Is electric bass a guitar ?

[IamGroot]

Yet the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, tuba, french horn, etc are all considered "the brass section"[/QUOTE
Not to haggle but sax is winds

 

[easyj]

I see comments about what we should call one, or that the name doesn't matter. I don't think this post is about the name of the instrument, it's about if the instrument is a type of guitar. "Electric Bass", "bass guitar", and "bass" are all accepted names for the instrument, so nobody is wrong if they use those terms.

 

[Badwater]

Bass is a bass, guitar is a guitar they both cover different spectrum of sound/tone.

 

[hrodbert696]

Bass is a bass, guitar is a guitar they both cover different spectrum of sound/tone.

By that reasoning a bass is a tuba. Same range of the scale.

 

[Badwater]

By that reasoning a bass is a tuba. Same range of the scale.

That could be true, then a Cello would be a bass too.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

That could be true, then a Cello would be a bass too.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

That could be true, then a Cello would be a bass too.

But a cello only goes down to C above a bass guitar's E, so it's not covering the same spectrum of sound. Also a cello is too fragile to use as either a weapon or a paddle in an emergency.

 

[Drgonzonm]

That could be true, then a Cello would be a bass too.

cello music is typically written on the bass clef, no need to call it a bass-cello, that would redundant. Bass-viola, maybe, but not bass - cello.

 

[BigBasserino]

Obviously since it looks like a guitar it should be one, or that's what wikipedia says. But apart from somewhat sterile instrument family trees, I feel naming bass a guitar or rather giving it a guitar status leads to misconceptions that go beyond that.
It implies that if you know how to play guitar you somehow know how to play bass. That if you teach guitar you should somehow know how to teach bass.
I feel this is wrong, I mean the closest instrument I feel bass is related to is double bass not guitar ! If I get a second instrument it will be EUB for sure. I actually created some problems at the (small) music school where I get instruction because I asked the violin teacher (also a bassist) for instruction and not the guitar teacher, who is supposed to be in charge of bass instruction but not himself a bassist... and plays bass like a guitar (you know what I mean).

One point maybe in favour of electric bass not really belonging to a guitar family is that it is often played fretless whereas fretless guitars are (very ?) uncommon, in fact the very definition of a guitar states that it is fretted.

Sorry if the subject has been discussed before, it is obviously quite difficult to search forums based on "bass guitar" keyword.

Opinions anyone ?

It's got frets and EQ/presence knobs. ....it doesn't automatically mean it'll sound like....well, a synth bass or upright. I mean those two are usually pretty specifically tuned to have bassy timbre. A bass guitar? You can be Sid Vicious, Jamerson, Wooten, the buzzy beehive (grindcore bass), your place is more or less what you make it and what your band leader will put up with.

 

[7615]

The reason the upright bass is called a double bass as it reads the same clef as cello but sounds one octave below the cello.

So Cello is a bass - Bass is double bass.

 

[lokikallas]

There is no such thing as an electric baritone. It is an electric baritone guitar.