Talk:Bass guitar

Semi-protected edit request on 30 September 2020
In the 1970s section the article states “In the mid-1970s, Alembic and other high-end manufacturers, such as Tobias, began offering five-string basses, with a very low "B" string.” Note: Tobias was founded in 1977. This article would not be complete without mentioning Carl Thompson’s five string bass, featuring a low “B”, completed in May of 1976. Source: https://ctbasses.com/photo-collection/5-string-basses

Otherwise the article is misleading by skipping what may have been the first five string with a Low “B”. 80.218.112.71 (talk) 20:49, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Melmann 11:10, 1 October 2020 (UTC)

So many citations needed
This page is surprisingly messy for what I'd think is not a minor article. I'm going to have a go at sourcing citations and tidying up. Please do revert any changes if not up to standard and feed back. Jesuschristposed (talk) 21:03, 31 December 2020 (UTC)
 * It's good to see that there is some interest in bringing this article up to encyclopedic standards. However, I noticed that a couple of the linked sourced you added are not considered reliable by WP. It may be helpful to review WP:Reliable sources and WP:Verifiability, particularly the sections WP:AFFILIATE and WP:SELFPUBLISH. I replaced the current retail-type sources for McCartney's use of a Hofner using an existing source. Also, wasn't the first Gibson originally identified as just "EB" or "electric bass", with "EB-1" later added to distinguish it from the EB-2? —Ojorojo (talk) 18:30, 4 January 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for the help @Ojorojo! I've mostly looked at vandalised articles and tidied smaller local ones before, not really something like this. I'll read up and hopefully improve this article. Your feedback is much appreciated Jesuschristposed (talk) 21:31, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, thank you for helping improve this article. You might find the list of sources at WP:RSINSTRUMENT useful too. Popcornfud (talk) 21:34, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Bestbassgear.com and other user-generated/forum/blog-type sources as well as retailers (Atbguitars.com) are not considered reliable sources for WP articles. Rather than add more "citation needed" tags, I've removed the unsourced material. Googlebook searches list sources for electric bass and bass guitar. Not all are RS (see WP:Identifying Reliable Sources), but should give you an idea (along with those linked by ). —Ojorojo (talk) 15:16, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

Grove on tuning - apostrophes?
In the #Terminology section, we quote Grove saying "tuned E1'–A1'–D2–G2".

What do the apostrophes mean? Without them, it's normal scientific pitch notation. That article talks about using primes instead of numbers, but not with them (and apostrophes aren't primes). So what is this intending to say, and why can't it just be E1–A1–D2–G2 ? -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 12:08, 13 May 2022 (UTC)


 * @Finlay McWalter Hello, it seems it's using both scientific pitch notation and Helmholtz pitch notation. Per Manual of Style/Stringed instrument tunings, it should use one or the other and explain it. (Edit: I also don't think this needs to be a referenced quote. It's pretty obvious what a bass is.) Why? I Ask (talk) 13:09, 13 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Yes, that's what I was thinking it meant (but it should still be primes and not apostrophes, and D2 and G2 would need double primes). In that case, I think we can source it from Grove without quoting Grove, as you suggest. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 13:40, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

This is not a grammatical sentence and is confusing. Neither Kay nor Danelectro "made" Burns London.
Kay Musical Instrument Company began production of the K-162 in 1952, Danelectro released the Longhorn in 1956, and Burns London/Supersound in 1958. 66.210.125.114 (talk) 00:05, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

Lowest Pitched
"The bass guitar...is the lowest-pitched member of the string family." That's a bit overbroad, isn't it? There are no string instruments with a lower range than bass guitar? Or should this statement refer to the guitar family specifically? 69.128.140.82 (talk) 18:44, 3 January 2023 (UTC)