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How Does a Bass Guitar Produce Sound?
By Brett F.
Introduction
Have you ever been listening to your favorite song on the radio, wondering what that low, thumping sound was in the background? It's actually the bass guitar keeping the rhythm of the song together. Though some people might think that the sound a bass makes is produced simply from plucking a string, physics shows that theory to be more complex. Thus proving that physics is everywhere.
Science Explained
1. After a string on a bass is strummed, back and forth movements, called vibrations, occur. 2. The vibrations then create the sound we hear called a pitch. This ranges from high to low sounds. 3. The pickups, as shown in picture "1." are two magnetic strips that sit underneath the vibrating strings to capture the sound. 4. Because the strings are metal, their vibrations cause the magnetic field inside the pickups to move and create an electrical current. 5. This electrical current then travels from the pickups through coiled wires attached to them, as shown in picture "2." 6. Once side of a chord is then plugged into the jack of the bass, while the other side is plugged into an amplifier. This is presented in picture "3." 7. Once turned on, knobs on both the bass and amplifier can be applied to change the tone and volume of the bass.
1.
Electrical current from the pickups travel through the wires.
Pickups capture the vibrations from the strings.
2.
3.
A chord is plugged into both the bass and an amplifer, creating a louder sound is produced.
Personal Reflection
Video
This video demonstartes how the adjusting of pickups on a bass guitar effect the overall sound and volume.
Bibliography:
"BBC - h2g2 - How Guitar Pickups Work." BBC - Homepage. 30 Nov. 2004. 21 May 2009 .
How to Setup a Fender Bass : How to Adjust Pickup Height on a Bass Guitar. Dir. Todd Sapio. Perf. The Ferrett. 2008. YouTube. 3 Feb. 2008. 20 May 2009.
Iversen, Thor. "Physics of Bass." BassPlaying. 3 May 2006. 20 May 2009 .
