• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Is Stu hamm sloppy?

Suckbird

Inactive
May 4, 2004
1,047
1
35
Sweden
Well, he's been my favourite bassist since i watched his solo in san francisco but now when i watched his instructional video slap,pop and tap for bass he seemed pretty sloppy on some parts..

for example the peanuts, i have heard the piano version so i know how it's supposed to sound and to me it seems like stu hamm is messing up missing tones wrong rythm slowing down like he's thinking "what comes next" i mean, it's such a easy song even i can play it... i heard the same thing on his quahog's anyone recording too..
 
i've heard he's a little drunk in that, but when it comes to a band situation, it'd be hard to find someone tighter.

he's joe satriani's bassist of choice because of how tight he is and how well he holds everything together without stepping on anyone's toes.

in the studio for one of his albums the recording process went: simple bass track, drums, normal bass/guitars. he was the tightest so he recorded what everyone else would play to, then deleted it.
 
I've at times thought Hamm was sloppy, and that Claypool gets sloppy. Then, when I stop to notice what they are playing at those times, its just the nature of doing something very complicated that really isn't meant to be conventionally played on bass, like the Snoopy theme. That tune was written and played on piano, and the bass is ill-equipped to copy it REALLY precisely. The fact that he did it at all is a feat.

I personally prefer to play rock solid, so I intentionally avoid unconventional riffing and such when playing with a band. But that's just my personal preference. If I'm playing at home, I'll wank and experiment, and of course some really, really cool and inventive things will inevitably be a bit sloppy by their nature on bass. Bless Hamm for throwing it out there for us, sloppy or not.
 

Latest posts