Grooving with slap bass

In continuation of the last「ghost note」article, we will take a look at another bass technique.

We will take a look at adding「slap bass」to an existing bass phrase.
Because it has a strong attack, it works great when used percussively in a song.

The key point is using it with the existing bass part.
We will look at「changing range」「changing location」「spacial effects」.

We will try embellishing bass lines with this technique.

「Slap sound」

Sound design

Sequencing notes to accent the bass line

Listen to the existing drum/bass line, to determine where to add the accents.
「Octave」and「7th」notes work great for bass slaps.

Set note an octave above with the velocity set slightly strong.

Differentiating from the basic bass sound

To ensure that the bass slaps don’t get in the way of the existing bass,
use the EQ to apply「low cuts」and/or「high cuts」.

Adding distortion –

or Delay to create depth are good techniques.