I thought I was a 19mm guy until I learned to slap!! AGGGHHHHH!!!

[Baird6869]

I thought I was mainly a 19mm spacing guy...... until....

A good friend was over last night and he pointed out why I have had some challenges with my slapping technique. In a nutshell, my thumb was hitting the strings at 1:00 (when looking straight at me) vs. 3:00 and hitting down on the strings.

My buddy is a fairly famous bassist and much better than me technically, so I listened to him. Anyways, my technique and speed improved drastically in about an hour as I screwed around on my 17.5mm spaced Stingray 5.

Soon after, I picked up my 19mm Sadowsky 5er and my Sadowsky 4 strings and guess what?..... MUCH harder for me to slap on with proper technique. I have basically a dozen basses with wider string spacing and a couple with tighter spacing. For slap, I really don't think I WANT to use a bass with 19mm spacing. Luckily, I don't slap that much but on a gig I play 5 or 6 songs that require it.

Anyone else realize the spacing you thought was perfect for you wasn't?

 

[allexcosta]

1:00 o'clock like this?

 

[Baird6869]

1:00 o'clock like this?

Yup. But striking the strings with the tip of the thumb, not the middle.

 

[allexcosta]

Yup. But striking the strings with the tip of the thumb, not the middle.

Oh, ok... I asked because I've always played kind of 1:00 o'clock'ish without any problems, but I use the middle of the thumb...

 

[ghoulbug]

Always thought that one o'clock position looked more professional, but I could never do it without straining myself.

Go three o'clockers!

 

[Don't Panic]

I thought I was mainly a 19mm spacing guy...... until....

I thought I was a 9mm guy until I picked up a shotgun!

 

[Rando McNally]

I played the 1:00 position for a long time just fine.

A while back I wanted to use my thumb on the back swing a la Vic W. so I started slapping down at 3:00 to have my thumb come to rest on the next highest string, then bring it back, striking the same string with my thumbnail.

I couldn't get this on my 5er (19mm as well) but I practiced on my (almost never touched) 4 and after about two days of practice I was all set, and could do it on the 5er.

I never found the two techniques to be an either/or thing. The attack is different, so they both have a place in my repertoire. What I'm having trouble with now is use both thumb attacks together, alternating them while playing quickly. It's hard!

I should point out that I have very short thick thumbs, so maybe my take is a little different.

 

[mjolnir]

Always thought that one o'clock position looked more professional, but I could never do it without straining myself.

Go three o'clockers!

I'm totally with you on that, bro, just can't get the whole one o'clock thing down.

 

[Turkeybasster]

1 o'clock seems to be the more "professional" position. I would say a bass with smaller string width is best (especially for playing faster). That is the case for fingers and picks too since smaller distance between strings = shredz.

 

[bassrique]

I'm not getting this 1:00 - 3:00 thing.

I keep my thumb roughly parallel to the strings. This is easy because my bass is strapped high. I learned to play slap on a 5er with something like a 16.5 spacing.

Once again, my idea and practice is to strap her high and slap her parallel. No problems here.

As for guys like Flea, I don't know how they can be accurate.

 

[Baird6869]

Try to play Higher Ground with your thumb horizontal to the strings vs. the tip of your thump pointing up.

I find that the 1:00 position works great for RHCP stull but 3:00 is much better for Wooten/Marcus or any real funky stuff.

I'm not getting this 1:00 - 3:00 thing.

I keep my thumb roughly parallel to the strings. This is easy because my bass is strapped high. I learned to play slap on a 5er with something like a 16.5 spacing.

Once again, my idea and practice is to strap her high and slap her parallel. No problems here.

As for guys like Flea, I don't know how they can be accurate.

 

[Sadowsky]

I thought I was mainly a 19mm spacing guy...... until....

A good friend was over last night and he pointed out why I have had some challenges with my slapping technique. In a nutshell, my thumb was hitting the strings at 1:00 (when looking straight at me) vs. 3:00 and hitting down on the strings.

My buddy is a fairly famous bassist and much better than me technically, so I listened to him. Anyways, my technique and speed improved drastically in about an hour as I screwed around on my 17.5mm spaced Stingray 5.

Soon after, I picked up my 19mm Sadowsky 5er and my Sadowsky 4 strings and guess what?..... MUCH harder for me to slap on with proper technique. I have basically a dozen basses with wider string spacing and a couple with tighter spacing. For slap, I really don't think I WANT to use a bass with 19mm spacing. Luckily, I don't slap that much but on a gig I play 5 or 6 songs that require it.

Anyone else realize the spacing you thought was perfect for you wasn't?

We can install difference bridges to give you a narrower string spacing.

Roger

 

[spade2you]

I would think the angle of 1:00 slapping would make the popping much more difficult.

 

[Baird6869]

Wow! Thanks Roger.

I generally gig my Sadowskys but is would be nice to have one (of my 3) have narrower spacing for some of the funk I play...

Is it something I can order from Club Bass in Toronto and install myself or is there more to it than that?

We can install difference bridges to give you a narrower string spacing.

Roger

 

[allexcosta]

I'm not getting this 1:00 - 3:00 thing

Hope this helps:

 

[Jaco D]

I would think the angle of 1:00 slapping would make the popping much more difficult.

That's what I thought. Unless you're severely disjointed at the thumb popping would be a bit un-natural at that position.

 

[Rando McNally]

To me the 1:00 gives a string attack that is more like tapping. You hit the string and bounce off it.

The 3:00 position gives more of a "plucking" sound. your thumb comes down on the string, bends it, then comes off, releasing the played string, with your thumb coming to rest on the next highest string.

It's got nothing to do with looking professional. It's all about the string attack, and how that is reflected tonally.

 

[bassrique]

We can install difference bridges to give you a narrower string spacing.

Roger

How narrow will you go on a 5er?

Hope this helps:

I'm still not getting it. How about we describe this as the nut being 12:00? A thumb facing up would be anywhere from 9:30 to 11:30. I play parallel, or 12:00. A guy like Flea would play at around 1;30 to 2:00. This I get.

Edit: I'm trying to think of it this way because it doesn't matter how the bass is orientated. Some guys angle their bass way up. while guys like me keep it high and roughly parallel [there's that word again] to the floor.

 

[Lo end PUNCH]

Hmmm, I dunno, most of the guys I like when it comes to slap are at just a smidjit past 12:OO o'clock, maybe 12:05, like Louis Johnson, Daivid Dyson and Mark Adams, so thats how I learned to do it. Hey, whatever makes it more comfortable, BUT 3 o'clock always looked strange to me.

 

[flipper_gv]

Yup. But striking the strings with the tip of the thumb, not the middle.

well, on my wick I use the trad 3:00 technique but on my fender, which has a slightly wider board, I use 1:00 tech. To play vic type of stuff at 1:00, I slap with the mid of the thumb and pop back with the tip of the thumb. Always worked great.