9/4/2019 Acoustic bass guitar - Wikipedia

Acoustic bass guitar

The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a
hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric
bass guitar and the double bass, the acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E-A-D-
G, an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6-string guitar, which is the same tuning pitch as an electric bass
guitar.

Because it can sometimes be difficult to hear an acoustic bass guitar without an amplifier, even in settings with other
acoustic instruments, most acoustic basses have pickups, either magnetic or piezoelectric or both, so that they can be
amplified with a bass amp.

Traditional music of Mexico features several varieties of acoustic bass guitars, such as the guitarrón, a very large,
deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass guitar played in Mariachi bands, the león, plucked with a pick, and the
bajo sexto, with six pairs of strings.

Contents
History
Construction and tuning
Manufacturers
Mexican bass guitars
See also
References
External links

History
The first modern acoustic bass guitar was developed in the mid-1950s by Kay of Chicago Harpone started producing
their B4 model in 1965 under the name Supreme. In 1967 Harptone started producing the B4 under their name
production ended in 1975. Note. They also made a very limited number under the Standel logo. Ernie Ball of San Luis
Obispo, California, began producing a model in the early 70's. Ball's aim was to provide bass guitarists with a more
acoustic-sounding instrument that would match better with the sound of acoustic guitars. Ball stated that "...if there
were electric bass guitars to go with electric guitars then you ought to have acoustic basses to go with acoustic guitars."
Ball notes that "...the closest thing to an acoustic bass was the Mexican guitarron...in mariachi bands, so I bought one
down in Tijuana and tinkered with it."[1]

Ball collaborated with George Fullerton, a former employee at Fender, to develop the Earthwood acoustic bass guitar,
which was introduced in 1972. Production of this instrument ceased in 1974, resuming a few years later under the
direction of Ernie Ball's employee Dan Norton, until production finally ended again in 1985. The Earthwood acoustic
bass guitar was quite large (and deep) in contrast to most instruments in current production, which gave it more
volume, especially in the low register.photo 1 (http://www.reyesaccordions.com/Images/Earthwood77.jpg)photo 2 (http://www.lisa-und-
georg.de/mediac/400_0/media/BME1.jpg)photo 3 (http://www.lisa-und-georg.de/mediac/400_0/media/Me~$26~Ernie.jpg) The Ernie Ball
company describes Ball's design as "an idea before its time"; the instrument was little used in acoustic musical
performances until the late 1980s, when the acoustic basses were used in performances on the MTV Unplugged
television program.[1] The Earthwood was quickly supplanted by the Washburn AB-40 designed by Mick Donner and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_bass_guitar 1/4
9/4/2019 Acoustic bass guitar - Wikipedia

Richard Siegle. The AB-40 and the more affordable AB-20 became the instrument of choice for
bass players appearing on Unplugged.[2]

Folk bass player Ashley Hutchings used the acoustic bass guitar with his Etchingham Steam
Band in 1974 and 1975.[3] An early user of the acoustic bass guitar in rock was English multi-
instrumentalist and composer Mike Oldfield, who had one custom-built for him by luthier Tony
Zemaitis in the mid-1970s. Mike used the bass on a number of his recordings from that time
onwards, a prominent example being his 1975 album Ommadawn. Brian Ritchie of Violent
Femmes was also an early user of acoustic bass guitars.

Construction and tuning

Unlike the electric bass guitar, which is generally a solid body instrument, the acoustic bass
Eston acoustic guitar usually has a hollow wooden body similar to (though usually somewhat larger than) that
bass guitar with of the steel-string acoustic guitar. The majority of acoustic basses are fretted, but a significant
no electric number are fretless instead. Semi-fretted versions also exist, although they are quite rare.
pickup, fretless
but with fretlike Like the traditional electric bass and the double bass, the acoustic bass guitar commonly has
markers, made four strings, which are normally tuned E-A-D-G, an octave below the lowest four strings of the
in Italy in the
6-string guitar. Like the electric bass guitar, models with five or more strings have been
1980s
produced, although these are less common. In part, this is because the body of an acoustic bass
guitar is too small to produce a resonance of acceptable volume at lower pitches on the low "B"
string. One solution uses the five string acoustic bass to add an additional high string ("E-A-D-G-C") instead of adding
a low "B". Another solution is to rely on amplification to reproduce the low "B" string's notes.

