Honestly the open string just sounds better in a lot of cases, usually heavier styles or ones with a pedal and/or drone on the string.
Fretted notes higher up on the thicker strings can also have a “dull” timbre lacking higher harmonics in comparison to open strings on a lot of basses; the B string is especially muddy doing that in my experience. Kind of the same effect as flats. Try it on a 5; I bet you find the open A string sounds a lot better than the 10th fret on the B. I’ve found this to be true on both 5’s and BEAD 4’s.
Yes i’m not really fond of the timbre of notes on the B string above E or F#. I don’t think i’ve played above the 4th fret on the B string for an actual song. People talk about the benefit of being able to play across the strings instead of down the E but i dont really like the sound that much. Playing above the 12 fret or so starts to sound more like a classical guitar. One of the Christmas songs i’ve been playing has a part that goes up to the 19 fret of the G string, i think that’s the first time i’ve ever played up that high
there needs to be more tab like this. ultimate-guitar is a f###ing nightmare to me as it has absolutely no notation, no indication of rhythm… there’s a sort of spacing thing, but when you play a song/backing track this red indicator skips and jumps all over the place in a way that just confuses the absolute sh*t out of me… it speeds up and slows down depending on length of the notes or something. I hate it and want my money back
As an aside, contrary to what some believe, tablature is several hundred years old at this point; it’s not some modern invention
Edit Apparently UG can do this, and everything else. It just defaults to basic AF tabs even on the Pro/Official songs, but you can select durations on the tab so it’s like Songsterr’s “modern tab” and as mentioned below, standard notation and tablature as well.
Oh thank god, I found the option to make it notation+tablature
And I can change it from that godawful GM soundbank to at least a crappy MP3 backing track, and then solo the bass part to focus in, and mute it out to jam with. I’m happy, now. (I think Songsterr can do most/all of this, too, but well, UG is what I have for the next year lol…)
I think tabs really get a bad rap because there are a lot of bad ones out there. In guitar most people are just taught shapes and to remember the shapes, and I feel that’s why there are so many advanced guitarists that don’t know any music theory. Compared to B2B where you gain an understanding of note relationships/degrees in the scale shape, tabs become easier to play if you see them as scales instead of just frets. Like others have posted this understanding allows you to alter the fingerings, and as long as you see them more than just frets I think tabs are fine.
I’m learning to read music, and it has opened a lot of doors for my education as there are a ton of great books solely in standard notation—but you can get through most of it with a basic understanding. As long as you know your chord tones and at least the first position of the fretboard I think you’ll get through 90% of scenarios
Anything (even from a band) can be wrong, still takes someone to transcribe it as many bands don’t ever get past a chord chart. Plenty of ‘legit’ things I find are super wrong.
I thought some tabs for Metallica’s Master of Puppets were wrong.
Then I found a YouTube video with the bass part turned up, and the tabs were right XD Cliff mimicked the guitar’s rhythm part but not the fretting/notes on the part before the actual verse.
I continue to find the official Beatles tabs to be way way wrong, not just in typos, in a lot of simplification, etc.
I think they wrote the book for a Beatles tribute band that only does weddings or something. It does come in handy for some foundational stuff and to help with transcription, but nothing beats a good isolated bass track for transcribing by ear with a simple road map to start you off.
Even what I transcribe is probably wrong, but more from a rest length vs note length on trickier passages. I just write it like I think it is and how when I play it it copies the line, but it might not be exactly right if another played it.
Honestly, I’m not looking to join a band and just want to play in my home studio without having to worry about reading music, so the tabs work great for me. The problem I have is finding country music ones. I was looking at Songsterr and they have a few but not what I’d like to play, but I haven’t had a chance to dive into the list yet either.
Any particular kind of country? I know country gets a bad rap for being R/5 half notes. Carol Kaye recording on several things (for sure I remember glen campbell) and she had some more interesting pieces.
Personally, I read notation as much as possible and cover the tab. I will consult the tab if I am having difficulty executing so see if there is a better way to finger it. Thats just me though. My personal bass journey is about understanding theory and composition as well as executing/playing, so I see reading notation as essential for that. If I just read tab regularly, my sight-reading gets rusty. And when relying just on the tab, my brain is thinking only about which notes to fret–not which key I am in, what chords I am passing through, etc. So, I see tab more as a supplement…although I am aware many many people just read tab exclusively, and thats fine too. You do you. Everyone has different goals/preferences.
Standard notation really has very little to do with music theory. An interval is an interval, regardless of how you write it. It’s just another way to write the music, like cursive vs block letters.
I guess I don’t understand the idea that it has to be either/or with tabs and standard notation, when the best answer to me seems pretty obvious - use both, they are both useful tools.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s because to me reading music isn’t anything special - I learned it as a kid. I just see the different notations as different tools, each bringing something to the table.
