Good attributes of a slappin'/poppin' bass?

[Cogan]

For starters, I'm a guitarist who wants to learn some slap bass. I've been a long time fan of Victor Wooten and just saw his DVD lesson with Carter. I've picked up some of his technique (obviously just a little) and I'm finally getting the thump/pop/slap/pluck/snap feel that I want. Unfortunately, all I've got is a 15 year old Yamaha bass which ran me about $150 brand new in 1990, and it's pretty lifeless. So I'm sort of in the market for a new bass. My question is this:

 

What makes for a good slap bass? Anything about the neck? bridge? head stock? frets? body? strings? pups?

 

Any order of importance to the above?

 

What should I be looking for? Any specific brands/styles of bass?

 

I've played a bunch of basses in local stores some are bouncy and *snap* when you take a thumb to them, others are more rounded and dull in their response. Even going from one Fender P-bass to another gives a lot of variety in the responsiveness. I've played a couple of $120 basses that felt great and had the *snap*, while other $1000 basses were kind of dead when it came to slapping (but great for Jamerson type lines).

 

Any help here would be most appreciated

[sludgebass69]

#1) Fresh roundwound strings, especially stainless steel strings

 

#2) Proper eq. setup, but don't ask me what it is.....

 

#3) Get a Stingray with a maple fretboard, slap city right there....

[Mofopotomus]

Yeah I love the Stingray for that if simply because it has only one pickup which leaves a ton of space for your other hand...but it's not necessary. I'm thinking that the difference in the fenders was due to their setup. I actually set my lower two strings a little higher than my upper two because i liked the feel better. So yeah, I'd recomend something with active electronics, maple fretboard, and then whatever pleases you the most. Start with a Stingray, and go from their . And with a little luck you'll find yourself a wonderful little bass.

 

PS: of course, all the above recomendations don't really matter too much as a lot of it is in your hands...that's the rub.

[1039greenday]

Originally posted by sludgebass69 #1) Fresh roundwound strings, especially stainless steel strings #2) Proper eq. setup, but don't ask me what it is..... #3) Get a Stingray with a maple fretboard, slap city right there....

+1

 

pretty much anything with a bridge pickup will be ok. Dont use the neck pickup. Ive also noticed active electronics ( especially EMG ) give a good slap tone

[The Real MC]

Well my Gibson RD artist has active electronics/EQ and it is not a bass to play slap on.

 

In my experience the first two things you should do when shopping for a slap bass are

 

 

 

Yes, UNPLUGGED. Why? You're listening to the WOOD RESONANCE. EQ, pups, bridge, none of that stuff matters if the wood resonance isn't right.

 

I was in a store when just for the hell of it I picked up a MIM Jazz and started slapping. The bass was unplugged, and when I slapped I could hear the strings. That got my attention. They were really ringing and I loved the sound when I plugged it in. I wasn't planning on buying anything but needless to say I put a deposit on it that day, I wasn't going to let it go.

 

That bass has a very resonant body and neck. When I play it, I can feel it resonate on my hands and torso. That's why you don't need to plug it in. The wood just happened to be right, and you can't design that into a production line. The MIM Jazz is alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, passive electronics. It's still stock, even the cheesy bridge and pickups. I've tried other MIM Jazz basses in stores - same wood combinations - but they don't sound as good. Not even the vintage ones.

 

I don't think you can design good wood resonance like that - it's a game of chance. You have to go through a rack of them to find THAT ONE. I have friends who play slap on their bass and when we get together to jam and swap basses, my MIM Jazz is the favorite.

 

Same thing happened when I tried a six string Alvarez bass just for giggles. Unplugged, slapped it, heard the strings ring. I own that one too. And again, the body/neck resonate. Maple body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, passive electronics.

 

So it doesn't seem that brand is what you should look for - you should look for the sound of the wood. And they'll vary all over the map, as you have found.

 

My RD also has maple body/neck and rosewood fingerboard like the Alvarez, but it doesn't have the ring/resonance for slap.

 

I didn't find much difference in tone of strings on the MIM Jazz, but most brands (Fender, GHS, D'Addarios) go dull after a month of slapping. I use DR Low Riders, they last a long time. Pups, the Jazz has two and depending on the song I'll use either or both.

 

No one mention the preamp. This makes a difference. Like guitars, a tube preamp sounds great for slapping because the peaks from playing like that will overdrive the tube, add harmonics, and smooth out the transients. I hear lots of slap bass players using SS amps like Hartke and it hurts the ears with that tube compression and color missing, it's really harsh. I used a Tubeworks Blue Tube rackmount for years before I switched to an Ampeg SVP-Pro which has better EQ.

 

Active EQ makes not a good slap bass. I played a Peavey that sounded great unplugged, but the active electronics ruined the tone.

[megadan]

1) Be a P bass

 

 

 

 

[sunburstbasser]

New strings, and actually nickels may be better for a strictly slap machine as they seem a little springier to my fingers. All strings are slappable though, Larry Graham slapped flats for years!

 

Stingrays and Jazzes are great starting points for slappers, but so are basses with dual soapbars. As well, Ps and Rics (though not often recommended for slapping) can sound DAMN good slapped. The Rics are a little tricky with the pickup arrangements and such, though. Hell, I slap my Reverend (hollowbody) all the time and it sounds pretty good.

 

As for EQ settings, depends on the amp but I like flat highs, a little cut in the mids, and a little boost in the low-end. Bonus point: This EQ works great for pick and fingers as well. Set and forget.

 

One of my favorite slaptones via www.basstasters.com is the Modulus Flea Bass. I prefer it to the Fodera on the site, actually. The Flea is basically a glorified Ray. I own a Cort with a big MM humbucker, pretty much a toned down Ray. I can NAIL Flea's sounds with that Cort though. Its a GB bass, you can find them on ebay for cheap used.