Bass guitar

:For other uses of the term see Bass (disambiguation).

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A bass guitar is an electric or acoustic bass - a stringed instrument similar in design to the guitar, but with longer scale and tuned lower in pitch. The instrument is a descendant of the double bass (a cousin of the violin and viola da gamba) and shares design attributes of the electric guitar and features in common with a range of other bass instruments. Electric bass guitars may be fretted or fretless, although fretted basses are more common.

Related Topics:
Acoustic - Guitar - Scale - Double bass - Violin - Viola da gamba - Electric guitar - Bass instrument

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The electric bass, in contrast to the electric upright bass, is played while being held horizontally across the body and may be played with the fingers (and sometimes the thumb) or a plectrum (pick).

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In electric basses, as with the electric guitar, vibrations of metal strings create electrical signals in electromagnetic sensors called pickups. The signals are then amplified and played through a speaker. Various electronic components, and the configuration of the amplifier and speaker, can be used to alter the basic sound of the instrument.

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The electric bass is the standard bass instrument in many musical genres, including country, jazz, many flavors of rock and roll, soul, funk, and modern orchestral music.

Related Topics:
Musical genre - Country - Jazz - Rock and roll - Soul - Funk

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