I put fret labels on and they have been great at helping me learn the fretboard. However, I don’t want to become too dependent on them. Anyone have any strong opinions either way about their use?
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Since you’ll eventually be playing your bass without fret labels, it makes sense to not have them on your fretboard.
Think of labels as training wheels on a bike: they’re OK for the purpose of avoiding injury from falling, but they come off once a kid gains the technique to not need them anymore.
You can certainly do whatever you like, but you might want to use labels for a bit longer, then take them off and use what you learned without them. Good luck. 
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I have a label on my 8th fret. It gets me to where I want to go a bit faster in that area of the fret board. 
I will one day drop the label. I also suppose when I start playing higher frets I will probably have a couple labels for reference.
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You already have fret labels (unless you have one of them hardcore fretless basses… which I doubt).
I’d say, get used to those as soon as possible 
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This^^^ 
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It seems like a good idea in theory but in practice? In order to even see them properly you’d need to have the gitfiddle at an odd angle. On top of that, and this is just a personal thing, it could become a crutch too quickly. Hell, I still have trouble reading normal music because I got so used to the “Every good boy does fine” BS and to this day I can’t sightread to save my life.
Best option is a really good wall diagram on the back of a door that can be hidden so you can quiz yourself. Ariane Cap makes some fantastic posters for that kind of thing.
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I just bought a big number label to put on my bass. It would help for the covers I’ll be doing. This is going to be one of the most difficult part of my playing because I don’t look at the fingerboard when I’m playing but hopefully it helps my daughters and one of my nephew who’s learning. 
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It’s really more the side markers, IMHO, but they go hand-in-hand with these. Even my couple of basses with blank front faces have the side marker dots.
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You’re not going to rely on the labels long. As you play you’ll learn the frets really quick. So they’re fine
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Gotta agree. The dot markers should be all the reference point anyone needs once they’ve learned major and minor scales and intervals. I also suggest learning each note on every string from open to 12th fret octave and committing them to memory.
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I just cleaned note stickers off of a bass I bought. Man was that a pain. Learning 2 strings and the down 2 over 2 method is probably easier for beginners.
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^^^^THIS^^^^
And also memorizing:
A - A#/Bb - B - C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab
This sequence never changes.
Might also help to hang something like this up in your practice space. Works for 4 string, 5 string, and Drop D tuning…
As for whether or not those stickers (never used them before) can help or hurt (original post topic)…. I’ve never used them so can’t say yea or nay…. So in reality, all I’d be offering is an opinion based on………?? Whatever works for you is always best….
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Just memorizing the fretboard was definitely daunting but I got kinda tricked into it. I was taking a chord tones course and was memorizing the spelling of all the triads and 7th chords, and practicing them in the different finger patterns across the whole fretboard (while reciting the spelling) using either the cycle of 4ths or 5ths, and after a month or two I had memorized the fretboard, as a bonus to learning arpeggios.
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That’s how the Mark’s Chord Tones Essentials course works. It requires discipline and effort to assimilate all the info into practice, but it’s totally worth it in order to master the fretboard.
Simple Steps to Sight Reading approaches learning the fretboard without looking at it as you play. It’s another brilliant course.
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Yup, again Mark’s trickery at work…he sneaks it up on you, and before you know it you’re playing notes without looking at the fretboard.
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I really like this idea … this is brilliant 
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Yup. This is all of what makes it far less daunting.
When someone knows the name of the note associated with each fret marker it’s pretty easy to plug the rest of the notes in the sequence in from there. Also, the bass is tuned in 4ths. Each successive string is tuned a 4th higher than the previous one. The fret markers guide with that as well.
If G is marked by the first fret marker on the E string then C will the found via the fret marker adjacent to it on the A string. It’s the 4th interval in the key of G. Then by following the sequence D (the 5th interval) is found by the second fret marker on the A string.
Knowing that simple pattern of succession and that it repeats itself everywhere on the neck is a key to navigating the fretboard and the fret markers can be an assist with this.
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I made these charts when I was learning the major triads and both making these and playing through these helped me to memorize the fretboard. Each line is ever permutation of a given major triad, example: C major C-E-G, can be played in numerous locations. For any given root, there can be up to 3 finger patterns, 1st, 2nd, and 4th. These charts are written in the cycle of 4ths. Play through these and you’ll be far along in memorizing the fretboard, and you’ll know most of the major triads.
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well i mean as legend goes it’s how paul simonon learned how to play when he joined the clash. worked out ok for him 
I memorized that this way: A - BC - D - EF - G
When I say it aloud - even now - I can’t help but say it “A pause BC pause D pause EF pause G”. The pauses are where the sharps and flats go. 
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