slap me silly

no one likes PDOC people.

Public
Display of
Obnoxious
Chops

i just made that up.

 

PS:
this thread should probably be in the Miscellaneous forum, since it doesn't pertain to the actual basses.
a mod will probably move it for you.

 

Yeah, there is a fine line between doing something tastefully and trying to play your bass like a mega jock plays football.

 

Ah, the bass equivalent of the Mulletheaded guitarists who STILL like to rip up "Eruption" as loudly as possible in any given music store.

 

I was at Guitar Center last night and saw those guys too....no wait you're in Hanover PA and I'm in Charlotte NC. How could that be? Well actually there were 4 guys here at the GC last night. I was picking up a new strap and had to investigate all the racket coming out of the bass room. Like your scenario, they were all slapping and popping at the same time and it sounded like a Jiffy Pop popcorn orgy. One of the guys looked like he might be pretty good, but the other 3 were doing the same simple riffs over and over...and yes over. Whap hammer on hammer on pop pop Whap hammer on hammer on pop pop Whap hammer on hammer on pop pop Whap hammer on hammer on pop pop etc... It was comical. Don't get me wrong. Watching a truly good bassist incorporate slap/pop/tap in their performances can be awe inspiring and I plan to learn the technique myself some day if I can ever find the time between 3 different bands that rely on me for my ability to provide a solid groove and/or take a lyric sheet with some chord changes scratched on it and turn it into a respectable supporting bass line. I want to learn how to do the flash just for my visits to GC though. I feel left out sometimes.

 

ha i liked that so much i put it in my sig

 

sweet

 

Hell, I know some cats who that is all they can play. They can slap like crazy but give em' a fingerstyle song and they can't hang! Forget throwing some Rocco Prestia like stuff at em'!!

 

I too notice when in a music store trying basses out that every bass player i come across ALWAYS slaps first before playing anything else and thats if they decide to play anything else(depends on how many slap gawkers they attract).
i could be sitting there playing my butt off and get no response UNTILL i slap out higher Ground(chilli peppers version),and then they all come a'runnin .
Iguess its like the same thing as when a person with a fast car does a hole-shot or a brake stand,all the "gear-heads" start screamin(no offense i'm one),i guess its the "COOL" thing to do.
I cant stand to see a slap off no matter how good they think they are,to me its the same as playing double bass drums,can do it with one so got to get a critch,same with slapping.
Yes i know there are people out there who do it well and when its called for,not all the time and a million miles an hour
If Jaco did'nt need to do it to get where he got then neither do I,But to each his own(or her's)

 

When I test a bass in a store, I'm actually of the OPPOSITE mindset. That is, I would actually prefer to be by myself in a soundproof room so I could really put the bass through it at a high enough volume that I could actually see how it sounds at full throttle and wirh a variety of techniques.

I don't want some junior mouthbreather standing near me, pickin' his nose, waiting for me to "play some AC/DC or sump'm, man!". I just wanna be left the hell alone, man!

 

Whenever i pick up a bass at GC, or some musdic store, i go completley blank on what to play. Especially if theres a salesperson who just gave you a cable, or is telling you about the bass standing over you. Eventually i calm down and play the bass, but its like when you try out a bass, its a test of your chops.

There was a guy who came to GC last night when i was there and took like 10 minutes to set up what he was testing, then he starteed playing, and itr was impossible to go into the bass section without having your self esteem dropped in the dumpster. He was also playing standing up, which i have never seen anyone do when trying out a bass.

 

I almost died laughing when I read that man! Great post! Usually when i walk into a music store and start playing, i runa couple scales, some simple RHCP line or somethin with a little groove, do alittle blues improv, then slap it up for a couple lines just to get an idea of how it handles. I usually don't slap for more than half a minute, simply because I don't want to annoy the workers or other customers with somethign they have to put with constantly. I wank aroudn a lot in my room with slappity-tappity, but only cause its aload of fun sometimes. I'm a blues bassist deep down...

 

I have done this quite often actually...the reason being is i think its a better habit to get into if you plan on being in a band. As well as its good to know how comfortable something that your trying is while standing up.

Personally everytime i go to my local music store or even out of town to a big city and there are people trying bassesi usually end up hearing 'My Friend Of Misery' a dozen times or more.
One time i seen one kid play that song...he got up and left, another came in and did the same thing and it repeated with like 2 other kids within a 10 minite span. Drove me nuts.