Keyboard bass

Keyboard bass

The keyboard bass is, as its name suggests, a keyboard alternative for the bass guitar or double bass. The earliest one of these was the Fender Rhodes piano bass, pictured at the side. They are a common alternative to bass guitars in rap and modern R&B music today.

Other variants of the keyboard bass include bass pedals, which are operated by musicians using their feet, usually the guitar player or bass player of a band, e.g. Genesis' Mike Rutherford, Rush's Geddy Lee, The Police's Sting or Marillion's Pete Trewavas. The most visible keyboard bass player in recent history is probably The Doors' Ray Manzarek.

Acknowledgements

Information about the earliest models of keyboard basses can be found at the Fender Rhodes site.