Pedal for finger style to slap

[Roxy]

Looking for advice please. I’ve never been tech savvy and only previously used a bass effects module in a very limited way when live. Currently playing in a jazz and jazz fusion set up using an AER combo. What do I need when switching from finger play to slap ? Just a good compressor pedal? 
Happy to pay up to mid price range, but not sure I need top end. Thanks 

[Lozz196]

A compressor will help, stop the “pops” from really jumping out too much. If you’re not looking to add anything tonally the MXR M87, Keeley Bassist and Seymour Duncan Studio Compressor are all very clean sounding, all go for between £100 - £150 second hand.

[BigRedX]

You might want to consider a different EQ for the two styles as well.

[Baloney Balderdash]

A compressor pedal and an EQ pedal of some sort would work great for this.

[fretmeister]

I do this a lot in my band. I don't use different EQ settings on the amp or a pedal but if I'm playing a 2 pickup bass I often change the pickup balance which is kind of the same thing. On a P bass I might tweak the tone pot on the bass to allow more treble when slapping.

 

I use a Boss BC-1X compressor. I have been really impressed with it. I've had the Origin Cali76, the Empress, DG Supersymmetry and other high end compressors and I like the Boss the best. It just works better and it's a lot easier to dial in. There's some magic going on inside to prevent the dip and rise volume that some compressors do and it is really quiet in operation.

 

Only downside is battery life. Current draw is very low for a digital pedal but 9V batteries are expensive so that needs to be backup only really. Power supply all the way!

[Boodang]

Eq is what you need. Basically you're going from a more mid emphasis finger tone to a scooped mid slap tone. There are various ways to go about this, a pre amp with two channels of eq, a pedal with eq presets like the source audio eq2, or keep it simple and have the creation audio funkulator which has one knob to scoop the mids, just kick in when you need it. 

[Japhet]

+1 for the Keeley Bassist.

[Roxy]

Many thanks everyone- very helpful. 

[krispn]

There is a classic slap scoop sound which is inherent in a two pick up bass and can be enhanced with additional eq to make it more pronounced. I got a Funkulator pedal recently - a one knob preshaped EQ with a 800Hz cut and some volume matching with the highs and lows. Works a treat and as you dial up the control the effect is intensified.. at lower settings it enhances a finger style tone and pairs nicely with drive too. It’d likely cost the same as an eq pedal so some might argue that an eq would offer greater versatility. There was a an EWS BMC pedal for sale on here recently too and that is a really useful tool for selecting a frequency to cut or boost - it’s compact, works perfectly and would give you what you need with no faff. Again it’s a matter of buying a full graphic pedal or something ‘specialised’ like the two mentioned.

 

Many great compressors out there and a TC spectracomp might be an affordable introduction and will offer tone prints - basically presets- you can load in to get the type of compression which suits your needs again with minimal fuss.

 

BMC - no connection to the seller.

 

[Roxy]

1 hour ago, krispn said:

There is a classic slap scoop sound which is inherent in a two pick up bass and can be enhanced with additional eq to make it more pronounced. I got a Funkulator pedal recently - a one knob preshaped EQ with a 800Hz cut and some volume matching with the highs and lows. Works a treat and as you dial up the control the effect is intensified.. at lower settings it enhances a finger style tone and pairs nicely with drive too. It’d likely cost the same as an eq pedal so some might argue that an eq would offer greater versatility. There was a an EWS BMC pedal for sale on here recently too and that is a really useful tool for selecting a frequency to cut or boost - it’s compact, works perfectly and would give you what you need with no faff. Again it’s a matter of buying a full graphic pedal or something ‘specialised’ like the two mentioned.

 

Many great compressors out there and a TC spectracomp might be an affordable introduction and will offer tone prints - basically presets- you can load in to get the type of compression which suits your needs again with minimal fuss.

 

BMC - no connection to the seller.

 

Many thanks - that is very helpful and I really appreciate your advice and time. I’ve bought a Keeley compressor so like you say I’ll see how I get on it as an introduction. Cheers 

[krispn]

1 minute ago, Roxy said:

Many thanks - that is very helpful and I really appreciate your advice and time. I’ve bought a Keeley compressor so like you say I’ll see how I get on it as an introduction. Cheers 

Brilliant. You’ll dig it. It’s a classic comp circuit based loosely off the dbx 160 I think. Just be careful you don’t find yourself down the compressor rabbit hole and this time next year you’ll have tried o]and probably own about 5 different comp pedals 😀