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Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case

The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass or simply bass) is an electrically amplified plucked string instrument. It is similar in appearance to an electric guitar but has a larger body, a longer neck and scale length, and, usually, four strings (but sometimes five or more, compared to six on an electric guitar) tuned an octave lower in pitch, in the bass range. Electric basses may be fretted or fretless, but fretted basses are far more common in most popular music settings. There are also hollow-bodied acoustic bass guitars.

Since the 1950s the electric bass has largely replaced the double bass in popular music as the instrument that provides the low-pitched bassline(s) and bass runs. The electric bass is used as a soloing instrument in jazz, fusion, Latin, and funk styles, and bass solos are sometimes performed in other genres.

History

1930s: Fretted basses

Paul Tutmarc developed a guitar-style electric bass instrument that was fretted and designed to be held and played horizontally. Audiovox's sales catalogue of 1935-6 listed what is probably the world’s first fretted, solid body electric bass that is designed to be played horizontally - the Model #736 Electric Bass Fiddle. The change to a "guitar" form made the instrument easier to hold and transport; the addition of guitar-style frets enabled bassists to play in tune more easily (which also made the new electric bass easier to learn).

1950s and 1960s: The Fender Bass

File:Jazz bass photo.jpg
Fender Jazz Bass.

A self-taught electrical engineer named Leo Fender developed the first mass-produced electric bass in the 1950s. His Fender Precision Bass, introduced in 1951, became a widely-copied industry standard. The Precision Bass (or "P-bass") evolved from a simple, uncontoured 'slab' body design similar to that of a Telecaster with a single piece, four-pole pickup to a contoured body design with beveled edges for comfort and a single "split coil pickup" (staggered humbucker).

In 1960, Fender introduced the Jazz Bass. The Jazz Bass (often referred to as a "J-bass") featured two single-coil pickups, one close to the bridge and one in the Precision bass' position, each with separate volume and tone controls. The Jazz Bass' neck was narrower at the nut than the Precision bass (1 1/2" vs 1 3/4"). Another aesthetic visual difference that set the Jazz Bass apart from the Precision is its iconic "offset-waist" body. Pickup positions on other manufacturers' basses are often referred to as "P" or "J" position pickups, in reference to Precision and Jazz basses.

During the 1960s, Fender also produced a six-string bass, the Fender VI, or Bass VI. Tuned higher than a modern six-string bass, it was more like a baritone guitar. Fender also began production the Mustang Bass a 30" scale length instrument used by bassists such as Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.

1960's and 1970's: Other prominent manufacturers

Gibson EB-3

Following Fender's lead, Gibson released the EB-0 Bass in 1959. As with Fender's designs, Gibson relied heavily upon an existing guitar design for their first bass; the EB-0 was very similar to a Gibson SG in appearance. Gibson basses differred from Fender designs in many aspects, most notably in tonality. Whereas Fender basses had pickups mounted in positions in between the base of the neck and the top of the bridge, many of Gibson's early basses featured one humbucking pickup mounted directly against the neck pocket. The EB-3, introduced in 1961, also had a "mini-humbucker" at the bridge position. Gibson basses also tended to be smaller, sleeker instruments; Gibson did not produce a 34" scale bass until 1963 with the release of the Thunderbird, which was also the first Gibson bass to utilize dual-humbucking pickups in a more traditional position, about halfway between the neck and bridge.

With the explosion of the popularity of rock music in the 1960's and seeing the success that Fender and Gibson were having with their products, Rickenbacker, Danelectro, ESP Guitars, and many others started to produce their own version of the electric bass. The 1970's also saw the founding of Music Man Instruments, owned by Leo Fender. Music Man produced the StingRay, the first widely produced bass with active (powered) electronics. Specific models became identified with particular styles of music, such as the Rickenbacker 4000 series, which became identified with progressive rock bassists.

1970s: Boutique basses

In 1971 Alembic established the template for what would subsequently be known as "boutique" or "high end" electric basses. These expensive, custom-tailored instruments featured unique designs, premium wood bodies chosen and hand-finished by master craftspeople, onboard electronics for preamplification and equalization, and innovative construction techniques such as multi-laminate neck-through-body construction and graphite necks. Alembic and another "boutique" bass manufacturer, Ken Smith, both produced 5-string basses with a low "B" string in the mid-1970s. Ken Smith also developed and marketed the first wide-spacing six-string electric bass.

