Angel Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I used to really be into 'flash' playing, be it guitar, bass or any other instrument. However, ultimately it all got a bit meh, a bit boring. These days I'm more into great (or flash) playing withing the context of a song or proper composition. I love slap playing, but I prefer to hear a Jamiroquai or RHCP song where it is serving a purpose, rather than an 'impressive' noodle. When I bought Stu Hamm's first album, I loved the track 'country music', however, whenever he seems to play it anywhere he goes as fast as possible and it has lost itself as a composition and become a show-off piece. It doesn't sound half as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 This is showboating, not the real thing. Bit like the wheelie car at a drag racing meet, someone doing keepie-ups at football, sinking the fastest pint. All good fun, but not an end in itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Two pages in and no mention of "Rhythmsync"! Group hugs all round! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML94 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 (edited) You can't hold no groove if your machine gun triplet - ing Edited October 10, 2012 by ML94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I couldn't stand the jerky video long enough to be bored by the slapping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Academy Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Victor is a genius. Ignore the YouTube/trade show stuff. He's always been pigeonholed on this forum as a one-trick pony, who just slaps at 100mph. Listen to his other playing and teaching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude_b Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1349859750' post='1831307'] Sounds like a music shop on a Saturday afternoon. You crazy. [/quote] That was great. Kind of so bad that it's good. Unfortunately, it's got really stuck in my head already. I've always admired what he does on the bass, but can't get on with the music it's set in. I don't really even feel the urge to try to learn his stuff as an exercise. I'm a bit dull and think that most of the really musically interesting stuff on electric bass was done in the 1970's. I'll get my coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Definitely you being a grumpy old man as Victor Wooten is awesome. Mind you, his party trick skills tend to get mentioned more than his music which is a shame. He is an awesome bass player, but most people are more interested in the jaw dropping slap solos he does for fun than the many, many albums of music he has recorded as a band leader and sideman. Victor is, I would say, probably the most competent and complete bassist out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML94 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Can anyone send me some tracks or clips which have him playing as a sideman, like a bassist for other musicians. I'm aware of the session work that Miller has done but never really looked into Victors 'side' career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Tasteful bit of fretless:- [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q50xzhDO9lI[/media] Nice spotlight moment for him at about 1.48 and 2.48 Edited October 11, 2012 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1349862438' post='1831347'] I love chicken sandwiches. If I had them for starter, main course and dessert every day for a month, I would soon hate them. All things in moderation. I can take a few minutes of these jugglers but, after the 'wow' has worn off, I quickly switch off. I think someone is right in that we need guys to push the boundaries but we also need guys who consolidate, who use the ideas of the trailbalzers in a more musical and less grandstanding way. [/quote] That's a rallying cry for the youth of 2012! Don't say something new, let's consolidate! Shall we start with Jimmy Blanton or go back to Bach? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urb Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Here's the thing... Wooten himself has said: "the bass doesn't make any music - the musician makes the music" - so flip the OP around the other way and instead of asking is slap boring? - why not - is the musician boring? In Vic's case I don't think so - in many other cases yes... I agree with Paul/Dobby's comment re this is a bit of fun - they are having fun not taking a f***ing exam, it sounds like fun, two guys having a laugh on stage for entertainment's sake... and in that case I think it's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 [quote name='urb' timestamp='1349989277' post='1833335']they are having fun not taking a f***ing exam, it sounds like fun, two guys having a laugh on stage for entertainment's sake... and in that case I think it's fine.[/quote] So they were deliberately playing the cheesiest-sounding faux-funk licks they could, as a kind of ironic humour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Wooks79' timestamp='1349819475' post='1831083'] I literally only enjoyed between 1:03 and 1:05.. basically just that tapped bit. They are both far more talented than me, but I don't find it musical. [/quote] Yeah me too. Edited October 11, 2012 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I saw Vic as the 'house bassist' backing Bootsy Collins (who only sang) at a gig about 2 years ago. No flashy stuff, no slap-fest just great solid funky grooves and a huge smile on his face throughout. I really like the fact that he always seems to be having the most fun whenever he plays & he seems like a really nice guy as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 i have to say, i like slap, but i see it as a performance art as much as a playing technique. i want to see that thumb come down and strike that string like it just shot your mother. and pick that string up like its trying to defend its