Fender Precision Bass Facts for Kids

The original model of Precision Bass

The Fender Precision Bass, often called the P-Bass, is a super famous electric bass made by Fender since 1951. It was the first electric bass that became really popular. It has four strings and a special pickup that helps make its sound loud and clear. It was also the first bass guitar to have a solid body, meaning it's made from one piece of wood.

The Need for Electric Basses
- Early Electric Bass Ideas
How the P-Bass Was Born
- Designing the First Precision Bass
Images for kids
See also

The Need for Electric Basses

For a long time, bass players mostly used the double bass. This instrument is very big and heavy, making it hard to carry around. It was also often too quiet to be heard well with other loud instruments like electric guitars or drums. This made it tough for bassists to play in bands or big performances.

Early Electric Bass Ideas

Many inventors tried to make the double bass louder. Between 1919 and 1924, a man named Lloyd Loar put a pickup on a double bass. This allowed it to be played through an amplifier, making it louder.

In the 1930s, the company Rickenbacker also made an electric double bass. Then, an American inventor named Paul Tutmarc created the "Audiovox 736 Bass." This was the first electric bass that you could play like a guitar, and it even had frets. However, these early electric basses did not sell very well.

How the P-Bass Was Born

Leo Fender, who started the company Fender, had a great idea in the 1940s. He wanted to build a new kind of electric bass with a solid body. His goal was to make a bass that was much easier to play and carry than the big double bass.

He got this idea by talking to guitar players who sometimes couldn't find jobs. They told him they could have been bass players, but the double bass was just too hard to learn and play.

Designing the First Precision Bass

Since the idea of a solid-body electric bass was new, Fender had to design it from scratch. They talked to many bass and guitar players to figure out the best way to build it. Fender had already made the popular Telecaster guitar, so they used some of those design ideas for the new bass.

The new bass was tuned just like a double bass (E-A-D-G) and had four strings. The body looked a lot like the Telecaster, but it had a longer top part near the headstock. This design helped balance the neck so it wouldn't feel too heavy when a player wore the bass with a strap. This careful design made the Precision Bass comfortable and easy to play.