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your favorite slap tone

#21
Nice post KJung!

I am also in the boat where the MM is just not for me anymore. Gary Grainger on Pick Hits? (I could be wrong), great playing, not the tone I dig.

Although I do like the ash maple thing, I REALLY dig j pups into the j-retro pre, most basses I have tried with those have what I really dig as the in your face slap tone.

I have been using fralin single coils and the audere pre, which is pretty good, just a bit more polite (slapping wise, still very tasty), and I just put them into a KSD 705 and the tone is super sweet. Still, my friends Darryl Jones with the j-retro has what I consider to be it as far as slap tones. It can be rivaled (as in the ultimate with a different fllavor), but I don't think it can be surpassed.

Did Larry Graham call it slappin or thumpin?
 
#23
lamarjones said:
Nice post KJung!

I am also in the boat where the MM is just not for me anymore. Gary Grainger on Pick Hits? (I could be wrong), great playing, not the tone I dig.

Although I do like the ash maple thing, I REALLY dig j pups into the j-retro pre, most basses I have tried with those have what I really dig as the in your face slap tone.

I have been using fralin single coils and the audere pre, which is pretty good, just a bit more polite (slapping wise, still very tasty), and I just put them into a KSD 705 and the tone is super sweet. Still, my friends Darryl Jones with the j-retro has what I consider to be it as far as slap tones. It can be rivaled (as in the ultimate with a different fllavor), but I don't think it can be surpassed.

Did Larry Graham call it slappin or thumpin?
Click to expand...

Grainger on 'Pick Hits' and 'Loud Jazz' (I think I have that right... it's been a while)! That brings back memories. I thought that was the coolest tone ever way back when, and now literally can't even listen to it:D

That 'single coil into the J-Retro' is a nice 'old school meets new school' type tone, and is a different flavor of the Sadowsky bass type thing to me. It still sounds very 'Jazz Bass', but with a more active, modern, aggressive seasoning to it. That's nice also... kind of in-between the pure old school passive single coil J thing, and the very modern humbucker through pre sort of deal.
 
#24
Come on Lamar man, you are old enough to remember he called it "thumpin' and pluckin'"

I do like your slap tone choise BTW, but as for bass choices, the Sadowsky Metro has a nice ring to it and a nice contrast to the MTD tones I generally coax out of mine. I do like the Darryl Jones tones but lean toward the Sadowsky.


lamarjones said:
Did Larry Graham call it slappin or thumpin?
Click to expand...
 
#25
guamaniantree said:
Just wanted to know how you get your favorite slap tone when going direct (no amps/effects).
What bass do you use?
how are the knobs dialed in?
Click to expand...

It seems to me that this thread has gotten a bit off track. I love all those clip of Louis, Larry, Marcus, etc., but how does each of us achieve our best "slap" (or thumpin', poppin' funky) tone in a direct environment? I've always loved the sound of my '93-94 Zon Legacy Elite (with Bart soapbars) with a touch of bass boost & treble cut. If I'm trying for a slightly more Marcus-y sound I'll just pan a bit in favor of the neck pickup.
 
#28
I was going to make the same comment a couple of posts back by saying those clips are clips of "THEIR" favorite tones and don't belong to the poster. I read the opening post as meaning our own personal fav thump/slap tone(s). My favorite played by another player is Marcus Miller's, however I consciously try to not sound exactly like his and even though I might try to get close to it, I'll and add something else to define more of myself.


TBalls said:
It seems to me that this thread has gotten a bit off track. I love all those clip of Louis, Larry, Marcus, etc., but how does each of us achieve our best "slap" (or thumpin', poppin' funky) tone in a direct environment? I've always loved the sound of my '93-94 Zon Legacy Elite (with Bart soapbars) with a touch of bass boost & treble cut. If I'm trying for a slightly more Marcus-y sound I'll just pan a bit in favor of the neck pickup.
Click to expand...
 
#29
Sorry Lamar, but I thought you were Chicago's Lamar Jones who is a good friend of mine so I thought I was pulling his leg and not yours.