There are also semi-acoustic models, fitted with pickups, for use with an amplifier. The
soundbox of these instruments is not large enough to amplify the sound. Instead, it produces a
distinctive tone when amplified, similarly to semi-acoustic electric guitars. Thin-body semi-
acoustic basses such as the violin-shaped Höfner made famous by the early Beatles and several
Fender models are not normally regarded as acoustic basses at all, but rather as hollow-bodied
bass guitars. There are also semi-acoustic basses such as Godin Guitars' "A-Series" that, once
amplified, sound much closer between acoustic bass guitars and upright basses (double bass),
and have been used in professional circles to "simulate" one when it would be impractical for
transportation and other reasons to use a full-sized upright bass. As with semi-acoustic electric
guitars, the line between acoustic instruments fitted with pickups and electric instruments with
tone-enhancing bodies is sometimes hard to draw, especially when some instruments can also
be equipped with a variety of pickups such as piezo pickups, the "standard" of acoustic-electric
instruments as well as synth pickups that can replay "virtual" upright bass sounds and bring a
semi-acoustic bass much closer to a double bass sonically. Saga Musical Instruments produces
a four-string bass resonator guitar under their Regal brand name.videos (https://web.archive.org/we Washburn AB-
b/20070715071841/http://www.folkofthewood.com/page2517.htm) 10 Acoustic-
National Reso-Phonic Guitars also
Electric Bass
produce three models of resonator bass guitar.[1] (http://www.nationalguitars.com/newinstru Guitar
ments.html#bass)

Manufacturers
Other manufacturers of acoustic bass guitars (not mentioned above) include Alvarez, Ibanez, Boulder Creek Guitars,
Breedlove, Chesbro Music Company (Teton Guitars), Cort, Crafter, Jerzey, Dean, Eko, Epiphone, Eston, Furch, Guild,
Washburn, Maton, Ovation and its subsidiary Applause, Michael Kelly, Prestige, Ribbecke Halfling Bass, Sunlite,
Takamine, Tacoma, Tanglewood, Taylor, Larrivée, Lindo Guitars, Warwick, Fender, Gibson and Martin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_bass_guitar 2/4
9/4/2019 Acoustic bass guitar - Wikipedia

Mexican bass guitars

Traditional music of Mexico features varieties of acoustic bass guitars. The
bajo sexto, with six pairs of strings, resembles a twelve-string guitar tuned
an octave lower. The heavy gauge strings generate a large string tension,
yet the guitar is built relatively lightly. Musicians began to use the bajo
sexto in Texas in the 1920s with the rise of "Tex-Mex" music, and remains
in common use to play parts that would be played by the piano in
traditional American popular music. The tuning of these instruments is
(capital letters are an octave lower than small letters):

BAJA SEXTO - Ee Aa Dd Gg Cc Ff
BAJO SEXTO - Ee Aa Dd Gg Bb ee

The guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass

guitar played in Mariachi bands. Other Latin American acoustic bass
Mexican guitarrón acoustic bass
guitars exist as well, see: Bordonua. guitar

See also
Bass guitar
Contrabass guitar
Double bass
Mandobass

References
1. History of Ernie Ball Strings and Music Man Guitars (http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/history/) Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20050830093307/http://www.ernieball.com/mmonline/history/) August 30, 2005, at the
Wayback Machine - Ernie Ball
2. Bassie (25 November 2017). "Geschiedenis van de basgitaar: van 1936 tot heden" (https://basgitaarshop.nl/basgi
taren/geschiedenis-van-de-basgitaar/). Basgitaar (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 March 2018.
3. "The Etchingham Steam Band" (https://mainlynorfolk.info/guvnor/records/theetchinghamsteamband.html).
mainlynorfolk.info.

External links
Acoustic bass guitars (http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Articles/Special%20interest/Acbass/acbass.htm)
The Tinozza Acoustic Bass Guitar (http://www.liutaiomottola.com/instruments/Tinozza.htm) Description and
downloadable plans for a flattop ABG
The Uccello Grasso Acoustic Bass Guitar (http://www.liutaiomottola.com/instruments/uccello.htm) Description and
downloadable plans for an archtop ABG
The Bassola Acoustic Bass Guitar (http://www.liutaiomottola.com/PrevPubs/Bassola/Bassola.htm) Description
and summary assembly instructions for a large archtop ABG
Discover a Hobby: Online guide to learn Bass Guitar (http://www.discoverahobby.com/learnbassguitar.htm)
5 string ABG (https://web.archive.org/web/20060513114910/http://www.banjo.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=78
0) tuned B-E-A-D-G
Ribbecke Guitar Co. - http://www.ribbeckehalfling.com
Play Bass (http://www.play-bass.com)
How To Play Bass (http://www.how-to-play-bass.com)
tubular.net (Mike Oldfield fan site): Discography - Ommadawn (https://web.archive.org/web/20120319194640/htt
p://tubular.net/discography/Ommadawn.shtml)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_bass_guitar 3/4
9/4/2019 Acoustic bass guitar - Wikipedia

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acoustic_bass_guitar&oldid=888273934"

This page was last edited on 18 March 2019, at 02:09 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using
this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_bass_guitar 4/4