• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Why so much hate for slap??

#101
I don't hate slap, I hate when I watch a 5 minutes demo on youtube in which the first 4 minutes are talk and the last minute is the same slap lick over and over only.
I also hate it when I scroll my FB feed and ALL the posts linked to bass or bass playing are slapping. Than I have enough! Of course it's a technique and I respect it just like all the others, but I feel it happens to be abused.
I don't hate slap, I just hate some slappers! :roflmao:
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThinCrappyTone
#102
No hate here... I've taken lessons with a very good teacher and still can't do it well. Something I wanted in my arsenal, but really doesn't work in my current band (of 18 years). So, I will continue playing fingerstyle and appreciate it while listening to Victor Wooten and others.
 
#104


Slapping.
It takes up a lot of space in the mix and pushes hard towards the listener's attention.
If done properly and applied tastefully, it is a great weapon in the arsenal of the bass player.
But it is one that has to be taken apart, oiled and cleaned every other day or it'll jam.
Slapping is hit or miss - mess up only one note in a lick and it sounds terrible.
So while being some skill that needs to be honed and maintained regularly and at the same time being
something loud and foreground that cannot be used very often, it makes it a vanity thing to some degree.
So unless you are really good at every style, including slapping, people might think that you spent a lot of practice time for the sole purpose of showing off to other musicians.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dbsfgyd1
#105
Big Shrek said:
It's almost impossible to play anything from the 70's & 80's without
using slap...so why all the hate?? I get that some folks try to apply it
to everything, which slap really isn't meant for everything...but it does
have legitimate playing uses!

So is it a case of folks hating on it because it's really best for Disco/Motown,
and should never be used elsewhere?? Or just a general slap hate as a whole??

It should be a tool in every bassists arsenal, to my way of thinking.
Not the only tool, just one of several screwdrivers... ;)
Click to expand...

I agree with most here that tasteful application is the key. That said a lot of what is heard are nothing more than
paradiddles that used to be played on drums. And like most bassists look down their noses at keyboardists with over active left hands, I’m sure there are more than a few bassists that drive their drummers to distraction.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JRA and pudgychef
#107
Big Shrek said:
It's almost impossible to play anything from the 70's & 80's without
using slap...so why all the hate?? I get that some folks try to apply it
to everything, which slap really isn't meant for everything...but it does
have legitimate playing uses!

So is it a case of folks hating on it because it's really best for Disco/Motown,
and should never be used elsewhere?? Or just a general slap hate as a whole??

It should be a tool in every bassists arsenal, to my way of thinking.
Not the only tool, just one of several screwdrivers... ;)
Click to expand...
 
#109
Big Shrek said:
It's almost impossible to play anything from the 70's & 80's without
using slap...so why all the hate?? I get that some folks try to apply it
to everything, which slap really isn't meant for everything...but it does
have legitimate playing uses!

So is it a case of folks hating on it because it's really best for Disco/Motown,
and should never be used elsewhere?? Or just a general slap hate as a whole??

It should be a tool in every bassists arsenal, to my way of thinking.
Not the only tool, just one of several screwdrivers... ;)
Click to expand...
 
#110
Big Shrek said:
It's almost impossible to play anything from the 70's & 80's without
using slap...so why all the hate?? I get that some folks try to apply it
to everything, which slap really isn't meant for everything...but it does
have legitimate playing uses!

So is it a case of folks hating on it because it's really best for Disco/Motown,
and should never be used elsewhere?? Or just a general slap hate as a whole??

It should be a tool in every bassists arsenal, to my way of thinking.
Not the only tool, just one of several screwdrivers... ;)
Click to expand...
 
#112
Why slap gets a lot of crap:

IMO It’s the same as what happend with 2 handed tapping in the 80s and sweep picking in the 90s.

in past decades, busting out some slick slap had always been a sure-fire way to quickly impress non-musicians.

Heck, before it became something that everyone could do, busting out well executed slap used to impress a lot of musician musicians as well.

So often, if a bassist could slap, and wanted to quickly establish “i am good”, they immediatly busted it out. Lead with your best and all.

But it was impressive partly because not everyone could do it well.

That changed with the growth of the internet. With technique videos readily available to the entire world, the number of bassists who could slap grew exponentially.

All of a sudden, EVERYONE could slap. And everyone did. All the time. Everywhere. Including places where it really wasn’t the best context, like one of those gear demos where all the player does is slap, and doesn’t bother to show other techniques.

So now people have seen sooo many bassists slapping so much similar stuff so often, for so many years now, that they’re sick of it.

