Models

Hofner 500/1

Violin-style hollow-body electric bass family

Electric bass

The famous "violin bass," a hollow, violin-shaped electric bass made by the German maker Hofner. Lightweight and short-scaled with a warm, thumpy tone, it is inseparable from Paul McCartney, who has played one throughout his career.

Audiovox Model 736 Bass Fiddle

Early solid-body electric bass guitar

A solid-body, fretted electric bass guitar developed by Paul Tutmarc and marketed by his Audiovox Manufacturing Company in Seattle from around 1936. With four strings, a roughly 30.5-inch scale, and a single pickup, it is widely regarded as the first electric bass guitar, predating the Fender Precision Bass by about fifteen years.

Höfner 500/2 Club Bass

Short-scale hollow-body electric bass

Electric bass

A short-scale hollow-body electric bass made by the German maker Höfner, a single-cutaway sibling of the famous 500/1 violin bass. Introduced in the late 1950s, the 500/2 Club Bass shares the violin bass's light hollow body and warm, thumpy short-scale tone and is associated with the early-1960s Beatles/Hamburg era. Höfner continues to offer Club Bass reissues.

Danelectro Longhorn Bass

Short-scale Masonite-body electric bass

Electric bass

A short-scale electric bass made by the American brand Danelectro, introduced in the late 1950s. Its dramatic twin long horns let a two-octave neck sit on a compact body, and its lightweight Masonite construction and lipstick pickups give a warm, woody tone. An early favourite of players such as John Entwistle.

Grez Grand Tour Bass

Short-scale semi-hollow bass

The Grand Tour Bass is Grez Guitars' short-scale semi-hollow bass, built around a 16-inch Honduran mahogany body with a carved spruce top, a 30-inch scale Macassar ebony fretboard, a Halon bridge, and Curtis Novak pickups.

Fender Mustang Bass

Bass guitar

Electric bass

A short-scale student bass introduced in 1966, the Mustang Bass has a compact offset body, a 30-inch scale, and a split single-coil pickup. Its small size and warm, round tone have made it a favorite for younger players and for studio work.

Gibson EB-0

Bass guitar

Electric bass · United States

A short-scale electric bass introduced in 1959 that soon adopted the slim, double-horned SG body shape. A single large humbucker mounted near the neck gives it a deep, round, bass-heavy tone.

Fender Bass VI

Electric bass

Electric bass

Introduced in 1961, the Bass VI is a six-string bass tuned a full octave below a guitar, built on a short 30-inch scale with an offset body, three single-coil pickups, and a floating tremolo. Its tight, trebly voice sits between guitar and bass, and it was used by players including Jack Bruce and members of the Beatles.