Parts of the Bass

The bass is almost always made from two pieces of wood. Most of its components are the same as those you’d find on an electric guitar, only larger.

 

1. Neck: The neck is one of the two fundamental pieces that make up the bass (the other being the body). Inside the neck is a threaded metal bar called a truss rod, which is used to make adjustments to the neck. An old bass that may seem damaged or unplayable can often be fixed with a simple neck adjustment, so if you buy a used bass, it’s advisable to have the neck professionally adjusted.
2. Body: The body of the bass guitar is the other fundamental piece of the instrument to which the neck is attached. It is either a solid piece of wood or a box carved and assembled into a shape that allows for great resonance.
3. Headstock: The headstock is at the top of the neck where the tuning machines are installed.
4. Tuning machines: Each tuning machine consists of two parts: a string post, where the string is attached, and a tuning peg, which tightens or loosens the strings, thereby raising or lowering the pitch. A standard bass has four independent tuning machines.
5. Nut: A piece of ivory (or similar natural or manmade material) that’s located at the top of the fingerboard and acts as a node at one end of the vibrating string. The other end terminates at the bridge.
6. Fingerboard: A maple or rosewood panel that’s attached to the front of the neck. Frets are inlaid on the fingerboard, and strings are pressed against it.
7. Frets: Thin strips of metal set in the fingerboard. Frets are placed precisely so that when a string is pressed directly behind them, a specific pitch is produced.
8. Fret markers: Decorative mother-of-pearl or painted dots or shapes that appear at certain intervals to help a player locate notes. Smaller dots are often placed on the side of the fingerboard so that the player doesn’t have to look on the front of the bass.
9. Pick guard: A protective cover over the electronic components of the bass, such as the wiring that connects the pickups and input jack. (Not all basses have a pick guard.)
10. Pickups: Magnets that read the magnetic waves generated by the moving metal strings. An external amplifier (or amp), connected to the bass by a cable, converts these waves to sound. The sensitivity of the pickups is a critical factor in the bass’s sound.
11. Strings: The strings traverse the neck and body, stretch­ing between the tuning pegs, anchor­ing on the nut at the top of the fingerboard, and terminating at the bridge.
12. Bridge: A piece of metal that acts as a node for the vibrating strings. A good bridge allows for very fine adjustments to insure consistent tuning on all parts of the neck. As with the truss rod, the bridge of your bass should be professionally adjusted. (This type of neck/bridge adjustment is called a setup.)
13. Input jack: The port where the amp cable plugs into the guitar. It is usually located toward the bottom of the bass’s body.
14. Strap pegs: Two sturdy pegs, located at the bottom end of the bass and the top cutaway, where the guitar strap connects to the guitar. The strap you attach to the pegs must support the weight of the instrument (see “Bass Gear,” below).

Bass Gear

• Strap: The bass is a heavy instrument, so the strap you choose should be wide and durable enough to support the bass completely. Nylon straps that are 2–3" wide are easy to find; leather straps are a little more comfortable.
   
  
• Picks: Picks vary in style and thickness. Avoid thin picks—they’re not very effective on thick bass strings. There’s no difference between a bass pick and a guitar pick, though some manufacturers claim that certain picks are designed specifically for bass.
   
  
• Bass amp: A bass amplifier is designed to handle the powerful low frequencies of the bass. A small practice amp is adequate for when you’re first starting out, but if you’re playing with drums and other instruments, you’ll need much more power. Classic bass amps such as the Ampeg B-12 and B-15 are available in original and reissued models. The Ampeg SVT series is also very popular.