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John Maurer

John Maurer

John Maurer (born July 14, 1964) played bass guitar for Social Distortion from 1984 to 2004. He was replaced by Rancid's Matt Freeman. He joined Social Distortion after the departure of Brent Liles. In his later career he started two bands, Foxy and Fuel, while still playing for Social Distortion. He also started his own record company called Slip Records.

Discography with Social Distortion


- Prison Bound (1988)
- Self-Titled (1990)
- Somewhere Between Heaven And Hell (1992)
- White Light, White Heat, White Trash (1996)
- Live at the Roxy (1998) Maurer, John Maurer, John

July 14

July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. The phrase "Quatorze Juillet" (Fourteenth of July in French) has great significance in France as a reference to the celebration of the storming of the Bastille in 1789 during the French Revolution.

Events


- 1223 - In France, Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II of France.
- 1789 - French Revolution: Citizens of Paris storm the Bastille and free seven prisoners.
- 1791 - The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
- 1798 - The Sedition Act becomes United States law making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
- 1827 - The first Roman Catholic Mass is celebrated in the Hawaiian Islands by Fathers Abraham Armand and Alexis Bachelot of France and Patrick Short of the United Kingdom, members of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. It would be the foundation of the present-day Diocese of Honolulu.
- 1902 - The Campanile in St Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the logetta.
- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: In Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
- 1940 - World War II: Andrew George Latta McNaughton takes command of the 7th Army Corps consisting of British, Canadian and New Zealand troops.
- 1943 - In Joplin, Missouri, George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
- 1954 - The central region of the United States suffers extremely hot weather, with the temperature reaching 118° F (48° C) in Warsaw and Union, Missouri, and 117° F (47° C) in East St. Louis, Illinois, setting new all-time state record high temperatures.
- 1958 - Iraqi Revolution: In Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by Arab nationalists and Abdul Karim Kassem becomes the nation's new leader.
- 1965 - Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
- 1966 - In Chicago, Illinois, Richard Speck murders eight student nurses in their dormitory.
- 1966 - A fire at a mental hospital in Guatemala City kills 225.
- 1967 - Eddie Mathews becomes the seventh member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California.
- 1968 - Hank Aaron becomes the eighth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1981 - MCLN bombs a popular cinema in Bangui, Central African Republic. Afterwards a declaration is issued, demanding withdrawal of French troops from the country.
- 1984 - New Zealand elects the Fourth Labour Government bringing in David Lange as Prime Minister of New Zealand, and thus breaking nine years of National party governance under Robert Muldoon
- 1992 - A major fire consumes an entire city block in tourist destination Gatlinburg, Tennessee, destroying the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not!" Museum and several other local businesses and attractions in the process.
- 2000 - George Speight, the principal instigator of the Fiji coup of 2000, was arrested with 369 of his followers and charged with treason.
- 2001 - The International Olympic Committee votes for Beijing to be the host of the 2008 Olympics. This is the first time that China had been bestowed this honor.
- 2002 - During Bastille Day celebrations, Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
- 2005 - São Paulo FC becomes Libertadores Cup 2005 champions. They won the tournament for the third time in their history.

Births


- 1454 - Poliziano, Florentine humanist (d. 1494)
- 1602 - Jules Mazarin, French statesman and cardinal (d. 1661)
- 1608 - George Goring, Lord Goring, English royalist soldier (d. 1657)
- 1610 - Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
- 1634 - Pasquier Quesnel, French Jansenist theologian (d. 1719)
- 1671 - Jacques D'Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
- 1675 - Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (d. 1747)
- 1676 - Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian, and poet (d. 1763)
- 1696 - William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (d. 1761)
- 1721 - John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (d. 1807)
- 1743 - Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (d. 1816)
- 1801 - Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (d. 1858)
- 1816 - Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher (d. 1882)
- 1829 - Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1896)
- 1857 - Emmeline Pankhurst, English suffragette (d. 1928)
- 1859 - Willy Hess, German violinist (d. 1928)
- 1860 - Owen Wister, American author (d. 1938)
- 1862 - Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1918)
- 1868 - Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy, and administrator (d. 1926)
- 1885 - King Sisavang Vong of Laos (d. 1959)
- 1891 - Alexander M. Volkov, Russian novelist and mathematician (d. 1977)
- 1904 - Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish Yiddish author (d. 1991)
- 1906 - Tom Carvel, Greek-born businessman and inventor (d. 1990)
- 1910 - William Hanna, American animator (d. 2001)
- 1912 - Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic (d. 1991)
- 1912 - Woody Guthrie, American folk musician (d. 1967)
- 1913 - Gerald Ford, President of the United States
- 1918 - Ingmar Bergman, Swedish film and theatre director
- 1918 - Arthur Laurents, American playwright, novelist, and director
- 1919 - Lino Ventura, Italian-born actor (d. 1987)
- 1921 - Leon Garfield, English children's author (d. 1996)
- 1921 - Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1923 - Dale Robertson, American actor
- 1924 - James W. Black, Scottish pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1926 - Harry Dean Stanton, American actor
- 1927 - John Chancellor, American television commentator (d. 1996)
- 1930 - Polly Bergen, American actress, singer, and entrepreneur
- 1932 - Roosevelt Grier, American football player, actor, and minister
- 1937 - Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician
- 1938 - Jerry Rubin, American activist (d. 1994)
- 1939 - Karel Gott, Czech singer
- 1939 - George E. Slusser, American scholar and writer
- 1941 - Maulana Karenga, American author and activist
- 1941 - Andreas Khol, Austrian politician
- 1942 - Javier Solana, Spanish European Union foreign policy chief
- 1946 - John Wood, Australian actor
- 1950 - Gwen Guthrie, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1951 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)
- 1956 - Ran Andrews, Canadian painter
- 1961 - Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
- 1967 - Robin Ventura, baseball player
- 1971 - Bubba Ray Dudley, American professional wrestler
- 1977 - Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
- 1988 - James Vaughan, English footballer

