The first fretless bass guitar was made by
Bill Wyman in 1961 when he converted an inexpensive Japanese fretted bass by removing the frets.
[15][16] The first production fretless bass was the Ampeg AUB-1 introduced in 1966, and Fender introduced a fretless Precision Bass in 1970. In the early 1970s, fusion-jazz bassist
Jaco Pastorius created his own fretless bass by removing the frets
[17] from a Fender Jazz Bass, filling the holes with wood putty, and coating the fretboard with epoxy resin.
[18] Some fretless basses have "fret line" markers inlaid in the fingerboard as a guide, while others only use guide marks on the side of the neck. Tapewound (double bass type) and flatwound strings are sometimes used with the fretless bass so that the metal string windings will not wear down the
fingerboard. Some fretless basses have fingerboards which are coated with epoxy to increase the durability of the fingerboard, enhance
sustain and give a brighter tone. Although most fretless basses have four strings, five-string and six-string fretless basses are also available. Fretless basses with more than six strings are also available as "boutique" or custom-made instruments. Yves Carbonne conceived the first 10 and 12 string fretless sub-bass guitars. These extended range sub-basses, Legend X YC and Legend XII YC, were built by luthier from Barcelona Jerzy Drozd. The 12 string Legend XII YC uses a new B string tuned at 15,4 hertzs
J/ Jazz" 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, although there are a large number of humbucking designs. As with the halves of the P-pickups, the J-pickups are reverse-wound with reverse magnetic polarity. As a result they have hum canceling properties when used at the same volume, with hum cancellation decreasing when the pickups are used at unequal volume and altogether absent when each pickup is used individually. 'J' Style pickups tend to have a lower output and a thinner sound than 'P' Style pickups making it perfect for most rock music. Many bassists choose to combine a 'J' pickup at the bridge and a 'P' pickup at the neck, to be 'blended' together for a unique sound.
"P/ Precision" pickups (the "P" refers to the original Fender Precision Bass) are actually two distinct
single-coil pickups. Each is offset a small amount along the length of the body so that each half is underneath two strings. The pickups are reverse-wound with reversed magnetic polarity to reduce hum. This makes the 'P' pickup a [humbucking] single coil pickup; something which is almost unique to the 'P' style pickup. Less common is the single-coil "P" pickup, used on the original 1951 Fender Precision bass.
[32] 
The standard design for the electric bass guitar has four
strings, tuned E, A, D and G, in fourths such that the open highest string, G, is an eleventh (an octave and a fourth) below middle C, making the tuning of all four strings the same as that of the
double bass. This tuning is also the same as the standard tuning on the lower four strings on a 6-string guitar, only an octave lower. String types include all-metal strings (
roundwound,
flatwound, groundwound, or halfwound), metal strings with different coverings, such as tapewound and plastic-coatings. The variety of materials used in the strings gives bass players a range of tonal options. In the 1950s, bassists mostly used
flatwound strings with a smooth surface, which had a smooth, damped sound reminiscent of a double bass. In the 1960s and 1970s,
roundwound bass strings similar to guitar strings became popular, though flatwounds also continue to be popular. Roundwounds have a brighter
timbre with greater
sustain than flatwounds.
A number of other tuning options and bass types have been used to extend the range of the instrument. The most common are four, five, or six strings:
In contrast to the upright bass (or double bass), the electric bass guitar is played horizontally across the body, like an electric guitar. When the strings are plucked with the fingers (
pizzicato), the index and middle fingers (and sometimes with the thumb, ring, and pinky fingers as well) are used.
James Jamerson, an influential bassist from the
Motown era, played intricate bass lines using only his index finger, which he called "The Hook." There are also variations in how a bassist chooses to rest the 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 or on the side of the fretboard, which is especially common among bassists who have an upright bass influence. Some bassists anchor their thumbs on the lowest string and move it off to play on the low string. Alternatively, the thumb can be rested loosely on the strings to mute the unused strings.