mother shooting mate. I don't like wooten's slap, for a couple of reasons. It doesn't have that emphasis on performance as a regular slap would. also, i tend not to like songs that are only played on bass, i find them w***erish and show-offy. Yeah, i know, the bass guitar can be used as a solo instrument, harmonics etc etc and yeah, that takes alot of skill, but i would rather hear a tight groove in a song, than a song that is just a groove. and anybody who isn't a bassist, or at least a musician, won't be interested in it really. so yeah, it is boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1349993375' post='1833444'] i have to say, i like slap, but i see it as a performance art as much as a playing technique. i want to see that thumb come down and strike that string like it just shot your mother. and pick that string up like its trying to defend its mother shooting mate. I don't like wooten's slap, for a couple of reasons. It doesn't have that emphasis on performance as a regular slap would. also, i tend not to like songs that are only played on bass, i find them w***erish and show-offy. Yeah, i know, the bass guitar can be used as a solo instrument, harmonics etc etc and yeah, that takes alot of skill, but i would rather hear a tight groove in a song, than a song that is just a groove. and anybody who isn't a bassist, or at least a musician, won't be interested in it really. so yeah, it is boring. [/quote] Ok... Victor's technique may not have the big flash motion of someone like Louis Johnson,but he can be quite animated on stage so the performance is still there. It's fine that you don't like 'songs that are only played on bass',but,with the exception of his first solo album,all his albums have been band orientated and there is a lot of really cool stuff on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1349993375' post='1833444'] I don't like wooten's slap, for a couple of reasons... but i would rather hear a tight groove in a song [/quote] I see you are largely unfamiliar with Victor Wooten then. He is one of the tightest groovers around. This track is awesome, Prasanna with Vic on bass. From about 04:40 until the end of the song, he is bringing the house down with that massive groove. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQQVbfam06s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQQVbfam06s[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I like Victor Wooten, but rather his attitude towards music rather than his bass playing, which is of no real interest to me at all. He's far more broad-minded in the way he talks about music than quite a majority of people on this forum for example and I think a lot can be learned in hearing him talk and indeed hearing him play. The unfortunate part is that he trades off the fact that he has this immense technical skill on his bass. He's said it himself that he's been pigeonholed this way but at the end of the day it's what he does. As far as criticising him goes, fine I guess but it seems a shame that a musician who is so incredibly open-minded and talented can get slammed by so many people who are so very close-minded - not a pop at the OP, just an overall attitude that I see a lot of on this forum I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 [quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1349996681' post='1833487'] I see you are largely unfamiliar with Victor Wooten then. He is one of the tightest groovers around. This track is awesome, Prasanna with Vic on bass. From about 04:40 until the end of the song, he is bringing the house down with that massive groove. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQQVbfam06s[/media] [/quote] Don't mis-quote me. i am familiar with wooten. I said i didn't like his slap style, and that i find a good groove within a song more interesting than a song that IS a groove, i.e.- Wootens songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1349998213' post='1833505'] Don't mis-quote me. i am familiar with wooten. I said i didn't like his slap style, and that i find a good groove within a song more interesting than a song that IS a groove, i.e.- Wootens songs. [/quote] But then you're talking guff. As Wooten's songs are about more than just a groove, in most cases. He'll provide a groove. Usually there will be melody, harmony and colour added by other instruments or in some cases, Vic himself. The point being that Vic no doubt strives to put a good groove into his songs, but they aren't just grooves exclusively, if you wish to categorise things in such an unwieldy and pedantic manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 The great thing about Vic Wooten, is that I can read his book about music, written as Victor Wooten, the great bassist who does all this stuff, and find it entirely applicable to me, a guy who's set is standing in front of amps feeding back and pulling faces for half an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sté Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Oh yes. The music lesson is the good title for the book.It's a real music and life lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1349999535' post='1833515'] The great thing about Vic Wooten, is that I can read his book about music, written as Victor Wooten, the great bassist who does all this stuff, and find it entirely applicable to me,[i] a guy who's set is standing in front of amps feeding back and pulling faces for half an hour[/i]. [/quote] Love the imagery mate When are you playing down my way, this I would go to see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Academy Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 I love Billy Sheehan but I find over long two-handed tapping boring. The ancient footage of him soloing forever with Talas is mind numbing. Yet he rarely gets a mention on here. It seems Wooten bashing is an Olympic sport on Basschat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.