As for asians, lets not go there as I can tell you about a few funky asians as well and we are all in some way decendants of funk be it black, white, brown, yellow, green, blue, and purple as my mother would say.

lamarjones said:
I assume I lost a lot of points asking that, but better lose them now than lose them later in a related conversation ;) Thanks!

Us asians, we're at the bottom of the funky totem pole, but we try :smug:
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#30
OK,]
Hope I have the right date for this one..
As of now..my best slap or thump or pop ..is coming from a Spector Legend 5 I have upgraded w/ EMG 40DC and cS pups/w EMGBQC control.Pushing that through a Radial Bassbone Channel one, w/ shape setting on 2.I know big yawn..then going into SWR Super Redhead. I have the horn attenuator set at eleven o' clock.Bass 3 oclock treb 20clock bids 12 0clock bbe 10 oclock fx mix of same 10 oclock..pregain at 1 oclock post set to house or room.
The Spector is set to neck pup full out, bridge backed off about one third. Bass dimed treble is about 8 lowmids full up high mids in about one quarter.
W new EMG system..it's also a fast swap back to a good "Motown " vibe .
I used a 68 JBass w/ EMGs for a long time but now prefer the soapbars w/ good pre.
But then I listen to Marcus and go holy cow what Tone!!!
Anyone w/ the rundown on his setup??
DOes he use the EBS compressor for part of his sound?? I'd really like tio know how his live rig is put together..he can cop his tone ANYWHERE!
You cats have a good day ..hope to hear feed back .
Tommy
 
#31
BassSlave said:
Sorry Lamar, but I thought you were Chicago's Lamar Jones who is a good friend of mine so I thought I was pulling his leg and not yours.

As for asians, lets not go there as I can tell you about a few funky asians as well and we are all in some way decendants of funk be it black, white, brown, yellow, green, blue, and purple as my mother would say.
Click to expand...

I know who you are talking about, seen his myspace page. That dude is very funky ;) I really wish I could change my screen name....

As for the asian thing, yeah just messing with ya! But, as one of my fave commercials back in the day said "I learned it from watching you, okay, I learned it from watching you!!!"

My personal feeling about the marcus tone is that its a lot in his bass. I think you might could tell is Marcus on another bass, but I doubt you could say 'that is the Marcus Tone' with him on any given bass. That said, anyone know what pre he is using?
 
#35
Hmmm....well Marcus is quoted in Aug's issue of Bass Player Mag on pg 34 as saying that when Stanley Clarke picked up his bass in a jam session, he soundes exactly like Stanley Clarke. I know he meant more about the attitude and phrasing and approach, but I'm sure the Stanley tone was in there too. That being said, I Asked Victor Wooten once to play my bass (Pedulla MVP at the time), and he sounded just like Victor tonal wise and the bass was not even plugged in, so much of a person's tone is in the hands and the way he thumps and plucks, and pops and finger it as well as where he decides to do it ie. over the neck, in between the front pup and the neck, over the neck pup, or all of the above.


As for preamps, Marcus Miller is still using a Sadowsky pre.

lamarjones said:
My personal feeling about the marcus tone is that its a lot in his bass. I think you might could tell is Marcus on another bass, but I doubt you could say 'that is the Marcus Tone' with him on any given bass. That said, anyone know what pre he is using?
Click to expand...
 
#36
I would prefer not to go strictly DI, although if I did my Spector Euro NT 5 would do just fine with some boost to bass/treble. I don't even think it would need the boosting with the right strings (Markley SR 2000s, DR High Beams, etc).
 
#37
BassSlave said:
Hmmm....well Marcus is quoted in Aug's issue of Bass Player Mag on pg 34 as saying that when Stanley Clarke picked up his bass in a jam session, he soundes exactly like Stanley Clarke. I know he meant more about the attitude and phrasing and approach, but I'm sure the Stanley tone was in there too. That being said, I Asked Victor Wooten once to play my bass (Pedulla MVP at the time), and he sounded just like Victor tonal wise and the bass was not even plugged in, so much of a person's tone is in the hands and the way he thumps and plucks, and pops and finger it as well as where he decides to do it ie. over the neck, in between the front pup and the neck, over the neck pup, or all of the above.


