Bass guitar

Bass guitar

Fender Jazz Bass
String instrument
Other names	Electric bass, bass
Classification	String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	321.322 (Composite chordophone)
Inventor(s)	Paul Tutmarc,
Developed	1930s
Playing range
Range of a standard tuned 4-string bass guitar (brackets: 5-string)
Related instruments
Electric guitar Double bass Acoustic bass guitar Ukulele bass Fretless bass Electric upright bass

The bass guitar, electric bass (/beɪs/) is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an electric but with a longer neck and scale length. The electric bass guitar most commonly has four strings, though five- and six-stringed models are also built. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has replaced the double bass in popular music due to its lighter weight, smaller size, most models' inclusion of frets for easier intonation, and electromagnetic pickups for amplification.

The bass guitar is usually tuned the same as the double bass, corresponding to pitches one octave lower than the four lowest-pitched strings of a guitar (typically E, A, D, and G). It is played with the fingers and thumb or with a pick.

Because the electric bass guitar is acoustically a quiet instrument, it requires external amplification, generally via electromagnetic or piezo-electric pickups. It can also be used with direct input boxes, audio interfaces, mixing consoles, computers, or bass-effects processors which offer headphone jacks.