Bass Guitar Shop

Famous bass guitars

One of the most popular manufacturers of bass guitars, as with electric guitars, is Fender, who pioneered the Bass guitar. The bass guitar is heavily associated with rock music and has been used over the years by the likes of Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler, Metallica's Cliff Burton and The Who's John Entwhistle as well as literally thousands more artists across multiple genres.

The effect of wood on the bass guitar sound

The majority of bass guitars are solidbody, meaning there is no space inside the body of the bass guitar to allow sounds to reverberate naturally as with acoustic instruments. The cheapest solidbody bass guitars are typically made from softer woods such as ply or plastic, with hard woods like maple, rosewood and mahogany used on more expensive bass guitar models.

As far as solidbody bass guitars are concerned, mahogany produces a dense and woody sound and fits in well with the country and blues style of music. Rosewood on the other hand is generally considered to create a more metallic bass guitar sound that is rich and complex in both the high and low registers. Meanwhile, maple has a flatter tone that can work particularly well when playing bass guitar at a loud volume.

Hollowbody bass guitars are used, but are mostly for those who enjoy jazz and folk music, as they create a quieter, more acoustic bass guitar sound better suited to this type of playing.