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Double Bass The slap is louder than the note

T

theshadow2001

Jun 17, 2004
3,089
8
Ireland
#1
I'm not familiar with the slap technique, I'm not even a double bassist just yet. But from what I've seen of the slap technique on youtube and other places. It nearly always seems when the player slaps, the notes of the bass line seem to fall behind in the mix with the sharper slaps coming more into the forefront than the notes being played. Its almost as if the notes become secondry to the rythmic slaps. Sometimes this is more noticeable than other times.

I don't know if this due to bad recordings poor technique the basses and quipment used or if thats just the way slap on the upright sounds.

If it is just the sound i think its a shame that the bass line gets lost behind the technique. What are your guys thoughts?
 
#2
It depends on the strings used, and the person's aggressiveness. Low tension gut or nylon strings will produce a duller note that won't be as audible, and the slap will take over. For some bands, the slap rhythms are of primary importance, and for other's it is the notes themselves. This varies from band to band and genre to genre. However, I think that part of the reason slapping is used (was used?) was so the bassist could be heard in an outdoor situation with many other instruments, as well as to provide percussion.

Nowadays, playing in clubs or recording, you can use pickup systems that will have two piezo transducers, one on the fingerboard and one on the bridge. You can then adjust the volumes of each individually, and have them as two separate tracks. As far as youtube home videos...slaps are going to come through alot easier and have a much more prominent place.

Plus, many use it to hide a lack of bass technique. :rolleyes:
 
#3
theshadow2001 said:
...If it is just the sound i think its a shame that the bass line gets lost behind the technique. What are your guys thoughts?
Click to expand...

I think both the bass and the slap should be audible. It's odd that there is too much slap sound for your liking, in the recordings you've heard. I hear more often than not that the slap is not loud enough.

I've been jamming with two guitar players (no drummer) for the last 4 months. In this case, the slap is essential: I am the bass and the drums.
 
#12
theshadow2001 said:
Whats everyones opinion on the ratio of the volume slap to the actual note. What do you think it should be? Should one have a definite prominence over the other shoul it be 50/50, what do think?
Click to expand...

I don't keep it consistent between songs...or even in some songs. I use a K&K RaB so I can dial in the level I want. I also adjust the tweeter on my cab and eq when I want it to sizzle.

I don't think you can put it in terms of ratio, because we're talking totally different wavelenghts.

Too much is not a good thing, though.
 
#14
I have my bass going thru a pedal that I built that allows me to turn off the slap pickup when I want. Some of the songs we play need to have the slap upfront to help carry the beat. Other songs the slap sound out of place.
 
#15
I play on Thomastic Spirocore Mediums, and when I slap, it's mostly note with a little but of slap. I have fun every once in a while playing on someone else's bass strung with guts, so I can get that thick slap heavy, no note to be found thump.

Oh, and if you set your action up really high to get your whole finger under the string, then the slap will dominate. That setup requires so much velocity on the string when you pull it, that you can't avoid it.

I think steel strings are the deal. I don't do the rockabilly thing though. If you want to slap the whole song, you'll need to swap out your fingers when you change strings...if you're using Spiro Mediums.
 
#16
theshadow2001 said:
I don't know if this due to bad recordings poor technique the basses and quipment used or if thats just the way slap on the upright sounds.

If it is just the sound i think its a shame that the bass line gets lost behind the technique. What are your guys thoughts?
Click to expand...

If a player is amped he has control over two volumes: The volume of the slap and the volume of belly. These two volumes are changed even during gigs, cause every song might need another slap/tone ratio.

I wouldn't know if your tone gets lost a lot at the cost of your slap, but I do know that some bands have an afwful loud slap over tone ratio!
 
#18
Has anyone else ever tried a Schertler stat-b pickup for slapping? I used an underwood for 10 years and a realist a few times. With the piezo pickups it always seems like when you go from regular pizzicato to slapping the bottom end drops out and the click takes over. About a year ago I got the Schertler which is an electrostatic mic in a piece of cork that fits into the bridge wing. when I slap with it the bottom doesn't drop out at all but there's still lots high end definition. you have to make sure it's not too tight or it will sound thin. I'm not sure why more slappers aren't using them, I think it sounds great for slapping. I also think the amount of click depends on your attack. Sometimes I pull the string very lightly to produce almost no click at all and other times much harder. It all depends on what the song calls for.
 

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