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How many frets do you need?

#61
Edward G. said:
For a long time I yearned for 24, just for the sake of having two octaves on each string. Along the way I realized I didn't need them for any kind of playing, only for looks. That kind of insurance is totally lost on me.
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I don't know what "need" means, but I like two octaves on each string (especially on a 6) and though I don't use the high frets much, I DO use them! A "truncated" bass to me always feels...well..."truncated". It's a lot like a low B. You don't need it much, when when you need it, you need it.

But that said, I have to add that I've also discovered that 24 fret basses do not seem to have the slapping tone that "truncated" basses do. It must be something about how the string is divided when it hits the end of the fretboard. All my 24 fret bass just seem to have a "thin" slap tone.
 
#62
I've got a standard jazz with 20 frets and a deluxe jazz with 22 frets. I think it's nice being able to play a high e note, when you have the low e string. When I play solos on my standard, I often get to a point, where I need the high notes. I've also got a V string with 24 frets where I never play the last 2 frets.
I wouldn't go for a bass with less than 21 frets. What really matters is how high notes you wanna play and which key you play.
 
#64
if your improvising and taking solos and such, the extra notes arent neccesary, but are there if you feel the need to hit those high notes. really, i COULD play a bass with 14 frets just fine. but mine has 24, and i like it..

my old main bass of about 3 years had 22, though. never once "needed" the extra two frets.
 
#65
You never NEED the extra frets. You play what you have. It may not be the "known/recorded" version, but you can play something. While I play a 24 fret 5 string, my last statement makes me want to get a good old USA jazz and call it good.
 
#68
22 is plenty. That's what my main bass and my backup bass both have.
I've got a 24 fret 6 string, and I can't definitively say that I've ever used the 2 highest frets.
My fretless has the fretboard length of maybe 20 or 21 frets, and I've never felt the need for more fingerboard on that bass.

I play plenty of chords and I slap occasionally, but mostly I do what I can to hold down a bass groove and leave the higher registers to the guitar, keyboard, horns, and singer.



just my $.02
 
#69
I've realized 22 is just fine for me, though I used to think I had to have 24. It wasn't untill I was stuck playing a 22 fret 4 string (compared to 24 5er's E-C) that I realized that those extra two weren't that big of a deal. I mostly play jazz and fusion, do lots of chording and soloing and the like and play fingerstyle 98 percent of the time.
 
#71
Edward G. said:
Maybe the thread title should be 'How many frets do you USE?'
Click to expand...

Use? Need? Prefer? Not necessarily the same thing, although not necessarily different.

I prefer 24 for the even 2 octaves per string and I use it as part of how I intonate the bass.

As for the neck pickup, I tend to use conventional pickup positioning, so the 24th fret has never been an issue in regards to the neck pickup placement. I thought about 28 frets on my upcoming Cliff Bordwell 6er, but didn't want to move the neck pickup away from the sweet spot, so we found that 26 would work. Never played a 26 fret bass, so this will be my first.
 

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