I’m trying to learn the bass part of a song (Herbie Hancock’s “Butterfly”) and while playing along with the song the notes I play in the first few bars sound great when at a higher octave on my bass guitar but the same notes sound “off” when I play them at a lower octave. I’ve been playing for a little over a year now and I’ve never experienced this with any other song. Does this make any sense? Is it due to some weird chord arrangement in the song? Is there a simple explanation for this? (BTW, yes my guitar is in tune).
Well, as a bass guitarist, I’d say that it’s more likely that the notes in the upper register might be intoned badly, rather than the lower notes. Plus, if you’re playing a fretless, as in the recording, any intonation problems can be worked around. On top of that, you say that you are in tune. So, I’m going to assume that tuning isn’t the problem.
You don’t give a description of how the note sounds “bad”. Since you don’t, I kind of think the problem is probably one of tone. I know that playing certain bass parts at a different position on the neck can change the tone enough that it will sound odd, sometimes to the point of almost changing the mood of a part. Playing runs off E beginning at the 7th fret of the A string has a different feel than starting at the 12th fret on the E string. I think starting the run at the 12th fret usually sounds more urgent. It’s the same notes, but the shorter effective scale from playing higher on the neck, plus the strings are usually a tad bit closer to the pickups when you play higher on the neck, so it sounds more percussive and aggressive.
On top of that, if you’re playing fretless, part of the tone is the string being muted as it brushes against the finger board. The effective string length influences the tone of a fretless more than a regular bass.
When you combine these differences with also changing the octave, I can easily see where it might sound weird, without actually sounding wrong. I’ve played around with changing the octave of bass parts, usually trying them out an octave higher or lower, and even if it might work, it often doesn’t sound "right. It’ll step on or blend with a guitar or a keyboard in a funky way, and ruin the groove.
If I’m way off base, I apologize for the long post.
Not really. If both A2 and A3 are in tune they should fine if played one after the other.
It’s only when both notes are playing simultaneously that one would worry about intonation issues, but even then it’s not octaves that are problematic (3rds, 5ths, and 7ths are). I don’t imagine bass to be doing that much at all.
“Bad” to me sounds like the notes I play aren’t quite in tune with the song I’m playing against. Not quite a half-step off, but not in tune either. I’m playing a fretted bass, BTW.
Maybe you’re right and it’s the position on the neck that I’m playing this in. I’m starting with the C on the E string, but it does sound a little more “right” when starting with the C on the A string.