Bass for slappin'

Gear
#1

Hi everyone,

After having completed the B2B course it’s come the time for me to change my cheap entry level bass, a Harley Benton I’ve never been fully happy with as even with a professional setup I haven’t been able to fully get rid of a string buzz when playing around the 5th to 7th frets, quite annoying as you’ll guess.

I’m currently taking some courses at Talkingbass, namely the two slap bass ones, that have finally allowed me to pursue my youth dream of hitting the strings in Larry Graham or Marcus Miller fashion… Hence my question: what would be the most appropriate bass for slappin without going crazy on the budget department? I mean specific models, I know that I should go for the lowest possible action.

Thanks a lot y’all for your time and inputs!
Ángel

4 Likes
#2

Both Larry and Marcus use Fender J Basses, so if you can find a nice Fender J bass (the Squiers are great, the Made in Mexico line is great, the Made in Japan line is phenomenal, and the Made in USA line is great… and expensive).

But really, anything with that two pickup design would be great. A big fat humbucker in the bridge position (like a Music Man) can be a great way to go also!!

5 Likes
#3

A Sire Marcus Miller would likely do the job. I have a V7 and really like it, I don’t slap though.

1 Like
#4

If you can go to a music shop and try some jazz basses or MM pickup basses. Fender MIM, Squier Indonesia, Ibanez and Yamaha are all good quality instrument for a good price and if you want to modify it (change tuners, pickups, etc.) you’ll find plenty of parts.

Only reason I say go to a music store is because you could have 2 identical Classic Vibe Squiers but in your hands one feels great and the other not so good.

1 Like
#5

Thanks for your answer!
Am I wrong that Jazz basses do not feature full 2 octave range necks?

1 Like
#6

Fender Jazz basses have 20 frets, I don’t know if that’s true for all jazz. Why is that a concern? I don’t know many songs that call for the 24th fret on G, and all the other notes can be played on other strings more easily. So would like to understand your thinking

1 Like
#7

As far as i know and my knowledge is not that deep in theory but an octave consists of 12 notes and a 22 fret jazz has 38 notes. So that should be 3 octaves plus 2 semitones. But there are others that actually know what they are talking about. lol

Correction: Fender Jazz 20 or 21 frets and I didn’t remember to remove all the note repetition.

1 Like
#8

Most Fender and Fender-style basses in traditional configuration have 20 frets. The highest note is D#/Eb on the 20th fret of the G string, just shy of two full octaves. This should not be an issue for any slap technique unless you are Les Claypool.

1 Like
#9

I will correct myself, Fender Ultras have 21 frets, others have 20.

2 Likes
#10

They don’t - as @Wombat-metal @SubsonicRob and @LeftyChad pointed out - 20 frets only.
I’m sure you can find other basses that have 24 frets (the full 2 octaves) and also have the Jazz Bass pickup style.

I tend to agree with the other comments that the 21st through 24th frets are only necessary if you have some fairly specific upper register things you want to play or arrange, but either way - 20 or 24 frets - I’m sure you can find something that has the Marcus/Larry J-bass sound.

4 Likes
#11

24 frets? Luxury!
When I was a lad we had 20 frets between the 10 of us. Two frets each.
Try tellin’ that to the kids these days and they won’t believe you.

For those poor benighted souls who don’t get the reference:

9 Likes
#12

I was totally off actually. First of all I am thinking about my Warwicks which are 24 and 26 frets (what a difference) and forgot to think of all the repetitive notes through out the length of the neck. Ya I fudged that one. Sorry @AngelC . You live you learn.

1 Like
#13

Congrats on completing the course.

What is your price range, there are options at lots of price points.
$400, $700, $1000, $1700, more?

3 Likes
#14

“Oh, we used to dream of livin’ in a corridor! Would ha’ been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woke up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House? Huh”… 22 frets?

3 Likes
#15

You can slap on any bass. Rounds wound strings are recommended. That being said some are more conducive than others. You may want to stay way from any bass with a pickup high up by the neck that could obstruct your slapping and popping.

Sterling By Musicman Stingray would be a good choice in my opinion. Well made , and can be had in the $800 range new, and $500-$600 range used. Just watch any Davie504 video for demonstration.

4 Likes
#16

It’s not that I do need whatever number of frets, it’s simply a stetic matter I’d say, was just asking or thinking aloud if you will. Thanks!

1 Like
#17

I’m thinking some 500 € which would mean roughly up to 600 $. I’ve been offered at a local store a second hand blue Warwick with double pick-up located away from the neck, 5 knobs if I remember correctly, it felt very light and robust at the same time, with an extremely low action which should allow for easy slappin. At a 450 € = 525 $ price tag, do you think it’d be a good choice?
Thanks

1 Like
#18

I am not a Warwick person, but there are many here who can chime in.
Do you know the model?

1 Like
#19

Unfortunately not, I was shown a bunch of second hand basses and some with high rebates and I cannot recall all the details, will go back to the shop though. They also showed me some really beautiful Michael Tobias Design basses, but the price tag went higher, in the 700 to 800 € register.

#20

If you have a picture, there’s folks here who could identify it. Warwick’s got a good reputation, but my knowledge doesn’t go passed checking to see if there’s a W on the headstock, which means it’s good.

I’ll defer to their greater knowledge on Warwick

2 Likes