Nomenclature

The instrument is called a "bass guitar" (bass (IPA: ) rhyming with "face"), "electric bass guitar," "electric bass," or simply "bass."

In the 1950s and 1960s, the term "Fender bass" was widely used to describe the bass guitar, due to Fender's early dominance in the market for mass-produced bass guitars. However, the term "electric bass" began replacing "Fender bass" in the late 1960s, as evidenced by the title of Carol Kaye's popular bass instructional book in 1969 (How To Play The Electric Bass) and the use of the term "electric bass" by U.S. musicians' unions.

Design considerations

"Headless" Steinberger bass.

Musicians have embraced a wide variety of different electric bass designs, which include a huge variety of options for the body, neck, pickups, and other features. Musicians have become open minded towards the new technologies and approaches to musical instrument design that have developed for the electric bass. As well, instruments handmade by highly-skilled masters of the craft of lutherie (guitar-making) are becoming an increasingly popular choice for professional and highly-skilled amateur bassists. These developments have given the modern bass player a wide range of options when choosing an instrument. Design options include:

Body

Bodies are typically made of wood although other materials such as graphite (for example, some of the Steinberger designs) have also been used. A wide variety of woods are suitable - the most common include alder, mahogany and ash, and bubinga. The choice of body material and shape can have a significant impact on the timbre of the completed instrument as well as on aesthetic considerations. Other design options include:

  • A wide range of colored or clear lacquer, wax and oil finishes over a variety of traditional and exotic woods,
  • Flat and carved designs
  • Luthier-produced custom-designed instruments
  • Headless basses, which have tuning machines in the bridge of the instrument (e.g.Steinberger and Hohner) designs
  • Several artificial materials developed especially for instrument building such as luthite
  • Unique production techniques for artificial materials, including die-casting for more cost-effective production of complex body shapes

While most basses have solid bodies, they can also include hollow chambers to increase the resonance or reduce the weight of the instrument. Basses are also built with entirely hollow bodies, which changes the tone and resonance of the instrument and allows performers to practice without an amplifier. Since the size of the resonant chamber for acoustic bass guitars is much smaller than the resonant chambers of other acoustic bass instruments such as the double bass or the guitarron, acoustic bass guitars cannot produce much unamplified volume; as such acoustic bass guitars are typically equipped with piezoelectric or magnetic pickups and amplified. Hollow-bodied bass guitars are discussed in more detail in the article on acoustic bass guitars.

Strings and tuning

The standard design electric bass has four strings, tuned E, A, D and G (with the fundamental frequency of the E string set at 41.3 Hz, the same as the lowest string on the double bass). This tuning is the same as the standard tuning on the lower four strings on a 6-string guitar, only an octave lower. The materials used in the strings gives bass players a range of tonal options. String types include all-metal strings (roundwound or flatwound), metal strings with different coverings, such as tapewound and plastic-coatings, and non-metal strings made of nylon.

Note positions on a right-handed 4-string bass in standard EADG tuning

Early basses used flatwound strings with a smooth surface. These gave a smooth, damped sound reminiscent of a double-bass. In the 1960s and 1970s roundwound bass strings similar to guitar strings became increasingly popular. Roundwounds give a brighter timbre more similar to that of a guitar or piano, with greater sustain than flatwounds. Although roundwounds are now much more common, flatwounds are still used by some bassists who prefer their sound or desire a "classic" tone for some genres.

As performers sought to expand the range of their instruments, a range of other tuning options and bass types has been used. The most common include:

  • Four strings with alternate tunings to obtain an extended lower range. Tunings such as "BEAD" (this requires a low "B" string in addition to the other three "standard" strings), "D-A-D-G" (a "standard" set of strings, with only the lowest string detuned), and D-G-C-F or C-G-C-F (a "standard" set of strings, all of which are detuned) give bassists an extended lower range. These options are sometimes used by players who do not like the "feel" of the thicker, heavier 5-string neck, or by bassists who do not have access to a 5-string bass.
A five-string electric bass guitar in use.
  • Five strings (normally B-E-A-D-G but sometimes E-A-D-G-C). The 5-string bass with a low "B" provides added lower range, as compared with the 4-string bass. As well, it gives a player easier access to low notes when playing in the higher positions. The resultant tone of the instrument is usually "thicker," as the fatter strings give fewer harmonics. This is particularly the case for notes on the low "B" string. Five-string basses are common in metal music. Bassists using five-string basses include Primus's Les Claypool, Joseph Patrick Moore.
  • Detuners, one of which is sold under the name Hipshot, are mechanical devices operated by the left-hand thumb that allow one or more strings to be detuned to a lower pitch. Hipshots are typically used to drop the "E"-string down to "D" on a four string bass). More rarely, some bassists (e.g., Michael Manring) will add detuners to more than one string, to enable them to detune strings during a performance and have access to a wider range of chime-like harmonics.

