IV. Bass Guitars:
Bass guitars are made in four-string, five-string, and six-string models. Some are made with more than six strings, but these are not for the beginning player. Basses have a larger body, longer neck, and longer scale length than guitars. They are made in both fretted, and fretless models. Most are solid-body, but some are hollow-body, which changes the tone and resonance of the instrument. At present, this website does not sell fretless instruments. They might be added to our selection some time in the future.
A fretted, four-string, solid-body electric bass is the most common. It is tuned E, A, D, G, like the four lower strings of a guitar, but pitched one octave lower. Music for the bass is notated in bass clef. A bass is a "transposing instrument" because it is read one octave higher than concert pitch. This method of notation is used to avoid the use of excessive ledger lines. Writing the music for actual concert pitch would make the notation difficult to read. The instrument is tuned to make it equivalent to the double bass. What, you may ask, is a double bass?
Double Bass: This instrument is known as contrabass, or upright bass. The name derives from early use in orchestras to double the part of a cello. It is the lowest-pitched instrument in an orchestra, playing at frequencies near the lower limit of the human ear. All modern bass guitars are tuned to it. You need to at least know what it is if you plan to play a bass guitar. This website does not sell the double bass.
Design Considerations: Fretted basses divide the fingerboard into semitone intervals, similar to a guitar. The sound is louder and clearer than a fretless bass. Beginning players will usually start with a fretted bass, and then also play a fretless bass later. Fretless bass has a distinctive sound, more like a double bass. The tone is more muted. It allow for expressive techniques like glissando, and vibrato to be used. It is up to the player to decide which type of instrument best fits his taste in music, (hence the need for discussion with an instructor).
History: The electric bass was invented in the 1930s, but didn't create very much interest at the time. In the 1950s, Fender introduced a model with a slab body similar to a Telecaster, and with one single-coil pickup. A couple of years later, Gibson introduced their own version. Since then, bass guitars have been through numerous improvements and modifications.
Amplification: The ability of the human ear to pick up sound falls off at lower frequencies. You will need to buy an amplifier specifically designed for bass. Bass amps are equipped with different loudspeakers than guitar amps. Speaker cabinets are more sturdily constructed, and more heavily braced. The cabinets have metal fins for passive cooling, (larger amps have cooling fans), to dissipate heat produced by higher-power circuitry, and by vibrations from low-frequency music. At present, this website does not sell the high-wattage bass amps required for large venues. Since our website is designed to meet the needs of the beginning player, we have bass amplifiers suitable for practice, and for small venues.
Amplifiers are made as "tube" amps, and solid-state transistor amps. This website only sells solid-state transistor "combo" amplifiers. This is the most common type sold everywhere today. Most modern amplifiers are "combo" amps. That is: They are a combination of speaker and cabinet, rather than two serarate pieces. Although we don't sell tube amps, they do require some explanation The older technology used in "tube" amps, (vacuum tubes), might make them appear to be obsolete. On the contrary! These amps are very popular. A tube amp is a highly desirable piece of equipment. On the downside, they do tend to be heavy. Some high-end modern amps are made with a combination of tubes and solid-state transistors to keep down the weight. The price of a tube amp tends to be more than the average beginning player wants to pay.
Our Bass Selection:
* Spencer Electric Bass is a solid-body, fretted, four-string bass. The appearance is similar to a Stratocaster guitar with a white pickguard. It has two four-pole, split, single-coil pickups. For detail about pickups, please refer to the "Definitions" section on the "How to Choose an Amplifier" page.
* Stadium Viola-Shape "Beatles" Electric Bass is a copy of the Hofner model 500/1, first manufactured in 1956. This bass was popularized by Beatles musician, Paul McCrtney. McCartney, (who is left-handed), liked it for the light weight. He also like the symmetrical shape, which allowed it to be easily adapted for left-hand players. It is a hollow-body, semi-acoustic instrument. (Semi-acoustic is not to be confused with acoustic/electric. You can find a definition of semi-acoustic in the "How to Choose an Electric Guitar" page.) The strings are tuned E, A, D, G, like the four lower strings on a guitar, but pitched an octave lower than a guitar. It has a warm, woody, double-bass-like amplified tone. Musicians love it for the smooth, sweet sound, and ease of playing.
* Spencer Acoustic Bass is an acoustic/electric instrument.. (You will find a definition of acoustic/electric on the "How to Choose an Acoustic Guitar" page.) The piezoelectric pickup picks up signals from vibrations in the body, rather than vibrations directly from the strings. For this reason, resonance qualities of wood used in the instrument are very important. The spruce top, with mahoganey sides and back, provide for excellant resonance in our acoustic bass. You will also like the handsome appearance of the ablone shell inlays.
