What's a good funk bass for about $1000?

You can find a Marcus Miller 4 for under $1000 easily. There is a beautiful Oly white one on eBay right now...

 

+1 to Marcus Miller Fender. I know I recommend this too much, but I also love my MTD Artist 5 for funk. It has a single MM-style humbucker with a great, punchy sound that's perfect for both slap & fingerstyle.

 

Musicman stingray or a Jazz.

 

My buddy Jamie (he's also a member here) has an Ibanez ATK 5 string that sounds pretty funky.

 

+1. I don't play funk and I don't slap very well but I could get some good funky sounds out of a 4 string ATK.

 

+1 on the Marcus Miller.

 

Depends on your definition of "funk." I'm a NOLA-funk man myself, so I'd say a P-bass or something similar

 

I'd pick the Fender MIA Jazz over the Marcus Miller just because it's a tad bit easier to pimp out if needed. And most Marcus Miller's I've come across have been heavy (I owned one)! I'm sure there are light ones out there but there are too many variations in weight for that model.

 

If it's modernish 'funk' then Stingray 4 or Fender Jazz, if it's older soulish funk then get a P-Bass.

 

P-bass 62 RI ( USA or Japan ) - The FunkMachine

 

I'd say any good bolt-on neck bass (Jazz, Perscision, Stingray, etc) will have good tonal characteristics for funk music. dont worry so much about the bass. your hands will make it funky.

 

If you like both modern and old school funk, instead of having to choose between specialized basses, you could pick up a Lakland Skyline 55-02, and have tones similar to either MusicMan, Fender Jazz or P-bass.

Maceo Parker's bassist plays a USA Lakland:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FR41cXuUfPg

 

+1. I love slapping my ATK305. but then again if you really want to spend a grand... i would say a stingray.

 

Smokin'!

 

+ 1 on the lakland, i picked up a 44-02 and its a funk machine

 

Funk comes from you...

doesn't matter what bass you play

 

Explain to a newbie about the MIA Jazz? And also do you think that passive pups give more of an authentic old school funk tone? In other words can you still get a legitimate old school tone with active pups?

 

Ditto, my 44-02D is my go-to bass for funk/fusion. Strung up with some Ken Smith Slickrounds (that are now about a year old) its got a fantastic smooth thump.

 

+1 on the weight, i play a Carvin XB75 but at my practice space i sometimes play my friends Marcus Miller Jazz. I cannot believe the difference in weight, the Jazz plays real nice but after a couple of hours it feels like my shoulder might just fall off. In regards to funk, my Carvin does funk just fine but as some others have said I believe most of your tone is your hands. However if I had to choose a bass just for funk it would not be my Carvin... It is very versitile but super smooth and lacks some punch. I would get something with a bolt on neck and a bit more aggressive/punchy tone. I would also go passive.