The bass guitar or electric bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length, and typically four to six strings. The four-string bass is usually tuned E, A, D, and G. It is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, or by striking with a pick. The electric bass guitar has pickups and must be connected to an amplifier and speaker. In the mid-1950s the bass guitar largely replaced the double bass in popular music.
