Best Slap Tone Ever????

[red_rhino]

Probably my other favorite slap tone is the humble Rickenbacker. I don't know why it's not slapped more often

Probably because that bass can be a real challenge to slap. It just doesn't lend itself as easily to the technique as other basses. It can be done (and I've done it) but it takes a bit of work to make it happen. IMHO, of course.

That said, that was a great slap tone coming from a Ric.

 

[Altitude]

That is a nice humbucker slap tone. It sounds more Fenderish than other L-2000/2500’s I have herd. Maybe he was splitting the coil or had them in series?

Sounded to me like he wasn't driving a ton of volume through his amp, and so we could hear a certain amount of the sound acoustically coming off of the bass. Maybe made a difference in the perceived tone.

 

[drumvsbass]

how about the best slap tone in 23/16...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

um... why am i not famous then??

 

[Johnny Crab]

BillyMegaWatt on a Jazz bass with Seymour Duncans:

 

[logdrum]

AT 00:13

I thought Marcus. Larry. Flea, Victor etc. were the gods of slap until I saw rockabilly guys do indicate poly rhythms and what not on upright basses. and they really are slapping the bass like you would slap a person.

Slap a person with how you do it on an electric bass. They are likely to punch you. Slap anyone like you slap like a rockabilly dude and there is a 60 percent chance they will run away and 30% cry and 10 punching you.

Back to the EB and on topic. I do not believe there is NO single ideal/best slap tone. But if I am forced to choose it would be Bakith Kumalo on the fretless

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Chuck Rainey’s ‘57 P bass with flats is the best slap tone ever (chorus of Steely Dan’s “Peg”).

 

[600 Ohms]

I've trotted this out elsewhere on TB, but this for me is it, cause it has the sweetness of Marcus, but the munchiness of Darryl. There's something clean and sweet on the top end, but dirty and grindy about it in the midrange. Knocks me out every time:

(It's cued up)



Also, Mister Johnson again, for a more historical tone:



I'm a big fan of this guy, on the Tokyo R&B scene. Love his tone-rolled-off sound, and he's a tasty player:

 

[600 Ohms]

did I really go through this whole thread and not a single person mentioned Mark King?

I was surprised too, but this current era is my least favorite of his tones. I always go back to the JayDee sound of A Physical Presence and before.

 

[etnoo]

There’s many „best” slap tones but I like his tone most:

 

[bass12]

I was surprised too, but this current era is my least favorite of his tones. I always go back to the JayDee sound of A Physical Presence and before.

I prefer the Jaydee tone to much of what came afterwards, although I like the tone in the linked video better than on some of MK 2000s sounds. I think his current set-up (Status T-Bass) is more in the ballpark of his earlier Jaydee tone but maybe that’s just me.

 

[sotua]

His video title is just clickbait as it is yours, too. Btw. Marcus Miller has best slap tone ever

It's really hard not to think of the moment when the slap bass kicks in on "Run For Cover" when the topic is "best slap tone".

(though it also depends on the song... some of them call for a modern Wooten/Hamm tone, some call for a slapped P, etc)

 

[sawzalot]

It doesn't get better than a 70's Fender Jazz to me--Marcus nailed it.

Probably my other favorite slap tone is the humble Rickenbacker. I don't know why it's not slapped more often - probably because it doesn't have a lot of thump - but it still sounds amazing when slapped

I've owned four Rics over the years and two had the most amazing slap tones. The others were just ok. The reason I didn't slap on it much was that neck pickup gets in the way, but that's really the only reason.

I also had a Lakland 5501 that had a surprisingly good slap tone, it punched way above its weight in that and other aspects.

 

[wes stephenson]

DX7?

 

[DJ Bebop]

Chuck Rainey’s ‘57 P bass with flats is the best slap tone ever (chorus of Steely Dan’s “Peg”).

For the sake of this discussion, let's listen to a little bit of that...

 

[DJ Bebop]

Goin' back, way back...

Keni Burke, a Larry Graham protege.

Tape wound funk.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I thought Marcus. Larry. Flea, Victor etc. were the gods of slap until I saw rockabilly guys do indicate poly rhythms and what not on upright basses. and they really are slapping the bass like you would slap a person.

Slap a person with how you do it on an electric bass. They are likely to punch you. Slap anyone like you slap like a rockabilly dude and there is a 60 percent chance they will run away and 30% cry and 10 punching you.

Back to the EB and on topic. I do not believe there is NO single ideal/best slap tone. But if I am forced to choose it would be Bakith Kumalo on the fretless

I love fretless slap, but it does not work well on all fretlesses. The best slapping fretless I ever played was a Music Man Sabre. A fretless G&L L-1505 also had a great slap tone. My Pedulla, not so much.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Best slap tone you ever heard on bass?

The answer to that question is: Marcus Miller.

 

[DJ Bebop]

The answer to that question is: Marcus Miller.

 

[luciens]

THIS is the best slap tone ever:


I can't find that video where his slap tone is even better!

I actually like his fingerstyle sound, at around the 1:30 mark and then later towards the end... listen to that chunka,chunka,chunka on those notes... Awsome...

L