Fender Precision Bass

     Fender played a huge part in the evolution of the 6-stringed electric guitar, but it was nothing compared to what they have done for the bass guitar. Before 1951, if you wanted to play a four stringed instrument that produced low bass notes, your only real option was to play a double bass. Then Fender brought out the Precision Bass - a radical looking instrument which you could plug into an amplifier and rumble the picture frames off your walls with.

     Similarly to the Telecaster, the recipe for the P-Bass hasn't much changed over the years. From 1951 to 1957, all Precision Bass guitars came with one single coil pickup. After this, Fender started fitting them with a split humbucking pickup. The basic shape hasn't changed a bit, apart from a few minor cutaways to the body to make it more comfortable to hold. These days you can have one with a maple fretboard, an extra pickup or even a switch on the headstock that down-tunes the lowest string by one step. There are over 20 different versions of the P-Bass, and thats before you consider the plethora of different colours that are available.

     To say that the Precision Bass has had an big impact on modern music would be somewhat of an understatement. If you ever watch coverage of a music festival, I guarantee you that at least one acts you see on stage will be using a Precision Bass. It has a unique sound that has been featured on countless records during its lifetime.