197- Slap Bass Tone (6 Things Everybody Does WRONG)

The SBL Podcast

Scott's Bass Lessons

Scott's Bass Lessons, Bass Guitar, Bass, Online Bass Lessons, Education, Music Interviews, Electric Bass, Music, Sbl

4.8 • 522 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Think your slap sound is dialed in? Think again. In this episode, Scott and Ian break down six things almost everybody gets wrong when chasing a great slap sound. They dig into the impact of string type, pickup settings, and technique—plus some of the overlooked details that can make or break your setup. Whether you're just getting into slap or trying to fine-tune your sound, this one's worth a listen. Fixing just one of these might change everything.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Mr. Allison, what are we here today to talk about?
0:03.4	Is it?
0:05.0	Oh.
0:09.0	Oh, my word.
0:14.2	Listen to your beautiful new strings and these horrible...
0:18.0	Elastic bands.
0:20.8	Dude, it's not horrible? Well, not. You just... You played the hell out of that bass and then... And these horrible... I've got some new strings. Elastic bands.
0:21.0	Dude, that's not horrible.
0:22.1	Well, not.
0:22.7	You just, you played the hell out of that bass, and now those strings are toast. But that's a vibe, dude. That's a sound. Well, we're going to be talking about it on this part. We're going to be talking about that. Because what's the, what's the... Oh, yeah, slap bass tone. six things everybody does wrong.
0:38.7	That's the theme for this part.
0:41.2	And... the, oh yeah, slap bass tone, six things everybody does wrong. That's the theme for this part.
0:41.2	And should we just kick it up with the strings, actually? Just to go straight there, because I've had so
0:48.7	many experiences, especially when I was younger where in my mind, I was, I was thinking Marcus Miller,
0:56.2	you know what I mean?
0:57.1	And then I'd pick my bass up and play it.
0:59.2	And I'd be like, huh, doesn't sound like Marcus Miller.
1:03.5	It sounds nothing.
1:04.8	And I was just under-experienced.
1:07.6	I was inexperienced enough at the time to realize that, hey, I might not have
1:12.4	sounded like Marcus Millie if I put new strings on, but he would have got me a little bit closer.
1:17.6	Yeah, right, right, right.
	...

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