hmm... what is this?

An Ernie Ball bass like it says?

 

It's a Bass for guitarists. No, wait, it's a guitar for bassists. No... However you choose to view it, the Silhouette Bass is a unique instrument, capable of a wide range of tonal colors not shared by any other axe. This short scale 6-string bass sounds as good as it looks, and makes an excellent addition to any musician's arsenal. <---"overview and specs"

 

It's a guitar tuned down one octave. I've tried one. It's actually a bear to play - the strings are pretty stiff and the string spacing makes it difficult to play fingerstyle.

 

It's Ernie Ball's version of the Fender Bass VI....

Mike

 

I think they're actually two octaves below guitar, but they're written as one octave below so that there aren't a million leger lines.

 

Not really. Baritone guitars are usually tuned B-B or A-A (that is, a 4th or a 5th below standard guitar tuning). Scale length for a baritone guitar is usually somewhere between 26-28", I think.

However, the Bass VI and the Silhouette and other instruments of this type (I think Danelectro makes one, among others) are tuned an octave below guitar, EADGBE. Scale lenght is usually somewhere around 29-30", but the pickups and string spacing are more like a guitar than a bass. Maybe you'd cal it a "octave guitar"?

Mike

 

Come now, funky! You play both guitar and bass--you know they're not two octaves apart!

Mike

 

Haha, sorry. So a tic-tac and an electric bass are actually in the same octave?

 

Yep, they are, as far as I know. I'd forgotten these things were called "tic tac basses", though!

Mike