How do I get the true slap bass tone?

[David Jayne]

Yeah, that's what threw me. Very subtle. If he had a Marcus tone or somethng like that, I doubt Becker and Fagan would have given it a pass.

Yep, but he and his his gnarly old flats did the deed. It's actually a little tough to hear, even if you listen for it, it's that subtle. Chuck killed it. Chuck be The Man.

 

[FuzzBoxVoodoo]

I have been slapping the E and A strings against the 23rd and 24th frets of the neck and that seems to be the best sound but there are marks on my pickups where the E and A string must be hitting it.
My band starting doing "higher ground" by the RHCP and I have never popped and slapped in my whole 4 years of playing bass so it has been quite a learning expierence (at the age of 40) and I still have along way to go until I am happy with my technique,I am amazed how much energy the guy on the video gets out of the strings with so little effort.
I will do more practicing unplugged and I have known that I need to relax which will help with the speed and consistacy that I need for that song.
The right gear has helped me to not sound so sloppy for sure,and that is a Ampeg SVP-Pro Preamp with a BagEnd 4x10 and Peavey 2x15, Ibanez SRX-400 Aguilar OBP-3 and DR nickel plated low riders.

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**.

 

[electracoyote]

Yep, but he and his his gnarly old flats did the deed. It's actually a little tough to hear, even if you listen for it, it's that subtle. Chuck killed it. Chuck be The Man.

Absolutely.

LOL, this is funny because I learned this song once and played it finger style. I just dug in a little harder, because I thought that's what Chuck Rainey was doing.

Live and learn.

 

[Ubersheist]

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.

Don't tell anyone, but...

I don't like Larry Graham's sound.

I think he overplays - not all the time, but a whole lot. He may have invented slapping, but I don't think he mastered it. When I hear "Hair," all I can hear is a wildly over thumpy bass line that sounds muddy and clashes with the kick and itself a whole lot.

Then again, the guy is 10 times the monster bass player that I'll probably ever be... And it's not always that I think he's overplaying. He has an old video where he really makes some excellent basic points about funk music, and he really don't overplay on the first half.

Simple, and it works. Up 'til the 2nd half, then I think he overplays, and uses way more attack then is necessary...

 

[JAUQO III-X]

I think he overplays - not all the time, but a whole lot. He may have invented slapping, but I don't think he mastered it. When I hear "Hair," all I can hear is a wildly over thumpy bass line that sounds muddy and clashes with the kick and itself a whole lot.

Then again, the guy is 10 times the monster bass player that I'll probably ever be... And it's not always that I think he's overplaying. He has an old video where he really makes some excellent basic points about funk music, and he really don't overplay on the first half.

Simple, and it works. Up 'til the 2nd half, then I think he overplays, and uses way more attack then is necessary...

Did it ever cross your mind that what you are perceiving as overplaying really isn't? But him exactly incorporating his concept into an actual band context the way he envisioned/envisions.



How would you feel if you wrote a song exactly the way you wanted and some one comes along and says you held that note there just a little to long?

 

[electracoyote]

Don't tell anyone, but...

I don't like Larry Graham's sound.

Then again, the guy is 10 times the monster bass player that I'll probably ever be...

Valid points. You could say the same about Louis Johnson. These guys are innovators, and many others stood on their shoulders and advanced the form. But, like you said, they are still monsters in their own right, and learning their style gives you a great foundation to build from. Larry Graham is also the consumate performer, so he lays it on a little thick sometimes. But he does it really well IMHO.

 

[Deluge Of Sound]

Did it ever cross your mind that what you are perceiving as overplaying really isn't? But him exactly incorporating his concept into an actual band context the way he envisioned/envisions.



How would you feel if you wrote a song exactly the way you wanted and some one comes along and says you held that note there just a little to long?

Doesn't mean he has to like it, though.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Doesn't mean he has to like it, though.

You missed my point.

I never once stated that he has to like it did I?

 

[KJung]

How would you feel if you wrote a song exactly the way you wanted and some one comes along and says you held that note there just a little to long?

