ubassman Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 [size=2][size=4]Slapping isnt something that I am good at or know much about but I was amazed by Joe Fick [/size][/size]technique - how does one get this good and how does one get started? Seems to be in a league of his own and wondering if he used to be a drummer? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nRhD2ku1lI#t=94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I have no idea, but that video is SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBass Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Joe Fick is amazing. Saw him play (and probably bored him to tears with endless bass chat) in Nashville with The Tennessee Tone Boys. He makes it all look so damn effortless! And, random trivia time, he played Bill Black in Walk The Line too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggiesnr Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Classical (non drums) background. Years of practice in one particular subset of bass skills. Dedication and sheer bloody mindedness to be good and if you have the talent you become the one in one thousand, and he is brilliant at what he does. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Very impressive. I like this guy's playing a lot too, Nicolas Dubouchet http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=janofZdKJHA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) Great player for sure, so is Nicolas Debouchet, Lovely feel. One gets started by having an appropriate set up and strings, then learning the handful of basic slap techniques. I found the Smith and Rubin video "slap bass the ungentle art" (can't remember the exact title, it was ages ago). After that you listen to a lot of music, arm yourself with huge amounts of patience and get fluid at it. Joe Fick level of skills are probably out of most people reach, some folk just have an extra bit of something. Please check out Jake Erwin as well from the Hot Club of Cowtown: brilliant player! Edited January 5, 2014 by Rabbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Thanks for the links. Going to go and check some of those guys out. Playing well all melts into one in the end doesnt it ! Quite intrigued by the side on stance - with my classical playing Ive been playing around for ages experimenting with subtle differences standing , sitting, end pin height, lean, angle of dangle etc and then slapping has its own posture and left hand navigation seems to be very different - but all seems to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Quite right, left hand navigation has to be different because the quasi-baseball bat grip gives you a much "beefier" tone, whilst sacrificing dexterity. The side on stance is really not compulsory. The classical stance ain't gonna work, but the "slap" stance is really wherever it is comfortable for you. Check out Milt Hinton: as formidable a slap player as any, yet different approach. There really are no rules, it's whatever your body dictates as comfortable, me thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsyjazzer Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 My humble '2 cents' worth on the slap style. I have been learning to slap now for a while--I can slap at double/triple at a good rate but finding quadruple slap harder at speed--and trying to mix the slaps and keep time difficult. I will keep at it. I really admire the guys that can do that. One thing I have noticed that quite a few of the slappers do not have good intonation. The Bass guy who does it for me is Milt Hinton---He has the lot, including acoustic sound & tone. That probably comes from his great jazz background--One of my favourite Bass players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbie Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Most good slap players play in tune, but no bass player has perfect intonation and when you slap it becomes a wee bit harder still. There could be many reasons for this, not every slap player is formally trained, the left hand technique opens to slight imprecisions, but mostly I'd say stage levels are not always favourable on the bass player, plus the need for putting on a show sometimes makes it difficult to be spot on. However I do agree, Milt was the man, though I didn't like his slap tone on a few recordings after he switched to steels. Nevertheless, Milt was the best. He was a true legend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I think judging by how close he keeps his ear to the strings he's quite keen on having good intonation. He's got a lovely warm tone, are they guts? I tried guts on my busking bass but I like to gig that unamplified and they just weren't anywhere near as loud as Inno Silvers. I've got Cordes Lambert on there now and they're not as loud as Silvers either but sound a lot closer to gut. I love seeing guys like him play. Mostly because I think it's really sweet when people dedicate so much of themselves to playing a really specific kind of folk music. Gives me the warm fuzzies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyBass Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 He certainly typically uses guts, with a wound E if I remember rightly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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