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Double BassThe history of the bass guitar traces its roots back to the double bass. The double bass is a stringed instrument used when playing classical music. It is also known as a contrabass. All string instruments used in a modern symphony were formed in the 15th century in Europe. A double bass was originally called a bass violin when it was invented. They were made deeper and more hollow compared to cellos and violins to give lower sounds. Double basses were also used in jazz and rock and roll until the 1950s when they became electrified. Electric bass guitars eventually replaced the double basses being used in rock, although some are still used in jazz. - The function of the bass guitar is to produce the lowest sounds of all the instruments in a band. They are used in the rhythm section of the band, along with the drum kit. Bass guitars provide the standard chord sequence, the bass line and they progress the song to the end. Few bass solos are found in rock music; that job is usually left to the electric guitar.
- The features of the bass guitar are similar to that of an electric guitar. Both have a neck, pickups, strings, a nut, tuning keys, a body, bridge, input jack, pickguard and the tone and volume knobs. All electric guitars have frets along the neck, but some bass guitars do not have these like a traditional double bass. Standard bass guitars have four strings; some have five and six. The strings stretch from the bridge to the tuning keys along the body and the neck. The pickguard is placed on the body to guard from any scratching from a pick while the instrument is being played. The pickups are underneath the strings on the body to pick up the sound that will be amplified. The tone and volume knobs are on the body so the musician can easily make changes to the sound without going to the amplifier.
- There are quite a few different types of bass guitars. There are basses with four, five and six strings. The standard is four strings, but having more strings allows a musician to be more creative with the bass. Some are made without any frets. Bass guitars are sometimes acoustic and electric-acoustic. Acoustic basses are not nearly as popular as acoustic guitars, but they can give musicians a low sound that can not be found with an electric bass.
- Bass guitars have become a standard addition to every rock band. Bassists such as John Entwistle of The Who brought the bass guitar into the foreground of a lot of bands. Bass guitars used to be strictly a background instrument, and while they might never be as popular as six-string electric guitars, they will always have a presence in rock music.
