open or closed notes

[Robroy]

I know upright players do this all the time. Using open strings when walking because it makes it so much easier to get around a neck of that size when playing fast songs!

We play la-bomba and I mirror all of the guitar notes. It's a workout to fret and easy peasey to use open strings.

 

[garya]

another reason I like using the open strings is because I like to do pull offs to the open string.

 

[Ric5]

For example, why does the open D string note sound different than the fifth fret on the A string for a D note? The D open sounds thinner than the fatter sounding fifith fret A string D note. Same for the other open strings on a four string bass.

Play that same D on the 10th fret of the E string and it will also sound different.

play notes farther up the neck and on lower strings and the get "sweeter"

This is one of the reasons I like a 5 string bass. I can go up the neck on the lower strings and get the short scale bass tone.

 

[Robroy]

Play that same D on the 10th fret of the E string and it will also sound different.

play notes farther up the neck and on lower strings and the get "sweeter"

Also, pluck the string halfway between the bridge and wherever it's fretted and it will sound different than if you pluck it over the pickups. I know one guy that believe you should do ALL of your plucking VERY close to the bridge to control volume...

There are all sorts of ways to get different sounds while playing the same notes.

 

[lz4005]

but the metal fret (5th fret A string) sounds deeper/fatter than the open D on the plastic nut. I would think it would be the other way then by what you say.

Harder, more dense materials reflect more vibrational energy back into the string resulting in greater sustain and a harmonically richer sound. That's why bridge saddles are usually not made of wood on electric basses.

Which is not to say that length and thickness and tension and flexibility don't also play major roles. Because all of them do.

It's been my experience that it is more difficult to hear a difference between open and stopped notes on upright bass...and guess what, both are touching nothing but wood.

Different materials reflect or absorb energy differently.

 

[Ric5]

Also, pluck the string halfway between the bridge and wherever it's fretted and it will sound different than if you pluck it over the pickups. I know one guy that believe you should do ALL of your plucking VERY close to the bridge to control volume...

There are all sorts of ways to get different sounds while playing the same notes.

yes I usually pick - pluck - finger and also slap back by the bridge

 

[static0verdrive]

I was favouring open strings with my fretless because they were definitely in tune, but as my technique progressed I found my intonation was ok and it was easier to remember fingering/shapes (as per the second post) and gave a more consistent tone. On my fretted I don't hear much of a difference in tone so it's mostly about the first point... consistency.

 

[Scot]

Play that same D on the 10th fret of the E string and it will also sound different.

+1
As Ric5 says, it's not just the open strings. All the notes sound different when played on different strings. The E note on the 2nd fret of the D string sounds a lot different than the E note on the 7th fret of the A string. Neither is more or less useful than the other. I think the goal is to try to use yours ears to figure out where to play stuff on the neck of the bass. Learn all those fingering systems then forget them and use your ears. Open strings are perfectly legal and in no way inferior to any other note.

 

[Rocky]

I agree 100%. It's just another option rather than an all or nothing choice. I personally don't subscribe to this "always avoid open strings" view point that I've heard a few times in the past. It always depends on what kind of music you are playing and what sort of sound you want. For playing music like Tool or Pantera it can be the most perfect thing ever but for playing some other things it can be the worst thing in the world. I think the most important thing is not to always assume it will be one or the other and just work with the music and the situation in front of you at the time

Agreed.. Maybe its because I play upright, but sometimes using an open string can really be an advantage (position shifts, checking intonation, ease of facility with certain phrases, etc)

 

[waveman]

I do both, sometimes for the same riff in different parts of a song to provide a slight variation with note resonance/feel. At the end of the day, I do whatever feels right at the time.

 

[wisconsindead]

Open notes sound great on some bass and not so nice on others IME. On my bass they aren't so great so I rarely play them, usually the E if I do.

 

[steveinohio]

I try to avoid open notes. Open E is fine. I feel like I don't have as much control on the others.

 

[matthewbrown]

I use open notes A LOT,especially when I solo. They allow for large leaps that can be very dramatic, and offer opportunities for pedal tones, too. And there are things you can do with open strings that you simply can't achieve otherwise. Say you want to outline an A7b9 or a Dmn7. What better way than to use open notes? Slap-style funk is ALL about open notes, and swinging walking lines, too. An open note to a hammered-on note further up the neck, if articulated properly in time can give walking line a special lift.

Life without open notes was pretty dull, and then I started to learn how to use them.

 

[jeffbassguy]

I play almost always fretted notes but there are some songs we drag out as a band that don't change position much and I will take advantage of using an open string to give my left hand a change/rest to not cramp up.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Also because one is being stopped against a metal fret and the other is being stopped by a piece of plastic or bone that is much softer. Different materials reflect the energy in the string slightly differently.

That's one of the primary arguments for a zero fret.

I've had zero-fret basses - and I didn't hear much of a difference.

I try to avoid open strings for this very reason - the sound is just too different.

 

[squarewave]

Open notes sound great, and can make a very large note change possible (perhaps to play the open E when your fretting hand is in position around the 5th fret), but it sure is easier to mute when playing the notes up the fingerboard. A simple lift of the fretting finger will mute the note whenever needed.

Use both.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Life without open notes was pretty dull, and then I started to learn how to use them.

A very nice and correct expression!

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I try to avoid open strings for this very reason - the sound is just too different.

And I try to incorporate (N.B. - when it's possible and appropriate) "Open Strings for this very reason - the sound is just too different."

 

[lz4005]

I've had zero-fret basses - and I didn't hear much of a difference.
I try to avoid open strings for this very reason - the sound is just too different.

I'm not a fan of zero frets for most applications either, but it's still the argument in favor of them I hear a lot. Same goes for brass nuts.

The only open note I avoid is G. Doesn't sound 'right' to me on any of my basses compared to the G on the D string. The rest aren't different enough to matter.

I don't play as many open notes as some people do, but it's not because of tone. It's to make transposing easier.

 

[ofajen]

Also because one is being stopped against a metal fret and the other is being stopped by a piece of plastic or bone that is much softer. Different materials reflect the energy in the string slightly differently.

That's one of the primary arguments for a zero fret.

Observations on my instruments indicate that the difference in sound from fretted to open string is essentially negligible compared to other factors (sounding length, pickup location, tuning and string gauge.)

Try this for yourself. Try the open D/fifth fret A comparison and then move up one fret to D#, so that both notes are fretted. On my basses, the D-string notes sound essentially the same, with one step difference in pitch, and the A-string notes sound essentially the same. The difference between the strings seems to be of exactly the same character, even though in one case there is the added factor of an unfretted note. This relationship holds true when playing that same D note on the E string and then moving up to D# on that string.

Perhaps even easier is to merely play an open string and then up one fret and notice how similar the tone is. Then shift to a lower string and try the same thing.

Otto