{"id":938,"date":"2022-06-10T18:24:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-11T01:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassguitarshack.com\/?p=938"},"modified":"2022-06-10T18:48:09","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T01:48:09","slug":"electric-upright-bass-guitars-history-and-a-brief-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassguitarshack.com\/electric-upright-bass-guitars-history-and-a-brief-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric Upright Bass Guitars: History and a Brief Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all love the sound of a double bass. The deep and earthy tone can be both thunderous and soothing, playful yet menacing. The invention of the electric bass guitar took the double bass and made it more portable, louder, and faster; not to mention giving musicians a whole new array of sounds to play with. But, has the electric upright bass made the same strides for bass players?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bass guitar players occasionally yearn for that meaty double bass tone. Not only the woody, deep tones, but that buzz as your fingers slide up and down a fretless fingerboard. Sometimes the fretless sound is just what the groove doctor ordered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you imagine songs like Every time You Go Away<\/em> (Paul Young) without the masterful fretless bass work of Pino Palladino<\/a> or even the music of Weather Report by the grandmaster Jaco Pastorius?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The electric upright (or standup) bass steps up to fulfill multiple needs of a bass player today. It provides the fretless fingerboard for those much-needed glissandos and as close to an acoustic sound as possible, with the portability and ease of playing that you get from a bass guitar. For many players, the electric upright bass is just what they need. And, it looks so cool too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decades ago, electric standup basses were not that easy to come by. However, today there are many brands out there catering to the bass-playing market. There is an instrument to suit a wide range of budgets, not to mention design options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at how electric upright basses have developed alongside their guitar-sized cousins, who plays them, and what\u2019s out there on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History of the electric upright bass <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The development of the electric upright bass and the bass guitar go hand in hand. Popular music was getting louder as the years rolled on and bassists needed to be heard, by the band and the audience both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far back as the 1930s, inventors and designers looked at ways to give the bass a boost. The task at hand: build an instrument that was easy to carry around but produce enough sound to carry the low-end of the band. Instruments like the Mandobass, based on a mandolin, tried their luck but couldn\u2019t cut it with weak resonance and uncomfortable playability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The light at the end of the tunnel came from the amplification revolution. Technological development with transistors and vacuum tube rectifiers opened the gates for electric instruments, including the electric guitar and the electric upright bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first wave of EUBs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first contenders to electrify the double bass created solid-bodied instruments with magnetic pickups. Among the first companies were Vega, Regal, Rickenbacker, and Gibson. Interestingly enough, Gibson began work on an electric upright bass prototype back in 1924. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bass designer Lloyd Loar made one of the first with the earliest form of the electro-static pickups. Due to the limits on amplification technology at the time, the instrument never went into production.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning to the early 1930s, Vega launched their Electric Bass Viol. However, it was Regal\u2019s Electrified Double Bass and Rickenbacker\u2019s Electro Bass-Viol, launched in 1936, that showcased better-equipped instruments. The solid centerpiece design with the top headstock and long floor peg became the design standard which has not changed even in today\u2019s market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over in Europe, Finnish jazz musicians and inventor-brothers Valter and Gunnar Strommer attempted to build their version of an electric upright bass. They completed a prototype in the late 1940s. It consisted of a traditional bass neck and a small body with two magnetic pickups attached that was mounted on top of a tripod stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The electric upright bass in the 1950s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The development of the electric upright bass took a back seat during the 1950s when musical tastes began to change. American country music, rhythm and blues, and the burgeoning style of rock and roll required even louder, raunchier music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, instruments needed to keep up. It was around this time that the great Leo Fender patented his 1951 Precision bass, which has become the bass guitar standard and has influenced popular music ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Ampeg and Zorko continued to refine the electric upright bass during the 1960s and 1970s. Even in 1958, Zorko released their Zorko Bass with a hollow fiberglass body and slightly shortened fingerboard. Ampeg went further in the 1960s by designing electric stand-up basses with aluminum inductively coupled bridges connected to magnetic pickups. Though still weak, they were an improvement on the Zorko bass design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in Europe, German company Framus and Czech company Grazioso released their own electric upright bass models. Both companies experimented with different body and pickup designs, attempting to capture the double bass tone with varying degrees of success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Arco<\/em>, by Grazioso, is a famous example of the time. However, it was bought out by the Selmer Musical Instrumental Company and rebranded as the Futurama Bass<\/em>. The basses by Framus maintained a \u201cbass guitar like\u201d tone, which many of today\u2019s electric upright bass models emulate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern day EUBs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to the 21st century, companies such as Yamaha, NS (Ned Steinberger), and BSX have refined the electronics and tonal possibilities of the electric upright bass. Newer generations of pickup technology and body materials give current-day bassists new possibilities to explore sounds with upright basses in their music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electric upright bass pros and cons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After delving into the history of the electric upright bass, you might be thinking, what are the pros and cons of owning one? Like all instruments, it comes down to personal preference, style of music, and creative goals. Let’s have a look at some pros and cons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n