Deaths


- 664 - Deusdedit of Canterbury, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1223 - King Philip II of France (b. 1165)
- 1270 - Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1274 - Saint Bonaventure (b. 1221)
- 1575 - Richard Taverner, English Bible translator
- 1614 - Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint (b. 1550)
- 1671 - Méric Casaubon, English classical scholar (b. 1599)
- 1723 - Claude Fleury, French historian (b. 1640)
- 1742 - Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (b. 1662)
- 1766 - František Maxmilián Kaňka, Czech architect (b. 1674)
- 1774 - James O'Hara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley and Kilmaine, British field marshal (b. 1682)
- 1780 - Charles Batteux, French philosopher (b. 1713)
- 1789 - Jacques de Flesselles, French provost (assassinated) (b. 1721)
- 1790 - Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (b. 1717)
- 1834 - Edmond Charles Genêt, French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution (b. 1763)
- 1850 - August Neander, German theologian (b. 1789)
- 1881 - Billy the Kid, American outlaw (b. 1860)
- 1887 - Alfred Krupp, German munitions manufacturer (b. 1812)
- 1904 - Paul Kruger, Boer resistance leader (b. 1824)
- 1907 - William Henry Perkin, English chemist and inventor (b. 1838)
- 1917 - Anne Louise Germaine de Staël, Swiss author (b. 1866)
- 1954 - Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
- 1965 - Adlai Stevenson, U.S. Presidential candidate (b. 1900)
- 1968 - Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky, Russian writer (b. 1892)
- 1984 - Ernest Tidyman, American writer (b. 1928)
- 1984 - Philippe Wynne, American musician (b. 1941)
- 1994 - César Tovar, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player (b. 1940)
- 1998 - Dick McDonald, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1909)
- 1999 - Gar Samuelson, American musician (Megadeth)
- 2000 - William Roscoe Estep, American Baptist historian (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906)
- 2003 - André Claveau, French singer (b. 1911)
- 2003 - Tex Schramm, American football general manager (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances


- France and all French dependencies - Bastille Day
- Iraq - National Day
- Kiribati - Independence Day, 3rd day, not a holiday
- Sweden - Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/14 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 13 - July 15 - June 14 - August 14 -- listing of all days ko:7월 14일 ms:14 Julai ja:7月14日 simple:July 14 th:14 กรกฎาคม

