• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Fender Jazz only with 20 frets; why?

#161
Because you don't need more than 20 to make an outstanding bass line!! it's like asking why planes have 2 wings instead of 4, 6 or 8... Or why cars don't have 8 wheels!! you simply don't need that many to make it functional!! A bass can be playable even if it only has 7 frets... Even better than that... FRETLESS!! 0 frets whatsoever and a limitless note range!! You can even pitch shift harmonics by sliding!!
 
#166
Kirk Bryant said:
Ya gotta love Talkbass. Where else can you go to waste so much time talking about something thats both so personal and so relatively inconsequential to probably 90%+ of players. When I play my Fenders I don't worry about the number of frets even when I'm soloing above the 12th fret. It is what it is, you simply adapt. I have a bunch of basses with from 21-24 too.

We truly are the KINGS of making mountains out of molehills since bass time began.
Click to expand...

Jeez!!! if we weren't wasting so much time, what else were we going to do? god forbid!!!! Practice?????!!!!! Are you crazy?

That's for the neophytes! Everyone in talkbass is so good, no one needs to practice!!!!


Besides this is TALKbass. Not PRACTICEbass.

That said, I hate 20-21 fret necks. My pecs don't allow my arms to reach the fretboard without straining when slapping. It's easier for me to get rid of my Ibanez ATK and cheap Bacchus and Cort than to stop working out and becoming soggy and flabby.
 
#167
kerrycares said:
HAd one of thee and 20 feet sounded better
Click to expand...

Kerry, as far as I can remember you didn't like your SB jazz bass because soundwise it was completely different than the american standard jazz bass. The steve bailey signature bass is quite different because of the active electronics and also the ebony fingerboard gives a very bright/snappy and naturally compressed sound overall, different beast of course. OTOH I'd like to have a six string version of my '08 american standard jazz bass too but unfortunately Fender doesn't care for what I (and probably some other bass players) want.
 
#168
Just played my '78 Fender natural ash/maple jazz bass with only 20 frets on the fingerboard and it didn't sound bad at all. just saying.
here it is:

78jazzbassnatural.jpg


:smug:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati
#170
AndreasR said:
What does number of frets have to do with timbre?
Click to expand...

It's a question of where you can pluck, and also perhaps a question of pickup placement. Ya gotta try a few different instruments out to get it, but it's pretty obvious if you try to get a dark, rubbery, dubby sound where the 20th fret would end, but you have fingerboard affecting your touch as it reaches toward higher frets.
 
#171
iiipopes said:
Um, you forget that these instruments came after the original Precision and Jazz basses, after Leo received player input about extending the range.
Click to expand...

Dr. Cheese said:
By the time Leo Fender designed Music Man and G&L basses, he had gotten feedback than 21 frets would be useful.
Click to expand...

True. But then the question still is, what does this have to do with what the company Fender does today? "Cuz Leo" is still not a valid answer.

Joebone said:
It's a question of where you can pluck, and also perhaps a question of pickup placement. Ya gotta try a few different instruments out to get it, but it's pretty obvious if you try to get a dark, rubbery, dubby sound where the 20th fret would end, but you have fingerboard affecting your touch as it reaches toward higher frets.
Click to expand...

For slap and pop I'll concede this to be true, especially pop, but I personally play "feeling good" while playing over the fifteenth fret. So the change in timbre is caused by playing position that is true, but no one said you can't play lower down the neck with more frets.
 
#172
Flaked Beans said:
Oh really? Listen to me pal, that's my bass (the black SB sig. JB6 on the pic above) and I bought it new in '09 because it was not a JB like it used to be (not to mention that I own vintage and modern american fender basses). Awesome bass, probably the best fender production bass model ever. And it was discontinued just because Steve went with his new signature warwick 6 (and plenty of cash over it) back in 2010. Now you go and play your german bass and stay happy, Hans loves you. (And FYI I owned MANY german warwicks in the past including a thumb neck-through body 6 string. Streamer LX6, Streamer Stage One, Thub bolt on etc. so I know what I'm talking about).
Click to expand...

What I said is just what happen when Fender try a new thing ... they just don't sell at all. In a way it is a marketing strategy. They create new thing, Fender die hard fans don't want them because they want tradition, some people are interested but eventually it brings more sell to the old PB and JB formula.

A lot of people are angry at Fender because they don't revolutionize that much or try new thing often but Fender is synonymus with tradition.

Pepsi and Coka Cola do the same thing. They bring new flavor, some people try it, some refuse to try and then bring back the classic flavor and people buy it.
 
#173
AndreasR said:
For slap and pop I'll concede this to be true, especially pop, but I personally play "feeling good" while playing over the fifteenth fret. So the change in timbre is caused by playing position that is true, but no one said you can't play lower down the neck with more frets.
Click to expand...

No disagreement re playing over the fretboard to get a different tone. I often play around the 17th/18th fret with a particular pluck so as to mimic the sound of the old Ampeg Baby Bass. But leaving aside those who favor light touch and ramps, you have to admit that you can dig in a lot more without fingerboard in the way.
 
#175
Joebone said:
No disagreement re playing over the fretboard to get a different tone. I often play around the 17th/18th fret with a particular pluck so as to mimic the sound of the old Ampeg Baby Bass. But leaving aside those who favor light touch and ramps, you have to admit that you can dig in a lot more without fingerboard in the way.
Click to expand...

That's probably true. I never really dig in. Didn't think of that.
 
#176
Liam Wald said:
Really? No one even really plays above the 15th fret?
Then why not just make basses with 15 frets?
If there are only 12 notes in an octave and all you need to play bass is the one and the five in any key (umpha-umpha-umpha) you might not even need 15 frets!
Maybe you don't even need to play the 1-5. Just pedal the root.
Then instead of umpha-umpha-umpha, you could just play ump-ump-ump and be done with it!
COOL!
Click to expand...
Try not to get offended by someone's opinion. It's not good for you.
 
#177
How many children are answering on this thread? Again, I am not asking if there should be more than 20 frets. I am not asking why do people want more than 20 frets. Just why they choose 20 when they had basses in the past with more than 20 with certain models. I had at least one good answer and so many are complaining. Get a life.
 
  • Like
Reactions: el_Bajo_Verde
#180
Green Lantern said:
How many children are answering on this thread? Again, I am not asking if there should be more than 20 frets. I am not asking why do people want more than 20 frets. Just why they choose 20 when they had basses in the past with more than 20 with certain models. I had at least one good answer and so many are complaining. Get a life.
Click to expand...
Have you tried contacting Fender and asking them? Might get you further than asking a forum full of people that have nothing to do with the corporation that made the decision...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flaked Beans

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back