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Do you Slap? if show how much?

How do you describe your slap bass use/experience?

  • I never use this technique

    Votes: 61 28.6%

  • I dabble with slap style but have a long way to go

    Votes: 78 36.6%

  • I dabble with slap style but I"m quite proficient

    Votes: 30 14.1%

  • I use slap style frequently in my bass lines

    Votes: 33 15.5%

  • I usually use slap style in my basslines.

    Votes: 3 1.4%

  • I use a carrot to slap my bass.

    Votes: 8 3.8%
  • Total voters
    213
  • Poll closed .
#21
I absolutely hate slap. It was cool when people first started doing it but now it is way over done. You walk into any guitar store and there a bunch of 15 year old kids slapping away. It has become as cliché to bass as "Smoke On The Water" is to guitar.
 
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#26
I love slappin it....reason I bought an Alembic. Thru repetition i am flashier at slap then any other style....seems impressive enough but I still cannot really play. Alas.

I work on everything but slap with my bass teacher....
 
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#27
Slap is a guilty pleasure. I love it, but mainly slap in the Shed.

Honestly its like a parlor trick except in unusual circumstances. When I jam with a drummer I slap, create a really percussive groove together and provide a melody. But in playing with a band, I find few songs are served by slap, or at least the fast percussive BS that you hear at Guitar Center. It still has to groove, and for a deep groove I think fingers work better. That being said, it can be appropriate, but only for a special song that requires backing up the drums more than providing a bridge between drums and keyes/guitar.
 
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#30
I do it if I feel something calls for it. Usually only for a moment or so. I don't naturally gravitate towards slapping. I have been getting into flatwounds and even fretless lately, but I even slap on those if I feel inclined (sometimes cover Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes)

I had a gig a while back with a pretty high profile drummer. His old band had a thumpy flatwound player so I prepared with the records according to that tone. Turns out he preferred the modern 5 string slap stuff. His other guys he used were slap monsters. When he showed me bass lines, he would "air slap" his stomach. It was a crash course.

Lately I have been playing with making "beats" with a looper pedal and slap technique. Kind of in the vein of hip hop DJing. I might use it in the future if I have a gig with a bass solo spotlight. I love how Jaco used to do that, but I go for more percussive sounds in there as well.
 
#35
I voted "I never use this technique".
When I decided to concentrate on guitar and left the bass behind me 40 years ago, slap was not exactly mainstream...and so I had no experience with it. I remember the first time I watched the Seinfeld show and I heard the bass line, I was told by someone that it was slap bass.

When I took up the bass again I knew exactly where I was going to save time and effort in my quest for marketability. At my age, time is precious.
Not used in the genres I play anyway, so...it's all good.
 
#36
I was first introduced to Slap Bass way back in the early 70's while on a trip to the Bahamas ...! it was nothing like it is today ..!!! I never really kept up with the progression of slap styles ... since most often, when I did hear it in a live local band , it was rushed , misplaced and sounded like crap .... I Do think it is very cool when done well .... it's just not quite my normal sound or style ...
 
#37
Slap, and all the derivative techniques are things that all accomplished bassists should know, IMO. I enjoy slap bass just as much as I enjoy fingerstyle and plectrum. They've all got their place and I use all three at almost every gig and rehearsal, depending on the song.

If its bass, I'm about it. I have no bias against any technique or style, as long as its played well.
 
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#38
Kmonk said:
I absolutely hate slap. It was cool when people first started doing it but now it is way over done. You walk into any guitar store and there a bunch of 15 year old kids slapping away. It has become as cliché to bass as "Smoke On The Water" is to guitar.
Click to expand...
Overdone? I hear slap a lot less now than I did in the 80s. Maybe you're watching too many Youtube bedroom videos - or hanging out at Guitar Center too much. ;) Also, slap is not nearly as cliché as fingerstyle. :)
 
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#39
I rarely use it. For me it's kind of key limited/application limited. Bm fusion jams and blues in Bb don't call for it. Seems like it's terrific in E or detuned to Eb but after a while a key change is good for the head.

There are a lot of other areas of technique I would rather work on improving with the limited time I have to pursue improvement nowadays.
No offense to you slap-monsters intended, of course.
 
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