1964

:For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January


- January 1 - Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
- January 3 - Senator Barry Goldwater announces that he will seek the Republican nomination for President.
- January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the 15th century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I meet in Jerusalem.
- January 7 - A British firm, the Leyland Motor Corp., announces the sale of 450 buses to the Cuban government, challenging the United States blockade of Cuba.
- January 8 - In his first State-of-the-Union address, President Lyndon Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States.
- January 9 - Armed clashes between United States troops and Panamanian mobs in the Canal Zone precipitate a major international crisis and result in the deaths of 21 Panamanians and 4 U.S. soldiers.
- January 11 - United States Surgeon General Luther Leonidas Terry reports that smoking may be hazardous to one's health. First such statement from the U.S. government.
- January 12 - The predominantly Arab government of Zanzibar is overthrown by African nationalist rebels. A U.S. destroyer evacuates 61 U.S. citizens.
- January 12 - Terry C. Soto, Founder of PPI Enterprises of Houston, Texas, is born.
- January 13 - I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles released in the United States. It will become their first North American hit and the beginning of Beatlemania.
- January 16 - Hello Dolly! opens in New York City's St. James Theatre.
- January 16 - John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, resigns from the space program and announces the next day that he will seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator from Ohio.
- January 18 - Esther Armstrong Scottish Landscape Artist born in Dingwall,Scotland. Plans to build the World Trade Center announced.
- January 20 - Meet the Beatles, the first Beatles album in the United States, is released.
- January 22 - Kenneth Kaunda inaugurated as the first President of Northern Rhodesia.
- January 23 - Thirteen years after its proposal and nearly two years after the measure had been passed by the United States Senate 77-16, the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
- January 23 - Arthur Miller's After the Fall opens on Broadway. A semi-autobiographical work, it will arouse controversy over his portrayal of late ex-wife Marilyn Monroe.
- January 27 - France and the People's Republic of China announce their decision to establish diplomatic relations.
- January 27 - Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-Me.), 66, announces her candidacy for the Republican nomination for President.
- January 28 - A U.S. Air Force jet training plane that strays into East Germany is shot down by Soviet fighters near Erfurt. All three crew men are killed.
- January 29 - 1964 Winter Olympics open in Innsbruckand concludes on February 9. The Soviet Union launches two scientific satellites, Elektron I and II, from a single rocket.
- January 30 - The junta ruling South Vietnam since the overthrow of President Ngo Dinh Diem is itself toppled from power in a bloodless coup led by Maj. Gen. Nguyen Khanh.
- January 30 - Ranger 6 is launched by NASA. Its mission is to carry television cameras and to crash-land on the moon.

February


- February 3 - In protests against alleged de-facto school racial segregation, black and Puerto Rican groups in New York City boycott public school.
- February 6 - Cuba cuts off the normal water supply to the United States naval base at Guantanamo Bay in reprisal for U.S. seizure 4 days earlier of 4 Cuban fishing boats off the coast of Florida.
- February 7 - A jury trying Bryon De La Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers in June 1963 reports in Jackson, Mississippi that it was unable to agree on a verdict, resulting in a mistrial; The Beatles land in New York City.
- February 9 - The Beatles make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The 1964 Winter Olympics concludes.
- February 11 - Greeks & Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus.
- February 11 - The Republic of China (Taiwan) drops diplomatic relations with France because of French recognition of the People's Republic of China.
- February 17 - In Wesberry v. Sanders 376 US 1 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
- February 26 - John Glenn slips on a bathroom rug in his Columbus, Ohio apartment and hits his head on the bathtub, injuring his left inner ear, and prompting him (later that week) to withdraw from the race for the Senate nomination.
- February 27 - The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
- February 29 - President Johnson announces that the United States had developed a jet airplane (the A-11), capable of sustained flight at more than 2,000 MPH and of altitudes of more than 70,000 feet.

March


- March 4 - Jimmy Hoffa, President of the Teamsters, is convicted by a Federal jury of tampering with a Federal jury in 1962.
- March 4 – Malta gains independence.
- March 6 - Constantine II becomes King of Greece.
- March 8 - Malcolm X, suspended from the Nation of Islam, says in New York City that he is forming a black nationalist party.
- March 9 - In New York Times Co. v Sullivan 376 US 254 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States rules that under the First Amendment, speech criticizing political figures cannot be censored.
- March 9 - The first Ford Mustang rolls off the assembly line at Ford Motor Company.
- March 10 - Soviet Union military forces shoot down an unarmed reconnaissance bomber that had strayed into East Germany; the three U.S. flyers parachute to safety.
- March 10 - The New Hampshire primary is won by Henry Cabot Lodge, Ambassador to South Vietnam.
- March 12 - Malcolm X withdraws from the Nation of Islam
- March 13 - 38 residents of a neighborhood in Queens, New York City fail to respond to the cries of Kitty Genovese, 28, as she is being stabbed to death. The incident will become notorious.
- March 14 - A jury in Dallas, Texas finds Jack Ruby guilty of killing John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
- March 20 - The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organization) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
- March 26 - Defense Secretary Robert McNamara delivers an address that reiterated the United States determination to give South Vietnam increased military and economic aid in its war against Communist insurgency.
- March 27 - The Good Friday Earthquake, the most powerful earthquake in U.S. history at a magnitude of 9.2, strikes South Central Alaska killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
- March 29 - The first pirate radio station, Radio Caroline, is established.
- March 31 - The military overthrows Brazilian President João Goulart, starting 21 years of dictatorship in Brazil.

