Rockabilly Slap Upright Bass

[grease1503]

you should make a lesson of this video

[Juicefani11]

When you buy an upright bass, is the bridge off it's place, or is it already installed? I thought of buying one from Thomann next summer.

[bassman071]

@Juicefani11 Depends on the bass, if it is from a reputable small business who normally plays and sets up their own basses it will be fine to play. However, most basses will require a setup, this includes bridge placement, strings, etc...

[SEANFIR]

One more slap and you're a drummer!

[indentyfikator]

zajebiste, :D

[EvanBarrows]

awsome

[Diggerbrans]

Nice !

[boywonder00009]

Good stuff!

[crippledinside92]

I just wana start off by saying that u were awesome and play very good lol now can anyone give me some advice? I really wana learn to play the upright, problem is i dnt kno squat about the instrument or anything..my dad said hed buy me 1 but first i hav to find out everything i need to know lyk wut kind of upright and strings n everything. Can anyone wana clue me in here?

[alonsusfalonsus]

hitting that hard the strings provokes afination variationn

[ojodelince01]

very well

[chapanese96]

is it really hard to do this?

[testiclope]

good slappin

[SuperRikyDj]

how is your action? (in mm)

[falsepride]

Awesome stuff here buddy. We are all still learning here. Great slapping though, keep up the great work.

[josefreakinrules]

how does it sound plugged in? i started upright a few months ago and was given some weedwackers to play on, i love the slapability but hate the dead tone. i've been looking for strings that our loud like steel but have good slapability, i heard the supernils were great

[kadaj2172]

i like the upright bass....i just got no place to put one....maybe one day i will get one. For now im just guna stick with my johnson electric....

[bassmaster2178]

is the upright bass hard to learn?

[Juicefani11]

@bassmaster2178 A bit. I have never played one, but i know how to play one.

[bassman4cfg]

hell yea hold a work shop or something

[kokycoal]

Nice. You are a very good bassist.  Wish I could get that slap down like that.

[PDXorcist]

hot damn, nice shootin' tex! I haven't a clue how you did that, but it sounded great. Please tell me you're in a band.

[BuddyHollysEdselGirl]

Nice!

[Tpathpslm557]

Whoaaa! awesome

[greeneyedsteamengine]

Killer!

[coffinbass666]

great sound!!...

[transfat5532]

You should do a video explaining your triple slap, I have no clue how you do it. please do a video!

[wazzupwilly]

cool video man

[unwedoloco909]

love the sound of those supernils, i was thinking about getting some but i heard they damage the fingerboard. Had any problems with yours?

[Basspost]

It took me a few minutes to realize you are using gut strings on the D abd G . If you have time, please tell me the brand of the gut strings. It would also be really interesting to know how far off the fingerboard the strings are at the bottom of the fingerboard.You have a lot of appreciative viewers on here and I'm certain many would be interested in both those questions. Thanks for posting! Cheers, James

[overoath123]

is that left handed or just re strung to reversed?

[tubamanKevinU8]

Could you guys please comment my bass vid? it'd be greatly appreciated.

[Anysekloveful]

its not hard its veryyyyyyyyyy easy!!!!! but its very nice :)

[felon95]

amazing! great job!

[psychobillybert]

Yet another reason to kill myself.

[HumanJarv]

Hehe, awesome :)

[buzzkillbitch]

wow, awesome!!!

[keepthefunk]

nice slappin but intonation could be better

[Memphisevil]

I agree. It's an ongoing struggle. Due to bad habits. thanks for the comment!

[jcleancut808]

your intonation is fine.

[HaynesScott]

Excellent.You play like a pro.

[psychofuck44]

you should put up more lessons, i watched your lesson on drag triplets and it really helped

[taichifist]

Well Done! My Goal is to learn to play an Upright Bass!

[zack02o]

Me too!

[studio1320]

nice!!

[TheDirtyMongGoose]

what kind of strings would u say are best for just startring out trying to slap?

[Memphisevil]

I use LaBella Supernils. Cost is about $85 shipped through Lemur Music.

[abecerril86]

i envy u dude!!! hands down.

