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Double Bass fretmarkers on upright???? huh

#21
As I'm not playing the DB 8 hours a day (I do have kids, a regular job AND and electric bass guitar :D ), therefore position markers are a welcome help.

Usually, my DB gigs last for at least 2 hours; after half an hour I usually regain the muscle memory for the lower positions, and don't look to the fretboard anymore (except for solo's). If it weren't for the position markers, I probably would have quit and have lost all joy of working the 'dog house'.
 
#24
I had a fretless slab bass with fret lines and it was such an annoyance because the lines were never where the actual pitches were.

If you're having to put pencil marks on a fingerboard, you're not putting in the necessary time to learn how to play the instrument. (I realize kids and jobs, etc. distract from this time). Ultimately, you're making it harder on yourself and not really learning how to play in tune.

Ditto what Don Higdon said.
 
#26
bassgeek said:
If you're having to put pencil marks on a fingerboard, you're not putting in the necessary time to learn how to play the instrument.
Click to expand...
So, after 22 years of full time playing, I should pack it in because I can't nail F on the A string, thumb postition, arco, cold, and when I can't hear myself well?

All this pontificating makes me want to go get markers installed just to digust everyone...
 
#30
I have marks on my old Kay, and for the first few years while learning how to play, I covered them with a piece of black electrical tape. But then, I noticed I woudl cheat occassionally because I could see just the edge of the marking peeking out from beneath the tape. so, after much inner debate, I decided to take the tape off and, if it would help my intonation to occassionally take a look at the marks, say to make sure I was landing on a big note perfectly, then it was OK. because sounding good is what's most important, since I'm gigging now on upright. I really admire people who rely completely on their ears, hard work and faith, but for me, playing the upright is so very challenging, due to my size, size of hands, talent level etc. i gotta do what i gotta do.
 
#32
Don Higdon said:
If you have markers and:
1) the top rises and falls with weather changes or
2) you adjust bridge height for a new, different string or
3) a luthier tweaks the sound post and bridge position or
4) you get your fingerboard dressed
you're screwed. The markers will put you out of tune.
Click to expand...

I'd say for the most part, these issues are small for a person relying on fingerboard markings. All one needs to do is retune the strings and get back to playing.
 
#33
I don't regularly use markings. That said, if I am in a loud situation or one where it is hard to hear I will put markings.

There is no shame in using markings. You should be able to play without them but in adverse situations they are helpful. If they make you play better then use them. To each his own. Are there good things about them? Yep. Are there bad things? Yep.

Bottom line is that if you are getting calls and people dig your playing good vs bad is irrelavant. The way I look at it when I use markers is that if there is a bass player in the audience that thinks less of me, oh well. I'm working that night and he's not.

Also, fret markers? No frets here. Let's call them fingerboard markings.
 
#35
I use my ears, but if I notice I'm having problems nailing a note or starting a song correctly during rehearsals, I'll slap a pencil mark up there to make sure I nail it. When I don't need it anymore, it goes away. What's the problem? I'm not going to get paid or called back for blowing notes because I can't spend 8 hours a day practicing, and if I don't tell anyone they're there, no one else notices them. They just notice that I'm not out of tune.

For the record, I don't practice using them. I'd like to be good enough some day that I don't need them. But every musical or recording session I do, it seems that there's at least one problem note that I can't nail quite right, so the pencil gets used on the bass.

Because DBs are so subject to environmental effects that might change string scale, I do believe that permanent position markers would be a bad idea. Never mind asthetics, they just wouldn't be perfectly on all the time, and you'd end up adjusting your intonation anyway IMO.
 
#36
I use them when I'm practicing something and I'm just not hitting a certain note. I'll slap a pencil mark on the board and watch in my mirror and practice the shift until it's in tune and I feel like my body is making the shift properly. Then I remove it and try the said shift without the mark. I never take my ears out of the equation, I'll also practice singing the interval with a tuner or keyboard to get myself hearing the note correctly. This seems to work for me.
 
#37
I've been a purist and thought they were cheating and lazy, but now I think that's sort of dumb--if I have to nail a note cold, or I'm playing a phrase with one note consistently out, I'll also put a pencil mark on the neck to remind me, until I don't need any more reminding. It comes off. I might even get some little white dot stickers, put 'em on the side of the neck.

I'm using visual references all the time--out of the corner of my eye, I know where my hand is and the helps cue up the right hand position. I think most people do this. A dot--like, say Edgar Meyer has--would reinforce that

As someone said earlier, you get paid for the notes--they don't dock your pay for having a pencil mark
 
#38
I don't haven't really used them much recently. I have made pencil marks in the past though or noticed a certain smudge on the fingerboard. I am not against them and I personally would not think less of anybody for using them. I know an incredible bass player who can play any style of music really well who had the luthier install dots on the $35,000 bass he commisioned.
 
#39
Don Higdon said:
If you have markers and:
1) the top rises and falls with weather changes or
2) you adjust bridge height for a new, different string or
3) a luthier tweaks the sound post and bridge position or
4) you get your fingerboard dressed
you're screwed. The markers will put you out of tune.
Click to expand...

Johnny L said:
I'd say for the most part, these issues are small for a person relying on fingerboard markings. All one needs to do is retune the strings and get back to playing.
Click to expand...

I think Don's point is that the markers will be off once the strings are back in tune. For example, altering the height of the bridge changes ever so slightly the effective length of the string. I cannot make a judgment regarding the magnitude of such effects but it seems that Don is quite correct that they are there.
 

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