The string can be plucked at any point between the bridge and the point where the fretting hand is holding down the string; different
timbres are produced depending on where along the string it is plucked. Some players are known for plucking near the bridge where the string is most taut, such as jazz fusion bassist
Jaco Pastorius, whereas other bassists prefer the "looser" part of the string nearer to the fingerboard.
Bassists trying to emulate the sound of a double bass sometimes pluck the strings with their thumb and use
palm-muting to create a short, "thumpy" tone. The late
Monk Montgomery (who played in Lionel Hampton's band),
Bruce Palmer (who performed with
Buffalo Springfield),
Sting and progressive rocker
Geddy Lee use thumb downstrokes. The use of the thumb was acknowledged by early Fender models, which came with a "thumbrest" or "Tug Bar" attached to the pickguard below the strings. Contrary to its name, this was not used to rest the thumb, but to provide leverage while using the thumb to pluck the strings. The thumbrest was moved above the strings in 1970s models and eliminated in the 1980s.
The
pick (or
plectrum) is used to obtain a more articulate attack, for speed, or just personal preference. Although the use of a pick is primarily associated with
rock, picks are also used in other styles. Jazz bassist
Steve Swallow uses a pick for upbeat or funky songs. Picks can be used with alternating downstrokes and upstrokes, or with all downstrokes for a more consistent attack. The pick is usually held with the index and thumb, with the up-and-down plucking motion supplied by the wrist (one exception is tremolo picking, in which the whole arm is used to play a note very rapidly). Some bassists use their fingernails to play flamenco-style, such as the late
John Entwistle,
Geddy Lee, the late
Cliff Burton and
Les Claypool.
There are many varieties of picks available, but due to the thicker, heavier strings of the electric bass, bassists tend to use heavier picks than those used for electric guitar, typically ranging from 1.14 mm – 3.00 mm (3.00 is unusual). Different materials are used for picks, including plastic, nylon, and felt, all of which produce different tones. Felt picks are used to emulate a fingerstyle tone
Popular music bands and rock groups use the bass guitar as a member of the
rhythm section, which provides the
chord sequence or "
progression" and sets out the "
beat" for the song. The rhythm section typically consists of a
rhythm guitarist and/or
electric keyboard player, a bass guitarist and a
drummer; larger groups may add additional guitarists, keyboardists, or percussionists.
The types of
basslines performed by the bass guitarist vary widely from one style of music to another. Despite all of the differences in the styles of bassline, in most styles of popular music, the bass guitarist fulfills a similar role: anchoring the harmonic framework (often by emphasizing the roots of the chord progression) and laying down the beat (in collaboration with the drummer). The importance of the bass guitarist and the bass line varies in different styles of music. In some pop styles, such as 1980s-era pop and musical theater, the bass sometimes plays a relatively simple part, and the music forefronts the vocals and melody instruments. In contrast, in
reggae or funk, entire songs may be centered around the bass groove, and the bassline is usually very prominent in the mix.
In traditional
country music,
folk rock, and related styles, the bass often plays the roots and fifth of each chord in alternation. In Chicago
blues, the electric bass often performs a
walking bassline made up of scales and arpeggios. In
blues rock bands, the bassist often plays
blues scale-based riffs and chugging
boogie-style lines. In
metal, the bass guitar may perform complex
riffs along with the rhythm guitarist or play a low, rumbling
pedal point to anchor the group's sound.
Bassist
Robert Trujillo performing with thrash metal band
MetallicaThe bass guitarist sometimes breaks out of the strict rhythm section role to perform
bass breaks or bass solos. The types of basslines used for bass breaks of bass solos vary by style. In a rock band, a bass break may consist of the bassist playing a
riff or
lick during a pause in the song. In some styles of metal, a bass break may consist of "
shred guitar"-style
tapping on the bass. In a
funk or funk rock band, a bass solo may showcase the bassist's percussive
slap and pop playing. In genres such as
progressive rock,
art rock, or
progressive metal, the bass guitar player may play
melody lines along with the
lead guitar (or vocalist) and perform extended
guitar solos 
1930s
In the 1930s,
inventor Paul Tutmarc from
Seattle,
Washington, developed the first guitar-style electric bass instrument that was
fretted and designed to be held and played horizontally. The 1935 sales catalogue for Tutmarc's company, Audiovox, featured his "electronic bass
fiddle," a four-stringed, solid-bodied, fretted electric bass guitar with a 30½-inch scale length.
