yeah I imagine the closer you get to the bridge the bigger difference everything makes, because since the amount of actual vibrating length is so much shorter everything is proportionally much greater.
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Double Bass "fret markers"
- Thread starter Eli_Upright12
- Start date
My Ergo EUB has them. They don't do a lot actually. I rarely look at the bass while I play. If I do they just get you to a ballpark place and I can get that far on my own at this point.
Well, actually, that thread, starting at post #47, was exactly on point. It showed that even as high as the heel of the neck, the difference would be negligible. I do, however, agree that in the higher thumb positions, it could be quite consequential. That is, I agree with you!
It's going to vary a bit as to how bad it is depending on several things, but I think it would be worse with higher tension strings. As it is, I have extremely low string height and light tension Helicores on my current DB and even at the octave the in tune stopped position is a little behind the harmonic. I suppose the way to deal with it would be to use bridge adjusters to keep the string height constant and put the markers on while checking stopped notes against a tuner. In my case I'm doing OK with no markers, just a few physical references, and my bass is very weather stable and I don't even have adjusters installed. I did think about having some cool inlaid pattern done like you see on the violone fingerboards that would have some harmonic reference points in the pattern;- more for a visual effect, but I'll save that idea for an actual violone.
And then their are the reprobates like me who don't play much above the octave on the G because, well because, I play bass.
Those are all the boring notes!
I think you are joking, but I'll take it seriously anyway.
(I think that dots on the fingerboard are legit, BTW.)Yeah, I guess if you can't play in tune in the lower positions, then they might be tedious to deal with. Just old fashioned, and soooo boring! So why bother tuning those open strings then?
That way when you flop around in the nether stratosphere regions of the bass, nobody will know what the heck you are playin'.
Yes, I'm joking! Nope, the lower notes are the most valuable real estate on the bass. The upper portions of the fingerboard are just a remodel of the home bassists live in.
bass 1 |bās| noun a voice, instrument, or sound of the lowest range, in particular the lowest adult male singing voice. [as adj. ] denoting the member of a family of instruments that is the lowest in pitch : a bass clarinet | a bass drum. informal a bass guitar or double bass. the low-frequency output of a radio or audio system, corresponding to the bass in music. ORIGIN late Middle English : alteration of base 2 , influenced by basso .
I think you are joking, but I'll take it seriously anyway.
Which was the joke? I thought Michael was joking that it was the notes above the octave G that were the boring ones. In any case, as a fine teacher once told me as he pointed to the "nut-end" of the fingerboard, "The balls of the bass are down here."
The joke was the lower notes are the boring notes. I am a meat and potato bass player, I stay in the low register. I remember playing a friends bass with one of those Laborie (SP?) end-pins and hated it cause it doesn't give you easy access to the lower register of the bass.
My teacher would beg to differ on this, but he plays the entire range of the bass excellently.
My teacher would beg to differ on this, but he plays the entire range of the bass excellently.
Martin, you detestable hack!
Well, I'm still a newbie and some of these books I'm going through have stuff scored in the upper stratosphere G clef, so I'm just reading off what someone scored when I'm not improvising up there, (yet!). Also, the effects up in TP are not exclusive to the G string. With my 5 string 
D ), I have some very low notes up in thumb position and I really like playing across the strings up there and doing double stops, etc. It's all closer together and you can drop the open strings in for references now and then.In general use though I agree. It's not a cello! And I venture below the low E far more often in my ensemble playing than I venture above the octave position. Going down to the low C in "Caravan" just rules!!!
I just made a poll so everyone can cast their votes on the new subject at hand. Personally I like both, I love just moving earth in orchestral passages with low full meaty notes, but at the same time I like to be able to play up high and put the little cello punks to shame.
The poll answers are not quite mutually exclusive. For example, one might agree that one should be able to play in all registers while still believing that the notes are "better" below the octave. The poll question asked which were "better." Kind of makes difficult the interpretation of the poll-results. Sorry to sound nit-picky.
No problem I actually noticecd that after I made I'll go back and edit it.
Actually can you edit polls or is that a something you cant do? I was thinking of changing it to whats your favorite register of the bass?
Actually can you edit polls or is that a something you cant do? I was thinking of changing it to whats your favorite register of the bass?
Below the octave! Ha ha, I'm a newbie at double bass, and I'm finding two octave scales difficult. I told teach, "I was planning on using those notes u high," She said, "did you ever use those notes on e-bass?"
Never.
Never.
Thats an unusual answer. Fair enough if you still have to learn to play reasonably well below the octave first. But shouldn't your teacher encourage you to be able your entire instrument well?
I feel that we perform on a percussive melodic-harmonic instrument that allows us to use all notes in it's register. So the third option is the one that allows us to be supportive, yet fill in tastefully to the point of being either fulfilling or annoying to both our bandmates as well as to our audience
It's more than a bass.... it's a DINGWALL!
I'm not a real educated slab guy, but I was loaned one of those basses when they first came out, for a little test run. Rest assured, I played the whole thing... that sucka played like buttah. Very nice, and the fanned frets didn't throw me as much as I thought they would.
Alas, I had to give it back... the luthier who loaned it to me called and said "Hey, can I get that bass back? Sting is here, and he wants to try it out". And thus the concept of the pecking order was reestablished....
I'm not a real educated slab guy, but I was loaned one of those basses when they first came out, for a little test run. Rest assured, I played the whole thing... that sucka played like buttah. Very nice, and the fanned frets didn't throw me as much as I thought they would.
Alas, I had to give it back... the luthier who loaned it to me called and said "Hey, can I get that bass back? Sting is here, and he wants to try it out". And thus the concept of the pecking order was reestablished....
