Non-Slapsters Out there?

[Atoz]

I HATE slap with a passion. Don't know why. I've never really even tried to slap. Never really wanted to. I don't begrudge the folks who like to, though.

I guess I'm "missing a tool in the toolbox" because of this, but for what I play it's pretty much like missing the recessed cone pedal wrench, and I really don't need one of those anyway.

 

[KJung]

Why are most of the posts in this thread attributing slapping with wankery and showing off? It is just another technique or way to play the bass. People can play fingerstyle badly!!!!

With the music I play I use slap about 15% of the time. The rest of the 85% I use my fingers. But that 15% that I do use is tasteful and enhances the song that I am playing it in. I never play with a pick and at one point I thought it was useless and only for bassists that thought they were guitarists. Now I have grown and realize that it is just another tool for the box and now I carry a pick in my gig bag for the right oppurtunity to whip it out.

It is in fact a sign of a versatile bassist to use various techniques to get the point across.

+1 all the way.

 

[Robear22]

+1 all the way.

I don't think a lot of people are reading the entire thread!!!!

 

[thetawaves]

Personally I think it's fun to play but not especially great to listen to. It can sound pretty nifty in the right places but I hate it when it's overused; you end up with a sound like the hellish love child of an Irish step dancer and a caffeinated scat singer.

 

[rrohde]

I am only able to play "finger funk" with many dead notes for a groovy bass-run. I do admire slappers/poppers, however, and watch in awe when they let loose.

Cheers,
Rainer

 

[Bryndog]

You should never slap a fretless.

Hmmm...try telling that to Claypool and his army of freaks...or whatever he's calling his band(s) these days.

If you dig it...play it.
If you don't dig it, just go ahead and keep your trap shut.

It's just another way to play a Bass..another arrow in your quiver, if you will.

Someone gotta play the interludes in Frasier...

 

[Surly]

As I've been jamming I've been slapping less and less. I really wanted to learn it when I started, and have become no slap master by any means. Mostly basic stuff, and I do have one of Ed's DVD's which helped out. Since I mostly play rock I have been working on my picking technique. Any type of slap in a rock jam always sounds like wannabe RHCP and I often get funny looks. To my ears pick tones on a P-bass are the best. Slap monsters are badass though, and I respect their skills.

 

[JB696]

Bass is the tonal foundation for everything else that is happening in a live musical performance. The vocal harmonies, horn voicings, and everything else are built on this foundation. Slap your bass and the bottom drops out. I've auditioned hundreds of bass players over the years for live and studio work. As soon as I hear slapping or popping my response is immediate, "Thanks.....next please."

 

[Robear22]

Bass is the tonal foundation for everything else that is happening in a live musical performance. The vocal harmonies, horn voicings, and everything else are built on this foundation. Slap your bass and the bottom drops out. I've auditioned hundreds of bass players over the years for live and studio work. As soon as I hear slapping or popping my response is immediate, "Thanks.....next please."

What type of music are they auditioning for? Again I must say that certain types of music are not conducive for slap. I have been to some auditions where if you cannot slap you are told, "Thanks........next please."

 

[JB696]

You're right. Now that I think about it, I did have to bring in a bass slapper to lay down some tracks for a Rap demo cd. Let's see....what year was that.......oh yes, 1987.

 

[Robear22]

You're right. Now that I think about it, I did have to bring in a bass slapper to lay down some tracks for a Rap demo cd. Let's see....what year was that.......oh yes, 1987.

You still did not say what type of music you are working with. All you are doing is saying that a certain technique is obsolete to you and the world you live in. Just remember that there is more to bass than just playing deep tones with no high end and clarity. I play gospel, smooth jazz, R&B, and blues and I can say that if you cannot slap proficiently then there are some gigs where you will not get a call. And as far as the bottom dropping out when you start to slap either your EQ or technique is off or you just like MUD!!!!

 

[dvh]

Slap your bass and the bottom drops out.

This is what I have found (despite the EQing comment above.)

I do the VERY occasional slap or pop fill or riff at turnarounds or sometimes in a solo. Any more and I find the groove just evaporates.

