• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Getting a funk bass.

#22
drTSTingray said:
I do all of what you've said on a Stingray. I only really got into using one because I wanted to sound like Bernard Edwards. A 2 band or a 3 band in H or HH form will get you there - I would tend to use a 2 band but it's not essential. An H is bit easier to slap on than an HH.

If you want a late 70s/80s sound other basses you could try would be Warwick; Ibanez Musician; Fender Jazz (active); or even a Wal (but probably out of your price range) - one of the funkiest bass players I ever heard was Alan Spenner - who played a Wal after the mid 70s. I believe you will be better off with an active bass to do this style because you need more punch than a pasive bass will give to give clear articulation of notes (witnessed by the fact that people like Nate Watts put their P or J basses through pre amps like Alembic in the studio - eg Sir Duke and I Wish - and used Stingrays later).

However if you want to do Motown/Meters/earlier James Brown type stuff, possibly a P bass, but the others should be OK also. Note that some people (incl quite famous ones) strap outboard pre amps on their P basses doing this type of music.

As other people have said, funkiness comes from the player also - so especially note lengths, spacing between notes are crucial - also other elements of technique like string attack and muting, and varying those, are important elements.

You really are best off trying basses out and playing some of your favourite lines on them to inform your choice. I've heard people sound funky on Les Paul recording basses - so much of it is to do with the player. Pino's work with John Mayer Trio on a P bass is some of the funkiest you'll hear.
Click to expand...

perfect answer. Greetz
 
#26
AInt that the truth. No such animal as a "funky" bass, only "funky fingers" connected to a funky soul.

No one asked what you meant by "funk". Do you mean slap? If so, no fretless will take that abuse. Mechanically, slap funky is more an issue of setup than the axe.

So no one needs to name any names at all.

BTW, contrary to others opinions, my punchiest bass is au naturiel with some hot AERO Type 1 pickups in it. So, even that generalization is potentially invalid.

Find "your sound" as you call it in a fretless. Likely the same as your fretted bass, but sans frets.
 
#27
BuffaloBass said:
AInt that the truth. No such animal as a "funky" bass, only "funky fingers" connected to a funky soul.

No one asked what you meant by "funk". Do you mean slap? If so, no fretless will take that abuse. Mechanically, slap funky is more an issue of setup than the axe.

So no one needs to name any names at all.

BTW, contrary to others opinions, my punchiest bass is au naturiel with some hot AERO Type 1 pickups in it. So, even that generalization is potentially invalid.

Find "your sound" as you call it in a fretless. Likely the same as your fretted bass, but sans frets.
Click to expand...

I don't slap, no.
 
#29
StrangerDanger said:
The answer is p bass with rounds (See George Porter Jr.) but just about any stick will do. It has more to do with you than the stick.
Click to expand...

This. Over the years, I have managed to get a really good funk/soul tone out of a Pbass, J, and Ibanez BTB, a Carvin 6 string bass, a Peavey Cirrus, and a few others I can't remember right now. Funk and soul is about HOW you play, not WHAT you play.
 
#32
BuffaloBass said:
AInt that the truth. No such animal as a "funky" bass, only "funky fingers" connected to a funky soul.

No one asked what you meant by "funk". Do you mean slap? If so, no fretless will take that abuse. Mechanically, slap funky is more an issue of setup than the axe.

So no one needs to name any names at all.

BTW, contrary to others opinions, my punchiest bass is au naturiel with some hot AERO Type 1 pickups in it. So, even that generalization is potentially invalid.

Find "your sound" as you call it in a fretless. Likely the same as your fretted bass, but sans frets.
Click to expand...

You said slap funk is more of a mechanical issue rather than axe. I'm curious if I have some of the same mechanics , could you elaborate more? Right now I slap on a flat wide neck , the action is medium ( enough space to bounce off the fretboard but close enough not to cramp my left hand, also when I slap I boost the bass an treb . Anything else I should consider to make my bass mechanically sound for slap?
 
