Fender Blenders
Acoustic bass guitars are relatively recent if you compare it with most other editions of the instrument. The first recorded acoustic basses were made during the 1950s and the first modern version was developed in the 1960s. Acoustic bass guitars have hollow wooden bodies similar to that of steel string acoustic guitar. They are generally fretted and have four strings. The sound produced by these instruments is quite low, that is why most acoustic basses have pickups that allow the use of amplifiers.
Fender Acoustic Bass Guitar (ABG) is a popular modern term to describe the acoustic musical instrument based on the configuration of basses pioneered by Leo Fender’s electric precision bass. The 4-string acoustic bass traces its beginning to the lowest tuned instrument of the violin family – the double bass. Like the Fender precision bass and the double bass, the Fender Acoustic Bass Guitar has 4 strings. As with the electric bass, 5+ string models of this guitar have been produced but they are relatively much less common.
Like earlier mentioned, it is virtually impossible for a strictly acoustic bass to be heard over other instruments; thus, many (but by no means all) acoustic basses are fitted with internal pickups, either magnetic or piezo-electric, or both, so that they can optionally be used with an amplifier.
There are also semi-acoustic models fitted with pickups designed to produce a distinctive tone when amplified. Thin-body semi-acoustic basses such as the violin shaped Höfner made famous by the early Beatles and several Fender Acoustic Bass Guitar models, are not normally regarded as acoustic basses at all; rather, as hollow-bodied electrical basses. But as with semi-acoustic electrical guitars, there’s a very thin line drawn between acoustic instruments fitted with pickups and electric instrument with tone-enhancing bodies.
Fender Acoustic Bass Guitar’s tonal qualities are mainly dictated by their body woods. Fender most commonly uses ash and alder, both of which give a medium, slightly bright tone as it is. Both woods are fairly light, producing bodies of about four to five pounds, adding to its appeal. The single coil pickup produces the infamous 60-cycle hum, which strangely enough emphasizes brightness on Fender Acoustic Bass Guitars. The tone is best described as bell-like and is the sound that Fender Acoustic Bass Guitars have become famous for.