How Does
How Does a Bass Guitar Work?
About Bass Guitars
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Headstock of a bass guitar
A bass guitar is a four-string instrument which features the same basic parts as a regular electric guitar: strings, pickups, volume, a jack for output, tuning pegs, headstock, frets and pick guard. Like the drums in a band, it is generally not an instrument that is played on its own (unlike a guitar, keyboard, sax and many others). The bass guitar was invented by Fender in the 1950s, and replaced the stand-up bass (also known as the double bass or bull fiddle) that were used in the bands of early rockers, including Elvis, Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and others.
Where the Bass Guitar Fits In
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The bass (along with the drums and sometimes the keyboards) make up the rhythm section of a band or combo. The bass is played with a pick or fingers, as opposed to being strummed like a guitar, and plays individual notes, not chords. While the bass is required to stay in the same key as the other instruments (namely guitar and keyboard), it can play its own tune and rhythm which can compliment the song while holding down the bottom end.
The Construction
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Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick: Inventor of the 12-string bass
Bass guitars are usually solid-body instruments, and have similar pickups and controls to a guitar. These pickups capture the sound of the strings played or thumped, and--also like a guitar--a bass guitar requires an amplifier to be audible. Bass amps are different from guitar amps in that their housing is better suited for low-end sounds, and they generally have less sound controls than guitar amps. While the majority of bass guitars have four strings, there are also five-string, six-string, eight-string and even twelve-string models, along with fretless necks, basses with no headstock, and hollow body, semi-acoustic bass guitars.
Uses
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Are you the next great bass hero?
The bass guitar came into its own in the 1960s; Paul McCartney, John Entwistle and Jack Bruce were three early pioneers of the bass guitar, and each developed his own style of playing. Later innovators include Jaco Pastorius, Cliff Burton and Lemmy of Motorhead, all of who developed their own solo style often using effects and distortion.
eHow Article: How Does a Bass Guitar Work?