My guess is, the vast majority of music and performances are based on the concept of the artist or performer 'having it exactly as they want it' and also incorporating their heart and soul into it.

Unfortunately, some things still suck It's hard to be criticized as an artist or performer, but that's part of the game, and unless it gets personal, thoughtful criticism can make a player/writer/performer much better IMO and IME!

(not commenting on Larry Graham at all.. I LOVE everything he does!).

 

[JAUQO III-X]

thoughtful criticism can make a player/writer/performer much better IMO and IME!

I agree.

 

[Ubersheist]

Did it ever cross your mind that what you are perceiving as overplaying really isn't? But him exactly incorporating his concept into an actual band context the way he envisioned/envisions.



How would you feel if you wrote a song exactly the way you wanted and some one comes along and says you held that note there just a little to long?

That's fine if that's how he intended it. I have nothing but respect for his musicianship. I just don't always care for his playing. However, I know what I hear. On some of his more aggressive stuff, I hear too much thumpin', overplaying, and not enough tone or subtly for my tastes. I think if I was sitting in the producer's chair on some of his stuff (and, it's only some of his stuff, especially his solo stuff), I'd probably say "Larry, that was awesome, but I'd like to see how it sound with a softer attack. Can you back off on the attack a bit?"

That's my take on his sound in some of his songs. Obviously, whomever was producing for him (who probably has many more years of experience and expertise then I do) wouldn't agree with my assessment. That's fine. It's not like they tried to rape my mother. They just made a record that I didn't care for as much as other records.

As to your second point - I write songs exactly how I want them all the time, and the other guys in the band crap all over them, let alone what outsiders think. I don't get all bent out of shape over it. It's just a song. There's literally millions of 'em out there. Even of the ones that I wrote, my girlfriend hates a few of 'em. Oh well..

They're just songs. We're not talking about techniques for open heart surgery, just songs...

 

[JimmyM]

I'm reminded of a story guitarist/douchebag Lindsay Buckingham told about making Fleetwood Mac albums. He was whining and complaining to Mick Fleetwood that the songs he was writing sounded nothing like he wanted them to when the band got hold of them. So Mick says, "Sounds like you don't want to be in a band, then."

Unbelievable how much money that moron left on the table because he was so hard to please.

 

[electracoyote]

He was whining and complaining to Mick Fleetwood that the songs he was writing sounded nothing like he wanted them to when the band got hold of them.

Geez, with as much creative control as he exercised in Fleetwood Mac? His fingerprints are all over everything they recorded. I've seen hard to please, but that's crazy.

 

[Drucifer]

If you've got the technique, then here are some things that will help with the sound. It's all about the highs, so your bass, pickups, strings, amp and any effects have to handle the higher frequency overtones generated by slapping. I have found in general lighter-weight solid body basses have a brighter more responsive tone for slapping, think Musicman Stingray. Lighter gauge roundwound steel or chrome strings. New strings. Clean power, so you need a good amplifier with some overhead. Active electronics instead of tubes. Scoop the mids on the amp. 10 inch or 12 inch speakers. These aren't rules carved in stone, but they have helped me get a better slap tone. Hope this helps.

 

[Hamrhed]

Unbelievable how much money that moron left on the table because he was so hard to please.

I get what you are saying Jimmy, but in calling him both a douchebag and a moron you managed to pigeonhole him as *gasp* an artist I doubt that Mick is as critical on him as you- seeing as he is still there. And none of them seem to be hurting for money

 

[greenboy]

Don't tell anyone, but...

I don't like Larry Graham's sound.

I think he overplays - not all the time, but a whole lot. {...}

Oh, no - say it ain't so, Joe! Next someone will be saying he oversings, overblings, and overdresses ; }

 

[JimmyM]

I get what you are saying Jimmy, but in calling him both a douchebag and a moron you managed to pigeonhole him as *gasp* an artist I doubt that Mick is as critical on him as you- seeing as he is still there. And none of them seem to be hurting for money

OK, good points, but damn, Lindsay Buckingham irritates me. People that take themselves as seriously as he does just get on my nerves.