April


- April 2 - Mrs. Malcolm Peabody, 72, mother of Governor Endicott Peabody of Massachusetts, is released on $450 bond after spending two days in jail in St. Augustine, Florida, because of her participation in an anti-segregation demonstration there.
- April 4 - The Beatles hold the top five positions in the Billboard Top 40 singles in America, an unprecedented accomplishment. Owing mostly to the explosive growth, fragmentation, and marketing of popular music since, this is certain to never happen again. The top songs in America as listed on April 4, in order, were: "Can't Buy Me Love," "Twist and Shout," "She Loves You," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "Please Please Me."
- April 5 - Jigme Dorfi, Premier of the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is shot dead by an unidentified assassin in Puncholing, near the Indian border.
- April 7 - IBM announces the System/360.
- April 8 - Four of five railroad operating unions strike against the Illinois Central Railroad without warning to bring to a head the five-year dispute over railroad work rules.
- April 9 - The United Nations Security Council adopts by a 9-0 vote a resolution deploring a British air attack on a fort in Yemen 12 days earlier in which 25 persons were reported killed.
- April 11 - The Brazilian Congress elects General Humberto Castelo Branco as President of Brazil.
- April 14 - A Delta rocket's third stage motor ignites prematurely in an assembly room at Cape Canaveral, killing 3.
- April 16 - Geraldine Mock is the first woman to fly solo around the world.
- April 17 - In the United States, the Ford Mustang is officially unveiled to the public.
- April 19 - The coalition government of Laos, headed by Prince Souvanna Phouma, is deposed by a right-wing military group led by Brig. Gen. Kouprasith Abhay.
- April 20 - President Lyndon Johnson in New York and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow announce simultaneously plans to cut back production of materials for making nuclear weapons.
- April 20 - Nelson Mandela makes his "I Am Prepared to Die" speech at the opening of the Rivonia Trial, a classic of the anti-apartheid movement.
- April 20 - BBC2 starts broadcasting in the UK.
- April 22 - British businessman Greville Wynn, who had been imprisoned in Moscow since 1963 accused of spying, is exchanged for Soviet spy Gordon Lonsdale.
- April 22 - NY World's Fair opens to celebrate the 300th anniversary of New Amsterdam being taken over by British forces under the command of the Duke of York (later King James II) and being renamed New York in 1664. It will run until Oct. 18, 1964 and will reopen April 21, 1965, finally closing Oct. 17 of that year. Because there can only be one official world's fair in any one country within ten years and the previous officially sanctioned World's Fair was held in Seattle in 1962, this fair was never officially recognized and many countries declined to be represented.
- April 25 - Thieves steal the head of the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen (Henrik Bruun confesses in 1997).
- April 26 - Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.

May


- May 2 - Senator Barry Goldwater receives more than 75% of the votes in the Texas Republican Presidential primary.
- May 7 - A Pacific Air Lines Fairchild F-27 crashes near San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard; the FBI later reports that a cockpit recorder tape indicates that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.
- May 7 - At a show of post rockets from Gerhard Zucker on the mountain Hasselkopf near Braunlage (Lower Saxonia, Germany) three persons were killed by an explosion of a rocket.
- May 9 - South Korean President Chung Hee Park reshuffles his Cabinet after a series of student demonstrations against his efforts to restore diplomatic and trade relations with Japan.
- May 11 - Terence Conran opened the first Habitat store on London's Fulham Road.
- May 19 - The United States State Department says that more than 40 hidden microphones have been found embedded in the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
- May 19 - Jovan Petronic was born in Beograd, Serbia. He is now an International Chess Master & FIDE Senior Trainer. Jovan maintains his personal website at: http://www.jovanpetronic.com
- May 23 - Mrs. Madeline Dassault, 63, wife of a French plane manufacturer and politician, is kidnapped while leaving her car in front of her Paris home; she is found unharmed the next day in a farmhouse 27 miles from Paris.
- May 23 - Pablo Picasso painted his fourth Head of a Bearded Man.
- May 24-25 - The crowd at a football match in Lima, Peru riot over a referee's decision in Peru-Argentina game - 319 dead, 500 injured in a riot.
- May 27 - Prime Minister Nehru of India dies; he is succeeded by Lal Shastri.

