Ouch, or how to turn a double bass accident into an acoustic improvement. Possibly.....

[jazzyvee]

On 20/11/2025 at 19:52, Beedster said:

What can be done?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slight digression. Is it common practice to have position marker dots on a DB?

[JPJ]

1 hour ago, jazzyvee said:

Slight digression. Is it common practice to have position marker dots on a DB?

I think the purists will say no, but I have them on mine as I’m a Newby to the big bass and I generally double between the DB and the fretless bass. 

[NickD]

It's common practice in my house, and beyond that is none of my business! 😂

[Burns-bass]

7 minutes ago, JPJ said:

I think the purists will say no, but I have them on mine as I’m a Newby to the big bass and I generally double between the DB and the fretless bass. 

I used to be a purist until playing a festival stage at night and having every member of the band laugh as I started a song a semitone up.

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Slight digression. Is it common practice to have position marker dots on a DB?

I have them because they reduces error, I rarely use them, but when I do I’m glad I installed them

[Beedster]

44 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

I used to be a purist until playing a festival stage at night and having every member of the band laugh as I started a song a semitone up.

I’ve been there, although ironically the worst gig I ever did (reminiscent of the famous Richie Benaud quote ‘there’s only three things wrong with English Cricket, they can’t bat, they can’t bowl, and they can’t field’, albeit in my case I was out of tune, out of time, and out of style) I was asked to join a Jazz Trio by a member of the audience who turned out to be quite well known….🤔

[Rosie C]

3 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Slight digression. Is it common practice to have position marker dots on a DB?

 

I used to have electrician's tape on my bass, but it encouraged me to look rather than listen so I took it back off. That said there is a little burr in the neck wood just where the fourth 'fret' would be, for emergencies!

[Beer of the Bass]

I have two dots on the face on the fingerboard at the octave and a fourth above (where the 12th and 17th frets aren't). Some people are quite scathing about the idea and it tends to get shot down in online discussions, but then a surprising number of better players than me have a dots up in thumb position so I'm not going to feel bad about it. It does help me to feel a little more confident in venturing up there, and I'm using the small side dots from a set of guitar dot stickers, so it's neat looking but easily undone.