Open Strings Sound Dead When Slapped

[fason]

Hello TB'ers,

I am a dedicated reader of TB, but a lazy poster and this is my first thread. Title might seem more relevant to technique, but I only have the problem with only one of my basses, AVRI '62 Jazz, which is my main.

A little bit of history on the matter: I have this bass since 2008. I had been able to slap enough to survive until recently, I decided to get better at it and practice more. Since my slap technique have been rather poor, I thought that it was me not the bass.

However, I realized that, trying to get better on this bass by getting frustrated everytime I try to slap an open E or A educated me well. I played my other two basses and my girlfriend's bass after a while. I can slap the said open strings on them and get a good sound, but on my beloved jazz, all I can get is a choked up note without fundamental.

I ignorantly think it might be the nut, as the only thing I cannot get to sound right are the open strings, E and A in particular. The bass has the original nut on it.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.


PS: As you can tell, I am not a native speaker of English, so please excuse any misspellings or language failures.

 

[Gorn]

Have you tried changing the strings?

 

[fason]

Have you tried changing the strings?

Thanks for the reply. They are not brand new but not dead either. Actually, my other basses' strings are older.

 

[MrMerrey]

Could be the set up, if the action is too low the extra force could be killing the notes against the fret board...

Could also be that your natural slap location is over a harmonic that is over ruling the fundamental.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Perhaps the Jazz Bass is strung up with Slap To Death Metal strings?

 

[fason]

Could be the set up, if the action is too low the extra force could be killing the notes against the fret board...

Could also be that your natural slap location is over a harmonic that is over ruling the fundamental.

Thanks for the help. It never occured to me that action would come into play and messes things up only when the open strings are played. If that is the case, I'll give it a shot and raise it.

As for the second part, that is much harder for me to have an opinion on. However, as I mentioned, comparison took me so far and made me think it is the bass. So, in my techniques defence, all I can say is that I roughly have the same slap location on other basses. And, I tried different positions in order to get myself out of frustration.

Slap To Death Metal

I heard of steel and nickel but not that alloy. God, you guys are miles ahead of me

 

[MrMerrey]

Thanks for the help. It never occured to me that action would come into play and messes things up only when the open strings are played. If that is the case, I'll give it a shot and raise it.

As for the second part, that is much harder for me to have an opinion on. However, as I mentioned, comparison took me so far and made me think it is the bass. So, in my techniques defence, all I can say is that I roughly have the same slap location on other basses. And, I tried different positions in order to get myself out of frustration.

Before you mess with the action on your main instrument, just try progressively slapping from very soft to very hard. If there is a point where the string suddenly starts to sound dead then it is probably your action. If it is dead universally then it may not be this. You could also try pushing the string down at the point of contact to see if it is touch an area of the fret board or pickup cover ahead of the rest of the bass. This may tell you where the string is being dampened.

 

[fason]

Before you mess with the action on your main instrument, just try progressively slapping from very soft to very hard. If there is a point where the string suddenly starts to sound dead then it is probably your action. If it is dead universally then it may not be this. You could also try pushing the string down at the point of contact to see if it is touch an area of the fret board or pickup cover ahead of the rest of the bass. This may tell you where the string is being dampened.

Thanks for the good advice. First, I pushed the string down if it touches any area rather than the last frets of the fretboard. I couldn't see any problem there.

Then, I tried from very soft to very hard approach and I guess it is the action. I'm saying "I guess" because it takes a harder touch to make fretted notes sound choked. It is quite noticable even in comparison with the first fret.

Would less flexible string also help balancing the difference between the fretted and open notes? At the moment I have Dr Lo-Rider 45-100 set on.

I was hoping for some replies from the AVRI 62 Jazz owners as well to see if I am the only one dealing with this issue. I suppose entering the bass model to the thread title might have helped.

 

[MrMerrey]

Okay, well at least you can raise the action to try and cure it. I can't say this is a problem I've heard of before but I have never played that exact model either.

I would be inclined to say it is not the nut, purely because it should kill all open notes, not just slapped one. You could just be really unlucky and that by fretting the string at 1st fret you shorten it just enough that it no longer 'bottoms out' by reducing the vibration radius. A slightly heavier gauge string could cure it.

 

[fason]

I would be inclined to say it is not the nut, purely because it should kill all open notes, not just slapped one.

Makes sense and that's a relief becase somehow I am kind of reluctant to change the original nut.

A slightly heavier gauge string could cure it.

Okay, now I have my excuse to try Super Brights

You have been very helpful MrMerrey. Appreciated.

 

[MrMerrey]

Makes sense and that's a relief becase somehow I am kind of reluctant to change the original nut.



Okay, now I have my excuse to try Super Brights

You have been very helpful MrMerrey. Appreciated.

A pleasure, You can thank me when it is fixed.