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Best Slap Tone Ever????

#142
Dr. Cheese said:


Dude is a fine player, and the MV5 sounds great, but I do not think it has a better slap tone than my American Geddy Lee, YMMV.
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First, that vid certainly displays the Sadowsky slap tone, which is great. The player is skilled; but, the overplaying (lack of space) actually detracts a bit from the sense of tonal quality; at least for me.

Doc, this thread seems just a tad hyperbolic. I mean seriously, “BEST” slap tone??? We’ve been treated to so many fantastic but different slap tones through the years, that thinking about “Best” just makes my head hurt. Here are a few standouts in different stylings:





(And @malthumb already posted this:thumbsup:; but it’s def a standard, so gets a second). I like this performance (FF to 3:00 to skip the entrance fluff)



Enjoy!!
 
#145
bucephylus said:
First, that vid certainly displays the Sadowsky slap tone, which is great. The player is skilled; but, the overplaying (lack of space) actually detracts a bit from the sense of tonal quality; at least for me.

Doc, this thread seems just a tad hyperbolic. I mean seriously, “BEST” slap tone??? We’ve been treated to so many fantastic but different slap tones through the years, that thinking about “Best” just makes my head hurt. Here are a few standouts in different stylings:





(And @malthumb already posted this:thumbsup:; but it’s def a standard, so gets a second). I like this performance (FF to 3:00 to skip the entrance fluff)



Enjoy!!
Click to expand...


It only makes your head hurt if you let it. This has been just folks giving their opinions so far.
 
#150
Cut the middle said:
It is awesome.
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He looks like he is having a ball, it's definately a thicker sound than what it seem most people go for.

It's the brightness of the more modern slap tone that I think people find so grating and why they end up hating slap, that thin overtly trebly tone. For a lot of slappers, there seems to be a shift towards that bright sound, but playing (as another person in the band) with or hearing that for an extended period of time gets tiresome.

And that bright slap sound is so widespread, that young folk think that is what slap is supposed to sound like, and they contribute to that trend by replicating that sound.

It doesn't have to be that way folks, it's just a way to play a string, you can put some bass into your slap bass sound. Focus on making it groove, those that slap and groove seem to go fat with their slap tone, Larry goes fat, Louis goes fat even Me'Shell goes fat and those folks can definitely slap and those folks can definitely groove.

While I hear a lot of thin toned slappers with chops and very little groove. Must be something to that.
 
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#153
thabassmon said:
He looks like he is having a ball, it's definately a thicker sound than what it seem most people go for.

It's the brightness of the more modern slap tone that I think people find so grating and why they end up hating slap, that thin overtly trebly tone. For a lot of slappers, there seems to be a shift towards that bright sound, but playing (as another person in the band) with or hearing that for an extended period of time gets tiresome.

And that bright slap sound is so widespread, that young folk think that is what slap is supposed to sound like, and they contribute to that trend by replicating that sound.

It doesn't have to be that way folks, it's just a way to play a string, you can put some bass into your slap bass sound. Focus on making it groove, those that slap and groove seem to go fat with their slap tone, Larry goes fat, Louis goes fat even Me'Shell goes fat and those folks can definitely slap and those folks can definitely groove.

While I hear a lot of thin toned slappers with chops and very little groove. Must be something to that.
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A lot of thin tone also be reflective of folks like Mark King, who like very light gauge strings.
 
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#154
Dr. Cheese said:
A lot of thin tone also be reflective of folks like Mark King, who like very light gauge strings.
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Yes, the thinner gauges allowed him to do some more acrobatic tricks, I think there's an interview with Bass Player magazine where he says his approach is like a jazz drummer, adding stuff on top. I'll find the interview so I can quote him accurately. But essentially he is implying his approach is less fundamental and more filler. Which is fine but as bass players, aren't we meant to fulfill the supportive role inherent to our frequency range to support the tune and lay down the groove foundation for the higher frequencies?

