While Leo Fender will be forever revered for his iconic Telecaster and Stratocaster electric guitar designs, without doubt his greatest contribution to the advancement of popular music was unveiled in October 1951 – the first year of the Precision solid-body electric bass.
There were attempts at an electrified double bass before the P-Bass, but nothing that has become anywhere near as influential. The main characteristics that we know and love were achieved back in 1957. The secret was essentially an effective 34-inch scale length and split-coil humbucking pickup.
