A bass guitar is a stringed instrument that is used to play the lower notes in music. The bass guitar usually serves as an accompaniment to the lead guitar in a band or ensemble. The bass can be acoustic, semi-acoustic, or electric, and while it resembles a guitar, it has a few key differences.
The bass has four strings instead of the standard six strings of a guitar, though there are models with five or more. The four strings are tuned in the order E-A-D-G, from lowest to highest, with E tuned at 41.3 Hz. Although some bass guitars have no frets, the majority have 24 frets in order to achieve a string range of at least two octaves.
The most commonly used basses are semi-acoustic and electric bass guitars. The evolution of the electric version began in the early twentieth century, during the jazz era. The sounds of the accompaniment in orchestral music are created combining the sounds of several bass players. As jazz evolved, musicians sought a way for the accompaniment to be played a single musician without being drowned out the other instruments.
Electric bass guitars are commonly found in live bands performing classic and southern rock, heavy metal, jazz, and blues music today. Depending on the situation, semi-acoustic and electric basses can be played with a variety of amplifiers. A semi-acoustic model is hollow in the middle, allowing for sound resonance without the use of an amplifier, but it also has electrical components in the neck, allowing it to be played with an amplifier.
A musician’s choice of bass is largely determined personal preference and the sound he or she is attempting to achieve. Each component — the neck, the body, and the pickups — can be customized to fit a particular brand’s aesthetic. The majority of bodies are made of wood, such as mahogany or alder, and the grain is enhanced lacquering or waxing. For many players, design and color are almost as important as sound quality.