Bass-heavy

The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings or courses. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music.

The four-string bass is usually tuned the same as the double bass, which corresponds to pitches one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar (typically E, A, D, and G). It is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, or with a pick. To be heard at normal performance volumes, electric basses require external amplification.

Terminology

According to the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', an "Electric bass guitar sa Guitar, usually with four heavy strings tuned E₁'–A₁'–D₂–G₂." It also defines ''bass'' as "Bass (iv). A contraction of Double bass or Electric bass guitar." According to some authors the proper term is "electric bass". Common names for the instrument are "bass guitar", "electric bass guitar", and "electric bass" and some authors claim that they are historically accurate.

Scale

The scale of the bass is located along the length of the string (from the nut to the bridge) and forms what is known as the fingerboard. The scale can range in length but is traditionally 34-35 inches long while "short scale" bass guitars are usually between 30 and 32 inches.

Pickup

Bass pickups are generally attached to the body of the guitar and located beneath the strings. They are responsible for translating the physical energy from a person plucking the strings, to electrical energy that is sent to an amplifier to create sound.

Strings

Bass guitar strings are made up of two main components: the core and the winding. The core is the central wire that runs through the center of the string and is generally made up of steel, nickel or some alloy. The difference in material can have an effect on the sound of the bass guitar. There are four main methods of string winding: roundwound, flatwound, tapewound, and groundwound (half-round). The difference in winding also has an impact on the sound of the bass guitar, but the most commonly found strings is the roundwound, which involves the core wire being wrapped with another round-shaped wire.

Roundwound strings are the most popular form of strings on bass guitars and are known for producing a tone with more harmonics. The next most common string found on bass guitars are flatwound strings. Flatwound strings are known for a smoother sound and feel compared to roundwound strings. Tapewound strings are similar to flatwound strings except, tapewound strings are wrapped in a non-metal material, such as nylon, giving an even slicker feel and a fuzzier tone.

History

1930s

In the 1930s, musician and inventor Paul Tutmarc of Seattle, Washington, developed the first electric bass guitar in its modern form, a fretted instrument designed to be played horizontally. The 1935 sales catalog for Tutmarc's company Audiovox featured his "Model 736 Bass Fiddle", a solid-bodied electric bass guitar with four strings, a scale length, and a single pickup. Around 100 were made during this period.
Audiovox also sold their "Model 236" bass amplifier.

1950s

In the 1950s, Leo Fender and George Fullerton developed the first mass-produced electric bass guitar. The Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company began producing the Precision Bass, or P-Bass, in October 1951. The design featured a simple uncontoured "slab" body design and a single coil pickup similar to that of a Telecaster. By 1957 the Precision more closely resembled the Fender Stratocaster with the body edges beveled for comfort, and the pickup was changed to a split coil design.

The Fender Bass was a revolutionary instrument for gigging musicians. In comparison with the large, heavy upright bass, which had been the main bass instrument in popular music from the early 20th century to the 1940s, the bass guitar could be easily transported to shows. When amplified, the bass guitar was also less prone than acoustic basses to unwanted audio feedback. The addition of frets enabled bassists to play in tune more easily than on fretless acoustic or electric upright basses, and allowed guitarists to more easily transition to the instrument.

In 1953, Monk Montgomery became the first bassist to tour with the Fender bass, in Lionel Hampton's postwar big band. Montgomery was also possibly the first to record with the electric bass, on July 2, 1953, with the Art Farmer Septet. Roy Johnson (with Lionel Hampton), and Shifty Henry (with Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five), were other early Fender bass pioneers. Bill Black, who played with Elvis Presley, switched from upright bass to the Fender Precision Bass around 1957. The bass guitar was intended to appeal to guitarists as well as upright bass players, and many early pioneers of the instrument, such as Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn

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