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Is string spacing more important than we think?

#41
Ive got an ESP LTD 5 string with about 15.5mm string spacing. Never played another bass as narrow as that. When I got it about 15 years ago, I do remember having lots of trouble slapping it, but I kept at it until it was natural. Now I am getting used to a Steinberger synapse with a 16.75mm string spacing. Even 1mm is very noticeable.

Then again I do play an electric double bass with 24mm spacing too.

Its all a matter of adjusting to a particular instrument.
 
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#46
My fave P with a 1.75 nut is my numero uno even though as a smaller dude with smaller hands it's not ideal. It's either A: I'm feelin' it and all is glorious, B: I get a little fatigued early on over a long set/session, or, worst case, C: I actually start playing sharp down lower on the neck if I'm not on it.
I'm SUPER anal about every single note I spit out, so it's kinda funny my #1 axe is one that isn't necessarily the easiest to play. But, it sounds the best so there ya go I guess....
 
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#47
+1 on the slap thing that makes me concern about the string spacing at bridge.

Though I can slap my 15.5 mm at bridge 7 stringer just fine, but when I gig, I bring my 19 mm 5er if the set list include slap song(s). With movement and some body shaking (a.k.a. dancing) on stage, it tends to get messy when I slap my closer spacing basses. Of course the last thing we want is the audience hearing messy unpleasant bass sound or them seeing the bassist on stage is only standing still, not enjoying the percussive slap beats that he/she makes with his/her bass...

But when there's no slap song or if there's only a bit of slapping in any song in the set list, I prefer to bring my 5er with closer spacing of 16.5 mm.
 
#48
Both my hands are pretty much on autopilot so anything that monkeys around with that tends to annoy me. That's why,combined with smallish hands, I've never embraced 5 string basses. If they have the traditional spacing they're just too wide for me,and I have to think too much if the spacing is narrow.
 
#49
As far as fretting is concerned,I cannot have tight string spacing.
I cannot fret strings on my fingertips.
My fingers are kinda short and the tips are flat.And the nail sticks out a bit beyond the end.
There's no round of flesh sticking out.
The string would end up right under the nail. 20170502_041318.jpg20170502_173940.jpg
And the nail would touch the fingerboard.

I must have wider spacing.So that I can use the pads of my fingers.
That is one reason why I switched from guitar to bass thirty years ago.
 
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#50
I came from classical guitar with fully formed habits approaching 50 years of playing it. What's that got to do with bass? Well other than the physical mechanism has me alternating rh fingers and plucking with mostly a rest stroke, not a great deal. But spacing at the bridge on classical guitar is something like 10 or 11 mm. Did I notice the difference on bass? Of course, but they're two different instruments even though much of the basic rh mechanism is similar. I still warm up alternating and crossing strings on bass to re-enforce the difference and program the brain. It's got nothing whatsoever to do with hand size. It only has to do with learned habits.
 
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#51
For me it's pretty much the same as the feel of J vs. P. Bridge spacing is 19mm, nut is obviously less. So fretting hand has a bit of difference, picking hand not so much.

Same on my fives. Warmoth Gecko medium and Warmoth deluxe jazz have the same nut width. I don't have it in front of me but the Gecko bridge might be wider. Warmoth standard 5 and Carvin five have a narrower nut.

I don't find a problem adjusting, the neck profiles and the strings on each affect me more.

On gigs if my fretting hand starts bothering me (getting old) I'll switch off between sets, in particular between the Gecko and the standard 5 because the profiles are so different the change up helps.
 
#53
pbass2 said:
My fave P with a 1.75 nut is my numero uno even though as a smaller dude with smaller hands it's not ideal. It's either A: I'm feelin' it and all is glorious, B: I get a little fatigued early on over a long set/session, or, worst case, C: I actually start playing sharp down lower on the neck if I'm not on it.
I'm SUPER anal about every single note I spit out, so it's kinda funny my #1 axe is one that isn't necessarily the easiest to play. But, it sounds the best so there ya go I guess....
Click to expand...

Same for me, I'm short and have small hands but for some reason nothing feels as good in my hands as my 1.75 precision neck. I love playing that bass but if i have to take a solo on a fast tune, I can really feel the limitations.
 
#54
I've had basses multiple basses with different string and nut widths. I'd practice with one for 20 min then switch. Never really bothered me.

Recently I decided to stick with one and decide which I liked best. I noticed the consistency helped with my technique.

Luckily i have 3 basses with the setup i like and the fourth will be sold to fund the last impulse buy.
 
#57
I've never cared about any of that stuff. Every bass has its own vibe. I've frequently gone back and forth between an Ibanez GWB-1 (fretless 5-string with very tight spacing and razor-thin neck) and a Yamaha Attitude Limited (fretted 4-string with gigantic neck) and never missed a beat.

Each instrument has a different feel/tone/vibe to it; you approach each one from a different perspective and you adapt to get the most out of it.

I wouldn't want all my basses to have the same feel. Different basses make you play differently.
 
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#58
Well, this is why I prefer Precision Bass necks on a Jazz Bass body, I started out playing a Precision Bass a long time ago (in the eighties), since then I've moved on and I prefer Jazz Basses but I found that I cannot stand the thin necks; So lately I've been wanting to fit Some more of my Jazz Basses with Precision Bass necks; I've also been more into playing P/J Basses. The wider, thicker Precision Bass neck just feels right for me. ... and IMHO, they sound better as well.
 
#59
An instrument is a tool and while you can adjust that doesn't invalidate having preferences. I like to have at least 18mm at the bridge as anything less just feels cramped. I can play tighter spacing but given the option I will always choose wider. I have let some damn nice basses go because they were 16.5 or 17mm spacing and ended up living in the closet.
 
#60
As a left-handed person with medium-large hands, I'm pretty indifferent to nut spacing on 4 or 5 string, but on 5, have a lot of trouble playing cleanly at less than 18mm, and 19mm has proven to be ideal.

And yes, I was among that rabble that tried to convince Sterling Ball to do a 19-mm 5-string SR, several years ago. Guilty as charged...
 

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