Fretless vs Fretted

[jarvislky]

hmm is it just me or is it true that fretless has a lower pitch (closer to a contra bass) than a normal fretted bass?

cos i just tried a Stagg fretless yesterday... it seems lower.

also i found that its using flat wound with some rubber coated strings? seems wierd...

anyone able to help me out here?

 

[trowaclown]

Nope. Fretless basses are tuned pretty much whatever the player wants them to. Maybe it's just a different timbre with less mids and highs due to the lack of frets, and I'm guessing because of flat wound strings.

 

[jarvislky]

hmm so its possible to make a fretless sound like a contra bass then~

cos it seems to sound deeper then a normal bass...

but one thing even if its flat wound, i realised that it has a layer of rubber stuff coated around it... epoxy? protect the finger board?

 

[shinobi]

i tried that bass before soon after zen brough it in... i don't think there was any rubber stuff around the string leh. just a normal flatwound. maybe it is coated and the coating is flaking off already??

anyway i don't think any electric bass is capable sounding like a string bass. the difference in tone is huge. go youtube some stanley clarke vids

all electric basses in standard tuning are tuned to E2. guitar in standard is tuned to E3

 

[jarvislky]

yar agreed.

i think double basses are tuned to E1 right?

well, i saw this Palatino @ music theme. looks real nice, but was pretty sad that i got quite bad reviews... eminence would be a better choice lolz.

i also saw this Stagg upright bass.. but if i'm not wrong upright bass is not equal to double basses right?

 

[trowaclown]

Wrong. Double basses are tuned to E2 as well. I mean, if they were conceived as a replacement to the double bass, there's no logic in tuning the electric bass an octave higher.

And wrong again. Upright basses are double basses. But new offerings have seen some electric basses being modelled after upright basses instead of guitars, albeit with different scale lengths. Like the Warwick Triumph.

 

[shinobi]

i think double basses are tuned to E1. in much of classical music there was no 'standard tuning' though. that came later on by convention. but a double bass has a lower pitch than a bass guitar. man, look at the scale length and string gauge

the electric bass guitar was meant to be a replacement for the double bass in pop music. this was to overcome the limitations of a double bass, as well as to meet the need for electric instruments in modern music

 

[jarvislky]

yar, i figured. cos it seems double basses the pitch seems much much more lower...
i've yet to try out that palatino @ music theme... dun dare to try it... looks expensive... T-T

 

[crazyguy106]

ERMMM...

Double basses and electric basses are tuned the same. The only difference is their overtones. Electric basses because of the lack of resonance tends to resonate with higher frequency ie brighter and more hi-mids and dbass resonates with mainly low-mids and bass.

No double bass had always a constant same tuning from classical era. Only in Baroque and Renaissance was there "no standard tuning". Anyway another fact is that a double bass does not come from the violin family but more from the viol family. Another interesting thing to note as to why it's tuned in fours.

And no, EBasses and DBasses are exactly the same saved for contrabass. But there are 5-string DBasses but would cost a bomb because of acoustic reasons.

EBass replaces both bass guitar and double basses.

And very importantly... When you say it sounds lower-pitched, it's likely to be an idea that it's lower pitched only because a fretless has more low-frequency resonance than a usual fretted.

If you're looking for a high frequency sound get a fretless of pure maple or ash. Would be bright as hell.

If you're looking for the lower frequency sound just go for mahogany or denser woods like walnut. Yup

 

[shinobi]

The lowest note of a double bass is an E1 (on standard four-string basses) at approximately 41 Hz or a B0 (when five strings are used) at approximately 31 Hz. This is slightly above the lowest sound the average human ear can perceive, at 20 Hz. The highest notes are almost down at the bridge. Five string instruments either use the additional string tuned to a low B below the E string, or to a C above the G string.

pure maple? sick!

 

[Z3r0_G]

pure maple? sick!

maple should be hard and dense what..

 

[crazyguy106]

Hard yes, dense, yes too.

Different kind of grain structure and resonance. Maple is known for its brightness...

Ash is the best known for its brightness. Like F Basses.

Been doing my research on all of these. =)

 

[jarvislky]

wow, so its true that the type of wood affects tone. you have any links that can intro? i would also like to study more into this interesting topic~

 

[Z3r0_G]

wow, so its true that the type of wood affects tone. you have any links that can intro? i would also like to study more into this interesting topic~

Warmoth Direct - Bodies Overview

 

[jarvislky]

wow Thnks.

this site sure is informative~ guess i'm in for more full tone, guess its Rosewood