And part II, cos it was too long.
13 Gibson EB-2/Rivoli
Rule Britannia
In the 1960s, right after the rise of The Beatles, the British Invasion began. So called because every venue in the U.S. - and really everywhere else in the world - wanted to book a British band. At that time, for various reasons, you didn't see many Fender basses in England, but you did see many (semi-)hollowbasses from, for example, Höfner and Framus, as well as solidbodies from these brands and from the Dutch Egmond. Many British bassists then switched to the American brands and suddenly you saw very many Epiphone Rivoli's and Gibson EB-2's in the UK. And that's basically the same bass. Epiphone was more popular than Gibson, which is why in the guitar world the Epiphone Casino (Beatles and Stones) is much more popular than the equal ES-330.
Partly because of all the iconic British bands and their good music, there are still many fans of (semi-)hollow basses and today you can still buy plenty of them from the likes of Gretsch, Epiphone, Hagstrom, Warwick, Höfner, Guild and Ibanez.
14 Gibson EB-0/EB-3
Gibson’s succes story
The SG Bass, which wasn't called an SG Bass until Gibson adopted the name a few years back for a new series. Yes, there were longscale versions, even one with built-in fuzz, and a six-string version, but we're talking about the EB-0 with neck pickup and the EB-3 with neck and bridge pickup. For a while in the 1970s, it seemed like the shortscale was taking over the bass landscape. Something that is happening now in modest form as well. Besides Bill Wyman on a shortscale Mustang, we saw many influential bassists on an EB-3: Jack Bruce of Cream, Andy Fraser of Free, our Rinus Gerritsen who recorded Radar Love with it, Trevor Bolder and even the aforementioned Wyman. Not many basses breathe seventies rock like the EB-3, it was Gibson's first really successful bass and for a while it seemed that the bass would become the bass of the seventies, until the balance shifted back to Jazz in funk and disco.
15 Steinberger L
If the eighties were a bass
In recent years, we suddenly see new Steinbergers, as well as headless basses from the likes of Ibanez and Strandberg. Ned Steinberger began building basses in New York in '79 and he soon experimented with materials such as carbon fiber. In addition to using modern materials, the L Series stood out for its headstock-almost bodyless design. An "oar" according to critics. It began as a bass and later came out guitar versions. In the 1980s, the instruments were embraced by the jazz scene, the prog scene and by modern hip pop bands. Watch Live Aid in 1985 and for a moment you really think the Steinberger is the future!
Steinberger (now from Gibson) still builds the headless and bodyless models, Ned Steinberger, as NS Design, still makes very special electric double basses (also with bass guitar cues), cellos and (alto) violins, and the headless bass is back a bit. And an extra point for Ned: he also designed the Spector NS, which is still being built and from which Warwick derived the Streamer. And ironic: he designed a tuner for on the headstock of your bass!
16 Höfner 500/1
Paul McCartney – who else?
The Höfner violin bass was probably inspired by the Gibson EB-1: a bass with a solid violin-like body and endpin to play upright. However, Höfner used a hollow body and only some Dutch indorockers bought such a weird little bass. Until Paul McCartney bought one. The specific sound when you play with a pick - a tap with a low boom - has come back into fashion in recent years, and partly because of Asian models, violin basses can be seen on many stages and in studios. And you don't have to play in a Beatles cover band with a violin bass (or a Höfner Club). Think of John Stirratt of Wilco, Zach Dawes of Last Shadow Puppets, Dale Davis of Amy Winehouse, Adam Prendergast of Harry Styles, Nicolas Godin of Air, Johanna Söderberg of First Aid Kit, Paul Weller (who started at The Jam on a violin bass and now records with a Club) and Paz Lenchantin. Just to name a few.
17 Danelectro VI
The first compact six string
In 1956, Danelectro came out with the first six-string bass. Unlike a normal guitar, this shortscale was tuned from E to e. The model never really became popular, although it found a place in Nashville and Los Angeles. At the time, it was not abnormal to double a double bass with one or more basses, as with a Dano six-string: the tic-tac bass method (see also #25). Fender came out with the similar VI in 1961, and Gibson had the EB-6, which came in the body shapes of the EB-3 and EB-2. Pointed or semi-hollow, in other words. This type of six-string, not unlike the huge basses tuned from B to C, has a bevy of fans and have become more popular again in recent years for nice, dark twangy lines. Think Lana Del Ray and movie soundtracks. Fender continues to supply the VI, even as an affordable Squier: another reason why more people have started trying this bass. Would the Get Back documentary make the Bass VI even more popular?
