Am I an absolute outlier?

[Jack Deth]

I believe folks posting here relate all uses of a bass to how their specific genre expects bassists to play. Prog (and a few others) hits 32nd notes and runs the entire fretboard, and can have low notes down to the F# string. Country is typically much slower using quarters, hangs around the root, and has traditional progressions with limited fills if any. Jazz hits 16ths often and has runs into the upper register. Traditional Rock typically hits 8ths and occasionally 16ths, and gyrates around the root similar to country, but frequently has fills. All of these are complete generalizations of course, but to state features like 24 frets are not, or should not, be used because “that’s not bass” is irrational.

 

[Tedthulhu]

I call shenanigans. Whens the last time any one of you solo'd in front of a paying audience?

I call shenanigans on you, in turn, mate. Since we're posting hypotheticals, how about I posit one myself: What's the last time you wrote a bassline that called for harmonics at the 24th fret, or harmonic slides to or from the 24th position? For me, that was about six months before COVID killed everyone's ability to play music together. 24 frets have value beyond soloing, mate. It's not all about soloing. For me, it's balance, and simply how I learned in the first place. I play on a Fender, and I get lost as hell because I'm not used to not having the full 24 frets I learned on and have played ever since. Just a personal preference, and if it's "limiting me" somehow, that's fine with me. It's how I prefer to play. I dig two octave necks, active preamps, and thin necks. To each, their own.

 

[Dave Neal]

I have 39 basses at the moment and a mix of 20 and 24 frets. I prefer the 20 fret for slapping but that is purely a muscle memory thing. I like playing the 24's just as much but I rarely need the double octave.

 

[Smoking Man]

I'm a Fender only player. I really like the bolt-on aesthetic for the way you can customize every part of the bass. But I really wish Fender would come up with new versions of their designs that have 24 fret necks. Unfortunately that would require reworking both the bodies and necks at a pretty deep level. They tried this in the early 90's with the "Performer" series, which had some really good design ideas for the bodies and necks, but flawed designs for pickups and bridges. They never caught on.

 

[MonetBass]

I'm a Fender only player. I really like the bolt-on aesthetic for the way you can customize every part of the bass. But I really wish Fender would come up with new versions of their designs that have 24 fret necks. Unfortunately that would require reworking both the bodies and necks at a pretty deep level. They tried this in the early 90's with the "Performer" series, which had some really good design ideas for the bodies and necks, but flawed designs for pickups and bridges. They never caught on.

So you missed the entire run of the Jazz 24 basses in the early 00s?

 

[Dave Neal]

So you missed the entire run of the Jazz 24 basses in the early 00s?

 

[Tedthulhu]

If it bugs you, invest in a pbass or similar and make yourself play that one for a while. Put all the others away, out of sight. The 'I can't' is mental obviously.

OregonMike

Bought a Jazz. Played it. Did not enjoy it at all. Traded it for an ESP neck through that I enjoy a great deal. This isn't lack of experience, it's personal preference.

 

[OregonMike]

I guess you're just a 24 fret guy then. Nothing wrong with that. I love my pbass but that's all I've played. If it aint broke...

 

[Tedthulhu]

I also have seven basses(although they arent anywhere near the level of that Thor bass you have. DiGiorgio plays Thor fretless sixer,I believe). Anyway,none of my basses are similar at all really. I have a couple 21 fret basses but my fivers and my Jackson are 24. My 5 stringers (a Spector and a Yamaha) both have 24 but the string spacing is radically different. The Yammy is 19mm so jumpimg to the Spector really can make you feel like your fingers are going tie into a knot. My Jackson seems like you could park your car between the first two frets and that is where my basses differ again. I guess my point is that I own a handful of basses that are very different when it comes to the fretboard and I play them all regularly which took some getting used to. At first I was going to just go with Spectors but I am stubborn and figured it could only make me a better player by forcing myself to play them all.
That being said,I refuse to play a short scale bass which people think is weird. I dont care how nice the bass is,if its a short scale I am gonna pass.

Agreed across the board. Steve DOES own and play three different Thor basses. Mine has 19 mm string spacing. I know, in hindsight, I would have aimed for 16.5 mm spacing, but live and learn. If you want the full specs on my Mjolnir Fretless, let me know, and I'll share them freely. Karl, the luthier, is an enormously skilled craftsman.

 

[Tedthulhu]

The only way I would be ok at this point with an extended reach fingerboard is if there was a bigger cutaway to access the higher register. No way am I interested in moving the money region (first five "frets") further away from me for easier access to the high pitched meedly-meedly notes (anything over say the 15th "fret") that no one really wants to hear from the bassist anyways.

