20 frets throwing me off

I'm confused. What's the difference between the frets on a 34" scale 20 fret neck and the first 20 frets on a 34" scale 24 fret neck? I wouldn't think there would be any.

 

***?

 

I don't seem to notice a difference. Some of my favorite runs go up the the 15th fret. Maybe I don't play above 15th fret enough to notice. I play 32", 33 1/4", 34" scale; 20, 21, 24 fret; 4, 5, 6 string. Maybe I need to overthink things more!

 

All the 34" scale basses have the same distance between frets,no matter if the frets are 20,22 or 24.The only deference is the position of the neck in relation of the body.Nothing else.It is mind tricks.The fewer the frets,the neck is deeper to the body.

The base of the upper horn of one fender style 20 fret bass,begins in 16th fret,in a Ibanez 24 fret neck,the upper horn begins in 18th fret.This give you the illusion you got.

 

Yes. If both basses are the same scale the frets are spaced the same distance. They could have different sized fret wire but not different spacing.

 

Hey Ben, I think your mind is playing tricks on you, the only difference between a 24 fret 34" scale neck and a 20 fret 34" scale neck is that frets 21-24 aren't there. The spacing of all other frets is the same. 24 fret basses usually have smaller bodies and deeper cutaways to promote access to the upper frets. Many people like that design which exposes more "neck" to the players fretting hand.

 

It's the same as long as the scale is the same

 

Ok. Sorry. It's just getting used to something new is my guess. Good luck

 

The highest I ever play is 17 or 18, anyways. I like to keep my bass low, for the most part.

 

No apology necessary!

Both designs have fans. For me, a 20-21 fret bass just feels like home. I'm used to looking down and seeing those proportions of neck to body when I'm playing. I have a 24 fret spector that I love and I get around on it fine, but it does take me a split second when I play it to get my bearings on where everything is. I'm used to the neck and body joining up around the 17th fret.

 

When I got my first Steinberger I kept playing about 2 frets higher than I should have because my brain couldn't deal with the missing headstock. After a while I got used to it. So I could see how a 20 fret neck might throw you psychologically.

Like others posted, I have owned 30", 34", 35", headless, 20 fret, 24 fret and also play DB. I don't have problems jumping between them at all.

 

I played above the 15th fret once. Once.

 

The bass riff in the second break of "I feel like making love" starts at the 19th fret. That is the only time I have ever been up that high on the neck. BTW , I own two 20 fret , a 22 fret and a 24 fret bass , all 34" scales.

 

The space on the body felt different when I went from 24 frets for 15 years to a 21 fret bass. But after a few days it felt right again and I appreciated the additional room for slapping. But this was also when I was slapping wrong with my thumb pointing down. So, I was doing a lot of things wrong. Now 24 frets feels a little cramped.

 

All of my basses (save one jazz bass) are 24 frets. I like having 2 full octaves to play with.

Although the distance between frets obviously does not change I feel some symmetry is lost on the fretboard.

If you exclusively play 24 fret basses for 10+ years and then pick up a 20 fret bass it's going to feel like something is missing. No way around it...

 

All my basses have 24 frets or more. I don't like playing 20 fret instruments.