As for preamps, Marcus Miller is still using a Sadowsky pre.
Click to expand...


It would kind of stand to reason then (related to the first part of the first paragraph), that the different basses on Marcus latest album would sound the same, which I think the tones are a little different, maybe a lot due to approach, but I can't say that I feel like the bass has no role. What you say about Victor makes complete sense to me, when you plug it up the electronics are responsible for a little bit. Actually, I say a little bit, I think its a fair bit more. TONE wise, my R bass sounds nothing like either my squier or KSD with the fralins and audere, while my roscoe thunderbird with nord big singles and the audere sounds pretty close to the KSD, just a little darker.

So, I am not one who is in the boat saying the actual tone we adore has not much to do with the electronics, and of course bass specs as well. Certainly the player has a huge influence, but I won't say all the influence.

In that sense, KJUNG, would you think your tone is the same on the Celinder, the Sadowsky, and the Alleve-Coppola? Style is a different question.
 
#38
lamarjones said:
It would kind of stand to reason then (related to the first part of the first paragraph), that the different basses on Marcus latest album would sound the same, which I think the tones are a little different, maybe a lot due to approach, but I can't say that I feel like the bass has no role. What you say about Victor makes complete sense to me, when you plug it up the electronics are responsible for a little bit. Actually, I say a little bit, I think its a fair bit more. TONE wise, my R bass sounds nothing like either my squier or KSD with the fralins and audere, while my roscoe thunderbird with nord big singles and the audere sounds pretty close to the KSD, just a little darker.

So, I am not one who is in the boat saying the actual tone we adore has not much to do with the electronics, and of course bass specs as well. Certainly the player has a huge influence, but I won't say all the influence.

In that sense, KJUNG, would you think your tone is the same on the Celinder, the Sadowsky, and the Alleve-Coppola? Style is a different question.
Click to expand...

Hey guys! Fun discussion.

First, lot's of threads on this. Marcus Miller never used a Sadowsky pre. I believe his original pre was some sort of 'Star preamp' or something that Roger installed in his J bass (hence the Sadowsky confusion). I believe his current bass has a pretty standard Bartolini pre in it, but not sure. I have read that the Sadowsky pre was at least voiced to mimic Marcus's original preamp.

Regarding bass tone, I think you hit the nail on the head. Victor, Stanley, whoever always sound like themselves in technique, phrasing, attitude, and of course, in a very general way, tone. However, the instrument IMO does have an impact, and Victor sounds a bit different on every bass I've heard him play. Even his various similarly spec'd Fodera's sound a touch different to me.

I feel that while my basic tone comes through everything I play, the Celinder sounds SO different from the Alleva that there's no way any player would sound identical across those two instruments. Also, the voicing of each bass IMO and IME makes me play just a smidge differently (i.e., the huge low end and Marcus sizzle of the Celinder versus the very warm, growly vintage mid voicing of the Alleva).

That being said, like any reasonably competent player, I could easily be happy with a wide tonal range in basses (as long as it wasn't something to tonally different as to not fit my tone goal... like a PBass with flats or something), and I would sound 'more like me than not' with any two pickup, active, full range voiced instrument (MTD, Fodera, Sadowsky... whatever). That doesn't mean I wouldn't personally have a strong preference for one over the other though.

Sorry for the OT, but I love this topic:)
 
#40
Funk 'N' Stein said:
HOT DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!
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Doesn't that just put a smile on your face all the way around:D... feel, tone, groove, intensity, joy, time, etc. I'm not even in the same universe, but on the rare occasions that I do use the slap technique on a gig now (music is changing VERY quickly at this point), that's the inspiration I draw on anyway.

There are some guys here in Detroit (I've lived here about 4 years now) that I have the honor of knowing who are at this level, and I can't believe I get to hang with them (including our own TBers Mikebass and Shelly).
 

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