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

[Clark W]

With 24 frets someone could probably play Eruption on their bass!

I selected 15.

Apparently you only need 17. He never goes higher than the 17th fret.

 

[groove pump]

Four of my eleven basses have no frets at all...

When I got my first StingRay in '79 I figured the additional fret over the Precision would not be important. There was one song though where I started playing an A and E double stop on the intro that used that 21st fret. After a few months I took the P bas to a gig, that song came up and I started up there. Just before I hit that power chord I realized I didn't have the E. But having 20 or 24 or whatever has never been a factor in deciding whether to get a particular instrument.

In case it helps you with winning a bet (or maybe a heated argument), you could also claim that those four basses have an infinite number of frets ...not so easy to disprove that one.

 

[flannel cat]

ill take as many as you got...

 

[ToneMonkey]

Now I'm wondering what to go for if I ever get off my duff and try to build myself a 3-string... Maybe I'll just take the G off one of my 4's and see where that leads me.

Two of my more recent finds are 24 fret 4-strings and it's occurring to me how they change the equation up at the crossroads with the body (both are bolt-on's). Both basses have two pickups and the extra length on the fingerboard runs that end of the board up closer to the neck pickup than something like a traditional Jazz with maybe 20 frets.

What's caught my attention is that the extra fret board seems to create a fundamentally different tone from the string when I slap a little bit. I'm certainly not comparing two nearly identical basses with different numbers of frets here, but it seems that when I slap the string against a 24 fret neck, I'm knocking the string down against the frets at a different spot - effectively a little closer to the bridge - than on a 20 fret bass. Maybe a little less belly and a little more mid-range in that fundamental tone from a slapped string on a 24?

No biggie there, but it could be similar to how we can get different tones when plucking a string closer to the neck or the bridge. When I got these basses, it didn't even occur to me that they had "extra" frets. They were both really neat builds that would have come home with me even if they had only 12 or 15, but I guess I'll vote the 20-21 slot.

I saw Beck, Bogert and Appice. Beck broke a string. Bogert said, "well I'll take off one of mine then." He removed the low E. If it had been me, I would've taken off the G.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Before even opening the thread, by the title alone I said “15, mayyybe” and low and behold that was an option! The one exception is if I’m playing Sir Duke, that needs 20...but I don’t need to play that.

 

[80jazz]

21 does for me. My two main four string basses - a Cort Rithimic and Peavey Palaedium, both Jeff Berlin signature models - fit this configuration. For me, that is more than enough to cover most of what I want to do with a four string. I say this because my main inspiration, Jeff Berlin, manages wonderfully with just 21 frets.

I do like having other basses with more frets or even more strings though I could happily play 21 fret four strings for the rest of my days and not feeling creatively or musically limited by that.

While I picked fretless carrots, I think 21 makes sense because when tuned to fourths (EADG or a similar pattern detuned), your lowest and highest notes are the same.

 

[B-Mac]

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

You left out 26...

[edit] ooops, I just noticed the ‘+’

 

[Killing Floor]

No Cash Above the Hash!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

My ideal is 21 but I can work with pretty much anything.

 

[ebo]

Sub

 

[Killing Floor]

Am I too late to post "Jaco only needed..."?

 

[SLPimp]

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

7

 

[B-Mac]

SubView attachment 4096214

 

[steveinohio]

Theres no money above the fifth fret.

 

[luciens]

Am I too late to post "Jaco only needed..."?

Actually Jaco only needed 20 fret lines.....

L

 

[Dincrest]

I need 24 frets on my 4-string, and here's why.

In one of the songs I've done in my old punk band, I had a bass solo that took me up to the 22nd fret, so whenever I get the urge to play it, I need that range.

Now I can see you all saying, "So, why do you want 24 when all you need is 22?" Well, with a 24-fret bass, I can access the 22nd fret without having to navigate around a clunky neck heel or a deeply inset neck that limits my upper fret access. A 24-fret neck allows me to access my needed 22nd fret quickly and comfortably when I'm doing that fast paced solo.

Plus, having two octaves eases my OCD brain.

Yeah, 98% of my playing takes place below the 12th fret, but for those 2% forays I need that extra little something-something. I'd rather "have and not need" than "need and not have."

 

[sabre79]

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

The only time I go beyond the 15 fret is for slides. I like slides.

 

[Nedmundo]

I voted 20-21, but I want at least 21 for that high E. I never cared about this until I subbed in an original band, and while learning one of their best tracks, simply ran out of fretboard on my Fenders because the part included the high E. Luckily I had a 24-fret DiPinto Belvedere at the time, and now I play mostly G&L basses, two of which (SB-2 and M-2500) have 21 frets. When looking at new basses, I do pay attention to this.

I've mostly played in original rock bands, and have created a few bass intro parts at or above the 12th fret. I believe the highest I've gone is the 17th.

 

[India_Sierra]

While I picked fretless carrots, I think 21 makes sense because when tuned to fourths (EADG or a similar pattern detuned), your lowest and highest notes are the same.

Yes, it certainly makes sense in that regard, although my earliest basses were an Ibanez BTB and a Kubicki Ex Factor. So I learned to think in 24 and 23 frets quite early on. I actually found 21 fret 4 strings limiting for a while, but that only encouraged me to get around them in new and interesting ways.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

I play mostly G&L basses, two of which (SB-2 and M-2500) have 21 frets.

Question: why do the 21st frets on G&L fretboards not have the expected dots?

 

[Jay2U]

I could easily do without the frets above the 15th. Maybe I should remove them to reduce rattle and buzz.