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To slap or not to slap/why I hate it

To slap or not to slap/why I hate it

  • Total voters
    321
  • Poll closed .
#121
I think the technique is an overused dinosaur that decided to die an ugly and gruesome death in the form of hundreds of thousands of teenage Flea wannabes cranking the Ampeg stack in GC to 7 in order to show everyone how awesome they are.

Seriously, no one has done anything cool with the technique since Stanley Clarke.

And yes, I do slap and pop, because I hold myself to being as versatile a musician as possible (note: versatile does not mean wanky, I don't double thump or do the Matt Garrison thing because they're exactly like slap, except completely useless in a commercial setting. One of these days I might learn them if I'm really, really, REALLY bored).
 
#122
Snarf said:
I think the technique is an overused dinosaur that decided to die an ugly and gruesome death in the form of hundreds of thousands of teenage Flea wannabes cranking the Ampeg stack in GC to 7 in order to show everyone how awesome they are.

Seriously, no one has done anything cool with the technique since Stanley Clarke.

And yes, I do slap and pop, because I hold myself to being as versatile a musician as possible (note: versatile does not mean wanky, I don't double thump or do the Matt Garrison thing because they're exactly like slap, except completely useless in a commercial setting. One of these days I might learn them if I'm really, really, REALLY bored).
Click to expand...
Why must you be such an angry young man? Your future looks quite bright to me.
 
#126
I've always found slap sounds better when playing aggressive music. I'd like to hear a lot more metal bands employ it and a lot less jazz players use it. A lot of the time slap pulls a jazz tune clear into "smooth jazz" territory. I myself like it but don't often find it used in the contexts I prefer to hear it in.
 
#129
I would like to see your Wows and raise you all a "Holy Crap"!

So, mmmm. I know I'm combining the two post here but let's see. No one has done anything cool with slap since Stanley and he even wasn't a good slapper to begin with.


Shhhh, now. I'm pondering.
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Yeah sorry. I'm going to give myself a nose bleed with that one. I can't sorry.
 
#131
Pardon the lack of eloquence, but to hell with the technique police. I dig all kinds of alternative play styles on bass, be it slapping, tapping, thumpin', playing tenor, playing an ERB, so on, so forth. If you can do it... more power to you, especially if you can pull it off in a band context.

Personally, I love to practice slapping. It breaks the monotony of playing fingerstyle all the time and it gives me another way to express myself. Obviously not everyone is going to dig it... but it's far more rewarding when you find someone that feels what you're doing.
 
#132
Snarf said:
I think the technique is an overused dinosaur that decided to die an ugly and gruesome death in the form of hundreds of thousands of teenage Flea wannabes cranking the Ampeg stack in GC to 7 in order to show everyone how awesome they are.

Seriously, no one has done anything cool with the technique since Stanley Clarke.

And yes, I do slap and pop, because I hold myself to being as versatile a musician as possible (note: versatile does not mean wanky, I don't double thump or do the Matt Garrison thing because they're exactly like slap, except completely useless in a commercial setting. One of these days I might learn them if I'm really, really, REALLY bored).
Click to expand...

Wow, wow, wow!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."
 
#133
Snarf said:
I think the technique is an overused dinosaur that decided to die an ugly and gruesome death in the form of hundreds of thousands of teenage Flea wannabes cranking the Ampeg stack in GC to 7 in order to show everyone how awesome they are.

Seriously, no one has done anything cool with the technique since Stanley Clarke.

And yes, I do slap and pop, because I hold myself to being as versatile a musician as possible (note: versatile does not mean wanky, I don't double thump or do the Matt Garrison thing because they're exactly like slap, except completely useless in a commercial setting. One of these days I might learn them if I'm really, really, REALLY bored).
Click to expand...
Sorry bro, but just because flea brought a new technique from the funk background he has and introduced it to kids in the suburbs doesn't doesn't make it useless. No disrespect to Stanley Clark either, but Larry Graham, Mark Adams, Nate Phillips(Pleasure),Michael Henderson, the list goes on and on. Versatility as a musician mean's you might want to check out some more music and here a refreshing, tasteful approach to the technique.
 
#134
I was on the Daily news paper strike, working as a scab trucker. I was staying at the holiday inn jet port. I had just bought a custom BC Rich blueburst Bich bass. Pleasure was playing at the bar, and I let Nate Phillips play my new bass. '90 I think it was. Super nice guy. Great keaboard bass player too.
 
#135
I had to put hate since theres no tired of it option. I never use it any more, it's just gotten too over done.

But I started learning bass in about '67. So I remember when it was new and amazing. Yes it is a nice tool and used right it can add to some types of music. How ever to "me" it is over used and poorly used by a large number of players. It just seems that slap has became the bass version of guitar wanking solo's to a lot of people.

Hate it not really, think it's over rated and over used by a lot of players, yes.

So go ahead and flame folks, in the long run it really don't matter.
 
#137
I slapped my bass once... it's still not speaking to me. :(

Seriously, I slap when slapping is appropriate, just like tapping, thumbing, plucking, thumping, pulling, flicking, hammering-on, pulling-off, double-stopping, string-skipping, sweeping, sliding, detuning, typing (Ox!), percussing the harmonics (GG) and on occasion picking.

Just never smashing.
 
#138
00Funk said:
Remember a few years back when Mark King quit slaping ? I couldnt beleive it. He did a whole album without a slap I think.
Finally he came to his senses, and went back to his old ways. Ha!
Click to expand...
It was "One Man", and it could have been any of us on bass. He totally went a different direction on that album. I thought it felt a little like Shaq abandoning the slam dunk.
 
#139
I find slap not as natural for me as fingerstyle funk and am more from the Rocco school. However, I can slap but I find unless I practice it regularly I get pretty sloppy. Many of my students are just so totally into slap that that they ignore fundamentals like modes, sight reading and walking bass.

I have one student who I showed double thumping which I can do a basic version of and thats all he practiced for 2 weeks solid. Now thats fine as he is young and I hope he will keep coming to lessons to learn other aspects of the bass players art.

But its all age specific sometimes. Learning Classical Thump is going to much more impressive for his mates than being able to walk over a Bb blues or So What, especially for a 16 year old.

And as for Flea, he is such a tight but loose player with a idiosyncratic approach. But he has brought many young bass players into the fold.

And its also gig specific for me. I play in a big band playing electric and most of the time its walking lines. I pop a note hear and there for effect. And in the more contemporary charts sometimes slapping is required.

I have learnt slap can do it reasonably proficiently. Its just one of the things that you can do with this amazing instrument.
 
#140
Lets all practice stuff that will be useful in a commercial setting. Soon enough we'll either be playing bass on diaper commercials or doing some funky hiphop lines for Britney's boyfriend.
 

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