21 or 24 frets ???

[Chris Horton]

Hi,

Can anyone please explain to me the pros and cons to either a 21 or 24 fretted bass guitar. I just want to understand things a little better.
I am asking with refrence to a 5 string bass strung with a low B string

Thanks muchley
Chris

Edited March 13, 2012 by Chris Horton

[Happy Jack]

Only of interest if you spend a lot of time up the dusty end, soloing and such.

If you spend your time nearer the nut (like me) then it's irrelevant whether a bass has 21 or 24 frets. The number of strings is irrelevant too.

All IMHO of course - others may think differently.

[Chris Horton]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1329504865' post='1543635']
Only of interest if you spend a lot of time up the dusty end, soloing and such.

If you spend your time nearer the nut (like me) then it's irrelevant whether a bass has 21 or 24 frets. The number of strings is irrelevant too.

All IMHO of course - others may think differently.
[/quote]



Thats cool , thanks for the reply.
Do you think that the string length makes a difference to tone ??

[bubinga5]

Mayb[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1329505749' post='1543652']
Thats cool , thanks for the reply.
Do you think that the string length makes a difference to tone ??
[/quote]Really depends on lots of variables...

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1329505749' post='1543652']
Do you think that the string length makes a difference to tone ??
[/quote]

Definitely.

A shortscale bass (30" usually) sounds very noticeably different from a longscale (34").

On a 5-string, I am very partial to a 35" scale and wish there were more of them out there. I find that a 35" B-string often sounds tighter and less flubawub than a 34" one.

Obviously it depends on your string choice too and - as Bubinga says - on lots of variables.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1329505749' post='1543652'] Thats cool , thanks for the reply. Do you think that the string length makes a difference to tone ?? [/quote]
(note number of frets and string length arn't linked)

[gub]

i do love a 24 ,i am not a great solo player but it just seems that on my ibanez roadstar 2 series the spacing down the nut end is not such a streach on the old fingers as say my 21 fender

[Blademan_98]

I have a 24 fret Hohner and two 21 fret Fenders.

I don't go up the dusty end much so it makes no difference to me

[MrRatty]

I read somewhere that 24 frets can restrict the positioning of the pickups on a guitar but basses don't tend to have pickups that far up the strings - it probably affects the design of the body though, access is needed to those frets.

[xgsjx]

I'm a 24 fret guy & a few of our songs actually need it, though I could use the 5th fret harmonic.

[sussexbassman]

It obviously depends on how and what you play. I like to play positional shapes up the neck - for one thing it makes key changing very easy so I rarely stick to first position. However, I've virtually never found my 20-fret precision to be a limitation to what I do.

[chrismuzz]

I very very rarely go all the way up past the 21st fret so i COULD do without a 24... But seeing as every bass I've ever owned has had 24 frets, anything else seems weird. I guess I kind of use the 24th fret as a reference point or something?

[EssentialTension]

Like everyone says, it depends on what you are playing. I don't think I've ever been higher than fret 15, and mostly not above 9.

[paul_5]

You pay the bills with the first five frets, anything else is a bonus.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1329523213' post='1543965']
You pay the bills with the first five frets, anything else is a bonus.
[/quote]
Yes, it's worth writing the word 'MONEY' along the neck next to the first five frets.

[icastle]

I do go up the 'dusty end' (mostly out of sheer bl**dy mindedness ) but by the time you're up at the 24th fret the whole thing is just nonsense anyway.

What [b]is[/b] nice about having 24 frets is that you're left with a sensible space to play in without having to struggle.

[mckendrick]

[b]I don't think I've been higher than 19.[/b]

[b]I know this dosn't help....[/b]

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1329525407' post='1543987']
What [b]is[/b] nice about having 24 frets is that you're left with a sensible space to play in without having to struggle.
[/quote]

Actually I never thought about that!

[Grand Wazoo]

Put it this way, whether you are a highly skilled soloist or not, there are times when you are up there and if more frets are available all the better. If I had a choice between 21 and 24 I would think, in for a penny in for a pound, let's go for 24.

[Chris2112]

To quote a particularly dull argument, Jaco managed to create beautiful solos on a '21 fret' jazz bass. That said, there are a few things I can think of when I would like 24, and this is my preference. Mind you, I can make do with 23 frets like my Kubicki Ex Factor had, namely because most of the stuff I was doing on the upper most frets was stuff Stu Hamm had done on Kubicki Ex Factors before me!

I must buy another Kubicki...

[Fat Rich]

My Status basses are 35" scale length 24 frets, the longer scale helps the low B to be a bit more focussed and have the same tone as the other strings rather than an indistinct rumble. Which means I can use it a bit more without sounding like the bottom has fallen out of the song.

My Fenders are 20 fret 34" scale length.

I'm starting to venture up to the dusty end of the neck after 20 years of grooving at the business end, the only problem I'm finding switching between 20 / 24 frets is that I sometimes jump to the wrong fret because I seem to take the end of the neck as a visual reference.

Some people say you get a better slap tone with fewer frets but I can't say that's ever been an issue for me.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Fat Rich

[Gwilym]

if you slap a lot, then it will affect the position of the slapping hand relative to the body of the bass, and your body. this may or may not be a bad thing for you.
also the slap sound is a little different on the 24th fret IMO/IME because you're slapping over the octave harmonic which is more likely to introduce unwanted overtones that when slapping on the 21st fret.

the other thing is whether there is suitable access to the top frets, no point having them if you can't access them properly.

most importantly, 24 frets look better

[JTUK]

I think it is a case of if you have to ask, then it doesn't make a lot of difference to you.

I've gone back to 21 after 24...and either isn't a deal breaker, IMV.

[essexbasscat]

Never played above fret 19 on a gig. Not once.

[paul_c2]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1329525407' post='1543987']
What [b]is[/b] nice about having 24 frets is that you're left with a sensible space to play in without having to struggle.
[/quote]

That was my initial thought, those basses designed with 24 frets tend to have a smaller body/more pronounced cut away, so anything beyond the octave is more comfortable to play. I have 2 basses and had to take a look at the fretless to remind myself how many frets it has - 24.