[Memphisevil]

Thanks!

[TheWayish]

If it were me playing the old stand up bass that well I'd be showin' my face.

[Memphisevil]

Not my ugly mug!

[jugglerjoe]

sounds awsome. way cool. I love the natural sound of an upright and charles mingus is the jazz god of the upright.

[scorpio16016]

ya,it sounds pretty amazing

[Memphisevil]

Thanks!

[squarcy]

impara a pizzicare prima di suonare però

[basslogic4003]

Nice, clean triplets and intonation. I just picked up my first upright, slapping the shit outta the stock steels, ouch, haha. I love the definition and sound of steels, but i need something a little lower tension.

[Memphisevil]

They look like steel but they are nickel would LaBella Supernils on the E and A. The D and G are nylon wound.

[NYStarRider]

Is that a full set of Supernils?

Are you Amped?

[Memphisevil]

Supernils and not amped.

[StopTheMoti0n]

WOW!!! murder on the hands!!!!

[3jacob418534]

Nice! (:

[beatlebassmania]

very very nice! love the worn own bass too

[beatlebassmania]

wow, very nice!

[goldwing1966]

woohoo

[PomadeHead]

how do you those ruff slaps

[lusefer]

you mean triplets?

chek out his other vids hes got a vid on em

[MilyMiragurozu]

he aprendido algo nuevo hoy =D

el contrabajo tmbn se puede pulsar....

[gkool12345]

this is so sweet i want to learn how to play the double bass

[tubamanKevinU8]

Hello, bass players. i have been searching the internet for a cheap and decent upright bass. i came across one called the Florea Midnight Bass Outfit(3/4 size black). if anyone could give me some feedback on it, i would greatly appreciate it. thanks.

[EBEalienbeing]

Great playing

[Nagap]

damn dude your drag tripletes are fkn clean!! nice playing!!! what kinda string you got in there slick??

[thejonasband]

thats cool! when you did that drum part. very nice!

[blackxknight]

that looks hard but i kind of got the notes but not the slaps.

im still a beginner at middle school but im the best bass player eva. i figured out myself how to do the thing u called ummm the vibration thing on the string

[LinedUp3]

"best bass player eva"

quotes for hilarity

[cwag123]

you mean vibrato it is very simple well i dont know im barely learning but you start with i think just like well i dont know

[punkrons]

What kind of strings do you use?

[gretschcountryclub]

LaBella Supernils

[stridegum1213]

READ THE INFO!!!

[freddysouth]

eurosonics

[Laughnurdead]

damn this wait sure was a lag... but i'm pretty sure he's using gut strings or nylon... meh but what do i know i only slapped bass for about 4 months...

[resistthisday]

Very cool. Rockabilly bass is really cool, for sure.

[ilikepie56789]

I cant play like u, but I wish i could...

TEACH ME!!!! just kidding

[Rockrol913]

REALLY AWESOME !!! I play bass guitar ... Would love to try an Upright ^_^

It sounds like your fingers are tap dancing !!!

GREAT stuff :)

[Kris0727]

NICE PLAYING!

[NilsPaden]

You should put up lesson videos. Then you'd be even more of a hero! :)

[karoloandria]

rockabilly-ty

[crillics]

very nice!

[moslimtv]

hellow could you give the name of the song or the tabs of the song please i love it and i want to learn it

[metalmusicrocks13]

koooool!

[freddysouth]

you are using nylon strings?

[ufcpunishment]

haha sweet

[jazmlz]

What kind of strings U using? I just inherited a upright, and want to change the strings (currently has 2 flatrounds, and 2 steel roundwounds).

I've been playing electric bass for about 2 years.

P.S. Excelent playing, best on Youtube...

[therockabullet]

Fuck, you're good.

[psychobillybert]

Do your supernils tear up your fingerboard? I had a set of steels on my 57' kay when I got it. No clue what brand but when I started slapping I noticed it was really ripping it up. Now I have Inovations but I really want to go to supernils.

[Grave187RIP13]

That was dope dude.

[freddysouth]

what he have on the fingers???

