In this material we take a look at the history of the electric bass guitar. When talking about bass history the first person that habitancy normally think of is Leo Fender. He is credited with introducing the world to the Precision bass in 1951. The bass was called a Precision bass because of the accuracy of the notes. Players were able to play notes that were perfectly in tune because of the nearnessy of frets on the electric bass guitar. To many people, this was the first real electric bass. This bass was mass-produced and very recognizable when it was created by Fender and up to this day it still is.
But while we give Leo Fender his dues for creating the contemporary electric bass, it must be said that way before 1951 there were at least five other prototypes that resembled the create of today's electric bass guitar. In talking about the history of the bass guitar we must talk about the duplicate bass. In fact, today's bass is a direct descendant of the duplicate bass, dating way back to the 17th century. Although it was absolutely in the 20th century that one with a more practical create was created.
Piezo Electric
When talking about bass guitar history mention must be made of Lloyd Loar, known for designing the first electric duplicate bass in the 1920s while working for Gibson. The bass used an electro-static pickup but there was no practical way of hearing it play. Unfortunately, bass amplification still had a long way to go.
The evolution of the bass guitar now takes us to the early 1930s when Paul Tutmarc built a more practical bass in terms of size. The first one came with a pickup and was the size of a cello but was too heavy, so the designed was changed to that of a guitar. This 42 inches long solid body bass was made of black walnut and came with piano strings and a pickup.
A few years later, in the mid 1930s, established firms like Lyon & Healy, Rickenbacker and Gibson began selling basses that, although less bulkier than the acceptable duplicate bass, were still tall, unfretted and upright.
Around 1940 was the first time a large seeder handled the electric bass. The seeder was L.D.Heater Music Co. In Portland Oregon, and the basses were man-made by Paul Tutmarc. This was a fretted instrument that was no longer to be played upright, but horizontal. It came with a pickup and was much smaller than earlier versions.
It was only then that Leo Fender came up with the contemporary electric bass. As said at the starting of our discussion on bass guitar history, it was the year 1951. In the year 1957 the pickguard and headstock were redesigned and the pickup was changed to a split pickup. This took us to the year 1960 when the Jazz bass was designed. Unlike the Precision bass, it came with two cut off pickups. The contemporary bass guitar became very popular.
The first 6 string bass was created in 1959 by Danelecto and the first 5 string in 1964 by Fender. The first fretless was created in 1965 by Ampeg, and in 1968 an 8 string bass by Hagstroem. Carl Thompson is credited with construction the first fretless 6 string bass in 1978.
Many developments have taken place since then. For instance, Ned Steinberger introduced a headless bass in 1979. In 1987, the Guild Guitar Corporation launched the fretless Ashbory bass. This bass used silicone rubber strings and a piezoelectric pickup to achieve a "double bass" sound. The bass was very short, only 18 inches long.
Throughout the years, pickups have also evolved. In expanding to single coil pickups, you now have several others such as humbuckers, hybrid pickups, passive and active pickups. These seem to be capable of producing every tone imaginable, from pure signals to the grittiest dirt sounds.
The electric bass seems to have come to be more beloved today than ever before. For instance, when person refers to a bass it's more common to think of the electric bass than the upright acoustic.
The History Of The Bass Guitar