How many frets do *you* need on your 4-string?

[ThudThudThud]

Weirdly, when I had 24 I played way up the neck a lot.
Now I'm down to 20 and 21 fret basses I'm rarely past 15.
To be completely honest I'd rather never go past 7.

 

[musicbass-man]

My bass has 24 frets, and this range is totally wasted on me. I wondering if I'm alone.

I used to play Fenders 20 frets, but in one band we covered a RHCP (by the way) song that required 24 frets, so I’ve been playing Sandbergs since then.

 

[Phil Bonk]

Way back when...in the '70s...I heard from a renowned producer, that a good bassist should never really need to go above the 5th fret, to create a great recording for vocals. Now, of course, music was different then. However, he actually makes a lot of sense.

 

[Lee Kirkham]

It's nice to have a standard 20, but really, all the money is made only up to the 7th.

 

[Bassngtr]

5 frets. Anything more is just showing off...

 

[BatBasstard]

My bass has 24 frets, and this range is totally wasted on me. I wondering if I'm alone.

20 is fine for me. I have 21 & 22 fret basses but I’ve never been past 19 if I’m honest.
And even then, seldom.

 

[BatBasstard]

5 frets. Anything more is just showing off...

THIS IS THE WAY

 

[Sid Fang]

I suppose if I broke G strings as often as some of my old guitar-playing buddies used to break their high E's, I'd appreciate having more frets for the surviving strings to be able to cope until the end of a set...

 

[Groovespace]

Preferably None at all! :-D

 

[Atomic Highway]

I like 20...also have a drop D tuner which changes things up just enough to get a bit lower than the normal E string. Had multiple 5 strings some 3 octave...never went above the 12th fret...doing some Beach Boys stuff that requires 16th fret, feels natural on a 4 string Jazz. Just my two cents, play whatever you like and want as always.

 

[Rusty Ogre]

The vast majority of my playing is done within 15 frets or so. In one of my bands, we decided to cover The Real Me by The Who. I was able to play it on my 20 fret Bass, however it was much easier to play with a 24 fret. Having the extra frets when I'm not using them is not a problem for me.

 

[John Eland]

I have 20 on my Marcus Miller custom and 20 on my Rickenbacker and I find it more than adequate and I use every single bit of it, but does it really matter that much? After all with a bass guitar the secrets in the name, BASS.

 

[droo46]

I could get away with 7 if I had to.

 

[Doug P]

Please .... if I’m mistaken give me a break. Not so much as how many frets but I have seen Yes in concert and of course looking at Chris, he seemed to be playing in the “upper” neck position a lot. Maybe again not needing 24 or...
But some players play “up there”
Just play and the music / genre
your playing will let ya know , right ????

 

[Sid Fang]

There's a certain amount of "this one goes to 11" in having a 24 fret bass.

And I say that as someone who owns several.

 

[Warren Wilson]

My bass has 24 frets, and this range is totally wasted on me. I wondering if I'm alone.

I use most of the neck, staying as low as possible most of the time but often using the upper range for solos. Then again, I don't use frets at all!

 

[TJL]

Better to add a 5th string than too many frets.

 

[Deep Thump]

I've been curious about short scales basses for a while now. I own two basses at the current time and both are full scale. Just a question for those who have this experience: If I played a short scale that was the same make as a long scale sitting next to it, would there be any significant tonal difference?

 

[Karl Kaminski]

 

[David1957]

I like the freedom that a 24 fret bass offers