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What do you need to get that "killer slap" tone?


Gunsfreddy2003
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I had a 350 on loan from Bernie and also bought a Reidmar but at that time I was solely working with my Rumour and the tone from that and ended up preferring my Little Mark III and Berg set up with that bass rather than the EBS rig and yes I wish I had kept the cab and amp now!!!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1465647257' post='3069918']
DRs last about 4 months for me but it depends how much you play/sweat. I've found them to be the best strings for me and do a mean impression of Marcus.

A HD350 with a healthy dose of compression and pre shape engaged into some zingy speakers will get your there pretty quick. I thought you'd run a 350 with a 212 neo line at some point?

With the shaping on the amp I'm not entirely convinced you'll need to much reliance on an onboard preamp.
[/quote]

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I had never heard of him but I like his tone - really sweet!

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1465660389' post='3070052']
There was a New York studio player in the late 70's early 80's, who kinda had a Marcus 'sound' before Marcus. :D
He played on quite a lot of named albums and projects. Unfortunately passed away through illness in his mid 30's in 1991.
His name was Wayne Braithwaite and an excellent Musician and groover. He composed a few hits as well.
I remember reading that he used an early 70's passive Fender Jazz Bass with Di Marzio pups.
(Black with Rosewood board).

A thread about him here and his tone, with track listening suggestions. (post #14 worth a look).
[url="https://www.talkbass.com/threads/80s-old-school-wayne-braithwaite.501903/"]https://www.talkbass...thwaite.501903/[/url]

Meanwhile here is a video with him on ( miming with a different Fender by the look of it).
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYAmSbg-uE0[/media]
[/quote]

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Guest bassman7755

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1465636942' post='3069783']
You need a good 2 pickup bass and a set of new round wound strings.
[/quote]

Yeah thats about it, a 2 pickup config with a 50/50 mix gives a natural mid cut which is really the core of a good slap sound. No need to obsess about specific preamps or tweeters or whatever. Fresh sounding strings are massively important though - nothing grinds my gears like hearing someone trying to slap on dead old strings.

Edited by bassman7755
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There is also a big difference between Barnes and MM's sound so pick the one you want to go after.
Jerry Barnes is a fave player at the mo' and has a nice take on slap..
MM has been building his career on the sound he defined in the 80's and his sound is quite easily
obtainable on good jazzes.
Tom Barney...having got Miller down very well, was often his sub.
He even covered for MM on the 'Night Show' so people were also building a CV off his sound..

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1465701804' post='3070289']
All you need is more practice time. Tone is in your fingers .

Blue
[/quote]

Only to a degree. Nobody can get a Marcus slap sound from a P bass, for example.

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[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' timestamp='1465632401' post='3069736']
Strings are also a key element, any advice on strings to give the closes sound would be good - I use Elixir at the moment which I know are not the brightest of strings but they are good to my fingers.
[/quote]

Have you tried super wound bass strings yet, also known as piano wound? They have just the core wire going over the saddles and the windings start on the pick-up side so they give a nicely defined ring. They're not as available as they were in the eighties though. I think mine were Rotosound. If you can't get them Newtone might make some for you.

Edited by SpondonBassed
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  • 2 weeks later...

Although there are subtle tweaks to be had:

its got to be a jazz bass for the easiest road to the marcus slap thing.

both pick ups on full. tone all the way up if playing with a band. half way down to full off for low volume or studio.

action on the low side. dont worry about fret buzz for now.

I dont know if the following is a deal breaker but it makes a big difference on my bass: watch the pick up heights are giving you as even a sound as poss. E string side needs to be a lot lower than the G string side. It makes the snaps from the G and D strings really pop out.

amp: ebs stuff gets you there quickly but that doesnt mean other amps cant, its just that I use em for this purpose exactly and they work well.

A tad of compression when its a band situation or lots if on your own as too much compress and you cant hear the pops enough

I use a passive jazz with a sadowsky pre amp pedal with a little bass and treble boost. the amp eq changes for every room and sometimes the room is F**king awful so youre pi**ing in the wind if your regular rehearsal room/gig is one of these.

In a good room/stage the above combination just excells for this type of stuff

oh and new strings always....i get that sound using the cheapest rotosound nickles 45-105 btw. I havnt tried the DRs but the above players all like em so you cant go wrong there either.

also sting gauges: light strings below 40-100 are going to sound all Mark Kingy/ Victor Wooteny. Listen to that stuff Marcus did with these two did and you can instanly hear who is using man strings!!!

Edited by bassjim
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  • 4 weeks later...

