The Bass Guitar

The bass guitar is similar to a standard six string guitar but is usually larger and tuned lower. The bass guitar is used in all kinds of music such as rock and roll, heavy metal, jazz, funk, country, disco, and many others.

The bass is usually considered a part of the rhythm section along with the drums because besides providing the bottom end for a song, rhythm is also kept by the bass. Of course this is not always the rule as bass players have very different styles. Some bassists play the instrument like they would play a regular guitar, producing leads and melodies that normally wouldn't be played in the average bass part.

Like the electric guitar, the vibrations of the bass guitar string cause an electrical signal to be created in sensors which are called pickups. The pickups send the vibration to the amplifier and speaker.

The acoustic bass guitar is similar to an acoustic guitar but contains a hollow body that can be heard without amplification.

The Fender precision bass was the first electric bass guitar available. It used the single split pickup design that is still widely available.

Choosing a bass guitar today can be a challenge. You need to decide:

• How many strings you need (four is the standard)
• What types of pickups do you need. Choices include Active or passive (active circuits use a battery to boost the signal), pickup type, more than one pickup giving more variation.
• What kind of finish you need. There's a wide variety range of natural wood and plastic color finishes available.
• What type of body shape you will need.
• Do you want a bass guitar with frets or fretless.

Some of the most popular bass guitar manufacturers today are:

• Ibanez
• Fender
• Epiphone
• Rickenbacker
• Squier
• Rogue
• Gibson
• Dean
• Schector
• Spector
• Washburn
• B.C. Rich
• Peavey
• Warwick
• Hofner
• Yamaha
• Music Man