on their instrument slamming the string into the pickup. Every bass has a slap sweet spot and you must find it for each bass you own. I do not believ in compressors or limiters to even out slapping...I do believ in working on the technique so that finger and thumb is even. Most people tend to slap a lot harder than they need to to achive the tone. If you practice without and amp to get the technique to sound right, amplifying it will be a breeze. I also do not scoop my tone ...I tend to push the mids a hair to keep the tone in the slap... makes it much fatter. Also don't play your thumbed or popped notes too shot or it will sound like metalic a**.
 
#35
Practicing is important. If you use effects you probably should practice twice as much time so you know what all they can and can't do for you.

Whatever people think of the recordings of their favorite songs, you can bet the recording engineers are at least ride the levels during the mix down. Effectively doing the same jobs as a piece of gear in the signal chain. Motorized faders got invented for a reason.
 
#36
Ubersheist said:
Technique, technique, technique. Equipment can help or hinder a bit, but it really comes down to technique. Also, it's EASY to overplay, and I think 99% of the bass players out there (far too often, myself included) get way too energetic and overplay like crazy.

Be light on the strings. It doesn't take much energy to get good tone.
Click to expand...
Slapping light is good if you're slapping for speed, but I've been more into the Larry Graham style slapping these days, which is a pretty heavy attack. In any event, you don't need to kill the strings, but I seem to get along with slap better when I hit it pretty hard. OTOH, I don't do much fast slapping, so if I did, I would definitely lighten up.
 
#37
JimmyM said:
Slapping light is good if you're slapping for speed, but I've been more into the Larry Graham style slapping these days, which is a pretty heavy attack. In any event, you don't need to kill the strings, but I seem to get along with slap better when I hit it pretty hard. OTOH, I don't do much fast slapping, so if I did, I would definitely lighten up.
Click to expand...

+1, to everything. Well said.

I'm very much into Larry Graham these days myself, because of his slap style and his skills as a showman and entertainer. He's the man. I'm going so far as to build a white Jazz as close to his as possible. Headstock decal: "Larry"
 

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