I finally got to the 13th module of the course which is slapping. I’ve taken over a year to get here and in that time I have experimented substantially with slapping and have gotten fairly good with the thumb down technique. All of a sudden Josh tells me thumb up is the best and it feels foreign and uncomfortable for me. Especially with the pop technique I’ve developed. I love slap bass and was psyched to get here but now I feel like I gotta relearn shit. It’s super comfortable for me to be thumb down and I’ve gotten pretty good at it in my opinion. Popping included, and accuracy. Josh saying thumb up is ideal made me rethink my slap technique. Anyone else prefer thumb down?? Any insight from the forum is much appreciated. Much love as always!!
I don’t slap but thumb down and (especially) double-thumbing are the two most common I see locally, while Josh’s method seems to be the most common I see with US and UK bassists.
I think it depends on who is your idol. I grew up watching “traditional” slippers Marcus, Nathan, Tesuo Sakurai, Stanley, etc, they are all thumb up slappers. When I got better I added the Woot, Victor Wooten, and Trevor Lindsey style to summon my inner Woot.
I am trying to improve my skills at both. That they’re better in different contexts. Thumb down for punch. Thumb up for speed/double.
I suspect it’s mostly about the height and angle you hold the bass at. A low slung bass, your thumb is more likely to fall pointed down. Held high, thumb will more naturally point up.
IIRC, at some point Josh does say that thumb down is perfectly fine, just not what he teaches.
Frankly, it you’ve already got a good thumb down technique I say stick with it. If you were starting from scratch then following Josh’s thumb up advice would make more sense.
if it works it ain’t broke