Update on this - bought an EBS HD350 and that paired with the SWR cabs and the 74 jazz with East pre-amp has absolutely nailed that tone and I love it. However, there is one big problem, I don't play 4 string live at all anymore so as much as the tone is great at home its not going to keep me happy when I gig. Interestingly I do have a Sire Marcus Miller and it sounds nothing like I want it to and compared to the Jazz it's really lacking.
So the big question is what is there in 5 string that is going to sound like the vintage jazz with the East pre-amp? Is a Fender Marcus Miller going to be the best bet or should I be thinking Xotic or Atelier Z? I have got to get that tone but in a 5 string variant - so close to the Holy Grail of tone now!!!

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Agree to some extent but my technique is what it is and I can assure you that I sound a hell of a lot more like Marcus with my jazz bass than I do with any of my others!

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1469134614' post='3096105']
I think a lot of it is down to technique.
[/quote]

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Just regarding a good slap tone

its all in you..... but these i find help you breath more openly

1) Any half decent bass, well set up.
2) New roundwound strings ( not that it matters but i get a great sound with d'addario nickel wound 40, 60, 80,100)
3) SWR Redhead.

Its all Personal taste but for me i like the redhead.
i have a tried allsorts of amps i still have my trusty T.E. Ah350 but compaired to the swr its slow in the attack and abit clonky sounding.
Also if you want that sound in the studio the swr nails it,
It has a studio quality pre out so you can use the valve preamp right into the desk,
im so impressed with this i have one for gigging and one set up in the studio perminently wired up set up ready to use.
I remember seeing these on big stages with marcus,
iv also known people to take the redhead amp out of the 2x10 combo, mount it in custom rack box and take a 4x10 cab,
they like it that much.

Another not very much talked of amp now that was also very quick loud and clear as a bell was the Peavey Megabass digital amp 200 + 200 with freq crossover, with the right Megabass cab 1x15 + 2x8 bi ampable, it could kick, not a valve preamp but killer sound,

Edited by funkgod
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Crikey. So many thoughts but if you really want 'that' sound quickly on a 5 string then a Fender MM sig 5 will get you there.
Even with the stock pre it's close. I have a 4 string sig model and fitted a Sadowsky pre. It sounds great slapped but I've never A-B'd it to MMs classic tone.
I agree that the Sire isn't 'that' sound. I have 2 though and am very happy with them as I'm not after the exact MM sound. Even Marcus doesn't sound like classic Marcus on a Sire V7.
Agreed with Garry re Wayne Braithwaite- heard him on Jonathan Butler's stuff in the late 80s.
Pleasure's bassist Nate Phillips sounded like MM before Marcus did! We've all heard Glide- listen to Marcus' sound around 79-80 on say Chaka's Naughty and then listen to Glide.

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It's hard to say - it's a nice sound and I do love the Sire bass and use it a hell of a lot and it is certainly much better with the DR strings on that you recommended but it's like chalk and cheese with the jazz bass with East pre. In my head I know the sound that I am looking for and I just can't get the Sire there, it seems to lack the punch and also the top end is not as bright as it could be.
Annoying now as I'm nearly there but just missing a string!
A mate of mine has a MM 5 string so perhaps I need to bribe him to come up and let me do some sound testing!



[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1469138928' post='3096127']
Hmm. The sire not delivering really surprises me. What's the point at which it falls down?
[/quote]
[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1469138928' post='3096127']
Hmm. The sire not delivering really surprises me. What's the point at which it falls down?
[/quote]

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[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' timestamp='1469174430' post='3096266']
Yep 100% - just looking for bulk order discounts now!
[/quote]

Difficult. I'm in a similar boat at the moment. 40, 60, 80, 100 but then I order a separate 125. That seems near impossible to do currently. Looks like I'll be phoning the distribution guys for advice.

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I'm surprised nobodies mentioned pick up position yet, he uses a mid 70's Jazz so you'll want a 5 string with 70's jazz spacing.

Mayonnes Jabba's do a pretty good imitation of the MM tone (to my ears), they come in 5 string too - Might be worth a look?

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Did you have the Fender MM with the stock pre and then change to Sadowsky? If so, I am keen to know what the Sadowsky offered in terms of tone?

[quote name='chardbass' timestamp='1469141278' post='3096145']
Crikey. So many thoughts but if you really want 'that' sound quickly on a 5 string then a Fender MM sig 5 will get you there.
Even with the stock pre it's close. I have a 4 string sig model and fitted a Sadowsky pre. It sounds great slapped but I've never A-B'd it to MMs classic tone.
I agree that the Sire isn't 'that' sound. I have 2 though and am very happy with them as I'm not after the exact MM sound. Even Marcus doesn't sound like classic Marcus on a Sire V7.
Agreed with Garry re Wayne Braithwaite- heard him on Jonathan Butler's stuff in the late 80s.
Pleasure's bassist Nate Phillips sounded like MM before Marcus did! We've all heard Glide- listen to Marcus' sound around 79-80 on say Chaka's Naughty and then listen to Glide.
[/quote]

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