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Best slap bass out there...

#6
No such thing as best as tastes are so subjective. I could nominate something I have and say it's the best, but what's the point? It all depends on what kind of feel you're looking for and a corresponding tone that goes with it. You have Fender tones, boutiques like the Ken Smith, Spector, etc.
 
#9
I liked my Fender Jazz J, but found a punchier thump and more usable high end on my Sadowsky that seemed to sit better in the mix without becoming abrasive. I seemed to have to be more careful with the Fender. Part of that I attribute to the ash body and maple finger board. The Sadowsky was an alder body and morado finger board. The VTC on the Sadowsky also helped controlling the high end from being too brittle. I've had similar results with my Skjold as well. There's a lot you can do at the amp, but I prefer my tone to come from the bass without too much tweaking at the head leaving it pretty much flat.
 
#12
depends on the tone you want or like...

Warwick thumbs and Ibanez Soundgear basses are two of my favorite all-active basses for slap.

For hybrid stuff (passive p-up's, active pre) I'd have to say MM Stingrays take the cake with their massive amounts of room for slap. The Marcus Miller signature by Fender has an active pre and passive p-ups too and is of course very good for slap as well.

For all passive, the obvious choice will be a fender jazz bass. But two others that I'm sure few will agree with me on is P-basses and Rics. Both have very contrasting tones but the uniqueness of them attracts me to their slap tones. Try em all out and see which you like, your hand size and style might point you in a very different direction than most people.
 
#15
While shopping for a new Fender bass a while back (all of my basses are Fender), I happened to test drive a Steinberger XS-1 . . . dang, all wanted to do was slap that bass . . . it seemed like a natural bass for slapping . . . low action, great neck, great arm position on it for slapping . . .
 
#17
Of course, the actual person playing the bass factors in as much as the bass itself, yadda yadda yadda...

But after seeing (and hearing) this clip, I'd have to say Sadowsky:

(slap part comes about 17 seconds in)

It's the tone I hear in my head when I think "slapping"! :)
 
#20
I like the tone of the basses I own fine, but the bass I was personally able to do the most wankery on was a Lakland 44-01. Much more so than any Fender or MM I've played, and I don't have a reason why that was the case, it just was. As far as sound, the best I've ever personally played was an older (98 or 99) Warrior neck trough.
 

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