Less commonly, bassists use other types of basses or tuning methods to obtain an extended range. Instrument types or tunings used for this purpose include:

  • Eight-, 10-, and 12-string basses with double or triple courses of strings, as compared with their 4-, 5-, and 6-string counterparts. An 8-string bass would be strung Ee, Aa, Dd, Gg, while a 12-string bass might be tuned Eee Aaa Ddd Ggg, with standard pitch strings augmented by two strings an octave higher. Following new trends, 10-string basses with octave strings added to the low-B (tuned Bb) of a 5-string bass have also been marketed.
  • Guitar-tuned bass (4-string): the D-G-B-E tuning has the same note names as the first (e.g., from highest to lowest) four strings of a guitar, although they are pitched two octaves lower.
  • Tenor bass: A-D-G-C
  • Piccolo bass: e-a-d-g (an octave higher than standard bass tuning—-the same as the bottom four strings of a guitar)
  • Sub-contra bass: C#-F#-B-E ("C#" being at 18 Hz and the "E"- string being the same as the "E"-string found on standard basses). To amplify the low pitches of this instrument, a subwoofer capable of extended low-range reproduction is needed.
  • Extended-range 11-string basses which go from a low "C#" up to a high Eb (one semitone below a guitar's high E). Eleven-string basses are uncommon and are typically custom built instruments. Al Caldwell, Jean Baudin (of the band Nuclear Rabbit), and Garry Goodman (from The Neilson-Goodman Project) play 11-string basses.
  • Extended-range 12-string and 14-string basses. JP Basses, a French luthier, has built a 12-string bass for Jean Baudin, and Yves Carbonne is working on a 14-string sub-bass project.

Pickups

For more information on pickups, see Pickup (music).

The vibrations of the instrument's metal strings within the magnetic field of the permanent magnets in the pickups, produce small variations in the magnetic flux threading the coils of the pickups. This in turn produces small electrical voltages in the coils. These low-level signals are then amplified and played through a speaker. Less commonly, non-magnetic pickups are used, such as piezoelectric pickups which sense the mechanical vibrations of the strings. Since the 1990s, basses are often available with battery-powered "active" electronics that boost the signal and/or provide equalization controls to boost or cut bass and treble frequencies.

File:Bassguitarpickups.jpg
"P"-style split pickups

Bass pickup types

  • "P-" pickups (the "P" refers to the original Fender Precision Bass) are actually two distinct single-coil halves, wired in opposite direction to reduce hum, each offset a small amount along the length of the body so that each half is underneath two strings.
  • "J-" pickups (referring to the original Fender Jazz Bass) are wider eight-pole pickups which lie underneath all four strings. J pickups are typically single-coil designs, but some modern variants have hum-canceling features.
  • Soapbar pickups, found in MusicMan basses (yet another Leo Fender brand) and many other brands, are the same length as a J pickup, but about twice as wide. They typically follow a dual-coil humbucking configuration. The name comes from the rectangular shape resembling a bar of soap.

Pickup configuration

Dual "J"-Style Pickups.
  • Many basses have just one pickup, typically a "P" or soapbar pickup. Multiple pickups are also quite common, two of the most common configurations being a "P" near the neck and a "J" near the bridge (e.g. Fender Precision Deluxe), or two "J" pickups (e.g. Fender Jazz). Some basses use more unusual pickup configurations, such as a soapbar and a "P" pickup (found on some Fenders), Stu Hamm's "Urge" basses which have a "P" pickup sandwiched between two "J" pickups, and some of Bootsy Collins' custom basses, which had as many as 5 J pickups.
  • The placement of the pickup greatly affects the sound, with a pickup near the neck joint thought to sound "fatter" or "warmer" while a pickup near the bridge is thought to sound "tighter" or "sharper." Most basses with multiple pickups allow blending of the output from the pickups, providing for a range of timbres.

