Suggestions for a "Not so" Badass II setup

[dhardway]

I am a newbie (playing for under a year). I have an Highway One Jazz with Standard Vintage Alnico Magnet Jazz Bass Single Coil Pickups and a Badass II.

I have had a professional setup but I still experience a nasty metal-like clang when I employ the slap/pop attack. I have attempted to make adjustments myself to the saddle height, etc. I have also tried different strings and currently use Ken Smith Slapmasters 30-90 gauge (I have used Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings too).

I am specifically looking for a lower setup to use the thump/slap on the D and G strings. Currently I get no sound at all and no sustain (tried both the bounce and strum slap attacks but to no avail) but consistently get that annoying clang. The E and A string have similar issues but I at least get some semblance of the thump that I am looking for. I think that my execution of the technique is 70% perfected, as I practice for hours for nearly a year (everyday).

Are there any reading material on setting up the Badass out there? What is the purpose of moving the saddles up and down the length of the bridge in conjunction with height adjustments?

Yours truly

The Soundchaser with the lead thumbs!

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by dhardway

I am a newbie (playing for under a year). I have an Highway One Jazz with Standard Vintage Alnico Magnet Jazz Bass Single Coil Pickups and a Badass II.

I have had a professional setup but I still experience a nasty metal-like clang when I employ the slap/pop attack. I have attempted to make adjustments myself to the saddle height, etc. I have also tried different strings and currently use Ken Smith Slapmasters 30-90 gauge (I have used Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings too).

I am specifically looking for a lower setup to use the thump/slap on the D and G strings. Currently I get no sound at all and no sustain (tried both the bounce and strum slap attacks but to no avail) but consistently get that annoying clang. The E and A string have similar issues but I at least get some semblance of the thump that I am looking for. I think that my execution of the technique is 70% perfected, as I practice for hours for nearly a year (everyday).

Are there any reading material on setting up the Badass out there? What is the purpose of moving the saddles up and down the length of the bridge in conjunction with height adjustments?

Yours truly

The Soundchaser with the lead thumbs!

There is more to adjust than saddle height. You could have to much, or to little neck relief. It could be technique, you may be slapping/popping to hard.

The up and down adjustments are for intonation. Your open string should be in tune with the octave (12th fret.) If its sharp at the octave you adjust it back to make the string longer. If its flat you do the opposite.

[walterw]

the bridge itself or the pickups will have no bearing on whether or not you can get your slap technique to sound right.

that's all about your actual playing, and to a lesser extent the set-up of the bass.

[96tbird]

Keep going you'll get it clean. It ain't your bass, have you never seen a truly great bass player make a real piece of crap sing? They can and do and they will be able to do it with your bass. I am a bit concerned about your harsh evaluation of the jazz p'ups. You need to dry off behind the ears and play many more basses before you spit at the sound of them. You need to put as much effort into experimenting with dialing in your tone on the amp and the bass. It may not be your cup of tea, but come on man, they aren't spit worthy.

Neither is the Badass, a fine piece of kit. I don't want to grind on you but you say it's crap and then ask why you can move the saddles north or south and up and down. This is basic stuff you should know as part of learning bass. North and South is to set intonation... look it up. It has nothing to do with up and down; that's to set the action. Read the stickies at the top of this forum "Setup questions"

Potential bandmates are not going to dig a superiority complex. Politics is another skill you need to learn to play with other musicians. They don't care how many hours you practice, it's still less than a year. Add some humility along the way, you'll go further.

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by Hopkins

...you may be slapping/popping to hard...

Played in a band once where the singer was also a bass player. He had incredible slap and pop chops, but just about every time he would play my bass he would break a G string. I thought something was wrong with my junk so I took it to my repair guy for a checkup. He said nothing wrong with the bass, the guy was just going too hard. When I told him what my bass doc said, he said that's BS, I don't play too hard, but over the next several months I watched him break a G string on 3 different basses, often within a minute of picking them up.

I guess that's why he was a full time singer instead of a bass player.

[Metalbasshippy]

Originally Posted by 96tbird

Keep going you'll get it clean. It ain't your bass, have you never seen a truly great bass player make a real piece of crap sing? They can and do and they will be able to do it with your bass. I am a bit concerned about your harsh evaluation of the jazz p'ups. You need to dry off behind the ears and play many more basses before you spit at the sound of them. You need to put as much effort into experimenting with dialing in your tone on the amp and the bass. It may not be your cup of tea, but come on man, they aren't spit worthy.

Neither is the Badass, a fine piece of kit. I don't want to grind on you but you say it's crap and then ask why you can move the saddles north or south and up and down. This is basic stuff you should know as part of learning bass. North and South is to set intonation... look it up. It has nothing to do with up and down; that's to set the action. Read the stickies at the top of this forum "Setup questions"

Potential bandmates are not going to dig a superiority complex. Politics is another skill you need to learn to play with other musicians. They don't care how many hours you practice, it's still less than a year. Add some humility along the way, you'll go further.

+1000
Jazz pups are not to be spat at

[dhardway]

I determined that I did get a sound if I turned the volume up on my amp (to the angst of my neighbors) I could hear the thump/pop notes better. When I have it really loud, I can get the sound (well, as good as I'm gonna get at this level).

I am still going to "gut" the damn thing with UltraJazz Pups and a Austere preamp; do you think this will allow me to hear the thump/pop notes at "normal volume"? I am shaking the whole building when I hit the low E (dirty looks from neighbors and cops called) and ears are ringing when I use headphones. BTW, others have described the standard PUPs on the Highway One as below par so it is not just my opinion alone. NOTE: Oddly enough, the Highway One has been discontinued.

FYI - my son's Affinity Squire has a better sound (EB slinkies) as opposed to my Highway One with the Ken Smith Slapmaster (this was even the case when I had the same strings). I probably messed up the setup in attempting to make my own adjustments (oh well, gotta learn sometime)!

Thanks for straightening me out, I appreciate the constructive comments. Please note that when I adjusted the intonation, I got rid of the fret buzz from my very low action..not sure why or how I did it. Trial by error, I guess.

Thanks again!!