Thanks Joe!
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This is going to be very fun to try! Thanks Josh!
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Does that mean i have to go and buy a new bass 
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This is the best video yet. I have been wanting a P-Bass lol. This isn’t helping.
NIB - what they used to call Geezer’s beard. True fact, it’s what the song was named for.
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I’ve been naturally doing this accidentally since day one. I used to think it was a problem, and then decided I thought it sounded cool and went with it. Glad to know I have precedent here 
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Josh what are those rad red strings?
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Awesome video, as always!!
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Smacking the strings downward works a lot better for me then plucking towards me. Wish I knew of this months ago.
Also this sounds really good on the Jaguar H with the EMG pickup
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Thank you @JoshFossgreen ! This is my second favourite video of yours after the Steve Harris one. I sense a pattern here.
Out of curiosity, in addition to technique, in order to get consistent “clank” on a P-bass, approximately how low do you have to set the action on the strings? I’m finding my “clank” inconsistent, particularly in the higher registers.
Inquiring and thankful minds want to know.
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@JoshFossgreen - Consistently hitting it out of the park!!!
2 favorite parts:
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the proof of Geezerifying when you play normal technique to smacks on the fingerboard = glorious.
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Wah-wah-wah-wahhhh… nice wah-ing, buddy.
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I don’t find this to be an action height thing, my action is pretty high compared to a lot of what I see (working on lowering it as I get better).
What really helped my clank is the Darkglass B7K, trebble up, bass up as well to build bottom end, drive up a little, clank for days easily. Maybe I am cheating but heck it works.
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For the record - I don’t think this is a good technique in a lot of situations. That aggressive clack sound really doesn’t deliver the goods for a chill reggae groove, or a Motown line, or a mellow ballad.
All the pro bassists (I know of) who use this technique are either full-time rockers (Geezer, Geddy, Billy Sheehan, Steve Harris), or they use it part time when a song needs some extra RAWK.
So not to poop the clackity clackity party, but it’s my job as a teacher to supply appropriate asterisks.
They’re DR Red Devils - in my limited experience the ONLY reason to use them is for the looks. They sound average, and feel really grippy on the fingers, which I don’t like.
It depends on how much RAWK POWER you can get out of your fingers. 
If your action is super super high, it’ll probably be hard, but anywhere in the ‘medium’ range and below works fine, in my experience.
Technically, there’s nothing the Darkglass (or anything else at that point in the signal chain) could do to get that exact sound of the strings smacking on the fretboard with each pluck. EQ/preamps can help a ton by accentuating the frequencies that those clacks occur in, but if the signal isn’t there to start with, it’ll just sound bright/zingy/snarly without actually clacking. I bet the clacky plucking technique + the Darkglass sounds super brutal though!
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Yeah for sure. For me it only seems to come out when playing fast and aggressive songs - but it’s definitely naturally happening, I don’t need to think about it, it’s just something I do.
I kind of described it a year or so back:
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Thank you, Josh. So, of course I’m still building the RAWK power in my fingers. The reason I asked is that I’m a real SH and GB fanboi (pretty pathetic in an almost 50 year old, but there it is) and I’m turning my P-bass (P-clone, really) into an SH fanboi worship shrine. I have another bass now (a Peavey Milestone III JJ) for all other kinds of music and I will finish off B2B (27 lessons left) with it.
I have flats on the P, and I’ve ordered Seymour Duncan SH pickups for it (won’t be here till the end of August. That’s what I get for being from the world’s richest third world country 
). When the time comes for a string change, I’ll put Rotosound SH flats on it. That said, I want to play with string action on my current set before putting expensive strings on it 
I ordered the Tech21 Sansamp SH-1 stompbox. We’ll see how that is when it arrives. My DIY Zoom B1four Steve Harris patch didn’t do it for me.
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To Josh’s point the clank needs to be there to begin with, but with active p’ups and boosting the signal more with EQ and some drive, its a lot easier.
I don’t get the same crazy easy clank out of the VT Bass DI, but it is not designed for it.
The B7K has this little Attack switch that lets you accentuate either bass or treble even more so as well.
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Yes, the SH1 has a “Bite” switch, which I suspect is similar.
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The “attack” and “grunt” switches on the B7k are three-way to let you pick three different envelopes for each. Really pretty neat.
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Maybe some love for John Entwhistle and his typewriter technique here ? That can be clanky
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