How many frets and why?

[Turnaround]

How often do you get anywhere NEAR the 20th fret, even when soloing?

When? Every time I play "A Remark You Made". Even Jaco had to jump down an octave in part of his solo for the lack of 2 more frets.

 

[Flaked Beans]

How many frets and why?

Are you serious? Hahaha

 

[Mushroo]

20 frets on a 4 string bass is the exact minimum number of frets allowing a 2-octave scale in all 12 keys. So, in my opinion, there is a nice musical symmetry to Leo's design of 20 frets on Fender Precision and Jazz basses, a perfect instrument for 20th and 21st century music genres which require the musician to be fluent in all 12 keys.

If on the other hand I am playing primarily guitar-driven rock/blues/funk music in the key of E, then it sure is nice to have that 20th fret to grab the high E.

 

[Turnaround]

Are you serious? Hahaha

View attachment 1036523

Like your post, but worried if this is your bass. There is something seriously wrong from the looks of that bridge. Either the neck needs a reset because the pitch is too low, or the wrong bridge is installed. And I'm a little concerned about the top sagging given the distortion at the f-holes.

 

[solarfly]

Don't the Precision and Jazz basses both have only 20 frets??

21 frets on my 2016 Jazz Elite.

I often wish I had a 22nd fret. I'm up there all the time when playing. Edit: By the way, the Elite series of basses has a cutaway on at the neck joint that fits your left hand thumb nicely so you can easily play those upper frets. So, they aren't wasted at all.

 

[TolerancEJ]

Whenever possible, I prefer 24 frets for symmetry. I may not choose to play up to the 24th fret, but it's nice to know those notes are available if I want to access them.

 

[StatesideRambler]

I've had a couple two-octave basses and a couple 20-fret basses. I haven't yet missed the top four frets but I don't play music that would use them. What applies to computers applies to musical instruments: first choose what you are going to do (the music you want to play) then choose an instrument appropriate to that music. If your music calls for playing those high notes, a 24-fret bass is the way to go. If not, you're still free to get a 24-fret bass if you like it.

 

[solarfly]

Hey, I get near the 20th fret!

... but only when I play the intro to For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica).

Try Free's "All Right Now" The bass part in the middle goes on for a while and you're repetitively jumping from open A and E up to the 17th and 19th frets, which is actually a beautifully sounding rock part if I ever heard one. Try it! Great tune.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

My fretted has 26 and my fretless technically has 33, although the markers stop at 26. I try to not have less than 24. I've had a couple and have been left wanting on occasion because of it. I love the round sound of an electric bass being played in the upper registers. The fact that many bassists don't play that high is more a symptom of tradition than musicality. How often do you hear guitarists or pianists eschewing a whole section of their instrument?

 

[reddesert]

I raise this point because in practical terms because after doing some calulating with Stew Mac's fret spacing calculator, it would seem that most shifts in spacing occur at the pocket end of the fretboard, not the first 5 frets.

Ostensibly, even a longer scale fretboard could possibly benefit from having fewer frets because the pocket end of the fretboard would have wider spacing and thereby make playing in those upper registers easier than a bunch of cramped frets attempting to get a second octave.

I think you may still have a misunderstanding about how fret spacing works. Once you specify the scale length, the locations of the frets are fixed by the need to have the notes in tune. On a 24 fret neck, frets 1 through 20 are in exactly the same places as on a 20 fret neck; they aren't any more or less cramped. The only difference is that the 24 fret neck extends a bit further towards the bridge, and the 21-24 frets are in that extended part.

There are some guitars where the fretboard hangs over the end of the neck to get an extra fret, while allowing the neck heel to fit a standard Fender neck-pocket position. Looking at these makes it really clear how the extra fret is just an extension of the fretboard.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Mind you, I'm thinking your typical Fender Jazz/Precision type bass here.

Is the number of frets a bass has inconsequential in most cases because most bassists don't play above the 12th fret?

Could anyone share their preferences for number of frets in relation to some standard scale lengths?

The Fender Mustang has 20 frets. Would it be silly to have that few frets on a longer scale bass? How many bassists actually utilize two octave scale fretboards?

While it's interesting to play in the upper registers at times, it seems most basses aren't even ergonomic enough to accommodate and facilitate that.

