DR's have a very good slap tone, or so i think.

[QUOTE=Wintermute]Sounds like a case of extreme fretbuzz - how low is your action? if you raise it, you may find you get a cleaner, less clangy sound.

Again - no offence if you know, I just tend to assume people don't to cut down the number of posts I have to make - the action is the distance between the string and the frets. Particularly the 12th fret. It can be raised at the bridge. On my bass you need a small allan key, but that varies with the model.[/QUOTE]

Ah, I was going to make a thread about that. I often get various metallic noises when I play, but I always thought it was just my playing. However, I played a friend's bass, and noticed that his strings were much higher from the fretboard, and that most of the extra sounds were gone (only a little buzz at times). On mine there is a screw with a spring on it right beside each string. Does that raise the action, or is it something else?

Edit: Ah, don't bother. I looked through the archives and got my answers. Cheers for the help.

I dont think i saw you mention it Wintermute but cant you also slap by striking the string you are slapping with your index finger. It makes the exact same sound as with your thumb and i often use it for the A and sometimes D string.

I didn't mention it because it's not really slapping. I know what you mean, and have experimented with it, but I'm not sure it comes under this heading.

I'll mention it in more detail now though, for posterity.

[b][u]fingertip striking[/u][/b]

With this you are not striking the string with the side of you finger, as you would with your thumb, but using the tip. Using your index fingertip, tap a rhythm on your computer desk, or any hard surface. This effect is exactly what you are trying to achieve, but on a string. Do not ask for any tracks demonstrating this, as as far as I know there are none. As Mike pointed out, this creates a sound similar to slapping, though in my view, it's a lot more difficult to use properly.

Go wild, experiment. :D

I made something creative! YAY! :)

Im retarted, what is the action? is it the metal thingy at the bottom with the springs and such? I know, I am stupid....

Using the bridge (the metal thingy at the bottom with the springs and such) raise the level of the strings so that there is more space between them and the frets.

Does anyone have a video that is just slapping? The ones I find have popping too, and I can't really make it out.

The definition of action is the distance between the 12th fret and the string.

And everything I know about slapping I taught myself from watching the video of Les Claypool playing the Awakening. Seek it out, on Kazaa, or WinMX, or whatever's your poison.

How high should you action usually be for easier slapping?

[QUOTE=trev913]Two questions.

I'm sitting here with my bass around me and am doing this, and am getting it. But I've come to see that slapping and popping sound essentially the same no matter where you do it. Can't you just do one or the other for a full song? For example, I point to (insert random song full of slaps and pops). Could you just slap the entire song or pop it?

And secondly, does it really make a difference where you do your slaps? I've tried this, too. I like to stay...er...I guess "central" with my playing. As in if I start out playing between the pickups (why? theres about an inch freedom, but just exemplifying), I want to stay there, even if I have to slap and pop and so on. So does it make a difference?[/QUOTE]

1. You could if your fast enough. But why would you want you? Its way easier to slap and pop octaves and such then to just use one or the other. And slaps and pops sound different, so you wouldn't get the sound of the song.

2. It would just sound different for slaps. Though you wouldn't want to pop too far back.

[quote=burntgorilla]How high should you action usually be for easier slapping?[/quote]

Good question. Mine is moderately low - too low and you'll get fretbuzz, too high and you may find you have to slap harder and fast fretwork gets harder - I recommend taking an Allan Key, or Screwdriver, or whatever you need to adjust the action on your bass and experimenting.

[QUOTE=BlessTheMartyr4]Okay I've read all this watched that movie on that site and read that. And I'm still clueless on what to do. I put my hand over the bass sharply turn my wrists, using the knuckle of my thumb I hit the string right where the neck ends and when I bring my finger up I pluck the string...if I'm doing this right it sound just like if I were to play normally. I don't see a difference in tone or anything except for the annoying metal click.


:wave: [/QUI know this could sound stupid, but...do have an Active Bass? if youve onlyu got a assive, slap just dont work! hope this helps...

You mean that slap/pop technique works only on active basses??

