Double Bass What is the highest note that you can play without harmonics?

[gusrb5]

I haven't played DB yet but I kinda wanted to know about this(I mean I was playing fretless bass that my friend has lol).
Does it depend on the instruments like electric basses tho?

 

[Scott Lynch]

My fingerboard gives me usable range of 2 octaves and a 4th. On the G string, the highest note I can play while pressing the string to the board is the C above the 2nd octave G. I think a fingerboard of approximately this length is relatively common.

It does depend on the instrument, more specifically the fingerboard, as they can be made and modified to have different lengths. It is not uncommon for basses to have a “solo swoop” to extend the range on the upper strings. Take a look at Edgar Meyer’s bass, for example.

 

[Don Kasper]

Bee natural...
and, it ain't pretty.

 

[Neil Pye]

The last note on the fingerboard of my lovely blockless German is a B, so I guess you'd call that 2 octaves and a major 3rd, or 28 frets in EB speak! The bass I'm currently having built by the amazing Jerome Davies will have 2 octaves and a 5th. Not so very different, but makes life easier in the more extreme solo repertoire

 

[fdeck]

Mine's a D, but then I get rosin all over my fingers. I don't really have the technique to make musical use of that range.

Since the fingerboard is just a slab of wood, it can be any length. In contrast, the FB on an electric bass typically extends to the end of the neck pocket.

 

[Don Kasper]

I don't really have the technique to make musical use of that range.

FYI - the Whales called and asked that you "...please stop doing that...."
(They called me, too.)
Thx.

 

[sean_on_bass]

FYI - the Whales called and asked that you "...please stop doing that...."
(They called me, too.)
Thx.

well the jerk store called and they're runnin' outta you!

 

[Don Kasper]

well the jerk store called and they're runnin' outta you!

And you want to be my Extended FIngerboard salesman??
Giddyup!

 

[RSBBass]

As some here have alluded to, the range doesn't matter much as the upper most notes don't tend to sound all that good, at least not when I play them.

 

[bassically_eli]

You can actually play past the fingerboard without harmonics when bowing. You stop the string by pulling sideways a bit.

 

[Don Kasper]

You can actually play past the fingerboard without harmonics when bowing. You stop the string by pulling sideways a bit.

"I have 'The Whales" on line 3 for you, Mr. Eli"

 

[bassically_eli]

"I have 'The Whales" on line 3 for you, Mr. Eli"

Hey, I didn’t say I can do it. I said “you” can.

 

[evanrunyon]

Anywhere from a 'B' to a 'D' is pretty typical; those notes would show up at the (hypothetical) 28th and 31st frets on an electric bass, respectively. As others have stated, there are both longer and shorter boards out there and they're not all straight across.

 

[GretschWretch]

"I have 'The Whales" on line 3 for you, Mr. Eli"

Enough blubbering about whales already. You are harpooning this to death, Don.

 

[Don Kasper]

Enough blubbering about whales already. You are harpooning this to death, Don.

OK, Well you don't have to be a Moby Dick about it...
Sheesh.

 

[GretschWretch]

OK, Well you don't have to be a Moby Dick about it...
Sheesh.

Call me Fish Smell.

 

[Don Kasper]

Call me Fish Smell.

OK! You WIN!
(Now where is the closest Starbucks...?)

 

[Don Hergert]

We're floundering away from this topic...

Seriously, but in a lighthearted tone, I don't do LH fingering below the neck joint, that's RH slap and RH fiddle music fingering territory in the music I play. Sure, I'll goof around with thumb position in practice, but not seriously, my old hands and fingers wouldn't work well for that anyway. So my highest note is on the G string and is typically D although I'll occasionally reach down to E.

You do hear that concept expressed pretty often even by pro players in bluegrass and other roots DB circles -- some folks I've talked with don't even go higher than C. One even says if you want to go higher than C or D, get a cello.

 

[GretschWretch]

OK! You WIN!
(Now where is the closest Starbucks...?)

No; YOU win. I had completely forgotten old Starbuck, and QueeQueg I am quite unable to work into this thread.

 

[Neon Scribe]

Written middle C, sounds an octave lower, at the fifth position on the G string, once in a while D at the seventh position. For "On Green Dolphin Street", the Eb pedal at the eighth position. Thumb position? Yes, my thumb stays on the back of the neck at all times!