The Mustang has 19 frets FWIW

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

I prefer 24, because it's not 1951 anymore and I'd prefer not to be limited. I like having 2 octaves on one string, and I like the extra range when I'm soloing or just making something up. Even when playing CGDA tuning I still would prefer more than 20 frets.

I don't care.

If the bass sounds good and plays well, these kinds of things are just details.

Not quite. If one likes to solo and has ideas or material above the 20th fret, then these kinds of things become essential.

I would honestly like an extra fret on my jazz- just so i could complete a three octave e scale

 

[Catbuster]

I like at least 20. 24 is my preference, and right now my gig rig is one with 20, one with 21 and two with 24.

There are a lot of expressive phrases above the 12th fret, and being able to have a full upper octave when playing jazz is really nice. Grace to Wonder by Jennifer Young comes to mind when discussing expressive phrases using the upper register of a 24 fret bass.

For most music, though... I realy don't go above 12. I cover Fall to Pieces and Child O' Mine every once a while, and Duff wrote those with the highest being 17th in the key they were wrote in. If you transpose for a standard tuning in the same key you don't go above 15 and 16, respectively. And sure, Geddy goes up there on Driven, but those two guys are exceptions to the rule in rock/pop bass players in the way they play.

 

[twinjet]

How often do you get anywhere NEAR the 20th fret, even when soloing?

Personally, 1/10 solos go this high. I prefer the mid-range pitches for soloing, so 5-12 is where I hang.

I'm fine with 20, but 21 is convenient. My L-2000 has 21, and even though I wasn't expecting it when I bought it, I was pleasantly surprised.

I used to only buy 24-fret basses, but as time passed I realised I wasn't getting paid to play that high, so I started losing strings (6 to 4) and frets (24 to 20/21).

 

[Flaked Beans]

Like your post, but worried if this is your bass. There is something seriously wrong from the looks of that bridge. Either the neck needs a reset because the pitch is too low, or the wrong bridge is installed. And I'm a little concerned about the top sagging given the distortion at the f-holes.

Sorry for the bad (and quite distorted) cell phone pic. The bass is fine. And it sounds much better than it looks.

 

[LanEvo]

Not quite. If one likes to solo and has ideas or material above the 20th fret, then these kinds of things become essential.

It's not like you can only have one bass in your life. If you need to solo above the 20th fret, you grab your 24-fret bass ... or your 6'er (or high-C 5'er or whatever).

If I pick up a great-sounding PBass with flats, for example, I'm probably not going to play it the same as, say, a Conklin Sidewinder 7-string with stainless rounds.

Every bass brings its own thing to the table. They feel different, sound different, and (critically) inspire you to play differently. That's part of the fun.

 

[Pops OB]

I play the bass with whatever it's got. Period.

 

[JGbassman]

I prefer 21, so I can get the high e on the G string. Not that it's a deal breaker or anything, just my preference.

 

[davy4575]

Mind you, I'm thinking your typical Fender Jazz/Precision type bass here.

Is the number of frets a bass has inconsequential in most cases because most bassists don't play above the 12th fret?

Could anyone share their preferences for number of frets in relation to some standard scale lengths?

The Fender Mustang has 20 frets. Would it be silly to have that few frets on a longer scale bass? How many bassists actually utilize two octave scale fretboards?

While it's interesting to play in the upper registers at times, it seems most basses aren't even ergonomic enough to accommodate and facilitate that.

Annnnnd there in lies my general hate of some aspects of P and J style basses. I play and write originals, much of my melodics and arpegiations are done up above the octaves in conjunction with open strings. I have a fender zone PJ that has 22 frets. I would really like it to have a 35" scale with 26 frets ideally but still have the narrow jazz neck at the nut. But at least 22 is good enough for a jazz body, I love the bass btw. all the rest of my basses are 35" 24 fret necks. The why.....is simple the more frets and the longer the scale, the further down the neck the octave is and thus the further away from the cut-away the higher octave is, I can more easily use the higher notes that way. Last time I checked, our beloved instrument is a bass GUITAR. I use all the neck.

 

[Manticore]

I play a six with 24 frets. I don't go up that high, particularly on the C string, that often, but it is needed periodically. For instance: if playing in a two or three-piece setting, a six-string bass with 24 frets can play both a bass line down low while comping chords by tapping in the upper register of the upper strings to keep the sound full while the other instrument (guitar, keys whatever...) solos. That said: use what you have and be happy!