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

[bassclef112]

I play 4 string exclusively. I make the standard Fender 20 work. Not that I play up there often, but it's a nice effect to hit the high 7th or octave.

But I admit having 24 provides that little bit more I occasionally use for a flash. That high F can be handy. It also relies on the bass playing those notes above 22 cleanly. If you must use them they should sing.

 

[Xhaxo]

I don't "need" more than the 21 I have on my traditional basses, but I have 24 on a couple and it's nice not to feel restricted. If you have those extra frets you can grow into them.

 

[seventhson]

The highest I go is the 19th fret for the intro to Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls.

 

[user362432]

If I need more than 14-15, I would just buy mandolin.

 

[Moving Pictures]

I have basses that range from 20 to 24 frets. If the bass has them I will use them. Each configuration forces me to play and explore differently and I like that. I’m very happy there are so many choices for bass players.

 

[bholder]

I need all of them.

 

[Space Ghost]

I play a 20 fret short scale and that's plenty for me. I've gone above the 16th fret maybe a couple dozen times but it's usually on just a song or three that call for it. I try to live in the first 5 if the song lets me. After all, I play the Bass, not the treble!!

 

[ZachDaddy]

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

After years of not playing I started taking some lessons again and my bass teacher has me running scales and arpeggios all the way up and down the neck. Where would we be if Jaco Pastorius had stopped at the 12th fret.

 

[Deep Thump]

Just wondering, did you return the favor by telling him how to play his instrument?

 

[Jack Deth]

No disrespect intended to anyone, but if other walks of life stuck with original designs by the founders of their respective circles (Fender in this case), we would still be traveling by a Model T Ford, watching movies via projectors at theaters, listening to news on the radio while skimming various newspapers, researching things through an encyclopedia set at the local library, talking to each other through phone lines that have human operators to assist us, and drinking from returnable glass bottles. Nostalgia aside, there are designs that prove superior to the originals and spin off new directions within their sphere of influence. Mr. Fender even realized this, otherwise he likely would have never formed Music Man and then G&L to carry forward new design ideas he wanted to release. The prop plane hit a design limitation that held back aviators until the jet engine became viable.

I am in no way disrespecting the original designs Mr. Fender set into motion because they are extremely capable, nor am I disrespecting anyone that chooses to leverage his masterpieces. However, they do have limits that box them into a set workable space. Many argue that the workable space they provide is the space defined for a bass to operate and as such they cover it perfectly. The space itself that has become defined is what I assert is the fallacy, and limiting oneself to its confines by the design of a toolset and equipment is something Fender himself broke by the simple act of creating an electric bass in the first place.

Thus, I chose all of the above, including fretless, as no one tool by itself can allow an artist to fully realize their hidden strengths. In the process of experimentation, artists will uncover what does and does not work for them. Who knows, someone may create a neckless bass one day that senses where your fingers are and produces various sounds depending upon motion and hand gestures performed along a segment of space where the neck traditionally would be located, and thus, relegate this debate to the archives.

 

[psyline]

I play Rics almost exclusively. 20 frets. I've tried other basses, use them occasionally, but my bandmates usually ask me to go back to the Rics.

I typically use 19 of the 20 frets. But in one band, a fairly free-form outfit (I call it a hippie-stoner jam band), I miss that 21st fret. I want that high E, but it just isn't there. Sure, I get by without it, just as I get by without a low C and D, but, like those, I wish I had it.

So, the answer is, I need 21 frets to play the notes I want to play, but I can get by without that one extra fret. I'd use it if I had it. The question is, would I then want 22? 24?

Exactly. I play in jam bands. And although I keep the bottom most of the time, I take solos. With my P Bass, I’m always bending to find the top note. I end up going back to my Warwick or an Ibanez SR since I need those full octaves. 24 frets or bust. But totally respect others who never get above the 12th.

 

[Anthony Dozier]

I play 4 string exclusively. I make the standard Fender 20 work. Not that I play up there often, but it's a nice effect to hit the high 7th or octave.

But I admit having 24 provides that little bit more I occasionally use for a flash. That high F can be handy. It also relies on the bass playing those notes above 22 cleanly. If you must use them they should sing.

 

[Anthony Dozier]

Until I read bass clef112’s post, I had not read any other ones that mentioned the audibility of bass notes higher than a fifth above middle’C’ ( G.)
Sure, you can play by yourself and hear em’ just fine, but then one day, it’s Showtime and the only way anyone’s gonna hear those notes is if you turn your amp up. Then the guitar player shoots you a dirty look. And next; typically the entire band has to play louder than necessary.
Perhaps that’s how solid state amps, and 4ohm 10’s became the norm with bass guitarist. Just sayin.’

 

[Sid Fang]

Until I read bass clef112’s post, I had not read any other ones that mentioned the audibility of bass notes higher than a fifth above middle’C’ ( G.)
Sure, you can play by yourself and hear em’ just fine, but then one day, it’s Showtime and the only way anyone’s gonna hear those notes is if you turn your amp up. Then the guitar player shoots you a dirty look. And next; typically the entire band has to play louder than necessary.
Perhaps that’s how solid state amps, and 4ohm 10’s became the norm with bass guitarist. Just sayin.’

Have you tried using a compressor?

 

[Mike Vee]

whatever my p bass has, I use them all

 

[JTE]

Why did Leo Fender use twenty frets? Likely because that was the standard on acoustic guitars with 12 frets clear of the body. When he started the Esquire he probably made it with 20 frets because that's how many were on a guitar. So when he made the bass he kept the same number. No grand plan or detailed research. It wasn't until he designed the StingRay ca. '76 that he put an additional fret to get to the E.

 

[markymac]

For me, it's 24 frets all day long. Nothing to do with playing up the dusty end,, although I do if the music requires it. It's purely a matter of feel. It's much more comfortable to play as the spacing of frets is easier and faster. Ibanez boards sound and play perfectly on every model. 12th fret on a J bass is in the same place as 15th on a 24 fret board. Awkward when you've swapped basses on a gig and hit the wrong fret because of that! So much so that I part exes my J for an EHB 5. Best feel and playing bass in my arsenal is my trusty Warwick Fortress Masterman 5. It's sublime.