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Bass recommendations for a new slapper/popper

kbuschmann

kbuschmann

Supporting Member
Feb 9, 2011
400
194
Los Angeles/Philadelphia
#1
I'm just starting to take up slapping and popping - falling down the funk hole. Have a Dingwall ABZ5, but it just doesn't seem to be the right kind of tool for doing this stuff, much as I love it otherwise. I'd appreciate recommendations for a good funk bass under the $2000 mark (preferably way under that mark). I'd appreciate it if you could be specific re models/issues.

Thanks folks.
 
#7
Jazz Bass Deluxe, Stingray, Sterling, Bongo, Used Roscoe, Used Warrior, Used Sadowsky, New Valenti. They are all good slap basses.

At that price point, you have choice of just about anything you want, some of it used of course, but ton of tone choices.
 
#9
WaskoDS said:
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Ash body, maple fingerboard, BAM.
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Well, the ABZ HAS an ash body and maple fingerboard??? To the original poster, I would be curious to find out what you don't like about your ABZ.....I have the exact same bass and have no trouble with slap on it......and this is coming from a guy who had a Lakland 55-94 and an MTD 535. IMHO my ABZ is every bit as good as either of those for slap.
 
#11
I've owned rays, jazz, spector, elric, you name it I have 3 basses right now a Lakeland 44-02 hell of a bass for slap, a fretless jazz copy strung with flats not so much of a slapper and last and not least a ash/maple sb5000 and wow the carvin squashes the slap tone of any other bass I've ever owned. It sounds so good I want a four string one now. For way under your budget the Carvin sb series basses are slap machines, I prefer ash and maple but I'm sure any combo will sound great. Nothing beats the sound of a fender jazz style bass with single coils and a good pre to boost lows and highs IMO!
 
#12
Kwesi said:
Any bass... I'm almost not kidding. Find me a bass that I can't slap on and sound decent and it's either setup incorrectly or a hollowbody. Any Jazz, Precision, or Stingray inspired bass will sound pretty sweet though.
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I have to agree with this. It really depends on the sound you are going for. Stingrays, Jazzes and Precisions all sound great slapped on, but all have very different sounds. Spectors and Warwicks sound great too. The only basses that ever gave me trouble with slapping were Ibanezes SGRs. My personal favorite would have to be a 70s jazz.
 
#13
Green1 said:
Well, the ABZ HAS an ash body and maple fingerboard??? To the original poster, I would be curious to find out what you don't like about your ABZ.....I have the exact same bass and have no trouble with slap on it......and this is coming from a guy who had a Lakland 55-94 and an MTD 535. IMHO my ABZ is every bit as good as either of those for slap.
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For me there is too much clarity and sustain - which is also why I love it for other applications. I've fiddled with tone adjustment and muting, but is there something I'm missing in technique to make it sound, well, dirtier?
 
#14
For old-school slap tone try the neck pickup soloed. For more modern clicky/boom slap tone use the parallel setting one click up from the bridge position soloed. Add some bass boost and some high treble boost and you should be on your way. If need be you can pull some mid. You'll have to experiment with which frequencies and how much. 1K is a good place to start. Keep in mind mid is pretty important for fingerstyle so if you need to switch back and forth quickly you might want to look at a pedal so you can have a preset available.
 
#15
Sheldon D. said:
For old-school slap tone try the neck pickup soloed. For more modern clicky/boom slap tone use the parallel setting one click up from the bridge position soloed. Add some bass boost and some high treble boost and you should be on your way. If need be you can pull some mid. You'll have to experiment with which frequencies and how much. 1K is a good place to start. Keep in mind mid is pretty important for fingerstyle so if you need to switch back and forth quickly you might want to look at a pedal so you can have a preset available.
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Thanks, Sheldon. You're probably right in that I haven't fiddled around enough with the amp end of things. Of course, I could just save up for a Super J. That would probably make us both happier. Maybe you'd consider cutting an ex-Saskatonian a special deal??
 
#16
There's a lot of potential factors not mentioned. What kind of amp are you playing through? What are your amp settings? You will need some mid. Where are you slapping? I know a guy whose thumb slaps the strings on the frets. He plays with a rigid thumb and essentially twists his hand/forearm. I used to know another guy who plays down by the bridge. He plays with a loose thumb, as if his thumb has a hinge where it joins his hand. So, technique is also a factor. You will go through a TON of strings. They will flatten out where they hit the frets and go dead very quickly. Just a couple of things to consider.
 
#20
Dreadlocker said:
It's just because he has a Dingwall.. :ninja: :D
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Thanks to those who posted useful information. I spent the afternoon trying out an MIA J Deluxe, MIA P, Stingray, Lakland. Have come to realize that I'll damn well have to make the ABZ5 work for funk because its playability is on another planet from those otherwise fine guitars. And I'm now spoiled for 'B' - no going back.

Again, thanks for your suggestions....Pelvis has left the building.
 

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