Ricky 4000 Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 44 minutes ago, Cato said: Finally getting around to learning how to play slap properly a few years back got me out of a playing rut that had gone on so long that I was almost at the point where I didn't want to pick up a bass anymore. These days it's far from the majority of what I play but it definitely reignited my interest in the instrument. It opened up a couple of new ways of thinking about my standard finger style playing as well, as an example, before slap I barely knew what a ghost note was let alone how to use them effectively. Suffice to say I'm a fan. This ^^^^. After years of (occasionally) trying to bang out "forget me nots" (in private of course), I'm now trying to develop my own distinct fusion style, by shamelessly copying Jerry Preston. 😁 How could anybody not LOVE the first 30 seconds of this?: "Forget me nots" is still a disaster. 😪 3 Quote
bassfan Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 13 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: I can play one slap bass line and one only, This Is Not A Love Song by Public Image Ltd. Me too.... Never too much. 😂 Quote
Bleat Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 Slap? Never has a playing style said so very little with so many notes ! Personally I prefer basses that produce...err… bass, not instruments that tonally replicate the sound of cutlery being thrown down a flight of metal stairs. 🤨 1 2 Quote
Ricky 4000 Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 (edited) 7 hours ago, operative451 said: Slap bass. I know it comes up on occasion... But what the flip is it with youtube and instagram bassists and the slappidy bappidy clippedy boing noises?! Argh!! I'm totally after things about tone, amp settings, nice playing tips, just nice playing full stop but everything on there seems to be some noodle with a bass in their armpit and their thumb flapping back and forth like they're having a very localised seizure... Seriously, is there any popular, recent, fun or interesting music that uses it? I've noticed the odd bit of clonking here and there on some Bruno-Mars-esque stuff but mostly no, because we want to hear, y'know, notes, not the sound of stainless steel rattling and thwacking. It makes me want to use a pick just to annoy them.... For me (please note: as a beginner student of slapism) I think a common starting point is: Guitar: Tone=High / All PUs=Full Amp: Lows=Full / Mids=Half / Highs=Full / Limiter=On a lot Then tame it back from there as required. Action: Low Strings: Rounds Playing: It's all about control (same as any style), which is all about practice. 👍 Edited January 22, 2019 by Ricky 4000 Quote
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 A few years ago these over 50s with cash to spend on a Status or the latest hand made super jazz bass only had bass shows to perform at, now they've got YouTube. 2 Quote
steve-bbb Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 9 hours ago, operative451 said: Slap bass. I know it comes up on occasion... But what the flip is it with youtube and instagram bassists and the slappidy bappidy clippedy boing noises?! Argh!! You should go along to a bass bash some time and check out all the King basses 🤣 Quote
BreadBin Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 6 minutes ago, steve-bbb said: You should go along to a bass bash some time and check out all the King basses 🤣 I've played one King bass - at a bass bash funnily enough. Slapping seemed the most natural way to play it, and my slapping has never sounded so good! 1 Quote
Newfoundfreedom Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 I can't really comment on this thread. I'm such a bad player, my bass slaps me. 1 8 Quote
Beer of the Bass Posted January 22, 2019 Posted January 22, 2019 5 hours ago, bassfan said: Horses for courses. I like it when it’s done right. 😎 Same here, but to my mind doing it right involves only pulling it out in the moments where it really adds something, which for most bands is a very small proportion of their set! Quote
chris_b Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 I can't slap and I regret that. I've tried but what came out had the grace of an elephant on his first day at tap dance school. Luckily I have never been in a band that asked me to. Still I wish I could. I'd like to be able to toss a few impressive licks into my bass solos. They definitely need to be rescuing by something. There's some good slap in the world and a lot of bad slap. Only hate the bad stuff. The techno slap, double thumb stuff is less interesting to me, but at the end of the day it's just another technique. If done well, and in the right context, then I'm all for it. 1 Quote
three Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 18 hours ago, Beedster said: bit like a demo for a lawn mower showing how well it can be used to carry the shopping home incisive and eloquent at once - started my day with a belly-laugh! Quote
