Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, double basses and bows for stringed instruments.
A Höfner 500/1 "violin bass" similar to the one used by Paul McCartney
Höfner Shorty
A Club 40 as used by John Lennon
1953 model 465s acoustic archtop
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply 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 acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length. The bass guitar most commonly has four strings, though five- and six-stringed models are also relatively popular, and bass guitars with even more strings or courses have been built. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely come to replace the double bass in popular music due to its lighter weight, the inclusion of frets in most models, and, most importantly, its design for electric amplification. This is also due to the fact that the double bass is acoustically compromised for its range in that it's scaled down from the optimal size that would be appropriate for those low notes.
Paul Tutmarc, inventor of the modern bass guitar, outside his music store in Seattle, Washington
An early Fender Precision Bass
Design patent issued to Leo Fender for the second-generation Precision Bass
Gibson EB-3