Especially when they percieve it to be out-of-context, or worse, subordinating their true purpose (demonstrating a piece of gear in a relatable way so the largest number of bassists will consider buying it) to vanity (i know this is the wrong context for slapping, and does’t really sell the gear, but i want you to be impressed with me)

TL;DR
Oversaturation

For the record, I love to play slap, think its a great technique and fun to play. Its just overused lately.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker, Plectrum72, tlc1976 and 4 others
#114
In 2012 I went to an event promoted by the spanish distribuitor for Warwick basses.

In the showroom everybody took very high end basses and started to slap them like there was no tomorrow.. even if the bass was not plugged into a bass amp!

Somewhere in 2016 I went to a cover band show in a big and crowded dance room. Usually people go to that venue to dance,party and hook up.. The band played several songs and then it came the time for the bass solo... (half of the crowd went out to smoke cigarretes, btw!!) Tapping and slap most of the time... Some people freaked out I just watched and thought "meh!".

Last December a guy came to my rehearsal place to see if our respective bands can share my band's rehearsal space. He saw my headless 5 string Steinberger in one corner and asked me to play it..Do you guess which was the first thing he did when he had my bass in his hands? Slap it! And the bass wasn't plugged into my amp yet!!!

I like slap and I can play it in a decent way..but my opinion is that slap is an easy trick to make unseasoned audiences believe that you're a better player than you really are. For some people is impressive and some audience find it engaging...But not me.

I play in a rock/metal band and slap bass usually doesn't fit...so I don't use it...but man! I love Mark King, Larry Graham, T.M. Stevens and Flea!!

Conclussion : I don't believe that here is a "slap hate" trend.. Seasoned players can appreciate good and tastefull slap playing.. But in the other side there are a bunch of players that think that playing slap is the ultimate level of bass playing (I was one of them 17 years ago!) and you must show everyone how impressive player you are. I believe that there's a little anymosity towards people who plays slap constantly without any sense of taste.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThinCrappyTone
#116
Personally I detested the sound the first time I heard it. Almost tolerable on an upright but out of place on an electric. Garnk, tippity, garnk, garnk??? Bands have drummers and percussionists so why? Take the bass into melody and counterpoint but not competition and overpowering. Look at me, look at me, see what I can do? May not be politically correct but I tend to turn off when the slap starts happening.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker
#117
Hate is far too strong an emotion to waste on something as inconsequential as a bass technique. But I don’t care for slap at all. It’s overdone - and poorly done more often than not. There are very few Mark Kings and Marcus Millers in the world. And yes, bass does have a small percussive element to its sound. But it’s still not a percussion instrument.

I personally think people who are overly enamored of playing slap might want to seriously consider taking up drums. The world would be a much better place for all if they did. ;)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Bolsyo
#119
ThinCrappyTone said:
All of a sudden, EVERYONE could slap. And everyone did. All the time. Everywhere. Including places where it really wasn’t the best context, like one of those gear demos where all the player does is slap, and doesn’t bother to show other techniques.

So now people have seen sooo many bassists slapping so much similar stuff so often, for so many years now, that they’re sick of it.
Click to expand...

This.

Slap has been done to death, by the wrong people. I have no issue with say, Marcus Miller or Fernando Lamadrid - these guys can slap with dynamics, tastefully, and know when to switch techniques too. It's really the amateur and the semi-pro that killed slap for me. I've seen many bassists ruin an entire night by slapping their way through each set, leaving absolutely no room for anyone else (I've even seen it happen on a country / folk gig - it was quite sad).

The band I'm currently with is funk / acid jazz / disco. Their "bassist wanted" ad stated that being comfortable with the slap technique was a must. The band leader had done demos of his songs for us to learn, including sketches of bass lines all done using the slap sound of his keyboard / DAW. I can slap a little, but it's never been my main focus. I showed up and played fingerstyle funk lines that in my opinion were much better suited for the songs, and the bandleader was instantly sold. There's been a few occasions where we've tried slap lines for some songs, but we always revert back to fingerstyle - much more musical and better in the mix. The only slap bit I have is a song intro, when there's only bass and drums going on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker, Plectrum72, ThinCrappyTone and 2 others
#120
I read through this whole thread and am surprised no one mentioned this.

Slap can be weak on the 1.... I've seen guys that do it well and hit super rock solid downbeats but many players who slap for their groove are really weak on the 1. How is that funky?

The great funky slap players are aware of hitting hard on the 1 but others just keep on with 16th note patterns and heavy attack..... Bad ass slap solo? Do you my dude... Weakness on the 1? Go buy a guitar....
 
  • Like
Reactions: Plectrum72 and JRA

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back