Non-magnetic pickups

  • Piezoelectric pickups are non-magnetic pickups that produce a different tone and allow bassists to use non-metallic strings such as nylon strings. Piezoelectric pickups sense the vibrations of the string, as transmitted to the pickup through the basses' wooden body. Since piezoelectric pickups are based on the vibration of the strings and body, they can be prone to feedback "howls" when used with an amplifier, especially when higher levels of amplification are used.
  • Optical pickups such as Lightwave Systems pickups are another type of non-magnetic pickup. Optical pickups are expensive and rarely used, apart from a small number of professional bass players who require the advantages offered by optical pickups: no noise (e.g., hum) or feedback problems, even at high levels of amplification.

Frets

The frets divide the fingerboard into semitone divisions, although fretless basses are also widely available. The original Fender basses had 20 frets.

Fretless basses

Fretless basses have a distinct sound: the absence of frets means that the string must be pressed down directly onto the wood of the fingerboard and can buzz against it as with the double bass, sometimes described as a "muah" sound by bassists. The fretless bass allows players to use the expressive devices of glissando, vibrato and microtonal intonations such as quarter tones and just intonation. Some bassists use both fretted and fretless basses in performances, according to the type of material they are performing.

In How The Fender Bass Changed The World, Jim Roberts states that Bill Wyman made the first known fretless bass guitar by in 1961 by converting an inexpensive Japanese fretted bass. This fretless bass can be heard on The Rolling Stones songs such as "Paint it Black". The first production fretless bass was the Ampeg AUB-1 introduced in 1966. Fender introduced a fretless version of the Precision Bass in 1970. Fusion-jazz virtuoso Jaco Pastorius created his own fretless bass by pulling the frets out of a sunburst Fender Jazz Bass and coating the fretboard with epoxy.

Some fretless basses have 'fret lines' inlaid in the fingerboard as a guide, while others only use guide marks on the side of the neck. Strings wound with tape are sometimes used with the fretless bass so that the metal string windings will not wear down the fingerboard. Some fretless basses, such as those made by Pedulla, have fingerboards which are coated with epoxy to increase the durability of the fingerboard, enhance sustain and give a brighter tone.

Fretless basses are widely used in jazz and jazz fusion music. Nonetheless, many bassists from other genres use fretless basses, such as thrash metal/death metal bassist Steve DiGiorgio.

Amplification and effects

Electric bassists use either a 'combo' amplifier, so-named because it combines an amplifier and a speaker in a single cabinet, or an amplifier and a separate speaker cabinet (or cabinets). Some bassists plug directly into a mixing console for recording or large-scale PA amplification. For further information see :

Various electronic components such as preamplifiers and signal processors, and the configuration of the amplifier and speaker, can be used to alter the basic sound of the instrument. In the 1990s and early 2000s, signal processors such as equalizers, distortion devices, and compressors or s became increasingly popular additions to many electric bass players' gear, because these processors give players additional tonal options. For further information see:

Playing techniques

Sitting or standing

Most bass players stand while playing, although sitting is also accepted, particularly in large ensemble settings (e.g., jazz big band) or acoustic genres such as folk music. It is a matter of the player's preference as to which position gives the greatest ease of playing, and what a bandleader expects. When sitting, the instrument can be balanced on the right thigh, or like classical guitar players, the left. Balancing the bass on the left thigh positions it in such a way that it mimics the standing position, allowing for less difference between the standing and sitting positions.

Plectra vs. fingers or thumb

The electric bass, in contrast to the upright bass (or double bass), is played in a similar position to the guitar, held horizontally across the body. Notes are usually produced by plucking with the fingers or with a guitar pick, which is a type of plectrum.

This choice often depends on a bassist's musical genre— very few funk bassists use plectrums, while they are widely found in punk rock and metal styles. Using a pick typically gives the bass a brighter, punchier sound, while playing with fingers makes the sound softer and round. Some bassists use their fingernails flamenco-style to provide some compromise between playing fingerstyle and using a pick.

Bassists trying to emulate the sound of a double bass will often pluck the strings with their thumb, and use their fingers to anchor their hand and partially mute the strings. This palm-muting creates a short, "thumpy" tone.

James Jamerson, one of the most influential bassists during the Motown era, was well-known for his work in many popular Motown songs. Jamerson played the bass with only his index finger (which gained him the nickname "The Hook") but created intricate bass lines that have proven challenging even for modern bassists using the more common two-fingered (typically index and middle) technique.

Downward stroke

This is a technique that consists in hitting the strings with continuous downward strokes with a plectrum at a very fast pace. This provides the continuous and repetitive sound of finger picking but with a punchy sound. This technique was used by Dee Dee Ramone of the early punk rock band The Ramones.