 

[tranceFusion]

Bass is the tonal foundation for everything else that is happening in a live musical performance. The vocal harmonies, horn voicings, and everything else are built on this foundation. Slap your bass and the bottom drops out. I've auditioned hundreds of bass players over the years for live and studio work. As soon as I hear slapping or popping my response is immediate, "Thanks.....next please."

So for the fact that they have a particular technique in their toolbox that you don't care for, you discard their ability on all other techniques?

you sir, are a genius.

 

[tranceFusion]

It seems that everybody is slapping and popping out there. I go to a music store to try out a few basses, and all I hear is----slapping and popping. Youtube videos---slapping and popping. Questions of technique usually center on---slapping and popping. Discussions about various basses usually have someone asking if it is good for----slapping and popping. I mean, it is an interesting technique, but it seems greatly overdone these days.

It would be a treat if I heard slapping and popping at my local music store.. i have been hearing the same 3 nirvana songs being butchered (which you would think would be difficult to do to a nirvana song, no offense) for the past 10 years.

I don't think slapping is a necessary technique for a bassist. I have spent alot of time developing the technique myself, because my teacher says I have a knack for the funk and gives me alot of stuff to work on, and alot of the songs and grooves are quite fun. However, in the end, I have used it in a real band setting exactly zero times.

As far as the loss of low end - this is a big result of technique, the bass, the strings, and everything else. If you don't get good downward force and then get your thumb out of the way, you are going to mute the string.. I like big fretwire, high action, and stainless steel strings for slapping.

I also find that my tone is much better and thicker if I slap more perpendicular to the strings rather than parallel, as my wrist can get closer to the fretboard plane and give me a better follow through. Though, this technique is difficult on a 5er, and quick browsing of youtube will show you the huge differences in technique out there.

 

[BEADGCF]

I can't slap very well. I pop OK (it's an easier change from fingerstyle) but I don't have speed. Biggest challenge about slap/pop is to make the slaps sound like the pops...which doesn't seem to work too well.

Most everything I do is fingersyle with the occasional pop thrown in though, so it's not that big a deal. I love Victor Wooten's line about all the flashy stuff being icing on the cake, and he says "Let's talk about the cake..."

 

[elBandito]

Used to love slapping when I was young. Ive been losing interest as I get older. I still enjoy watching, but I never get motivated enough to practice.

 

[Robear22]

As far as the loss of low end - this is a big result of technique, the bass, the strings, and everything else. If you don't get good downward force and then get your thumb out of the way, you are going to mute the string.. I like big fretwire, high action, and stainless steel strings for slapping.

I also find that my tone is much better and thicker if I slap more perpendicular to the strings rather than parallel, as my wrist can get closer to the fretboard plane and give me a better follow through. Though, this technique is difficult on a 5er, and quick browsing of youtube will show you the huge differences in technique out there.

+1. You get it.

 

[JB696]

you sir, are a genius.

When I'm writing the checks I can send a wanker out the door if I don't like his hair color. I wouldn't call myself a genius, but I have been able to retire on my royalty checks and studio work. Thanks.

 

[Qvist]

As I've been jamming I've been slapping less and less. I really wanted to learn it when I started, and have become no slap master by any means. Mostly basic stuff, and I do have one of Ed's DVD's which helped out. Since I mostly play rock I have been working on my picking technique. Any type of slap in a rock jam always sounds like wannabe RHCP and I often get funny looks. To my ears pick tones on a P-bass are the best. Slap monsters are badass though, and I respect their skills.

I agree with you completely!

 

[Eublet]

I'm not a slapper at all. I am very limited in what I can do and it is something I am trying to remedy. I think lots of players slap because everyone wants to hear it. The bands I play in seem to think I didn't take a "real" bass solo if I didn't slap. And no matter how melodic or well thought out I think my fingerstyle solo's are, it doesn't really get the crowd pumped like a horrible slap idea. I'm not saying that slapping can't be done tastefully or melodicaly, but I can throw a bunch of garbage into a slap solo and people will jump up and scream (non bass players mind you). Play a well phrased fingerstyle solo and people just give the obligatory half measure of applause at the end.