18 Warwick Thumb
The sound of the nineties
Hans-Peter Wilfer, son of Framus founder Fred Wilfer started the bass brand Warwick in the early 1980s. The name was chosen because it sounded powerful. One of the first in-house models resembled a wooden version of the Steinberger L. More models followed, with the Corvette and the Streamer being the best known. The latter was first built under license from Spector and later Warwick changed the design slightly, making it its own model. This story is somewhat separate, but I'm sure we'll come back to that later.
Another famous bass, partly due to Jack Bruce, is the Thumb Bass. This one had a "hidden neck through," a continuous neck running under the bodytop. Wilfer experimented with unusual woods. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes by accident. He used hard woods like wenge, bubinga and afzelia because a bright sound was in in the 1980s (think carbon fiber necks), but sometimes also because he could get a lot cheap. The Thumb became famous in part because of Bruce's fretless version.
Many slappers chose Warwick and the brand was seen - especially in the US - as the Mercedes-Benz among basses. In many musical movements in the 1990s, a Warwick was almost mandatory. Warwick not only brought new woods to the bass world, but also many other innovations, such as hidden fret ends and rechargeable active electronics. The brand is also very concerned with environmentally friendly production, far ahead of the competition.
19 Carl Thompson Contrabass
The first modern sixstring
Jazz guitarist Carl Thompson began building instruments in 1974 after first working for a while as a repairman in a music store. He soon became known for his quality instruments, which included full-length necks and basses with 36- and 38-inch scale. At the same time, he built two special instruments: the piccolo bass for Stanley Clarke - Carl would later build more basses for Clarke - and the Contrabass for Anthony Jackson. This bass was the first modern six-string with BEADGC tuning. Soon such brands as Spector, Ken Smith, Alembic and Fodera followed, and today almost every manufacturer has a six-string in its model range. Carl went on and built guitars for Lou Reed and Hank Williams III and, of course, several notable basses for Les Claypool of Primus.
20 Dingwall
The torchbearer of fanned frets
Also, fanned frets are almost as old as the history of stringed instruments. The idea is that each string has its own scale to compensate for the difference in pressure exerted by the fret finger. Namely, the thicker the string, the harder you have to press, which gives a slight increase in tone. And the fan shape is quite ergonomic too. Novax Guitars is the first modern builder, but Dingwall today is synonymous with the multiscale bass. Sheldon Dingwall and his team build them in Canada - with production also in Asia. Lee Sklar and Rob van der Loo of Epica are two very well-known users, and we are seeing more and more multiscale basses entering the market. It will remain a niche product, but by now brands like Ibanez, Cort, Warwick, Spector, Marleaux, LeFay and even Thomann-owned Harley Benton have multiscale basses.
21 Earthwood
The first acoustic bass
Earthwood is a brand of Ernie Ball. The string magnate has owned Music Man since 1984, but before that he worked with George Fullerton. A name we encounter more often, as he was Leo Fender's right-hand man at Fender, Music Man and later even co-founder of G&L: George & Leo.
Ernie and George worked together on the massive Earthwood acoustic bass guitar and it is considered the first modern instrument of its kind, even if it is a bit larger than we are currently used to. The bass was produced between '72 and '74 and very occasionally you could see John Entwistle on one. A "premature birth," Ernie Ball called the bass.
Here, too, we have some honorable mentions. The American company Kay had a design for an acoustic bass back in the 1950s, but it never went into production. There were small builders who built an acoustic bass, such as Tony Zemaitis for Mike Oldfield. And then you have Mick Donner and Richard Siegle, They designed the Washburn AB-40 (and its cheaper sibling, the AB-20) and suddenly, in the 1990s, MTV Unplugged emerged: a program grafted onto the Dutch Twee Meter Sessies, where famous artists performed their repertoire acoustically. Acoustic basses became hip, Washburn was just in time, many brands followed, so maybe we should have mentioned Washburn here first?
