Slapping

[LukeFRC]

a pet hate is bassists who just for one or two bars at the end of a chorus or something pull out some slap riff.... not realising that because of the different tonality of the technique it kinda messes up the mix and looses the groove.
Slapping can be good, even great - but unless it serves the groove of the song... it's a bit ... well... *shrug*

[bubinga5]

can any one see the difference between these two electric bassists.? which do you prefer.?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqxVJp6fhaI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHdN_O5k3WM

Edited March 24, 2014 by icastle
Link fixed.

[BottomE]

Ah this old chestnut

Ain't nothing wrong with a bit of appropriate slapping. We've started to do the Bruno Mars track "Treasure". Bassline is a simple slap groove and totally suits the song.

Its only another style of playing your instrument.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1394874831' post='2396133']
can we have a slap off.?
[/quote]

haven't you been to a basschat bass bash?

[Lozz196]

Slap is a technique which is good in places, and not in others, in my view. Club Tropicana by Wham is a song made much better by the slap-bass in it.

The thing that gets me though, is going to the London Bass Guitar Show, almost every bassist trying out gear was slapping away, yet in much of the music on the radio, slap-bass doesn`t feature on it, so is it a technique that is now outdated?

Additionally, I got some very strange looks at LBGS when playing a UK Subs bassline, with a pick. Like I was some kind of weirdo, oh hang on........

[Dingus]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1394918519' post='2396778']
Slap is a technique which is good in places, and not in others, in my view. Club Tropicana by Wham is a song made much better by the slap-bass in it.

The thing that gets me though, is going to the London Bass Guitar Show, almost every bassist trying out gear was slapping away, yet in much of the music on the radio, slap-bass doesn`t feature on it, so is it a technique that is now outdated?

Additionally, I got some very strange looks at LBGS when playing a UK Subs bassline, with a pick. Like I was some kind of weirdo, oh hang on........
[/quote]

UK Subs? I went to a party many years ago and, much to my amazement , they were there. Nice fellas, too. Charlie is[i] way [/i] too old to be a punk rocker, though, it has to be said. He was too old in 1977, if the truth be told.

Slapping has indeed become dated, but it was already dated at the time it was popular, so think of it as being dated in a kind of " Best Before" rather than"Use By" sense. Slapping is[i][u] meant [/u][/i]to sound dated. When it comes to slap, dated is good.

Unfortunately, a lot of trade show slappers have lost sight of the fact that slap needs to be used musically and with some kind of wit and invention , and we all know what the results sound like. Without naming any names, there seem to be number of bass players nowadays who apparently make a living by wondering the globe and appearing on You Tube slapping and tapping for their supper in a polyrhythmic quasi-melodic manner on a variety of exotic basses, but who have probably actually never played the bassline to a song in years.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Dingus

[Dingus]

And so to summarise, slapping good... but slapping also very bad.

[discreet]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1394920809' post='2396801']
Without naming any names, there seem to be number of bass players nowadays who apparently make a living by wondering the globe and appearing on You Tube slapping and tapping for their supper in a polyrhythmic quasi-melodic manner on a variety of exotic basses, but who have probably actually never played the bassline to a song in years.
[/quote]

So true, but in fairness there is at least one pick player doing the same thing. Only, er... playing with a pick.

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1394922300' post='2396829']
So true, but in fairness there is at least one pick player doing the same thing. Only, er... playing with a pick.
[/quote]

If that pick player is who I think it is, though, then at least he has had a distinguished career playing in bands as a sideman. I don't begrudge him resting on his laurels a bit now he is getting on a bit.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Dingus

[Bolo]

I feel this is appropriate here.

[discreet]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1394922672' post='2396838']
If that pick player is who I think it is, though, then at least he has had a distinguished career playing in bands as a sideman. I don't begrudge him resting on his laurels a bit now he is getting on a bit.
[/quote]

Me neither. But that frantic slapping bloke has been in at least one semi-famous band, hasn't he?
Actually that's not true - I reckon it's just a front for his slap-happy flapfests.

[discreet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZgVRJ-H8U

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1394922924' post='2396841']
Me neither. But that frantic slapping bloke has been in at least one semi-famous band, hasn't he?
Actually that's not true - I reckon it's just a front for his slap-happy flapfests.
[/quote]

The slappers I am thinking of are eastern European and to a lesser extent American and none have ever been in any significant bands to the best of my knowledge,. Even a relative superstar like Victor Wooten seems to mainly exist in some strange hinterland between the clinic circuit , instruction videos and all-star jams. You can't imagine Victor being hired as a sideman and putting down the bass lines on the next album by Jay-Z or whoever in the same way that Louis Johnson did for Michael Jackson in his heyday.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Dingus

[discreet]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1394923453' post='2396846']
You can't imagine Victor being hired as a sideman and putting down the bass lines on the next album by Jay-Z or whoever in the same way that Louis Johnson did for Michael Jackson in his heyday.
[/quote]

I totally agree. But it's no secret that I've never been a fan of the bass guitar played as a virtuoso instrument. Unfortunately, slapping lends itself quite well to those players who do what I call 'showing off' and IMO the bass is not, or at least shouldn't be, a solo instrument.

