Open or not?

[bon viesta]

i usually avoid/don’t find myself using very many open notes (with the exception of scale runs or quicker things, and of course open e) just because i feel like having another string going loose makes it a lot easier to create accidental cacophony in my playing. think how when playing an a on the 5th fret, it stops making noise when you move away from it. with open a, if i forget to/don’t have enough “time” to put my finger on it, suddenly everything sounds bad. this can be blamed on me not learning how to become efficient at canceling strings, but i often don’t need to when i just use other frets. plus, not using open notes has made it a little easier for me to memorize the fretboard. in the end, you do whatever you do.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Be wary of absolutists. Everything is relative.

 

[SteveCS]

...
...
I owned a fretless Steinberger L2 years ago and instead of a nut, the high end of the fretboard was sloped at an angle acting like a zero fret.
...

I remember that feature and thought it worked well. Of course it only worked without a nut because the headless string anchor was close enough to the end of the fingerboard to maintain string spacing. I also remember the very odd feeling of being able to gliss right off the end of the neck without feeling a thing.
I also remember having a niggle in the back of my mind that, over time, the strings might press grooves into the end. Nearly 40 years on I might be curious if the niggle was well founded or just over-thinking.

 

[Tim Schnautz]

Carol Kaye is and advocate of avoiding open strings for tone reasons, and possibly transposition.

Carol is a good friend of mine, but she doesn't play my bass, nor do I play hers. Do what you have to do to get the job done.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

I love playing open strings. On a fretless electric, they help me stay in tune. On a fretted, they add body to a note or line. On both they're helpful. I've read a few of the reasons here to avoid them, but they all seem more like reasons to use them rather than avoid them.

 

[GeorgesEric]

Open strings are cool for playing a resonating bass note (or the Pink Floyd ambiance doom-doom doom-doom), let it sustain and play some notes on other strings; often in the higher register. Sometimes, I have noticed that the sound wave of the sustained note will regain energy as other notes are being played. That can go for a while. That’s pretty cool.

The open strings have a nice ring to them, depending on the situation.

Having said that, for many songs, using known and taught position technique of the left hand (thumb behind the neck, middle finger as the “chief”) makes good sense. It is a lot easier on the brain, especially when comes time to transpose. For example, a 12 bar blues is easy to learn and memorize that way.

 

[Bass]

...I feel I have far less control with open notes than with fretted notes. If you don't want that open note to sustain, but instead want it stop sharply, you have to mute it..

Good point, open strings are a little more difficult to mute. Still, I can't imagine limiting myself with no open strings. For me, they are used regularly and probably most of my time is spent in the lower 5 frets.

@ No. 13 - that's a good trick, pedalling between the open E, and E on the A string.

 

[Boomhowertx]

Who is Sir Bob?

Maybe Glaub?

 

[Thumpin6string]

As a primarily fretless player I find the contrasting timbre of open strings to be really quite disruptive. So, other than as 'special effects' I go out of my way to avoid them. On the fretted bass I dont really feel the contrast as much so open strings are a little less taboo.
YMMV

I solved this issue by filing my nut slots down to the fretboard. I found this "trick" online. I actually get some mwah on open strings now.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I do not consciously think about using open strings (or not) when I'm play. I just play.

 

[jimmydean]

Open strings rule......drone on , everyone .

 

[JakobT]

I use open strings whenever I need to. Never thought much about it.

 

[Flbandit]

I've only been trying to learn to play for a month, so don't know enough one way or another, but I do see open strings noted in the bass tabs I try to play. I have noticed one issue on my bass though, my D string has a tinny sound played open, but fine when fretted. I just changed it (probably the problem, never done this before). The others are fine, just this one has an issue.

 

[bass.slinger]

Not to be confused with the sound of someone who can't be bothered to think about the sounds they are making...

That would be my current guitarist in the third set after too much alcohol…

 

[FritzM]

There is no issue. If it sounds good, it is good.

 

[Hummergeist]

Not to be confused with the sound of someone who can't be bothered to think about the sounds they are making...

Haha it’s a fine line!

 

[jdh3000]

I use open strings a often.

If you know what you're doing, open strings can be played well for many things, though your muting techniques are different.

If you are say a 4 string player, how would you play a low E without an open string?

 

[G On Bass]

When I'm doing walking bass lines on my 5 string, I try and avoid open strings as it makes transposing and root switching easier as it's pretty much the same pattern. Other songs require open strings for pedaling through a part of a song. On my 5 string EUB, I tend to be more willing to use open strings as I pretty much suck at it and the fingerboard is so beefy. IMHO, open strings are a preference, not a sign of good or bad technique.

 

[elshunko]

Let'm Ring!

When I can mute every other string I love playing the open strings.

 

[SLO Surfer]

Open string notes are just as important as fretted notes. They’re just different, and deserve equal respect. Include both in your playing technique repertoire to achieve unity through diversity!