[squirrelnutcased]

Its just light from a window or something... you can see it on the bass too

[lolgiggetyroflomg]

fingernails :)

[AbsintheAgue]

nice lol

[missystu]

nails

[ZombieChickXxX]

sweet

[GxUnitxScoota]

That's really nice =D Too bad I won't be able to do that for like 1 year because I'm just starting Upright Bass =[..

[VoodooFlintstone]

Completely brilliant.

[JenkBigQ]

man, in my orchestra class, in high school, i tried to do this, but it sounded horrible nothing like you, she thought i was just playing around and acting stupid, so she wrote me up,

now dats not the end of it im on football team, so not only was i wrote up, iwas on punishment by my parents, and i had to run all day in practice. That really sucks thats the last time i try to do what i see on youtube anymore lol

[Jansson9106]

AWESOME!

[retardedfishfrogs]

sweet

[llamamama09]

So i was thinking about *trying* to learn the bass.... i'm only five feet tall... is that a good idea? (my school has an extra bass i could use to maybe be in jazz band) also... how long would it take to learn to play it decently, i only would have a few months...

[requiemxforxsanity]

just out of curiosity, why is it that seemingly every upright bass video is of the same 12-bar blues walking line?

[nirvana324]

Because it was one of the first things you ever learned on it, and what is usually most played.

I know if I had one, It'd be some Death Metal :P

[missystu]

Won't work for you. It takes a MAN to handle a Contra.

[UK2AK]

Happy blues! Good comment.

Of course, the percussive accents are what make the clip, otherwise it would be a simple blues line, but they were very cool.

This was a fun one.

[germ77777]

Damn thats smooth memphis, love watching your videos, have learnt a lot just from watching them already

[kimsungdo2012]

cool man~

[Musicman543210]

im actually dying to learn how to play it. i just think its so cool and vintage.. anyone know how much they go for?? lol i know heyre expensive

[pigsrulealot]

You can get them anywhere between like 2500 or so to way up there in the thousands

Mine was 5000-6000 around there

[homosexfan]

suhweet!

[clbmjmx6x4madcar]

Is that happy blues? That is good. I play the bass too. How do u slap it like that?

[doctordude]

damn man, you're making me feel inadequate

[Buddha117]

that bass sounds really good, good playing

[proferic]

This is rockabilly slap. It's not really bass playing.

[BloodWolf138]

That is a matter of opinion. No one really cares what you think.

[kingbobo8090]

can anyone make a video to teach upright bass i'm a beginer and i wanna learn!!

[labdak]

wow. that takes the fingers of god.

[kazman29]

Great right hand technique - really great! Now I think you need to spend a little time on the left hand - the intonation needs work

[Rendell05]

Agreed. 100%, sweet right hand, some inotation problems though, either way, its just a recording I spose, Im sure itd be a small fix.

[markhyena]

Boooo to you sir....

Memphis is AWESOME !!

[rossmorris]

i think i just came in my pants!

thats amazing

[ixd88]

can uplay this on electric bass?

[ethantrimmer12]

no, i play stand up bass and the finger board is not big enough to do that, bass finger slap is hard but once you get the hang of it its really fun

[redlineobsession]

Accually you can, i play both

the slapping would be different

but thats it

[ixd88]

can u play this on electric bass?

[Sc4r7]

eh. too original i learned that rockabilly slap a while ago, however it does rquire lots of practice. nice job.

[unitedprincesses03]

How do you do that?

[grimjimcrowley]

Practice!

No really I'm not kidding, it's a lot of work.

Basically there's 2 sounds. 1) when you pull the string, it snaps back and hits the fingerboard (the long piece of wood). 2) when you slap your palm or fingers against the strings and it hits the fingerboard again.

there's the short version. Now go practice!

[tortygalore]

Hi, that was nice!

Sorry if you already answered this but where can I find a tutorial on slap technique? I've not had much luck online, it's all guitars.

I just got a cheap electric upright bass to play with :)

[ai4281]

great technique!

[gonzalezanthony32494]

The E flat progression sounds alittle out of tune.Try to fix it.Overall 5 stars but I dont really like the chonka chonk thing. I guess you like to play like the old days.

