Slap question (we've not had one in a while)

[AndyBass]

So a constant thorn in my proverbial side when it comes to slapping is playing fast notes. I can double, triple and drag slap between quarter notes til the cows come home, but if I'm playing a lot of eighth notes (with or without slaps between), my hand claws up, my fingers tap the fingerboard and my slaps go off time as it just sounds rushed.

I've found a way around this, which involves changing my usual hand position to only using the index finger, sort of hooking under the string and slapping with the inside edge of that knuckle. I can do pretty rapid fire slap like that, but need to change back to do most other stuff.

So my question is does anyone change hand position between "fast" and "fancy" slap, between the body of the bassline and eighth note runs? And if so does the position I mention above sound familiar? Trying to establish if I've just created a new bad habit to get into or found a solution to my problem. Not helped by a lot of bassists I've seen not changing position at all, other changing but to entirely different ones to me, etc. Appreciate there's no rules, but there are things that work much better than other things!

[Rabbie]

Hi Andy, I think I may slightly change my hand to a wee bit of a "sideways hook" when doing fast runs, I never really thought about it to be fair, I just do it. I think that most people just do feels natural to them; as you quite correctly say, there is no rule as long as you achieve a clean big sound. The most important things in my opinion are to make sure your hand is relax and your action is high enough, so your fingers will be able to grab the strings easily, even at fast tempos.