I don't like slap

[SteveXFR]

Am I the only person who plays bass and generally hates slap? 

I think it can sound good when used sparingly (like Billy Gould or Tim Commerford) but I hate songs which are just slaps and pops all the way through. I really dislike songs which weren't slapped covered by a bassist who plays slap all the way through. I don't even like Primus. 

Am I on my own with this? 

[jezzaboy]

No

[Dan Dare]

I like it when someone who is good at it does it. That doesn't include me. I'm crap at slap.

[ped]

It’s a technique so I like it as much as I like the song. I think it has more impact when it’s a tasty finger style bassline with a few ‘pops’ in but I also like full slap stuff if it’s a good song. 

Trouble is most people think the technique alone makes a good song, which of course it doesn’t. 

[PaulThePlug]

OK and effective as a fill 'n a flourish in the right place and moderation...

[ahpook]

It's certainly one of the least pleasing things you can do to a bass to make it make a noise as far as I'm concerned.

[Lozz196]

I like it when it adds to a song, such as Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes, or a couple of the Duran songs, but don’t like it when it’s just an onslaught of notes with no groove or discernible riff.

[Stub Mandrel]

Fine when it serves the song.

Embarrassing when it's an angst-fueled pop-tastic slap-fest...

[Nail Soup]

I'd say I don't like slap... but my experience is most likely skewed because most of the 'bad' slap is really noticeable while the 'good' slap tends to blend in with the song and not so noticeable.

[Skybone]

@Beedster's dog doesn't like slap bass either.

[Reggaebass]

I love a bit of slap especially in funk, but I don’t like the machine gun frantic style , I didn’t fully appreciate it until I had lessons for it , i found it quite hard and very time consuming ,  it took a long time to get a few simple grooves together, I gave up in the end 

[Tdw]

I do like slap, but I don't want every song to be slap or anything. Most of the music I listen to doesn't feature slap but some of it does. Most of the music I play doesn't contain slap but some of it does.  Also I do like Primus, both the slapped songs and the unslapped songs.

In fact I think its great that we have a totally different workable technique and sound that we can choose to use if we like, few other instruments do in my opinion.

[kingforaday]

I think of it like double bass drum drumming... it has a place in a certain style of music and fits that perfectly. However, the genre it's best known for is not one I'm massively in to. That said, if used tastefully for the odd song or section here and there it can be really effective - but just slapping all over every song for the sake of it doesn't do it for me, much like just running on double kick drums constantly through every song isn't for me either

[inthedoghouse]

You are most certainly not alone!  It leaves me absolutely cold. 

[Bleat]

A million slapped and popped notes from start to finish can end up saying so very little, whereas a couple of very well placed and chosen notes can end up changing someone's life.

[TheLowDown]

I don't like slap either, and I believe that you're far from alone in having that opinion.

I see slap as being the least musical technique and which serves the song the least well. I like melodic and tuneful solos when they serve the song, and in such a situation a non-slap melodic solo should always be chosen above slap.

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by TheLowDown

[40hz]

I don't mind it at all when done tastefully but overall, I'm really burnt out on it as a technique it's extremely overused, not to mention that nobody is really doing anything with it havent already seen a million times before.

[Little Dragon]

Could never be bothered to learn how to as the results just aren't worth it.

[SteveXFR]

There's definitely a place for it and I think a few musicians have perfected using it sparingly. Billy Gould is the best example I can think of, he mainly uses slap just when his part is more percussion with a little tone rather than melodic. Tim Commerford uses slap very sparingly but for some reason, I've seen bassists cover his bass lines with slap start to finish and it sounds terrible. 

[fleabag]

Generally,  i switch off when the slapping kicks off.

The only track i really i like that has slapstick is Love Games / Level 42

The  rest makes me groan

[Downunderwonder]

One day I may find occasion to throw in a little slap/pop. I will be looking for the drummer to snap his neck if I do, like the day he didn't notice I had swapped in the slab for the EUB and dialed in a little bit of grind.

[Doddy]

2 hours ago, TheLowDown said:

I see slap as being the least musical technique and which serves the song the least well. I like melodic and tuneful solos when they serve the song, and in such a situation a melodic solo should always be chosen above slap.

 

Because slap can't be melodic?

[TheLowDown]

13 minutes ago, Doddy said:

Because slap can't be melodic?

I fixed it for you.

[Hutton]

I don’t like the overuse of slap on demos on YouTube. Sometimes there is just too much especially at the beginning of the vid. If a vid starts with slapping I immediately move on to the next video. Apart from that the technique does have a place when it is tastefully used in the right place at the right time.

[nilebodgers]

31 minutes ago, Hutton said:

I don’t like the overuse of slap on demos on YouTube. Sometimes there is just too much especially at the beginning of the vid. If a vid starts with slapping I immediately move on to the next video. Apart from that the technique does have a place when it is tastefully used in the right place at the right time.

Lol, I do that too. It's not a great technique for hearing the core sound of a demo'd bass.