Slap Happy Chappy? No, Cos I'm Crappy :(

[Reggaebass]

I practiced it for a while just to get a few rhythms down, but slap reggae doesn’t really work 😀,     but  low , by  Lenny Kravitz   has a good little bit of slap which is fun .🙂

[operative451]

2 hours ago, Cato said:

 

Top Tip: It's all in the ghost notes.

Hahaha that thumbnail is just every reason  you shouldn't slap... you'll look like that guy... :D 

I've actually seen some of his videos and hes knowledgeable and a good instructor but oh gods that strap! Gurl! Are you trying to hide that shirt cos I can see why, but seriously you're making George formby's ghost wonder about trademark infringement..!!

Edited May 17, 2019 by operative451

[DoubleOhStephan]

7 minutes ago, operative451 said:

Hahaha that thumbnail is just every reason  you shouldn't slap... you'll look like that guy... :D 

Oh God, what was I thinking?!? 😂😂

[Buzzy]

I went through this in the 80s, slap was everywhere so I thought I'd better learn how to slap if I wanted to be taken seriously as a bass player. Had a few lessons but I could never get to grips with it so gave up trying to slap.  A few months later I went to an audition and the guy who was trying out while I waited was giving it the full Mark King treatment  Trace rig and a JD on a strap so short the bass was almost under his chin. I went in for my turn and said to the band if you want some one who can do all that stuff then I wont even bother setting up. They offered me the job straight away, they said I was the first one to audition who hadn't gone straight into a slap fest. Since then I've never tried to learn slap and have never been asked if I can do it.

[AndyTravis]

@StevieE

where are you based?

[DoubleOhStephan]

7 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

@StevieE

where are you based?

East London mate 

[AndyTravis]

4 minutes ago, StevieE said:

East London mate 

Oh balls, was gonna offer you a brew and a slap lesson for nowt.

I did the heck out of it for years and recently have called upon it again.

It’s due a resurgence...

[DoubleOhStephan]

8 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Oh balls, was gonna offer you a brew and a slap lesson for nowt.

I did the heck out of it for years and recently have called upon it again.

It’s due a resurgence...

Ahh damn, that would be tiptop. I'm moving to the south coast in a couple of months if that's nearer..? 

I just need to figure out why my timing keeps going wrong, I must be doing something fundamental wrong, be buggered if I can work out what it is. 

I know it's not popular these days and I'll rarely if ever get to use it in a band situation, but I want in it the tool box. I feel like I'm almost there, just need that push to get over the edge. 

[AndyTravis]

I’m in Manchester 😉

will pm you x

[DoubleOhStephan]

1 minute ago, AndyTravis said:

I’m in Manchester 😉

will pm you x

Ahh so I'm moving further away... Helpful! 

Cool 😉

[Leonard Smalls]

17 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

For me slap doesn't really work in rock.

I would most respectfully disagree!

 

[tthiggins]

As has been said its just practice to get timing nailed down ...I think slap is a lot harder than people think so they tend to give up but it is well worth persevering as it will help all aspects of your playing ..more or less everyone of the top players can slap even if they don't use it a lot of the time..

I would suggest going back to the originator of slap bass himself and learn Larry Graham ...

You can hear his influence on Marcus in this filthy funk rock masterpiece from 1973 

 

[ped]

It’s funny how some see slap as a completely different way of playing. I mean it kind of is but I like my slapping to sound similar to when I dig in, and blend it in with normal playing. I think when people hear the word slap bass they think of super fast nail gun antics rather than something more subtle. Think about a John Entwistle’s typewriter technique. That’s basically slap. 

[tthiggins]

Yes Mark King has a lot to answer for 😀

[AndyTravis]

23 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I would most respectfully disagree!

 

The chaps from Mudvayne, Incubus and Fieldy from Korn also spring to mind.

I know Fieldy is very clicky and possibly has the “worst” bass tone ever...but listen to his rhythm.

Dirk Lance who was in Incubus really is a bit monstrous (think he left them a while ago)

 

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by AndyTravis

[ped]

Personally I think Fieldy’s bass sound and playing are perfect for Korn. 

