Sad, but true. Fortunately, some refuse to follow the unspoken rules. Consequently, those are my favorite artists to listen to.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I always feel like 24 frets shouldn’t make a difference. And every time I gig with a Fender, eventually I miss the extra notes. Could be on a solo, or during the use of an analog octaver. It’s never a crushing defeat but it is something I usually face realtime: oh, I’ve run out of frets! Change course!
I'm going out on a limb here and say the importance of 24 frets is relative to one's playing style.
For me, no importance as 24 frets would not be a feature I would be looking at. My Kiesel is the only 24-fret bass I have. I have one song in our rotation at church where I play a passage in 12 to 15 frets. The rest, I'm mostly from open to the 9th. I will go to the 11th fret for the G# for a few songs in the key of A.
For me, no importance as 24 frets would not be a feature I would be looking at. My Kiesel is the only 24-fret bass I have. I have one song in our rotation at church where I play a passage in 12 to 15 frets. The rest, I'm mostly from open to the 9th. I will go to the 11th fret for the G# for a few songs in the key of A.
Not to be pedantic (I'm about to be) but 20 frets strung EADG is three octaves. the 21st fret is E so you actually have three octaves +1 (a 4th E.)
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One thing about 24 fret basses is that if you do any slapping, you're trading off a thinner slap tone for the extended range. I like the thicker slap tone of a 20 fret bass.
A 4 string bass doesn't have that wide a range in the first place. 4 more notes isn't adding a whole lot to that range and if I want a lot more range I'm going to want to use another bass with more than 4 strings anyway.
When you play high up on a low string it has a fuller tone than what it sounds like playing those notes in a lower position on a high string. For a bass line that can be a good thing. But for soloing or chords, the more singing tone of just having the C string is more desirable than playing way up on the low strings
A 4 string bass doesn't have that wide a range in the first place. 4 more notes isn't adding a whole lot to that range and if I want a lot more range I'm going to want to use another bass with more than 4 strings anyway.
When you play high up on a low string it has a fuller tone than what it sounds like playing those notes in a lower position on a high string. For a bass line that can be a good thing. But for soloing or chords, the more singing tone of just having the C string is more desirable than playing way up on the low strings
I care more about the 21st fret than the 24th. Having an instrument with the E as the lowest note maxing out on Eflat just buggs me. My yamaha BB has 21 and I see that as an asset. Lots of vintage style G&L basses have 21, and that is a Leo Fender company, so I see no reason to let nostalgia get in the way of adding that last fret.
OK...
1. How many of the songs I play require 24 frets? None; 15 or 16 would probably be too many frets, actually.
2. Depends on what you play. I'm happy being back here in the '50s-early '60s, thank you; playing Rockabilly, R'n R, Blues, and Country. A 5-er would be a waste of money for me. For more modern music, it's probably very nice to have; and 24 frets would probably be nice, too...
3. I have no idea. You'll never know until you try; but, some people seem to have no problem with it.
I do have a couple of basses (Dano Longhorn & a Kramer Duke) that have 24 frets; AFAIC, they're just useless things that I have to polish every so often. But, they do make the neck look nice...
From E to Eb gives the instrument a range of 36 notes, the exact number necessary to be able to play each of the 12 notes in 3 different octaves. You have your high/medium/low E, your high/medium/low F, your high/medium/low F#/Gb, and so forth. So it is equally easy to play in any key, with 3 octaves to choose from.
Adding more frets creates a weird situation where the instrument has more range in certain keys than in others. That said, I realize that a lot of us are rock or blues players and frequently play in the key of E. So maybe there is a legitimate argument for an instrument that has more E's than any other note? Certainly horn/brass/woodwind players are no strangers to the concept of an instrument that favors certain keys above others.
However, I would counter-argue that making the electric bass key-agnostic (equally able to play any of the 12 keys) was one of Leo Fender's key contributions to 20th century music. Unlike a big band or orchestra, an ensemble of piano/keyboard + electric guitar + Fender bass can easily play together in tune, in any key, allowing producers to arrange sessions in the best key for the singer's voice, which I think changed the history of pop music.
madbass6
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Only a guitarist or drummer would make such a stupid / bold statement! Please tell me you disagreed.
Nothing like the reach around when you're hitting those high notes.
I don't believe it's important to have any frets at all. I have two P-basses and I rarely use the fretted one.
How do you figure Leo did anything to make the Bass key agnostic? It has the same tuning and intonation as the double bass.
1. No songs actually require 24-frets. You can actually play an octave down or up if you need to fit it on your "normal" 4-string.
2. I use a 5-string specifically where I "want" to use lower notes than the E on my 4-string. 90 to 95% of the time, I'm using my 4-string.
3. If you want to keep it simple and not switch basses, than just get a really good 5-string and let your 4-string go. I personally have an excellent 4 string that took me almost 10-years to find and my 5-string is not nearly as nice nor does it sound as good. So I just use the 5 when I really want those low notes without needing to drop the tuning on the E string of my 4-string bass.
First of all, I love (and play, poorly) the double bass. I agree with you, that (in the hands of a skilled player) it's a versatile instrument that sounds great in many genres/styles of music.
That said, let's be real: on double bass, it is exponentially easier to play the notes E, A, D, and G in tune compared to the other 8 notes. You do not want to hear a hack player like me try to play in a key like Db!
Fretted Fender basses do not have this limitation, allowing the bassist (or converted guitarist) to play equally in tune in any of the 12 keys. I believe this is why Leo called it the "Precision" bass.
Untrue.
Fretted instruments are a compromise intonation system that does not play in tune in all keys. Or even most keys.
And especially with keys, as in with a piano. Because the intonation system pianos use is very different from the one a normal fretted bass uses.
A fretless instrument is the only instrument that can, in theory, be played with perfect intonation in all keys. Unless you have moveable frets.
Fender called the bass "Precision" because it was easier for a guitar player to play one closer to "in tune" than for them to try to use an upright. Which, of course, leads to the ultimate irony that is the fretless Precision, which really should have been called the Approximation.