I'm not against slapping by any means, I remember learning the slap line on "Take the Power Back" RATM, and then learning a lot of Flea lines, going through learning Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, and a bunch of others some for the hell of it, some for the cover bands I played in. I just notice that the ones that truly play groovy lines have a fatter sound, and the ones that play acrobatic stuff have a thinner sound. On YouTube I notice that a lot of people seem to dial in thinner tones when playing slap parts, almost as if they are convinced that is what makes a "decent" slap tone, or that's what slap is meant to sound like.

There a times where I'm in a situation where I am not the bassplayer, and that difference is one of the factors that helps me decide on which player to hire.
 
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#155
thabassmon said:
And that bright slap sound is so widespread, that young folk think that is what slap is supposed to sound like, and they contribute to that trend by replicating that sound.

It doesn't have to be that way folks, it's just a way to play a string, you can put some bass into your slap bass sound. Focus on making it groove, those that slap and groove seem to go fat with their slap tone, Larry goes fat, Louis goes fat even Me'Shell goes fat and those folks can definitely slap and those folks can definitely groove.

While I hear a lot of thin toned slappers with chops and very little groove. Must be something to that.
Click to expand...

Did you consider that people use might a "thin" tone because they prefer it? Slap isn't "supposed" to sound one way or another. You talk as if there is a right and wrong way to play and I suspect your personal preferences may have prejudiced you somewhat.
 
#156
Mastodon2 said:
Did you consider that people use might a "thin" tone because they prefer it? Slap isn't "supposed" to sound one way or another. You talk as if there is a right and wrong way to play and I suspect your personal preferences may have prejudiced you somewhat.
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Sorry it wasn't meant to sound like that, I must of poorly phrased it. They are just opinions on slap tone, I like a thicker slap tone.

But I also have used a thinner tone for certain things, for effect, such as highlighting a particular passage or soloing in a multi bass ensemble (oh, the crazy things you do when you're young).

Of course there will always be player tone preference, just as I may prefer to boost low mids of a certain part whilst another player may wish to boost high mids.

When I am in the position where I am auditioning players, I am thinking about how their tone fits into the overall mix of instruments. For me that's an important consideration along with time, feel, ability, demeanor etc. I enjoy many different player's playing with many different tones in many different styles and it's about context. I can see when a group has multiple basses, an able keys player with a great left hand or bass solo spots, a thin tone could work well. But generally I want there to be some thickness in the bass otherwise the bottom seems to fall out. If the bass is cutting, who's supporting?

But you are right, there is no proper way. The instrument is too new for "proper" yet.
 
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#157
I’ve always loved this slap tone, and I’m pretty sure it’s a P with flats..


This really makes me want some sort of MusicMan..

I’m not sure what bass this is (I always wondered) but I think it’s dope...


...but I literally spent thousands of dollars on this tone..passive boat anchor 70s Jazz :drool:

 
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#159
Ace Of Bass said:
I’ve always loved this slap tone, and I’m pretty sure it’s a P with flats..


This really makes me want some sort of MusicMan..

I’m not sure what bass this is (I always wondered) but I think it’s dope...


...but I literally spent thousands of dollars on this tone..passive boat anchor 70s Jazz :drool:

Click to expand...

I am pretty sure the Prince and Dan Blackman tracks are a Jazz Bass.
 
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#160
luciens said:
I'm not a slap fan and I can't play any slap at all, so take this with a grain of salt.

All due respect to the tones already given (obviously including the good doctor's basses which are awesome): call me old-school, but I still think Louis Johnson with his custom made (by Leo Fender) Music Man is still the pinnacle of slap tone. Yeah, citing LJ is trite and over-done, I know, but I just can't find anything that competes with, say, this:


Probably my other favorite slap tone is the humble Rickenbacker. I don't know why it's not slapped more often - probably because it doesn't have a lot of thump - but it still sounds amazing when slapped, IMO:



Anyway, my .02 contributions :)

L
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I take these 2 over all the other thus far.

I like this thread... looking forward to the rest of it :) .
 

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