#34
I like funk where there's at least some slapping. I wouldn't recommend P bass for that. So it all depends. If you wanna play more slap, get JB or musicman. If you only want that old style James Brown funk, P bass will be enough.

If you want both, get PJ! :D
 
#35
JB material?....I would be leaning away from a fretless. It's not that you couldn't "make it work", but you want consistant attack and phrasing. I approach those lines as if I'm beating a drum everytime I hit the "1". The bass, drums and guitar(s) are all locked-in together so repeating your bassline with 100% accuracy is vital to the groove.

Sure, you could do it on a fretless, and I know players who can, but it's not easy and requires a lot more dedication, practice and skill. Trying to master a new style AND a new instrument at the same time may slow you down.
 
#36
A lot of folks are calling certain kinds of music and songs Funk and it ain't Funk. Like Brad Johnson said there is no such thing as a Funk Bass. I suspect you are going to play some funky music and just about any bass will do as the funk comes from the player not the instrument. Having grown up during the heyday of soul music, Motown, Funk, any kind of p-bass or jazz bass will do just fine and you don't have to spend Alembic money to play funk. Well before Ronald Kool Bell was playing on Alembics and Zons or custom made basses he was playing on some type of Fender bass. When I was growing up and playing in FUNK Bands bass players were playing on Fenders, Gibsons, Rics and any other thing they or their parents could afford. No one I knew was playing FUNK on a fretless. That doesn't mean that you can't but if you are also going to do some slapping I'd suggest you get a fretted bass.. Slapping on a fretless can be/is done but it will eat your fretboard eventually.
 
#37
There are MANY here who are WAY better than I at Da Slap quervo, but the first thing I noticed is that when I brought the action down to low/ medium low the volume between my finger and slap became much more uniform. Too low and you get a Marcus Miller vibe, wich aint so bad either. :) Marcus must set his axes with strings a c-hair off the frets.

Also, keeping your fretting hand perpedicular to the fretboard becomes very important, especially on 5-6 strings where muting is a bit more difficult.

Third, and all these were taught to me by a pro musician who stinks like funk ( A. Wellington), use your wrist for the plucks and such as it may be difficult ( impossible for me) to keep good time without using it. This also makes you do a strong pluck, so the sound isnt "buried" as someone else said. I cant hold good time doing perididlles etc without that.

Slapping a Pbass sounds just fine, so I dont know why anyone would think it taint so! Moreover, slap is NOT required for Funk. In fact, tasty finger funk solos sound better to my ears than any slapped solo, and I like Da Slap.

BTW, some of the best, to my ears, modern funky bass sounds was Stuart Zender on some of the Jamiroquoi stuff. Had a Warwick sound to me, not quite with K Smith warmth. But hey, Stuart could funkify my old Peavy t40, or my cheapo Yamaha fretless. Or any other axe I put in his mitts!

Being that I am an old fart, old skool ash bodied J and P basses ( different) seem to embody "funk" to me, and I do like a little fret noise in the mix. Think Marky Adams in SLave. But with 10,000 users here, you;ll get 10,000 opinons. And none of them matter, at all.

TO the OP. Dude, you gots a funk bass now. Put on some Meters and start from the beginning with Mr. Porter. Get Da Funk in dem fingas! Because that's where it LIVES! Not in no wood. Tis resting in your BONES! Ready for awakening.


Play dammit, PLAY! Stop thinking that something external will give you the funk. Grab that metal bass of yours, internalize and funkify the hell out! :bassist: :cool:
 
#40
I think it's really important not to confuse playing style with the type of bass. Funk, by definition, describes style. You can make a piece of 2 x 4 with 4 strings and pickups sound funky - it's all about how you play it. I've heard fantastic funk lines from every different type of electric bass you could name, fretted and fretless. I have even heard amazing funk playing on an acoustic double bass!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back