harmonics?

[benchpress11782]

Hello everyone. I am new to this sight/forum. Glad to be here seems like a great sight. Heres my ? Why is it that I am having a difficult time getting harmonics on the 3 fret all strings? Brand new ESP 4 string bass. Thank you. I also want to find out how to get tab for victor wootens Norwegian Wood.

[meev991]

third fret harmonic is always a little tricky, that's pretty much it. Some harmonics can be heard better than others.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Anything below the 4th fret is tricky because you don't hold your finger directly over a fret. The 3rd fret harmonics are usually played with your finger just past the fret. Make sure you have some bridge pickup or mids/high mids dialed in- on some basses (my six-string as an example), if you have the neck pickup solo'd, some harmonics are almost inaudible.

[trashjazz]

Do not play it exacly on the third freet ( little behind ) and pluck string hard closser to the bridge

[gold_member_321]

The 3 fret is always a bit tricky, just keep practicing and you'll get it eventually.

[benchpress11782]

OK. I will keep on trying. Thanks. Wlile i'm here how do i view listing of tabs and or anyone know the tab for Norwegian wood by victor wooten?

[Yngwie 4String]

I think someone posted that tab in another one of these forums recently, so look aroun in the tabs forum.

[spade2you]

You might also want to see if the bridge is properly intonated. I guess I have never paid attention to where the 3rd position harmonic is in relation to the fret....since I play unlined fretless basses.

[meev991]

Originally Posted by spade2you

....since I play unlined fretless basses.

the solution to all intonation problems

or, the cause of frustration

[Scot]

Here's a link to a site that has a key to the natural harmonics of an open string. You can see, as some others mentioned, that there isn't one exactly over the 3rd fret. There are two that are close - one at the 3.2 mark that sounds 2 octaves plus a perfect 5th above the open string and another at the 2.7 mark that sounds 2 octaves, plus a Minor 7th above the open string.

EDIT: Apologies to you fretless folks for the "fret" reference! A person might get tarred 'n' feathered over on the DB side for making such a reference.

[meev991]

Originally Posted by Scot

EDIT: Apologies to you fretless folks for the "fret" reference! A person might get tarred 'n' feathered over on the DB side for making such a reference.

oh yea, those DB folks, they'll eat us alive if we don't tread softly

[WillBuckingham]

Originally Posted by benchpress11782

Hello everyone. I am new to this sight/forum. Glad to be here seems like a great sight. Heres my ? Why is it that I am having a difficult time getting harmonics on the 3 fret all strings? Brand new ESP 4 string bass. Thank you. I also want to find out how to get tab for victor wootens Norwegian Wood.

I'm glad you caught sight of this site. First solo your bridge pickup, and put a lot of highs in your EQ. Then pluck hard with your right hand close to the bridge, and you can surely find the exact placements of any harmonics you're looking for. I think there's one just a hair towards the nut from the 3rd fret.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by WillBuckingham

put a lot of highs in your EQ.

I must say respectfully that the key to get loud and clear harmonics is not to boost high frequencies. It's all in the mids. You can roll off your treble if you like, but harmonics will definitely be heard if your tone has plenty of mids. Actually, mid scooping is harmonics' worst enemy.

[lemur821]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

I must say respectfully that the key to get loud and clear harmonics is not to boost high frequencies. It's all in the mids. You can roll off your treble if you like, but harmonics will definitely be heard if your tone has plenty of mids. Actually, mid scooping is harmonics' worst enemy.

Yes, you would have to go up to the 8th harmonic before its fundamental even hit the center frequency of some amp's mid knobs (using my 800 Hz mids knob as an example). Nearly every harmonic you play will be lower than that. My highs knob doesn't kick in for another three and a half octaves or so. More highs might make them sound prettier (your call), but not without a strong fundamental.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by benchpress11782

Hello everyone. I am new to this sight/forum. Glad to be here seems like a great sight. Heres my ? Why is it that I am having a difficult time getting harmonics on the 3 fret all strings? Brand new ESP 4 string bass.

The thing is to forget about "frets" as such - harmonics do not correspond to frets except at the 12th.

So harmonics are subdivisions of (active) string length - the more accurately you subdivide the working string length, the clearer they will ring out - you can hear this on an unamplified bass guitar or Double Bass - so it is nothing to do with pickups/amps etc.

[benchpress11782]

All of your help really helped out. Thank you I turned up my highs considerably, and they are much clearer now. Now I can try to finish Amazing grace. If I can only figure out this Norwegian wood though. Later.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

- you can hear this on an unamplified bass guitar or Double Bass - so it is nothing to do with pickups/amps etc.

Unless you want to hear it in a mix- if you want to, then it definitely does. All notes have a frequency, and if that frequency is subdued compared to other ones, then the harmonics, no matter how perfectly played, may not be heard well at all when amplified.

[Bruce Lindfield]

But as a technique question - accuracy is the key!