For quite some time, the electric bass guitars have replaced the upright bass in popular music. These guitars have been more popularly used in the rhythm section of popular music. The more specific music genres that make use of electric bass guitars in the harmonic framework and the best include rock, blues, country, metal, pop, and country. In addition, electric bass guitars are used distinctively as soloing instruments in funk, Latin, and jazz music.
Basically, the electric bass guitars have the same appearance as with the electric guitar, however, the electric bass guitars have longer necks, larger bodies, and longer scale lengths. Moreover, there are only four pitches used in tuning to the same pitches as the double bass guitars.
The electric bass guitars are considered as transposing instruments as these are notated in an octave higher than it sounds. This is done to address excessive use of ledger lines. The tuning used for electric bass guitars, is the standard tuning used on the lower four strings of 6-string guitars; though it is an octave lower for these guitars.
Some of the most commonly used strings types in electric bass guitars include the flat wound, round wound, ground wound, and half wound. The selection of the string type is important because it influences the tonal range of these guitars. The most commonly used string type though is the round wound, which produces a greater sustain and a higher timber.
On the other hand, the tuning options for electric bass guitars include four strings, five strings, and six strings. The four strings tuning include the CGDA tuning for an extended upper and lower range. Likewise, the five strings tuning include the BEADG for an extended lower range. Furthermore, six strings tuning include the BEADGC, which is actually a four-string with additions of low B string and high C string.
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With regards to the actual equipment, there are many options out there to choose from in customizing your own setup. This can include various types of pickups, built-in equalizers and even various plugs.
The pick-guard was of a unique design that was developed to allow all of the electronics other then that of the jack plate to be surface mounted for easy access. While the design has gone through a number of changes over the years as a means of improving sound and usability, but many guitarists still prefer the feel of the older designs.
Their most popular electric is the Les Paul which was made popular by Charlie Christian during the earlier years of the 1950s. While producing a popular line, they were not able to stay afloat and by the end of the 1960s Gibson had been consumed by the Norlin Corporation. It was not until 1986 that the name would become well-known once again after the original owners rescued the company and its guitars from certain doom. As a side not, while being named after Les Paul, the guitarist had very little input into its development but rather he was paid to endorse it.
There are many authorized and unauthorized copies of the Gibson guitars available throughout the world. Many guitarists choose to collect the older Gibsons due to their rarity. As with any older guitar, the values of a well-used Gibson electric guitar is greater then that of a new one. Some fanatics will go all the way to completely restore an old Gibson if they happen to come across one somewhere. The company holds a number of firsts in the industry which has allowed them to continue to be a very popular choice for many musicians today.