[7] The change to a "guitar" form made the instrument easier to hold and transport, and the addition of guitar-style frets enabled bassists to play in tune more easily and made the new electric bass easier to learn. However, Tutmarc's inventions never caught the public imagination, and little further development of the instrument took place until the 1950s.
[
edit] 1950s–1960s
In the 1950s,
Leo Fender, with the help of his employee George Fullerton, developed the first mass-produced electric bass.
[8] 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 coil pickup, to a contoured body design with beveled edges for comfort and a single four-pole "single coil pickup." This "split pickup", introduced in 1957, appears to have been two mandolin pickups (Fender was marketing a four string solid body electric mandolin at the time). Because the pole pieces of the coils were reversed with respect to each other, and the leads were also reversed with respect to each other, the two coils, wired in series, produced a humbucking effect (the same effect is achieved if the coils are wired in parallel).
Monk Montgomery was the first bass player to tour with the Fender bass guitar, with
Lionel Hampton's postwar
big band.
[9] Roy Johnson, who replaced Montgomery in Hampton's band, and
Shifty Henry with
Louis Jordan & His
Tympany Five, were other early Fender Bass pioneers.
[8] Bill Black, playing with
Elvis Presley, adopted the Fender Precision Bass around 1957.
[10]
A Rickenbacker 4003; note the distinctive shape of the headstock.
Following Fender's lead,
Gibson released the
violin-shaped
EB-1 Bass in 1953,
[11] followed by the more conventional-looking
EB-0 Bass in 1959. As with Fender's designs, Gibson relied heavily upon an existing guitar design for this bass; the EB-0 was very similar to a
Gibson SG in appearance (although the earliest examples have a slab-sided body shape closer to that of the double-cutaway Les Paul Special).
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.
Gibson EB-3.
A small number of other companies also began manufacturing bass guitars during the 1950s:
Kay in 1952, and
Danelectro in 1956;
[10] Rickenbacker and
Höfner also produced models. With the explosion of the popularity of rock music in the 1960s many more manufacturers began making bass guitars.
First introduced in 1960, The
Fender Jazz Bass was known as the Deluxe Bass and was meant to accompany the
Jazzmaster guitar. 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' split coil pickup position, and was designed by Leo Fender to be an easier bass for a guitarist to play than the existing Precision Bass, due to the narrower nut (noted later). The earliest production basses had a 'stacked'
volume and
tone control for each pickup. This was soon changed to the familiar configuration of a volume control for each pickup, and a single, passive tone control. The Jazz Bass' neck was narrower at the nut than the Precision bass (1½" versus 1¾").
70's Fender Jazz Bass with maple neck
Another visual difference that set the Jazz Bass apart from the Precision is its "offset-waist" body. Pickup shapes on electric basses are often referred to as "P" or "J" pickups in reference to the visual and electrical differences between the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass
pickups.
Fender also began production of the
Mustang Bass; a 30" scale length instrument used by bassists such as
Tina Weymouth of
Talking Heads and
Bill Wyman of
The Rolling Stones ("P" and "J" basses have a scale length of 34", a design echoed on most current production electric basses of all makes).
In the 1950s and 1960s, the bass guitar was often called the "Fender bass", due to
Fender's early dominance in the market for mass-produced bass guitars. The term "electric bass" began replacing "Fender bass" in the late 1960s, however, as evidenced by the title of
Carol Kaye's popular bass instructional book in 1969 How to Play the Electric Bass
[12] . The instrument is also referred to as an "electric bass guitar", or simply "bass".