Right hand support and position

Variations in style also occur in where a bassist rests his right-hand thumb (or left thumb in the case of left-handed players). A player may rest his thumb on the top edge of one of the pickups. One may also rest his thumb on the side of the fretboard, which is especially common among bassists who have an upright bass influence. Also, bassists may simply anchor their thumbs on the lowest string (and move it off to play on the low string). This technique is known as the "floating thumb", and was previously popular mainly with bassists who played 5 or more string basses, but is now common for all bassists. Early Fender models also came with a "thumbrest" attached to the pickguard, below the strings. Contrary to its name, this was not used to rest the thumb, but to rest the fingers while using the thumb to pluck the strings. The thumbrest was moved above the strings in 70's models, and eliminated entirely in the 80's.

Striking or plucking position

Bassists also have different preferences as to where on the string they pluck the notes. While the influential bassist Jaco Pastorius and many with him preferred to pluck them very close to the bridge for a bright and "punchy" sound, many prefer the sound they get by plucking closer to the neck, mostly near the neck pickup. Geezer Butler, among others, plucks the strings over the higher frets. Plucking near the neck gives a darker sound with a stronger fundamental.

"Slap and pop," tapping, and related techniques

The slap and pop method, in which notes and percussive sounds are created by slapping the string with the thumb and releasing strings with a snap, was pioneered by Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone in the 1960s and early 1970s. Stanley Clarke and Louis Johnson further developed Graham's technique. Slap bass remains a mainstay of funk and is also played by many bassists in other genres, such as rock bassists Flea, Joseph Patrick Moore and Les Claypool, and jazz-fusion bassist Victor Wooten. Wooten developed the "double thumb," in which the string is slapped twice, on the upstroke and a downstroke (for more information, see Classical Thump). Examples of the slap and pop technique can be seen at HowToSlapBass.com

In the two-handed tapping style, both hands play notes by rapidly pressing and holding the string to the fret, which makes it possible to play contrapuntally, and utilize chords and arpeggios. Players noted for this technique include John Entwistle, Stuart Hamm, Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooten, and Michael Manring. For more information on two-handed tapping technique, see the articles on Chapman Stick and Warr guitar, many-stringed instruments that are designed to be played using two-handed tapping.

Tony Levin, the bassist for King Crimson and Peter Gabriel, pioneered the use of wooden dowel "funk fingers" affixed with velcro to the tips of the index and middle fingers and used to strike the strings of the bass.

'Piano hammer' style

The "piano hammer-style" is a high-speed technique used of striking the bass string with the index or middle finger. In this technique, the hand is whipped towards the bass string then retracted quickly by pivoting of the wrist. The index finger snaps down and taps the string like a piano hammer. The result is a dark tone which can be contrasted by "back-pedaling" the string with the tip of the finger in an upward pluck to give a sharper tone. Usually two fingers are required with this technique.

Musical role

The electric bass is the standard bass instrument in many musical genres, including modern country, post-1970s-style jazz, many variants of rock and roll, metal, punk, reggae, soul, and funk. Even though the double bass is still the standard bass instrument in orchestral settings, some late-20th-century composers have used the electric bass in an orchestral setting. Modern bass playing draws on guitar and double bass for inspiration as well as an increasing vernacular of its own.

The bass may have differing roles within different types of music and the bassist may prefer different degrees of prominence in the music. Early uses of the electric bass saw bassists doubling the double bass part or replacing the upright bass entirely with their new, more portable and easily amplified instrument. By the end of the 1960s, the electric bass had replaced the upright bass in most forms of popular music (although country music and jazz were an exception to this trend).

The switch to electric bass moved bassists more into the foreground of a band, in several senses:

  • From an aural perspective, electric bass tone can often "cut through" a live mix better. As well, electric basses can be amplified to very high levels without the problem of feedback "howls" that can plague upright bass players trying to amplify their instruments.
  • The smaller size of the electric bass allows rapid, complex lines to be played more easily, enabling some electric bassists to develop a more soloistic role for the bass.
  • From a visual point of view, the switch to the electric bass allowed bassists much more freedom of movement on stage. The double bass sits on an endpin, and stands vertically, and players typically play in a single location for the duration of a song. However, the electric bass is smaller, and is held up with a strap, which allows the electric bassist to move about on the stage while playing, and get closer to other musicians or the audience.

See also

References

"How The Fender Bass Changed the World" by Jim Roberts

External links

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