Leonard Smalls Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 I don't understand all the hatred for slap bass; surely it's better to celebrate skill than it is to dismiss it as "showing off" or "fretw£qry"? After all, if every musician stuck to doing the absolute minimum just in case someone say "look at him, he's up himself!" we all only be playing the root and occasional 5th. There'd be no Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, Billy Sheehan, Jonas Hellborg etc. Or for that matter, no Bach, Mozart or even Mach and his Saddest Of All Keys... 1 Quote
Barking Spiders Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 I'm afraid to say, slapping my bass is one of my dark sordid secrets. Before I get around to slapping I make sure no one else is in the house, lock the doors, draw the curtains and get out my slap bass tutors out from under the mattress and get to work. These days it's not something I'd do in public as people would look at me with a mix of disgust and confusion. Back in the 80s -early 90s I and others were less ashamed about slapping in public and nowadays I only open up about this on fora under aliases. 2 Quote
ubit Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 35 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: I don't understand all the hatred for slap bass; surely it's better to celebrate skill than it is to dismiss it as "showing off" or "fretw£qry"? After all, if every musician stuck to doing the absolute minimum just in case someone say "look at him, he's up himself!" we all only be playing the root and occasional 5th. There'd be no Stanley Clarke, Les Claypool, Billy Sheehan, Jonas Hellborg etc. Or for that matter, no Bach, Mozart or even Mach and his Saddest Of All Keys... It’s not hatred. Far from it with me. I just hate it’s over use, especially when demonstaring an amp or a guitar 2 Quote
Leonard Smalls Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 10 minutes ago, ubit said: It’s not hatred There does appear to be a lot of our members who do seem to actively hate it... And not just that unmusical dunkadunka thing often heard in said demos and music shops around the land, but the very idea of virtually any sort of bass virtuosity is instantly dismissed as showing off. For these folks Jack Bruce was about as far as anybody should go, and even he played a few too many notes! I say live and let live. If you want to slap, great. If you just want to play the root in 16ths, great. Just listen to, and more importantly, enjoy the music! Quote
operative451 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Posted January 23, 2019 13 hours ago, Ricky 4000 said: For me (please note: as a beginner student of slapism) I think a common starting point is: Guitar: Tone=High / All PUs=Full Amp: Lows=Full / Mids=Half / Highs=Full / Limiter=On a lot Then tame it back from there as required. Action: Low Strings: Rounds Playing: It's all about control (same as any style), which is all about practice. 👍 Thats not exactly what i meant, but thank you anyway... Quote
leftybassman392 Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 It's slap; it's got more than 4 strings; and - horror of horrors (gasp!) - it's a girl. So, pretty much everything that could go wrong has gone wrong then... ... 1 Quote
Kevsy71 Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 14 hours ago, Lozz196 said: I can play one slap bass line and one only, This Is Not A Love Song by Public Image Ltd. Me too - although in my case it's been a 30 year semi-succesful effort to play this: Quote
operative451 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Posted January 23, 2019 I only hate the ubiquitousness (see any threads where i've let my feelings about the b***les be known...) - if i'm playing the intro to Panic Station by Muse, my thumb might make an appearance but its when i see something pop up on my instagram like: What is the actual point? It sounds like a kid banging on a wire fence...! Quote
operative451 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Posted January 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, leftybassman392 said: It's slap; it's got more than 4 strings; and - horror of horrors (gasp!) - it's a girl. So, pretty much everything that could go wrong has gone wrong then... ... Check my Avatar - i'm very pro the 'being a girl' thing.. Jeez though, how many flipping strings?! OMG its headless too isn't it?! 1 Quote
Barking Spiders Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 This is for all the naysayers here 😊 Quote
leftybassman392 Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 8 minutes ago, operative451 said: OMG its headless too isn't it?! Is it!? WTF! Oh wait... Edited January 23, 2019 by leftybassman392 Quote
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 Is that a class D heftless amp too, and where's her waist coat? Quote
EBS_freak Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) 4 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said: Is that a class D heftless amp too, and where's her waist coat? Don't need no heft for the sound of a staple gun. What amp is it that Mark King is using again...? Edited January 23, 2019 by EBS_freak Quote
tauzero Posted January 23, 2019 Posted January 23, 2019 36 minutes ago, operative451 said: Check my Avatar - i'm very pro the 'being a girl' thing.. Jeez though, how many flipping strings?! OMG its headless too isn't it?! Her music stand is just out of shot. Quote
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