Why so much hate for slap??

[MordBass]

Its just like double bass getting hated on by a lot of old school drummers. They never bothered to learn that aspect of their instrument and have found that its easier to discredit others for doing it than to spend the time to learn it themselves.
No different from overweight people that call regular gym goers "obsessed" and claim theyre all unhappy because they restrict their diet (dont shovel junk into their mouths daily)

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

As a guy who works at a guitar shop, i really wish there was any "hate" for slap. 90% of people who waltz in here and pick up a bass immediately start slapping the damn thing like it owes them money. it's the worst.

Tasteful slap bass is fine. That dude that plays for Bruno Mars is good at it.

I was in guitar center to talk to the tech on friday and someone was in the back with an amp cranked slapping like crap. It was embarrassing.

 

[Topkat13]

Don't hate it bro...just another way to put color on the canvas.

 

[petrus61]

Almost like Fred Flintstone running in clogs...

But Fred Flinstone never wore...wait a minute...

 

[Kukulkan61]

Slap is good to know and there's a time and place for it in certain songs, I hate when someone over does it and slaps thru a whole song, or when they slap a bass line that is a recognized and famous fingerstyle line example Brick House by The Commodores..

 

[Bass V]

I prefer the Wetton era KC for slap snap n pop in a different booty groove kinda way

 

[1bassleft]

I'm not a hater. I like 11coopbass on Youtube; primarily for his SX/Squier upgrades but he demos them with plenty of thumb, melody and enjoyment. Also, my thumb doesn't bend back at all, I'm rubbish at it and I'm wary of critting something I do badly. BUT there are the downsides (a variant on the guitar shop one; I was interested in a cab but sales guy grabbed himself a bass, closed his eyes and GDANK, GDANK, GDANK. He didn't hear the ding-a-ling as I closed the shop door behind me).

I used to go to UK Bass Day in Manchester - Stu Hamm still owes me a cig - and I didn't need a map, just follow that Gawd-awful noise until you see the bulging windows. That's all the attendees picking up some Lakland, plugging into a Mark Bass and ruining them both. The only time I didn't find the event was when my glasses had broken so I tried to find the venue by sound alone. I ended up in the sewer pipe where all the workers were coming down the metal ladder in their safety boots.

 

[Spectrum]

Isn't slap like the comic sans of bass technique?

 

[socialleper]

I think some of it comes from the fact that a lot of wanna be pros show off with slap runs. At Bass Player Live it is impossible to get away from it.
When the right player does it, I love slap. Miller, Clarke, Wooten, Claypool, McBride, Martinie, Schendzielos, etc; tasty stuff.
A lot of it is also because TB is full of old grumps.

 

[pigpen1]

I think some of it comes from the fact that a lot of wanna be pros show off with slap runs. At Bass Player Live it is impossible to get away from it.
When the right player does it, I love slap. Miller, Clarke, Wooten, Claypool, McBride, Martinie, Schendzielos, etc; tasty stuff.
A lot of it is also because TB is full of old grumps.

Well we just had a thread with people complaining that people demo gear using the D and G strings while sometimes slapping all while have the nerve to play above the 9th fret so go figure.

2 things that are hated on Talkbass.com

1) Slap bass
2) Bass tone that actually has lots of low end (seriously I've read so many times how people just can't stand it).

 

[fourstringdrums]

I only hate slap when I'm looking at a bass demo online, and that's 90% of what the person playing does. It's hard for me to get a good feel for how a bass sounds without hearing a good amount of fingerstyle, because for me that's ground zero for tone.

 

[socialleper]

Well we just had a thread with people complaining that people demo gear using the D and G strings while sometimes slapping all while have the nerve to play above the 9th fret so go figure.

2 things that are hated on Talkbass.com

1) Slap bass
2) Bass tone that actually has lots of low end (seriously I've read so many times how people just can't stand it).

I commented on that thread.
A little slap is good in a demo, it is after all something that is done on a bass, but there should be some pick and finger playing too.

 

[Eddie M]

I love slap bass. been playing it back before most players ever thought about it going back to the 80s..

i do see more younger players just playing copy lines and that seems to be the limit of what they can do with slap.

You should learn slap and then quit listening to any other players and just make it your own.

 

[maplenecked]

I don’t hate slap bass at all, I just kinda get annoyed when people say “what about Primus/Les Claypool?” I feel like that’s the general public’s “freebird” for bass. Oh and Seinfeld too. But I like slap and hope to learn it some day.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

When it is done right and with the proper dress code I have no issues with it...

 

[CalBuzz51]

...or when they slap a bass line that is a recognized and famous fingerstyle line example Brick House by The Commodores..

To me it sounds like the high G to A at the beginning of the 2nd bar is lightly popped, but likely using a strong pluck rather than snapping the string.

 

[LowActionHero]

I think players hate it cuz it's overdone. But audiences seem to like it, and it's kinda fun, and sometimes very appropriate, so I keep doing it.. occasionally..

'Just not very well'

 

[twinjet]

I can slap good enough, but I don't do it regularly. My duo has 40 songs and I slap on exactly one. There's just no need for that particular technique for the other 39, so I don't use it. Simple.

 

[Kukulkan61]

To me it sounds like the high G to A at the beginning of the 2nd bar is lightly popped, but likely using a strong pluck rather than snapping the string.

Could be but I’ve seen bass players in bands who slap thru the whole song..

 

[Resonance129]

I respect slap for what it is. Especially when done well.
But I'm not a huge fan.
It gets old VERY quickly to me. Even the super flashy, crazy rhythm type slap is just like "...meh..." after a few seconds. And that may be another reason I get so quickly get turned off of it - it can get so unnecessarily flashy, it gets annoying.

I can't slap well to save my life, so again, I respect it for the playing form it is, but it's a technique I can appreciate more when it's used to "pepper" music and not necessarily consume it.