[Memphisevil]

I believe that was in the Key of C. It may have been a lil' flat but no where near being in the key of Eb.

[gonzalezanthony32494]

Im dont really belong to the C family, thats why it sound like E flat to me.

[Memphisevil]

I'm guessing you play a horn. I'm in C concert.

[gonzalezanthony32494]

Yup, Fluglehorn, Trumpet, French Horn and Bari Sax. Freaky huh? Not really, I enjoy it.

[macuiltzintli]

hey man, tell me the names of the string you use, they have a metallic sound or you put something in your hand? please answer, thanks

[Memphisevil]

LaBella Supernils.

[ixd88]

wuts the name of this song

[Gorgx2x]

Its just a simple Blues bar bassline. its quite common

[ethantrimmer12]

i cant watch this video but i play standup bass...its a great instrument

[imann3]

The slapping is great so don't take this the wrong way but does anyone actually without slapping

[Drosophilamelanogas]

Nice....

[Swingdanceswitch]

How do you get the slaps to sound so smooth?

[checkerdshoes21]

you actually have to hit your hand upagainst the string and fret board before plucking

[Swingdanceswitch]

Thanks. Did you use all your fingers to pluck except the thumb? You sound awesome. I hope I can pluck like that one day.

[Cheezmonkeysam]

You're playing it wrong!!!

[blownglasslide]

How? Souds right to me. Infact, it sounds a lot better than most slap bass players!

[deej7]

very cool! now, let's talk about the fiddle...i'll give ya $8 for it...

[Memphisevil]

sold to the guy over there in the pink suit!

[lvlesh28]

simply awsome!!

[gearysveggies]

sweet!

[washtubbass]

smackin cooL!

[sgtrock70]

played sir

[ixd88]

i have an electric bass and i dont get how people play double bass with no frets can sum1 tell me?

[hazelhorsebreaker]

its easier with no frets you just gotta be a little more precise on where you put your fingers

[jojoharvin1]

basic knowledge. we just memorize the positions and thats it.

[Bowser28]

uhhh you just press down with ur fingers

[Zeldafoo9]

uh, you put your finger exactly were it needs to go. It's much harder and that's probably why most poeple play with frets, because it's easier. You get a better tone without frets though.

[rockabillyhepcat13]

thye use there fingers as "frets" by pressing the string down exactly wear the note is

[symonsam]

thats just sickeningly good man, well done!!!

[StringBass08]

wow!!

[ChaosSpades]

I like it

[PsychoLiam]

How Do You Get Your Action That Low?

My Strings Are Miles Away From The Fretboard, And If I Move My Bridge Any Further Down The Body It'll Make My Bass Look Silly....

Any Pointers Would Be Much Appreciated. =]

[motoxchamp321]

shorten your bridge?

[Gigabitten]

i had the same problem with my schools bass. it was painful to play because of that, and the fact that the strings were like razors. i got it overhauled at a music shop. they sanded down the bridge and put really nice strings on it and it made it super easy and much more fun to play.

[Sc4r7]

NO dont shorten your bridge, what you neeed to do is bring it to a professional who will adjust your fretboard and te strings will someho bend with it or something like that.

[Memphisevil]

don't move the bridge down. It's suppose to be where the notches on the f-holes are at. on the inside there is the sound post. if you move it, your tone/volume will be affected. get an adjustable bridge or take it to a professional place to have it setup.

[alexthewildebeest]

Hey, cool click pattern.

[alexthewildebeest]

Hey, cool click pattern.

[salvagno420]

fucking rad.

[ArcReforged]

you got some really shiny knuckles

[azugirl111]

his knuckles aren't shiny, its just the light shining in from the window, it was showing up in dots, and they were on his hand..so yeah.

[Memphisevil]

actually they are shiny. My hands are covered with shiny scales instead of skin.

[Pankfrank]

Coolthardt!

[funkadelic1992]

awsome...

[ussixtysix]

Great stuff..Don't listen to the bad press.

[wasnnamealda]

very nice

[masterman321]

that click pattern is sick who needs drums when you can do that

[HillbillyJ]

How do you think bluegrass musicians get by with no drums? LOL