Jean Beaudin uses his many-stringed instrument to accomplish things most people would play on a keyboard. I think that's a good theoretical idea for what many of the musicians are trying to do with extra strings and non-standard playing styles, to shift to roles normally covered by different instruments. Some of that speed slap is about taking over the role of percussion instruments. That's the way I was looking at what Bill Dickens was trying to do. I just couldn't get into the groove, and I don't think too many of us would be impressed if a drummer sat down behind a kit and laid down something that sounded like that.
On the other hand, there are some great slap lines out there in the world that have texture and tonality. I certainly didn't intend to blanket slap as the problem, just carrying it to the excess. Flea's version of Higher Ground is great, and I could think of more if I took the time.
Pushing the limits of an instrument is how players often earn immortality for genius. Eddie Van Halen, Jaco, and Stanley, to name a few, did things on their instruments that were unheard of before, or at least very rare, and brought them to the public. Speed and accuracy are part of it, but speed for the sake of speed, while impressive, tends not to be musical.
-bob
