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Slapping

zackthompson

zackthompson

Jul 18, 2011
925
256
Winston Salem
#1
I had a quick question relating to slapping in a live situation. I am the bass player for a christian rock band. We play modern worship music, like the stuff that is played on the radio. So the majority of the time I play finger style. But, the singer like to give me solos and "drum and bass" parts a lot, and usually, I will start slapping and popping. On stage, it sounds great! But the people in the audience say they can't hear me when I start slapping. Everyone can hear me fine when I play finger style, but when I start slapping, they can't hear me. What do I need to do to fix this? I play a Classic Musicman Stingray 4 thru an Acoustic B600 amp head on a B810 full stack. Thanks for any help!
 
#3
Either your EQ is not good or your technique is not good. Sorry, but there are no other possible solutions since most people report the results that MuzikMan had...slap is louder on the whole.
 
#4
Sounds like you're to compressed on the FOH side. Ask the engineer to keep an eye on the compressor when you slap and see if the compressor is slamming.

The audience tells you that they don't hear you when you solo, what does the engineer say? Does he hear you well when you solo?

Do you hear any problem through your amp on stage? If not, it's probably an FOH issue.
 
#5
I know I will get executed for saying this by all the loyal MM players.....but it's the bass :hiding:

Let me explain!
I had similar issues with my Stingray with the classic EQ.
At the time I was running a Eden WT550 and various Eden cabs (410, 212, 210 etc.).
With all of my other basses (G&L L2500, SB2, ASAT and a Valenti) I was always able to keep the EQ on my amplifier dead flat.
It would work well for finger style and slap on all of those basses....when I switched to the Ray it just faded away :rollno:
Finger style was not too bad, but slapping was almost non existent with the Ray....and it's too bad because to date the Ray was the easiest slapping bass I have owned.
Because I always had great results with my other basses I always left the Ray at home and eventually sold it.
I am sure if you spend some time with it you will find that it will need some EQ help....either on the bass or on the amp to fit your style of playing.

It was a beauty though!
Picture022.jpg
 
#6
I agree that there's probably some technique issues going on here but I've also had a similar experience when playing another person's rig who liked to scoop the mids out of his EQ (and/or boost the lows & highs). The slap tone sounded pretty good by itself but fingerstyle was much louder. Also, are you running a DI to the mixer? If so, that signal should be pre-eq and your engineer should be able to make you sound great through the PA. Then it all comes back to technique. Good luck!
 
#8
Vinny, I've slapped on a Stingray and a Sterling before, and I've not noticed those problems. However, I will admit that I haven't played live on either, but I've heard Dave LaRue slap many times on a Sterling and I never heard his slap be weak. He changes his EQ slightly when he slaps, but not by much.
 
#9
JimmyM said:
Vinny, I've slapped on a Stingray and a Sterling before, and I've not noticed those problems. However, I will admit that I haven't played live on either, but I've heard Dave LaRue slap many times on a Sterling and I never heard his slap be weak. He changes his EQ slightly when he slaps, but not by much.
Click to expand...

Yes, by myself I always thought it sounded great!
But live, the sound just never cut through.

It may have been just a slight tweak of one of the EQ's on the bass could have fixed it? just not sure.
When all the other basses worked fine it just was a dissapointment to play the Ray and not get the results that I wanted.

And I by all means have not counted out it's the way that I play! But whatever it is, the Ray just never worked for me.
 
#10
If you slap hard you lose low end, that could be why you get quieter. Light touch with the thumb could help.

Also could be the compression, maybe its triggering on the transients, and ducking much of the rest of the notes. quicker release might help, or slower on the attack to not trigger so much on the initial part of the note.

Randy
 
#14
@shtik- Sorry for sounding like a noob but what is the FOH side? My Acoustic amp doesn't have a compressor on it, but my line 6 amp that I use equally as much has one on it.

@everyone who said its a technique issue- I'm gonna try the lighter thumb trick next time to see how it goes.

Also, would it make a difference if i put a preamp on it, would it make a difference? I was looking at this: Active 3-Band Tone Circuits for Music Man® STC-3M3 & STC-3M4 - Seymour Duncan Cutting Edge

Thanks for everyone's input!
 
#15
FOH is Front Of House - means the PA speakers - what the audience hears.

Maybe you don't have a compressor on your amp but when your sound gets to the console, it gets heavily compressed by the engineer and this is what goes to the PA and heard by the audience. Ask the engineer if he uses a lot of compression on your bass.
 

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