Ask most people who created the modern electric bass guitar and they will tell you it was Leo Fender. However, there were at least 5 other prototypes of similar design to the already familiar through modern bass, each done well before Fender introduced the world to the Precision Bass in 1951.

The modern bass is a direct descendant of the double bass, which dates from the 17th century. It was not until the early 20th century that serious design has been changed to more practical.

In the 1920s, Lloyd Loar, who worked for Gibson, the first electric double bass. The bass use an electro-static pickup, but the amplification of the bass frequencies are still inadequate, so there is no practical way to hear the instrument. In the 1930s, Paul Tutmarc became the first person known in the bass to refine a more practical size. The first prototype of the size of a cello, and presented a selection of base, but this proved too heavy, and the design was refined to be more like a guitar. Under this new was 42 inches long, solid body, made of black walnut and the piano and strings, as above, with a pick-up.

In the mid-30s, several companies established musical "Lyon & Healy, Gibson and Rickenbacker called" began marketing electric bass guitars that were experimental, Tutmarc prototype bass, much less bulky than a standard bass. However, these were long, fretless instruments upright standard.

In 1940, Paul Jr. Tutmarc began manufacturing guitars and basses, including the Serenader bass. This was distributed by L.D. Heater Music Co. in Portland, Oregon, and was the first time a major distributor of electric bass processes. The genius is that this new instrument is a bass guitar â € "an agreement, fretless instrument that can be held and played horizontally. The main design features were:

# The pick-up - designed as the bass was often drowned out by the brass section of the jazz bands.
# The size - the bassist had to travel only by the size of the instrument, and on several occasions for travel by road to the show, which is separated from the rest of the band. The new compact design meant that the bassist could travel with the rest of the group.

There was very little progression of the famous Leo Fender Precision Bass in 1951 provided. This was the name of the Precision Bass as the frets on the instrument allowed the notes to be played with precision. This was for many people, the first real electric bass, since it was the most recognizable and bass mass produced at the time, and still is. Design is the most copied serious history. In 1957 he redesigned the pick-up in a pickup truck division, and the striker and the head.

In 1960, he designed and made Fender Jazz Bass, with two separate pills instead of a pick-up separation and precision. The popularity of the Fender meant that bass after Gibson, Rickenbacker and Hofner. This led to a wave of popularity in the modern bass, and led to what is known as today - an important part of rock, blues, jazz, funk, reggae and many other genres of popular music.

In 1959 he created the first Danelectro 6 strings, E-A-D-G-B-E melodies, and Gibson and Fender used this idea to the Gibson EB-6 in 1960 and the Fender VI in 1962. Fender offered the first 5 of the cord, in 1964, with the Fender V.

In 1965 came the first and fretless Ampeg AUBI out in 1968 showed an 8-string Hagstroem. The first fretless 6-string (later owned by Les Claypool) was built by Carl Thompson in 1978. By playing styles as Slap and pop, the variable number of strings and different combinations of woods, neck, pickups, etc should be much more varied. EMG Pickups were widely used in bass guitar.

Bass was popularized by early players like James Jamerson and John Entwistle in 60 years, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius in 70 years, and Marcus Miller and Cliff Burton in the 80 years. Late 80s saw a decline in the popularity of the serious, such as fashion was synthesized electronic dance music. However, the bass had more diversified away from the bass.

Today, bass has increased in popularity due to the bassists like Les Claypool (Primus) and Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), who have demonstrated the importance of the bass in modern music. Unfortunately, the bass dropped in popularity because it is unable to compete with the compact size and versatility of the bass. Now, if someone speaks of a bass, the mind jumps immediately an image of an electric bass, more than its predecessor, the acoustic upright.