[bubinga5]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1394895848' post='2396426']
haven't you been to a basschat bass bash?
[/quote] so thats what goes on.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1394924897' post='2396862']
so thats what goes on.
[/quote]

well if you want to see a hall full of kingbasses slapping away all day long you know where to go now

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1394920809' post='2396801']
UK Subs? I went to a party many years ago and, much to my amazement , they were there. Nice fellas, too. Charlie is[i] way [/i] too old to be a punk rocker, though, it has to be said. He was too old in 1977, if the truth be told.
[/quote]

We`ve been fortunate to get a gig supporting them. Apparently Charlie is pushing 70 now, and still going strong.

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1394923811' post='2396853']
I totally agree. But it's no secret that I've never been a fan of the bass guitar played as a virtuoso instrument. Unfortunately, slapping lends itself quite well to those players who do what I call 'showing off' and IMO the bass is not, or at least shouldn't be, a solo instrument.
[/quote]

Well, I understand what you are saying , and I suppose a lot depends on what you define as virtuosity, because to me a lot ( most) of these super flashy players are not actually virtuosos. They are just novelty acts doing a turn .

James Jamerson and Jaco Pastorius were virtuosos. Stanley Clarke is a virtuoso. Richard Bona is a virtuoso. Marcus Miller is a virtuoso. Pino Palladino is a virtuoso. All these players have formidable technique , but crucially, they know how and when to use it in a musical context. Their virtuosity is as much in how they [i]think[/i] as in how they play, because the former greatly influences the quality of the latter. [u][i]That[/i][/u] is what makes them virtuosos, not showboating pyrotechnics just for the sake of it. It would be wrong to name names, because some of them are members on Basschat, but most people know who these guys are , and as Shakespeare ( William, not Robbie) described their playing , " It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing". It impresses gullible people who can't think for themselves, , such as metal guitarists and company reps at NAMM , but for anyone who knows their arse from their elbow it is embarrassing to witness the lack of self-awareness that some of these guys exhibit( quite literally, considering how much time they seem to spend demonstrating gear at trade shows).

[Dingus]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1394964786' post='2397071']
We`ve been fortunate to get a gig supporting them. Apparently Charlie is pushing 70 now, and still going strong.
[/quote]

Who would have ever thought we would end up living in a world where there were punk rockers in their 70's? I just hope they don't start swearing at the Meals On Wheels people and gobbing on them, , because those people do a fabulous job.

[discreet]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1394977848' post='2397232']
Well, I understand what you are saying , and I suppose a lot depends on what you define as virtuosity, because to me a lot ( most) of these super flashy players are not actually virtuosos. They are just novelty acts doing a turn .
[/quote]

I'm confused now - are we agreeing or having an argument?

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1394923811' post='2396853']
I totally agree. But it's no secret that I've never been a fan of the bass guitar played as a virtuoso instrument. Unfortunately, slapping lends itself quite well to those players who do what I call 'showing off' and IMO the bass is not, or at least shouldn't be, a solo instrument.
[/quote]

Pretty much my view, although you can be a virtuoso accompanist bass player - as many of our heroes are or were.

I wouldn't want to forbid anyone following the solo/lead bass route, but who buys their music? Other bass players who aspire to solo/lead virtuosity.

To misquote someone else, my job as bass player is to make the band sound good.

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1394978553' post='2397243']
I'm confused now - are we agreeing or having an argument?
[/quote]

We are agreeing, it is just that I wouldn't describe flashy players as virtuosos, they are just flashy. True virtuosity requires the exercise of taste and judgement, which is a lot of these chaps in question can not even begin to fathom.

I am not against flamboyant, up-front bass playing for one moment- I love lots of players in all kinds of genres who push the boundaries and want a high profile in the music- but it either works or it doesn't. There seems to be a subculture of fancy bass players nowadays who don't actually seem to play any music and just go round doing gymnastics for anyone who will watch.

[jazzyvee]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1394822579' post='2395680']
Exactly.

Isn't it time for Precision v Jazz or Flat v Round yet?


[/quote]
Maybe that will come after the "Are high end basses worth the money?" round. :-)

What constitutes too much slapping is a personal thing really, but I couldn't listen to a gig where every song was slapped like crazy but if it was a section of a song that was using it in a musical way instead of " look at me i'm fantastic" then I can deal with that. I found it interesting that Yolanda Charles made the point during her set at LBGS that slapping doesn't keep you in gigs.

There are other things about bass that i just don't get.... yet....., why someone would pay a lot of money for a decent bass and amp then use distortion on it which to my ears makes it sound the same as a cheap bass playing through a cheap rig.

However I'm open to any insight into this that you can share to aid my understanding.

jazzyvee

[blamelouis]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1394741042' post='2394728']

[/quote]

Last three bands I've been in ALL want slapping as 30% of the set.

[Jus Lukin]

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Edited February 19, 2022 by Jus Lukin