I found slapping easier on a bass with wider string spacing and a heavier gauge.
I went from a JJ type bass and Roto uncoated SS, to a Peavey Patriot with Billy Sheehan coated rounds. Night and day in terms of accuracy and sound quality.
The accuracy is a no brainer, wider spacing means less accidental strikes on adjacent strings. But the heavier gauge has me puzzled. Any thoughts?
DR Hi-Beams are steel rounds wrapped around a round core. They feel really smooth to me and slap very well. I got the 40-100 set. Not too light and just the right amount of tension
Heavier gauge strings have more inherent tension. Different players have different slap techniques inherent to how each of us is built, etc. So heavier strings seem to be best for you.
Victor Wooten slaps like a fiend and he prefers lighter strings. Apparently, he’s a smaller guy all around, so that might explain it, at least in part. Dunno.
Some players like Flea beat the living shit out of their strings.
Conversely, I’ve seen a ton of videos where other players seem to barely touch their thumbs to the string as they slap; yet they achieve a good, authoritative tone.
Granted, the tone intensity and volume are not on the same manically percussive level as Flea and other heavy-handed players, but, then again, the light-touch players aren’t playing slap lines of the same genre, either.
I’ve heard really good things about DR, I’ll have to try them someday.