I have a passive bass, and it works fine too, also if slap is not just the right kind of sound my instrument was designed for!

I think he only needs exercises or a friend who shows the right technique.

Somethings can be learned only when you look at with your eyes...

Slap and pop work on both passive and activ instruments.

With popping, you pull it directly away from the fretboard, yes? What does it sound like (I can't find a video that doesn't have slapping as well)? I sometimes pull too hard and it buzzes like hell, I'm assuming it's not pulled that hard. Also, with slapping, is the string meant to hit off the bottom frets?

Like some others....I'm sitting here following what I've read, etc, but I have a feeling I'm not doing it right. I'm trying to just do some slap on the E string, but my wrist doesn't really "twist sharply", it's more like my thumb is moving really fast.
And then, when I'm trying to pop, what should I do with my thumb? I mean, if someone is slapping and popping in a song, do they ever rest their thumb against the bass? I pretty much always rest mine on the pickup, because I've never tryed to slap or pop before. :-/

[QUOTE=bass-kiddo]Like some others....I'm sitting here following what I've read, etc, but I have a feeling I'm not doing it right. I'm trying to just do some slap on the E string, but my wrist doesn't really "twist sharply", it's more like my thumb is moving really fast.
And then, when I'm trying to pop, what should I do with my thumb? I mean, if someone is slapping and popping in a song, do they ever rest their thumb against the bass? I pretty much always rest mine on the pickup, because I've never tryed to slap or pop before. :-/[/QUOTE]

Well, usually when a song is slapped or popped or both, it has a flow to it, and usually when I pop after a slap my thumb is just freelanceing in the air. Slap and pop is a technique that comes good with lots of practice. Don't expect to get it in 5 minutes. Your rist should not snap sharply but flick and the force from the flick should be pushed to the thumb where you get your slap sound. Its all about accuracy too. Just keep practicing and it should come to you.

Rite all i can do is slap on E, but i put my hand in a ball pointing down and stick out my thumb and hit with the knuckle, wen i slap it hit all the strings and buzzes! HELP!
i dnt understand the wrist movement...can u help!

you are meant to slap with the thumb, not the knuckle. The wrist movement shold be a flick.

Have you read the opening post? I go into some detail on how to do that - give it a read if you haven't already.

[quote] know this could sound stupid, but...do have an Active Bass? if youve onlyu got a assive, slap just dont work! hope this helps... [/quote]

Assuming assive means passive... this is absolutely wrong.

I have a passive bass, and I can get a very good slapping tone out of it. Why wouldn't I be able to? There's nothing you can do on an active you can't do on a passive.

[QUOTE=BassBoy12]i dnt understand the wrist movement...can u help![/QUOTE]
The movement is like when You shake a thermometer to get down the mercury (turning just the wrist and not all the arm!!), but with the thumb raised up and relaxed. In fact, the thumb as to quickly hit the string bouncing over it.

I think I've got it, but it sounds much lower that it does on videos I've seen on slapping. What's the cause of that? Also, if I fret a note, especially near the head, it's nearly impossible to get a sound without clicking. How can I do that right?

Some click is to be expected - the string does hit the frets, after all - but if you're amplified you won't hear it.

If it's a real problem, try raising your action a little.

Is the string actually meant to hit the top few frets? I get the clicking from the bottom frets, obviously depending on which one I'm playing.

How loud are you being amplified?

Not that much, really. I turned it way up once, and the clicking almost seemed to get louder with the amp.

Hmm - It shouldn't do. Are you using a little practise amp, or a big one? Because at low levels you should expect some clattering, but if you're being very loud, it shouldn't. If you aren't using a large amp, try and track one down in a practice room or something similar and see if it really does get much louder.

In theory, at least, as you turn it up, the clicking will be drowned out.

Well, it's only 20W, so it's not massive. I also find it harder to get a sound from slapping when fretting a high note, but I'm assuming it's also volume related?

That's natural - if you think about the physics of it, you'd have to slap a lot harder to get it to hit the frets properly. Basically, either try to pop it, or move to an equivalent note on a different string.