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"Slap is overused"

#82
I'd say slap is generally only overused by those who can't do it well. Aside from that, are there any mainstream pop acts that actually incorporate its use, aside from Primus or the Chili Peppers anymore? I'd be interested to know if there are. If not, is it a reflection of what the industry deems to be trending?
 
#83
Alex J said:
In the fairly limited scope of bass-specific terminology, describing something as an effect implies you are modifying the sound somewhere further down the signal chain, like with distortion or an envelope filter. Sometimes semantics do matter :hiding:
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Why do you use one technique over the other? To achieve a desired effect on the notes being played? There are several ways to get effects without using a pedal, and 99.9% of people know that we're not talking about pedals to get the slap sound, so I don't know where you're going with that. Semantics only matter to people that choose not to read between the lines and consider the context.

Alex J said:
But anyway, I have heard people complain about fingerstyle when it is played badly, out of time and with an unpleasant tone. Which is how some people in this thread seem to view all slapped lines, regardless of skill and taste. Saying 'most people' do this and that is a huge generalisation. And they take their sample from what they've heard people bang out at Guitar Center. It's interesting though that nobody writes off the whole of fingerstyle bass playing or describes it as 'overused' because they've heard a few people do it badly..

What basic logic is being denied by people defending slapping? As far as I see it, the argument is that it's as valid a technique as any other, and like any other technique, can be done well or can be done not so well.
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That's irrelevant to this discussion. This thread is about the technique and sound of slap and the overuse of it, not good vs. bad technique. You are describing bad bass playing (out of time with bad tone) which would apply to any technique or thread about it. It's stating the obvious that bad bass playing is not enjoyable to listen to.

This is why these threads typically get off topic and run in circles. The point gets missed.
 
#84
Lots of talk here about effect and technique.
As it relates to bass playing I've always thought of technique as something you do to get a desired effect. However if you predominantly use that technique in your playing it becomes your "style" of playing. So a slapper like Marcus Miller plays his instrument mostly in a slap style. Where as Joe Nerve doesn't use a slap style for his music but does have fantastic slap technique. Both Joe and Marcus have a great effect on the basslines they produce.

For the record, I can only take a little slap before I've heard enough, so I like Joes approach of using the technique for effect vs Marcus' approach of making slap my style of playing. So, yes, I think slap can easily be overdone.

Also for the record, I can't slap to save my life.
 
#86
Icculus said:
This is why these threads typically get off topic and run in circles. The point gets missed.
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There is no point to these threads other than folks declaring they don't like slap bass. No other technique gets this amount of attention. A thread like this pops up every few months or so and it's the same ol' thing. "I hate it", "I Can't Stand The Way It Sounds", "It's Overused", "It's An Old Technique That's No Longer Used", "Most People Suck At It", etc, etc, etc........blah blah blah! I wish the mods would shut them down the moment they pop up!
 
#87
Icculus said:
That's irrelevant to this discussion. This thread is about the technique and sound of slap and the overuse of it, not good vs. bad technique. You are describing bad bass playing (out of time with bad tone) which would apply to any technique or thread about it. It's stating the obvious that bad bass playing is not enjoyable to listen to.

This is why these threads typically get off topic and run in circles. The point gets missed.
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Bad playing is entirely relevant to the thread though, because it's what a lot of people use to inform their opinion that the whole technique sucks. I think what often gets the 'defenders' of slap so riled up is that people sometimes base their entire opinion of slapping on examples where it is done badly, and then say things like it is overused. This seemingly doesn't happen with any other technique.

Hearing something done badly and repeatedly in Guitar Center does not mean something is overused in any wider context.
 
#90
chungweishan said:
I'm waiting for slap bass to come back. It's about that time anyways for that mid-90s music revival. Everyday I hope that someone wants to make an Infectious Grooves tribute band.

I just saw their 2013 concert at Whiskey-A-Go-Go on Youtube. I miss that stuff. Funk-metal. C'mon, man!
---
And of course if I was testing a bass at Guitar Center, I'm going to slap the worst songs I can think of (Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Higher Ground"... yep). I need to know every tonal possibility from that bass and/or amp.
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"THE PLAGUE THAT MAKES YOUR BOOTY MOVE!"
 
#91
it might just be me, but in my experience the people who hate slap, usually cant slap.

at the same time though, i do hate when somebody is asking about my playing. they always ask these two things in order "are you good? can you slap" as if saying no to the second question negates your answer to the first.

i also hate when people walk up to me after a show and do the SLAPPA DA BASSSSS thing.
 
#93
Maybe it's because I grew up listening to Level 42 but few things excite me more when listening to bass than a well-played slap line. Yesterday I was checking out some of the nuances in the bass line from Maxwell's "Sumthin' Sumthin'". So good. :)
 
#98
I think that as a technique it's just not easy to master and do it tastefully, the two places where I hear it the most is GC and YouTube, actually in YouTube I have seen professional players doing it and it was just awful. Victor Wooten is one of the few names that comes to my mind that can do it right, in my opinion of course. By the way I don't slap, I suck at it.

That been said I think the main problem is people slapping to hard as a consequence of trying to do it too fast, it looks like they lose touch and punchiness (made up word?) and it's not a compact stroke it's more like a whip. The other problem I hear is poor equalization, for some reason some people think that they need all the mids up for a good slap tone.

So no, I don't think it's over used, just bad represented ;)
 
#99
Slap is definitely overused on gear demo videos. I hate when I get excited about a new piece of gear, there is finally a demo video, and the whole thing is just some guy slapping. Great, now I know if it sounds good with slap. I am not against people demoing stuff with slap because I know many people want to hear how it sounds, but please give us some other techniques.
 
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