[AndyTravis]

18 minutes ago, ped said:

Personally I think Fieldy’s bass sound and playing are perfect for Korn. 

Would love to hear him on a normally tuned bass 😉

[Leonard Smalls]

21 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

Big Tony from Troublefunk

Me like!

Here's a surprisingly restrained and groovy slap solo from him, even though it contains some machine gun stuff and a short bit of tooth playing - starts at 2'30ish

 

[yorks5stringer]

23 hours ago, Unknown_User said:

I learned to play with a plectrum and only about 18 months ago started trying to learn to finger pick.  After I got to a stage where I could do that without making too much of a balls of it I thought I'd try having a go at slapping.  A couple of Internet instructional videos later I decided it was far too complicated and a skill I'd never, ever use.

In fact this week I've decided to stop finger picking altogether and just use a plectrum.  I realise I may have to turn in my badge and gun for saying that.

Corrected this for you.

[bubinga5]

I love slap but done tastefully , when slap is done like this master it makes more sense as just another technique.. Melvin's use of the technique is just perfect.  But lets face it, it depends on the song. Look at Chuck Rainey's part on Steely Dan's PEG. He thought a slap part would work on that certain part of the record. He was right. Then again I love MK. Its just how you apply it in the musical context. There is no way im going to slap over a Carpenter's record. 

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by bubinga5

[ped]

12 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

I love slap but done tastefully , when slap is done like this master it makes more sense as just another technique.. Melvin's use of the technique is just perfect.  But lets face it, it depends on the song. Look at Chuck Rainey's part on Steely Dan's PEG. He thought a slap part would work on that certain part of the record. He was right. Then again I love MK. Its just how you apply it in the musical context. There is no way im going to slap over a Carpenter's record. 

 

Weird, I've been watching that exact clip for ages and have learned the tune - it's always on my YT recommended page!! 

[DoubleOhStephan]

30 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

I love slap but done tastefully , when slap is done like this master it makes more sense as just another technique.. Melvin's use of the technique is just perfect.  But lets face it, it depends on the song. Look at Chuck Rainey's part on Steely Dan's PEG. He thought a slap part would work on that certain part of the record. He was right. Then again I love MK. Its just how you apply it in the musical context. There is no way im going to slap over a Carpenter's record. 

 

Thats exactly it, I want it in my locker because in some situations it is just right for the song. 

Its not always appropriate, I get that, I was listening to a new R&B track the other day and for no discernable reason, the bassist was putting little pops in, seemingly at random. It just sounded crap, these random clanks which added nowt to the song. 

[Doctor J]

 

Slapping the bass is a lot like like making love to a beautiful woman. There's a time and a place for it. Get it wrong and you'll never get a second chance. You've got to build the mood and, only when it's absolutely appropriate, do you make your move. You can't just whip it out any time you feel like it and whack it off everything in sight.

[musicbassman]

44 minutes ago, ped said:

Weird, I've been watching that exact clip for ages and have learned the tune - it's always on my YT recommended page!! 

 

57 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

I love slap but done tastefully , when slap is done like this master it makes more sense as just another technique.. Melvin's use of the technique is just perfect.  But lets face it, it depends on the song. Look at Chuck Rainey's part on Steely Dan's PEG. He thought a slap part would work on that certain part of the record. He was right. Then again I love MK. Its just how you apply it in the musical context. There is no way im going to slap over a Carpenter's record. 

 

Well, that is truly perfect - and there's my homework for the next few weeks!  But I guess I'll never nail it quite like this guy 😥

[bubinga5]

Slap is an audible sexy experience. Everyone loves to hear that sound. Do you have to have to play it. Nope. Just like you don't have to tap, play slides, Trills. Super cheesy slides on every bar of a song. The notes are the importance. Yep use those techniques sparingly. 

Reminds me of that guy from Guitar Guitar in Glasgow that I asked if I could play a bass. Before I could play it he gave me a not so good slap masterclass. I just thought he was a Richard.. After 5 minutes I asked if I could actually play the Sadowsky. He was trying to show me and the shop how many chops he could fit into 5 minutes. That there in a nutshell is what  I thought you shouldn't do musically. 

Edited May 18, 2019 by bubinga5