[
edit] 1970s
Music Man Stingray Bass. Notice the pick-up placement that is ideal for slapping.
The 1970s saw the founding of
Music Man Instruments by Tom Walker, Forrest White and Leo Fender, which produced the
StingRay, the first widely-produced bass with active (powered) electronics. This amounts to an impedance buffering pre-amplifier on-board the instrument to lower the output impedance of the bass's pickup circuit, increasing low-end output, and overall frequency response (more lows and highs). Specific models became identified with particular styles of music, such as the Rickenbacker 4001 series, which became identified with progressive rock bassists like
Chris Squire of
Yes, while the StingRay was used by
Louis Johnson of the funk band
The Brothers Johnson.
In 1971,
Alembic established the template for what would subsequently be known as "boutique" or "high end" electric bass guitars. These expensive, custom-tailored instruments featured unique designs, premium wood bodies chosen and hand-finished by highly skilled luthiers, onboard electronics for preamplification and equalization, and innovative construction techniques such as multi-laminate
neck-through-body construction and graphite necks. In the mid-1970s, Alembic and other "boutique" bass manufacturers such as
Tobias, and
Ken Smith produced 4- string basses and 5-string basses with a low "B" string. In 1975, bassist
Anthony Jackson commissioned luthier
Carl Thompson to a 6-string bass tuned (low to high) B, E, A, D, G, C.
[
edit] 1980s–2000s
An early 1980s-era Steinberger headless bass
In the 1980s, bass designers continued to explore new approaches.
Ned Steinberger introduced a headless bass in 1979 and continued his innovations in the 1980s, using graphite and other new materials and (in 1984) introducing the
Trans-Trem tremolo bar. In 1987, the Guild Guitar Corporation launched the fretless
Ashbory bass, which used silicone rubber strings and a piezoelectric pickup to achieve a "double bass" sound with a short 18" scale length. In the late 1980s,
MTV's "Unplugged" show, which featured bands strumming acoustic instruments, helped to popularize hollow-bodied
acoustic bass guitars amplified with pickups.
During the 1990s, as five-string basses became more widely available and more affordable, an increasing number of bassists in genres ranging from metal to gospel began using five-string instruments for added lower range. As well, the onboard battery-powered electronics such as preamplifiers and equalizer circuits, which were previously only available on expensive "boutique" instruments, became increasingly available on modestly priced basses.
In the 2000s, some bass manufacturers included
digital modelling circuits inside the instrument to recreate tones and sounds from many models of basses (e.g.,
Line 6's Variax bass). Traditional bass designs such as the
Fender Precision Bass and
Fender Jazz Bass remain popular in the 2000s; in 2006, a 60th Anniversary P-bass was introduced by
Fender, along with the introduction of the
Fender Jaguar Bass.
[
edit] Design considerations
Instruments handmade by highly skilled
luthiers are becoming increasingly available. Bass bodies are typically made of wood although other materials such as
graphite (for example, some of the
Steinberger designs) have also been used. While a wide variety of
woods are suitable for use in the body, neck, and fretboard of the bass guitar, the most common type of wood used for the body is
alder, for the neck is
maple, and for the fretboard is
rosewood. Other commonly used woods include mahogany, maple, ash, and poplar for bodies, mahogany for necks, and maple and ebony for fretboards.
Other design options include finishes, such as lacquer, wax and oil; 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) and several artificial materials such as
luthite. The use of artificial materials (e.g.
BassLab) allows for unique production techniques such as die-casting, to produce 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. Some basses are built with entirely hollow bodies, which changes the tone and resonance of the instrument.
Acoustic bass guitars are typically equipped with piezoelectric or magnetic pickups and amplified.
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released in late 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, and Mac platforms. The title is the first installment of the series to include wireless guitars bundled with the game and also the first to release a special bundle with two guitars. The game includes Slash and Tom Morello as playable characters in addition to the existing fictional avatars; both guitarists performed motion capture to be used for their characters' animation in the game.