22 Framus Triumph/Ampeg baby bass
The first EUB’s
The electric double bass, also known as EUB (Electric Upright Bass), has become a staple in bass country. Of course, there are some honorable mentions, such as the Dutch Van Zalinge bass, designed by race car driver Henk van Zalinge. Sting and Stanley Clarke played on such a Dutch product. Ned Steinberger has been making fantastic EUBs for years, also as five-string, with bass guitar cues, etc.
For the most influential EUB, we choose two models. In Europe, the Framus Triumph Bass (still available as a Warwick) was popular. Introduced in 1953 as a 4/60, the model was widely used in the jazz world. Notable users include Guy Pratt and Silvano Matadin of Urban Dance Squad.
The Dopyera brothers are not only the people behind the Dobro (Dopera Brothers), but they also invented the Zorko Bass in 1958. This was a compact EUB with a hollow fiberglass body and wooden neck/key. Ampeg's Jess Oliver (the man behind the Fliptop) changed the bass slightly. Of course Ampeg (amplified peg) was known for double bass amplification and since 1962 the bass was for sale with the Ampeg name, licensed from Zorko. The bass was now called Baby Bass and there was also a five-string version. The body was no longer fiberglass, but a special plastic called UVEX, made by Kodank, and padded with a foam. Not only was the Ampeg Baby Bass an influential EUB, but its specific sound - heard on many movie soundtracks - made the bass unique.
23 Hagström H8
The first octave stringed bass
The Hagström H8 is the world's first mass-produced eight-string bass. Over two thousand shortscales were built between 1967 and 1969, and Hagstrom still has (nowadays without the umlaut) two models in its range. You could think of it as the bass version of the much older twelve-string guitar: the four bass strings have an extra, thinner string next to them, tuned an octave higher. According to Karl-Erik Hagström, the idea came through an American dealer who had a customer asking for such a bass. Eric Krackow was the customer's name, by the way. At a time when you didn't have octave pedals, you got a unique sound, which was also too crazy with solos. Hagström advised in her leaflets to experiment with different tunings. For example, you could also tune the octave string as a fifth. The eight-string bass is still not commonplace, but among its users we see big names like Jimi Hendrix, Scott Reeder, Lemmy, Chris Squire, Mark Egan, Nick Lowe, Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, Mike Rutherford of Genesis and, of course, John Entwistle, who used it a lot on Who albums. Later brands like Rickenbacker and Warwick also came out with such basses. Nowadays you also see some ten-string basses (5x2) and a separate honorable mention goes to Hamer and Cheap Tricks Tom Petersson, who together developed the twelve-string bass. Here we see four bass strings with two octave strings each.
24 Danelectro Longhorn
Cheap and light
Nat Daniel showed that you don't need expensive woods. His vision, which Paul Reed Smith (PRS) and many other builders adopted, is that a strong neck and a light body is the perfect combination. So the Longhorn has a very tight neck (with 24 frets!) and a hollow body made of a wooden frame with a plate of masonite, a moisture-resistant hardboard often used for kitchen countertops or roofs, in front and back. The pickups were placed in lipstick enclosures and the bass became a success by players such as Rinus Gerritsen, John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, Frank Kraaijeveld, Tom Petty and many, many others.
25 Supro Pocket Bass
Cut back with bass
Above, the "doubling" of the (contra) bass with a six-string Danelectro was already mentioned: tic-tac bass, because of the click of the thin pick used in this process. But it took an extra bass player! So an instrument was developed that could play both the low of the double bass and the click of a pick.
Supro and Airline (after 1960), and later National, developed such an instrument. The Airline/Supro had a body and ultra-short (guitar size!) neck of mahogany, National made the body partly out of fiberglass; thus the model fit nicely into the "Val Pro" series. The trick of the instrument: under the bridge is a piezo pickup, without preamp. Turn that in (separately, the piezo sounds like you're amplifying the bass only through your tweeter), then, in addition to the neck pickup's bumpy tone due to the short neck, you hear the click of your pick.
Does it work? The mahogany Supro/Airline in particular, with flatwounds of course, is considered an ideal studio bass! Unlike the Airline remake from the 2010's, which definitely looked nice, but whose electronics were built like those of a regular bass guitar, with a separate output for the pre-amped piezo. Note: Meanwhile, Eastwood also has a (wooden) Airline remake and it is indeed made with the original specifications!
Thanks to Remus Aussen, Rob van den Broek, bassoutpost.com, Maarten Plukker and Hidde Roorda