Fender Jazz Bass

After the revolution of the P-Bass, the Jazz made the four-string even cooler

Soon after Leo Fender put the first mass-produced solid body electric guitar, the Esquire, into production in the Spring of 1950, he turned his attention to its low-end equivalent, the Precision Bass. Appearing the following year in 1951 and often referred to as the P-Bass for short, it was the first bass instrument of its type and offered players a unique way of navigating a horizontal neck using frets – as opposed to an upright/fretless model – with comfort, ease and accuracy of pitch (hence the ‘Precision’ moniker).

Musical styles were rapidly changing, and the creative abandon encouraged by jazz music had installed a sense of freedom with regards to technique. The P-Bass turned out to be a smashing success and became the virtual blueprint for what is still considered to be a staple instrument within the field of contemporary music.