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Bass recommendation

This is the closest I've gotten to "1 bass to rule them all" - having a humbucker with legit single coil coils is critical

-dual nordstrand bigmem
-series/parallel/single coil switches for each pickup
-underhill dual filter preamp with added bass eq control

It is as bright/dark/clear sounding as i want. Used traditional mm pickup positions. Cost under 1500 in parts and weighs 6.8 lbs with good balance

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That's awesome but I'm not building anything. If you had to pick one bass off the shelf in the 1k range what are you buying ?
 
That's awesome but I'm not building anything. If you had to pick one bass off the shelf in the 1k range what are you buying ?
Honestly, i would get a 2-pickup stingray and swap the electronics for this. I rarely use single coil mode and generally only run the pickups parallel. I would just throw in a filter preamp with stock pickups (underhill is solderless with screw terminals) and see if i am happy before replacing pickups too.

Purely off the shelf, i would look for an active jazz or 2-pickup stingray
 
Get yourself a used Peavey Cirrus (NOT the new ones, they're CRAZY expensive!). VERY versatile tone with the neck-through construction, the VFL pickups, the 18 Volt pre-amp, and bass/mid/treble/balance adjustments. It just about does it all. Pair it up with a good multi-effects pedal and the world is your oyster. ;)
 
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Thanks for the great replies! I'm a beginner bass player with plenty still to learn. A friend loaned me a really sweet 2012 Cort Artisan A5 Spalted, and it's just gorgeous — being in a recording studio, the fact that it's so quiet is a definite highlight.

I've made four funk/jazz albums (www.chucktownband.com), but as a guitarist, I'm genuinely starting from scratch on bass. I've spent the last few days really exploring the tonal range of each instrument — what they're good at, what they're known for — and I have to say, I've completely fallen for the slap sound of the Fender Jazz. The two YouTube examples below capture exactly what appeals to me.

In the slap department, the P Bass is a hard no for me, and surprisingly, the MusicMan Sterling also falls short — it lacks bottom end and has a kind of phasey, unfocused upper mid. The P Bass for slap really needs a mid scoop to come alive, but the Fender Jazz? It sounds perfect right out of the gate.

So here I am — a senior citizen trying to learn slap bass from scratch while simultaneously dialing in my tone. It's a bit like trying to season a dish while the kitchen is on fire. Fortunately, I know exactly what I'm after thanks to those YouTube clips, and I can already hear it coming together. Nudging the blend slightly toward the bridge with just a touch more bass and treble is more than satisfying enough to keep me happy for months.

I'm loving the sound right now — thanks so much for all the tips!

To help me get my 10,000 slaps in to build some skill I found this great song that slaps easily. Feel free to list more to help an old guy out. Thanks again !


Fender Jazz examples I love.


 
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Are you just going to learn slap, and no finger style? I don't think I've ever heard of that, but perhaps I'm naive?

Most of the slap I've heard is to accentuate finger style, not just pure slap.
 
Are you just going to learn slap, and no finger style? I don't think I've ever heard of that, but perhaps I'm naive?

Most of the slap I've heard is to accentuate finger style, not just pure slap.
I'm actually pretty good at basic finger style and can play along with a lot of songs. Sorry I didn't mention that. So I have lots of those songs to play too but want to learn slap because its such a great sound. In the slap world though I only have the one song so far that I can actually practice with
 
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Get yourself a used Peavey Cirrus (NOT the new ones, they're CRAZY expensive!). VERY versatile tone with the neck-through construction, the VFL pickups, the 18 Volt pre-amp, and bass/mid/treble/balance adjustments. It just about does it all. Pair it up with a good multi-effects pedal and the world is your oyster. ;)

I second this!
 
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