Bass guitar
Paul Tutmarc stood outside his music store in Seattle, Washington during the 1930s. He held a new instrument that changed how musicians played low notes forever. This was not an upright bass standing on the floor. It was a solid body electric guitar lying flat across the player's lap. The Model 736 Bass Fiddle appeared in Audiovox sales catalogs around 1935. It featured four strings and a single pickup mounted beneath them. Only about one hundred of these instruments were made before production stopped. A companion amplifier called the Model 236 helped push sound through speakers. Tutmarc designed this fretted instrument to be played horizontally like a standard guitar. His work laid the foundation for all future electric bass guitars.
Leo Fender and George Fullton began building the Precision Bass in October 1951. The first models had simple slab bodies without any edge contours. These early versions resembled Telecaster guitars with their basic shapes. By 1957, the design evolved to include beveled edges for comfort. The split coil pickup replaced the original single unit found in earlier years. Working musicians could now transport their instruments easily compared to heavy double basses. Feedback became less of a problem when amplifying the sound. Frets allowed players to stay in tune much more accurately than on acoustic instruments. Monk Montgomery toured with Lionel Hampton using this new gear starting in 1953. He recorded sessions with Art Farmer Septet on July 2nd that same year. Bill Black switched from upright bass to the Fender model around 1957 while playing with Elvis Presley. Paul McCartney later adopted the instrument after learning it as a guitarist.
The Jazz Bass entered the market in 1960 with its offset waist body shape. This design improved comfort for seated players compared to previous flat models. Two single-coil pickups gave the instrument a distinct tonal character. Gibson released the EB-3 short-scale version in 1961 featuring mini-humbucker bridge pickups. Jack Bruce used both the Fender VI and the Gibson EB-3 during his time with Cream. A six-string bass called the Fender VI tuned one octave lower appeared briefly in 1961. Eight-string basses with paired courses emerged in the late 1960s like the Hagström H8. The first commercial fretless bass arrived in 1966 as the Ampeg AUB-1. Anthony Jackson commissioned Carl Thompson to build a six-string bass in 1975. That custom instrument added low B and high C strings to standard tuning. Scale lengths varied from thirty inches up to thirty-five inches depending on manufacturer choices.
Pickups convert string vibrations into magnetic field interference inside the guitar body. This process generates electrical voltage sent directly to an amplifier. Active electronics became common starting in 1974 when Music Man introduced the StingRay. Tom Walker, Forrest White, and Leo Fender founded that company together. These powered systems included preamplifiers and knobs for boosting or cutting frequencies. Players could shape their sound more precisely than passive models allowed. Alembic established boutique instruments in 1972 using multi-laminate neck-through-body construction. Stanley Clarke and Phil Lesh used these expensive custom-tailored guitars. Graphite necks provided stability while premium wood bodies offered unique tones. Wal began producing active basses in the UK during 1976. Direct input boxes and audio interfaces now allow connection to computers without external amps. Bass effects processors offer headphone jacks for silent practice sessions.
Steel cores run through the center of every bass guitar string. Nickel windings wrap around those cores to create different textures. Roundwound strings feature circular cross-sections while flatwounds use rounded-square shapes. Half-round variants blend both styles together for a hybrid tone. Coated strings add synthetic layers over exposed metal surfaces. Tapewound versions replace traditional wire with plastic windings on metal cores. Taperwound ends expose the core directly at the bridge saddle. The choice of winding style impacts sound significantly across musical genres. Gibson EB-2 models featured maple arched tops described as hollow-body electric basses. Fender Precision Bass bodies started as simple slabs before evolving into contoured shapes. Bolt-on necks defined early Fender designs while set necks appeared on Gibson instruments. Neck-through-body construction became standard for high-end boutique makers like Alembic. String tension and material density determine how easily notes ring out through pickups.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
Who invented the first electric bass guitar and when was it released?
Paul Tutmarc created the Model 736 Bass Fiddle which appeared in Audiovox sales catalogs around 1935. This instrument featured four strings and a single pickup mounted beneath them while lying flat across the player's lap.
When did Leo Fender release the Precision Bass and what were its initial design features?
Leo Fender and George Fullton began building the Precision Bass in October 1951 with simple slab bodies without any edge contours. By 1957 the design evolved to include beveled edges for comfort and replaced the original single unit with a split coil pickup.
What year did the Jazz Bass enter the market and how did its body shape differ from earlier models?
The Jazz Bass entered the market in 1960 with an offset waist body shape that improved comfort for seated players compared to previous flat models. It utilized two single-coil pickups to give the instrument a distinct tonal character.
Which company introduced active electronics to bass guitars and when did this technology become common?
Music Man introduced the StingRay in 1974 which made active electronics common starting that same year. These powered systems included preamplifiers and knobs for boosting or cutting frequencies to allow precise sound shaping.
Who commissioned the first six-string bass with low B and high C strings and when was it built?
Anthony Jackson commissioned Carl Thompson to build a six-string bass in 1975 that added low B and high C strings to standard tuning. This custom instrument featured scale lengths varying from thirty inches up to thirty-five inches depending on manufacturer choices.