Extended-range bass refers to an electric bass guitar with greater frequency range than the standard 4-string bass guitar. Bass guitars tuned one octave lower than a standard four-string instrument are also considered an extended-range bass. "Extended range-bass" does not refer to 8 string bass guitars which have doubled or tripled courses of octave strings.
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The Danelectro 6-string bass (1956) and the Fender Bass VI (1961) were tuned EADGBE, an octave lower than standard guitar tuning. In 1975, Anthony Jackson asked Carl Thompson to build him a six-string bass guitar tuned (from low to high) BEADGC, which he called the contrabass guitar. Jackson's bass extended the range of the bass both lower and higher than a four-string. Though Jackson initially received much criticism for the new instrument, the deep sounds of the low "B" string has become a standard in many genres including metal, R&B, funk, and gospel.
In the late 1980s, luthier Michael Tobias made the first bass with more than six single course strings, a custom order seven string bass for bassist Garry Goodman, tuned BEADGCF. Since that time, luthiers have been adding strings to their custom basses. In 1995, luthier Bill Conklin made a 9-string bass for Bill "Buddha" Dickens. Subsequently, other luthiers built instruments with 8, 9, 10 and 11 strings. Custom bass builders have added both lower strings (such as F# and C#) and higher strings (such as F and Bb) to the six-string bass guitar.
While the extended-range bass instruments are built using the same design methods as the more traditional electric bass, some performers view it as an entirely new instrument, since its expanded range permits high-register melodies, four- and five-note chords, and other techniques.
Construction of basses with more than 7 strings has largely been the realm of boutique luthiers, with the exception of several production-run models including Galveston 7- and 8-string basses and the recently discontinued Conklin Groove-Tools line of 7-string basses. Some extended-range basses are tailor-made to a player's specific preferences, including much variation in scale length, appearance, and electronics. Due to the fact that the scale length of a typical bass guitar (34" or 35") produces excessive tension on the highest strings of extended-range basses, many builders opt to use Novax Guitars' fanned-fret system to achieve a variable-scale instrument and prevent these strings from breaking.
Usually, extended-range basses are tuned in 4ths, and the most common methods include tuning 7-string bass to F#BEADGC or BEADGCF, an 8-string to F#BEADGCF, a 9-string to F#BEADGCFBb, a 10-string to C#F#BEADGCFBb or F#BEADGCFBbEb, an 11-string to C#F#BEADGCFBbEb or F#BEADGCFBbEbAb, and a 12-string to C#F#BEADGCFBbEbAb or BEADGCFBbEbAbDbGb.
The techniques used to play the extended-range bass are closely related to those used for basses, including finger plucking, slapping, popping, and tapping. A plectrum is very rarely used.
The upper strings of an extended-range bass allow bassists to adopt playing styles of the electric guitar. One such style is the practice of "comping", or playing a rhythmic chordal accompaniment to an improvised solo. The increased polyphony of extended-range basses allows for voicings of five or more notes, as well as wider voicings such as "drop 3", "drop 2+4" and "spreads." Walking a bassline and comping at the same time is also possible, which is useful in jazz combos lacking a chordal instrument, or in accompaniment of a chordal instrument during their solo. Two bassists notable for adopting this style are Todd Johnson and Oteil Burbridge.
The added strings of the extended-range bass compound the muting problems that many bassists encounter. Because of the sympathetic vibration of the bass, a plucked note will cause that same note (and its octaves) to sound on all strings if left unmuted. Extended-range bassists often turn to hairbands or advancing muting techniques, including the "floating thumb" technique (allowing the thumb of the plucking hand to mute lower strings), to achieve a good sound.
Many extended-range bassists, because of the extreme range of their instruments, choose to practice a technique called "two-handed tapping," in which the player uses both hands on the fretboard to press down the strings and creates sound with both hands (similar to the way one plays a Chapman Stick). By using both hands, extended-range bassists can create sophisticated chordings, harmonies, melodies, and contrapuntal music.
The role that the extended-range bass plays in music is still largely a matter of situation and personal preference. Many extended-range bassists play the bass part in bands, but many also perform their instrument in a solo setting, often using advanced techniques such as two-handed tapping or chording. Still others are exploring the extended-range bass's potential through the art of looping by layering complex bass parts, melodies, and harmonies on top of each other.
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