Ok will do thanks @JoshFossgreen
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I’ll have to keep working on it, it just feels really unnatural after having the wrong technique ingrained.
The slap certainly sounds less solid than it should.
…if ( or should I say when?) I get to double thumb I’ll send you over a cold one Josh! For now my hand and brain just laugh at me mockingly when I attempt it!
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Wow I actually got a slap sound out of my bass… I really didnt expect to be able to do that… That was alot more fun than expected lol.
Hey @Jazzbass19 try it you never know you might enjoy it. I was very suprised.
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. . . I’m glad that you’ve started making progress!Going to have to watch the video above. Here’s a weird slap problem I’m having. I’m getting a harmonic when slapping, particularly on the D and G strings…wondering if it is because my thumb isn’t relaxed. But yeah, there is going to need to be a lot of practice if this is ever going to sound good. E string-no problem. A-string , mostly OK, then everything goes to hell… Anyway, anybody else get a weird harmonic?
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Nice! That is true. My bass teacher told me to visualize my thumb as a flail, with the spikey part being where I hit the string and the rest of it loose like the chain attached to it. I found the visualization really helpful!
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Fieldy and Flea tend to do thumb down, but it is not a good technique if you want to double thumb later. Funny enough, I do thumb parallel to strings, I find take the power back by RATM to be easier thumb down though!
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Could be striking without following through or backing off, or maybe not fretting hard enough on the fretting hand. Could also be maybe hitting other strings on accident that aren’t fretted but slightly muted? It’s hard to know without seeing/hearing.
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I like the flail analogy. I find as I try to hit harder I naturally tense up. Also if my fingers are curled, my thumb also tends to stiffen as well. Will keep practicing, and watching where I’m hitting to see if it’s an accuracy thing.
I have gotten many of those! Relaxation is a big part of it - the longer your thumb is stuck on the string, the more you’ll tend to ‘activate’ harmonic nodes.
But you can also play with positioning along the string - you might be hovering right over the 2 octave harmonic or something, so shifting a half inch either way would get you in a safer zone.
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Is it necessary to add a +1 to a Fossgreen tip?
Not surprisingly, I also agree with the first part - how long the thumb is stuck on the string.
These are the two main ones I see in students as well.
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Also thanks for the tip. Will play with positioning and also just need to practice the heck out of it.
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I hate slapping. That’s all. I’m trying to find all the videos and help and I just can’t get it. I can only get it on the E string. Everything else rings out and sounds like crap. Up until the slapping lesson, I was sounding so good and the plucking was sounding more clean. Admittedly, I am a perfectionist 
I’m having a hard time moving on from slapping and just plucking instead. But dangit, guess I have to.
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Hey @stacyleerobinson ! Yeah, it takes a lot of repetition to get the slaps sounds good on all 4 strings. Getting the E string is a great start!
If you hate slapping because it’s hard… it’ll get less hard!
If you hate it because you just don’t care about it… it’s probably not worth your time, very few songs require it!
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The tutorial is so good, it makes you wanna slap yo mama!
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I skipped the slap module, because I just couldn’t get a good sound of my bass. E was okayish, the other strings just sounded very bad.
Now for Christmas, I decided I get myself a Boss GT-1000CORE. When testing out all the presets, there was one called “Slap Bass Chorus”. And with that one, I can get all the strings sound quite good (also if I turn off the Chorus). Other things in this patch are just a Compressor and an Amp and Cabinet Sim.
So either the Comp or the Amp sim does it, or maybe I am more relaxed now or something.
So back to the slap module! 
(Though I might peak into the lesson about playing with a pick first ;))
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@Malyngo it’s probably the compressor. Of course you can check that by disabling the amp/cab sim(s) as well.
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It’s probably a scooped EQ on the amp as well. Compressor will make the biggest difference but slap sounds much much better with a deep mids scoop.
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I use a pretty high angle for my bass, so the thumb up technique is pretty impossible. Using thumb down technique I am very sloppy, can’t get a good note sound (either just a thud or harmonics) and tend to bash the other strings. Most of these problems are solved using a thumb ring. Thoughts on use of thumb ring?
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