Tell that to Les Claypool.

 

[Tedthulhu]

My '86 Roadstar II has 24, and was my only bass for 30 years and I find shorter basses a bit disorienting. I rarely play up there but the 24th fret marks the harmonics, and the visual symmetry helps me when I do wander up high. I honestly don't use the top 6 "frets" of my Portamento, but all that unmarked rosewood is lovely!
W3DW

I rarely use those positions either, but popping a harmonic slide at that 30th position and slithering it back to 24 with some vibrato is sexy as hell, and yeah, that fretboard is gorgeous. Mine is the SRF705. Which one do you have, the 4, 5 or 6 string version? I've been vacillating on buying an SRF706, to add to the herd, after I give away my BTB to a friend next week.

 

[Tedthulhu]

Are you sure about that?
View attachment 4258686

If I could actually FIND one of those, I would jump on buying it. Best of luck with that any more, though. Looked for years, with zero success in any kind of reasonable price range. That is a gorgeous bass, though.

 

[Marlon Carbone]

I feel the same. Except for my acoustic, all my basses have a 2 octave neck. I definitely prefer it that way. Now, when I'm playing with a band, I rarely go above the 12 fret/position. However, when I'm playing by (with?) myself (or I'm soloing), I'm all over the neck and I'm way more comfortable when I have the 2 octave range.

 

[paulhenry]

So, to preface this, I currently have seven basses, which, yes, is excessive. My horde includes a fretless six string custom Thor Bass, a fretless five string Ibanez, a fretted five string ESP, a fretted six string Ibanez, a fanned fret five string Ibanez, a four string Ibanez, and a four string ESP. The one thing all my basses have in common is that they all have at least 24 frets (one of my fretless basses has 30, technically). I cannot deal with playing on 20 fret necks. It screws with my entire usual play style. Yes, this means that I can't do Fender basses. At all. I know, that's an unpopular opinion, but I cannot be alone in the "I need 24 frets to do my job properly" camp. Or am I? You tell me! Constructive comments welcome.

No. Irving Berlin was an outlier. You are not.

 

[Tedthulhu]

I have 39 basses at the moment and a mix of 20 and 24 frets. I prefer the 20 fret for slapping but that is purely a muscle memory thing. I like playing the 24's just as much but I rarely need the double octave.

THIRTY NINE?

Holy s**t. I'd need a much larger apartment to support THAT massive a herd. Gods below, that's a collection to be envied, regardless of what's in it. Dang.

 

[Dave Neal]

THIRTY NINE?

Holy s**t. I'd need a much larger apartment to support THAT massive a herd. Gods below, that's a collection to be envied, regardless of what's in it. Dang.

It was 40 but I gave a Yamaha BB300 away to a young and budding player. I have no doubt that I will hit 50 soon enough. Whats in it?... Yamaha, Conklin, G&L, MM, Fender, Peavey, Kramer, Lado, Tokai, Ibanez, Epiphone, Aria.

 

[W3DW]

Mine is the SRF705. Which one do you have, the 4, 5 or 6 string version?

A four string Portamento it is - the Roadstar is a five string (now wearing a high C string) and I wanted to explore fretless in classic 4 String simplicity. I'm not a fan of how most low B strings speak, and if I ever required one again I'd get a 34 to 37 inch fan-fret Dingwall - another 24 fret neck.
W3DW

 

[FollowMeDown]

It seems to me that if you're often playing so far up on the fretboard that you *need* a 24 fret bass, then you're likely:
a) a frusturated guitarist so should have bought a guitar not a bass
b) pissing off the rest of your band more than you realise

 

[MovinTarget]

It seems to me that if you're often playing so far up on the fretboard that you *need* a 24 fret bass, then you're likely:
a) a frusturated guitarist so should have bought a guitar not a bass
b) pissing off the rest of your band more than you realise

I think arguments could be made against both of those assumptions.

Do we know what the music he's playing requires?

Do we know the makeup of his band(s)?

He may need the upper register a lot but that doesn't mean he lives up there either...

 

[Tedthulhu]

It seems to me that if you're often playing so far up on the fretboard that you *need* a 24 fret bass, then you're likely:
a) a frusturated guitarist so should have bought a guitar not a bass
b) pissing off the rest of your band more than you realise

Clearly, you misunderstood the key phrase "constructive" when I posted "constructive comments welcome". Thanks for your input.