3/4 or 4/4?

[bassfan]

Evening all,

Is there much difference between a 3/4 & a 4/4 bass? There's an obvious physical difference is there a musical difference? Is the sound any different? Are 4/4s predominantly used for classical/orchestral?

Excuse a newbies ignorance!!

Paul

[jakenewmanbass]

full size (4/4) is bigger, and is more of a handful (literally) Big old carved basses do seem to often have a nice big fundamental, although it really depends on the instrument, some 3/4s have a huge tone.
Many orchestral players use 3/4 basses although mostly they tend to predominate in Jazz, in recent years anyway. If you look at old jazz footage you will often see a full size bass.

[bassfan]

Cheers Jake.

[henry norton]

Allot of orchestral basses these days seem to come in around 7/8 if that doesn't confuse things even more. Can I add that what is thought of as 3/4 and 4/4 can change over time and something like a 7/8 can and is also described as a small 4/4 or a large 3/4. Players tend to go for what's most comfortable, so they'd be looking at the shape of the shoulders, depth at the upper bouts and the general feel and of course, the sound, rather than what category the size comes under. You should try a few out back to back - you'll be astonished at the difference between one 3/4 bass and another.

[ZMech]

I'm guessing full size are also that bit louder, which would be useful when playing acoustically in an orchestra, but when amped up in a band becomes a null point, if anything it might make the resonance worse (I dunno about that last bit). Most people play 3/4, there's nothing child sized about it!

[PaulKing]

Like they all said.

There can huge variation in 'standard' 3/4 sized basses, even in the string length, which makes for differences in tension.
7/8 basses have same string length range as 3/4 basses, but bigger body, makes them quite bulky to transport, and heavier, but can lend a boost to the low end when acoustic.
You also need a bigger gig bag to get the damn thing into.

4/4 do mainly crop up in classical these days. There's just no need for most band situations. Plus they have longer string length, which increases tension a bit, makes them a tiny bit harder to play.

[Happy Jack]

I swear to God, I saw the title of this topic and thought "[b][i]3/4 for waltzes, 4/4 for rock[/i][/b]".

[bassfan]

Thanks Guys... Looks like I'm Waltzing Jack!! (I'll rock with my Flea!!!)

[TheRev]

[quote name='bassfan' post='1253148' date='Jun 1 2011, 08:51 PM']Evening all,

Is there much difference between a 3/4 & a 4/4 bass?[/quote]


About 1/4.











I'll get me coat.

[rikodriko]

Fuller size is not necessarily louder in every case. I attended a workshop a couple of years back and the guy with the smallest bass ( a 'small 3/4') in the group had an unbelievably loud bass ... much louder than any of ours - comes down to the thickness of the ewood, and the woods used in the construction.

Be careful with the bigger ones - if you are new to DB, then its going to be a struggle with your left hand even on a small bass as the scale length is so much greater - expect the pain and embrace it! A larger bass will amplify this even more. If you are a 6'10" giant then just ignore this bit.

my 2c

[Bass Awkward]

About 9/10 of the basses you see in any situation, even in pits, will be 3/4.

But still, it does have to be said, again, as others have said, that there can be a huge variance in basses size and shape, whether classed 3/4 or 4/4.

Given that a lot of older basses are adopted from 3 string designs, and that the bass has one bout in the gamba and another in the viol, these variations are probably to be expected.

[waynepunkdude]

Go for 7/8 best of both worlds.

That's one for the math fans .

[Cat Burrito]

Mine's 4/4 & I didn't realise....nor did anyone else. I don't reckon the difference is all that noticeable. Clearly it wasn't for me anyway

Nice maths Wayne

[Rich]

One of my F/book friends has gone 4/4 and is regretting it. The sound is brilliant but the thing is a real arse to transport and I think he's finding the playing quite a challenge.

[wulf]

What about smaller sizes? Does anyone but children use them? The step down from 4/4 to 3/4 makes the dimensions of the instrument a bit easier to transport and play without necessarily sacrificing tone; how about taking a further step down?

Wulf

[daflewis]

You can think of the differences between 3/4 and full size a bit like speakers - difference between a 10" and a 15" - more bottom end and more volume from a full size; but the biggest difference in sound for me is the response - the full size takes that bit longer for the note to bloom so it's not ideal for jazz - though as said before, two basses of the same size can vary vastly anyway.