as for what it’s like (SBL fretboard accelerator) i am currently up to the part in talkingbass’s chord tones lessons where mark teaches how to play a triad (Cmaj) with 3 different fingerings, starting on different fingers, the idea being to be able to move triads across and around the fretboard easily and to combine them in different patterns. i have a sneaky suspicion that SBL is going to be exactly the same thing.
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Do the same with the scales. if you know the triads with 1st, 2nd an d 4th finger position, you will do good in the scales
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@Gio Sorry i have been absent just have had alot of issue arise. I know you said upload a video is there something specific that would better diagnose my issues? (I will try and load something up today) Would it better for me to put it on you tube and send a link or just post it straight to here?
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No worries at all.
For a video, you’d have to load it to YouTube or Vimeo and bring the link over here. If you put a video link on its own line in the chat, it puts the video player right into the chat stream.
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@Aldwinn88! Thanks for the videos.
I watched, and I can offer some things!
Because of your bass position and how you’re attacking the strings with your thumb, I would offer the same advice I gave to @phillyball above in that regard:
(weird to quote myself… cool? not sure.)
The biggest biggest most important thing I have to point out though - regardless of what position your thumb ends up in is this:
Stop activating your thumb.
Your thumb (particularly in that 2nd video) keeps pushing it’s way through the string. Your thumb should be like a prosthetic attachment to your hand. It can’t try and do anything. The whiplash/bounce-back motion of the slap that you need to:
- get good sound
- get clean attack
- play quickly
cannot happen if your thumb is in there trying to play the string.
In your first video, you’re attacking the strings in a more traditional slap approach, and the thumb is not so bad there. More of that, less of the thumb motion in video 2.
The point of contact is another thing.
Your thumb looks almost sideways to the string. You want the most precise point of attack from your thumb as possible. For me, its the protrusion at that thumb joint. The thumb sticks out just a bit there, and it’s like the tip of a hammer: that’s the only thing on my thumb that hits the string.
See if you can check the angle of your thumb, or where you’re striking so that there aren’t chances of stray bits of thumb/finger getting in the way of a clean attack.
Try those things.
Holler if they work or don’t!
Best of luck.
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Thanks Gio and Eric.Kiser for the advice. What a great community of bass shredders! Hoping that this helps someone else out, here’s what I did: I took my bass to GuitarCenter and the first employee I saw grabbed it and ripped a 3 minute slap solo. So part of my problem is technique for sure.
But here’s the important part: the tech lowered the pickups and it helped a lot. I could hear the difference right in the store, even without being plugged in. I also put electrical tape over the pickups for good measure.
Now I’m back to practicing and it feels like there’s a larger “window” of how hard I need to strike the string to get a nice ring. And I can’t detect any change in tone from the tape or the pickup adjustment.
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Thanks for the update!
Glad things are helping, and keep us posted with any progress.
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Thanks @Gio sorry its a bit delayed i thought i had posted this months ago… Im still working slowly struggleing but its due to not having a ton of extra time to sit and pratice… 
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No worries at all. No rush on anything here. Stay well and try and enjoy it all!
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