June


- June 2 - Senator Barry Goldwater wins the California Republican Presidential primary, making him the overwhelming favorite for the nomination.
- June 2 - Five million shares of stock in the Communications Satellite Corporation (Comsat) are offered for sale at $20 a share, and the issue is quickly sold out.
- June 3 - South Korean President Park Chung Hee declares martial law in Seoul after 10,000 student demonstrators overpower police.
- June 6 - With a temporary order the rocket launches at Cuxhaven are terminated.
- June 9 - In Federal Court in Kansas City, Kansas, army deserter George John Gessner, 28, is convicted of passing United States secrets to the Soviet Union.
- June 11 - Greece rejects direct talks with Turkey over Cyprus.
- June 11 - In Cologne, Germany, Walter Seifert attacks students and teachers in elementary school with a flamethrower - kills 10 and injures 21
- June 12 Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton announces his candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination, as part of a 'stop-Goldwater' movement.
- June 12 - Nelson Mandela and seven others are sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa and sent to the Robben Island prison.
- June 19 - Senator Edward Kennedy, 32, is seriously injured in a private plane crash at Southampton, Massachusetts; the pilot is killed.
- June 21 - Three civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, are murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi, by local segregationist law enforcement officials.
- June 21 - Spain beat the Soviet Union 2-1 to win the 1964 European Championship.
- June 25 - The Vatican condemns the female contraceptive pill.
- June 26 – Moise Tshombe returns to Congo from his exile from Spain.

July


- July 2 - President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
- July 6 - Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
- July 8 - U.S. military personnel announces that U.S. casualties in Vietnam have risen to 1,387, including 399 dead and 17 MIA.
- July 19 - Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
- July 20 - Vietnam War - Viet Cong forces attack a provincial capital, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of which are children).
- July 22 – Second meeting of Organization of African Unity.
- July 27 - Vietnam War: 5,000 more U.S. military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
- July 31 - Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon (images are 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from Earth-bound telescopes).

August


- August 4 - American civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
- August 4 - Vietnam War: United States destroyers USS Maddox and USS C. Turner Joy are attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. Air support from the carrier USS Ticonderoga sinks two, possibly three North Vietnamese gunboats.
- August 5 - Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow - aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
- August 5 – Simba rebel army in Congo capture Stanleyville and takes 1000 western hostages.
- August 7 - Vietnam War: The United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.
- August 8 - A Rolling Stones gig in Scheveningen gets out of control. Riot police end the gig after about 15 minutes, upon which spectators start to fight the riot police.
- August 13 - Murderers Gwynne Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen are executed. They are the last people to be executed in the United Kingdom.
- August 16 - Vietnam War: In a coup, General Nguyen Khanh replaces Duong Van Minh as South Vietnam's chief of state and establishes a new constitution, which the U.S. Embassy helped draft.

September


- September 4 - Forth Road Bridge opens over the Firth of Forth.
- September 10 - Germany receives its 1,000,000th foreign worker.
- September 14 - Opening of third period of Second Vatican Council.
- September 14 - the Daily Herald ceases publication, replaced by The Sun.
- September 16 - Shindig! premieres live on the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) featuring top musical acts of the sixties.
- September 21 - the island of Malta obtains independance from the United Kingdom.
- September 24 - The Warren Commission Report, the first official investigation of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, is published.

October


- October - In Photoplay magazine, Hedda Hopper announces that Sophia Loren and Paul Newman will star in the film version of Arthur Miller's play, After the Fall, with Loren in the role that was written about Marilyn Monroe. However, the film was never made.
- October 5 - Twenty-three men and 31 women escape to West Berlin through a narrow tunnel under the Berlin Wall.
- October 5 - Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip begin an 8-day visit to Canada.
- October 10 - 1964 Summer Olympics open in Tokyo.
- October 12 - The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits.
- October 14 - American civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr becomes the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the United States.
- October 14 - 15 - Nikita Khrushchev is deposed as leader of the Soviet Union; Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin assume power.
- October 15 - United Kingdom's Labour Party wins the parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom, ending 13 years of Conservative Party rule.
- October 15 - Norman Breedlove's jet-powered car Spirit of America goes out of control in Bonnevile Salt Flats in Utah and makes skid marks 9.6 km long
- October 16 - Harold Wilson becomes British Prime Minister.
- October 16 - People's Republic of China explodes an atomic bomb in Sinkiang.
- October 18 - NY World's Fair closes for the year. It will reopen April 21, 1965.
- October 22 - Canada: A Federal Mult-Party Parliamentary Committee selects a design to become the new official Flag of Canada.
- October 24 - Northern Rhodesia, a former British protectorate, becomes the independent Republic of Zambia, ending 73 years of British rule.
- October 24 - 1964 Summer Olympics close in Tokyo.
- October 27 - In Congo, rebel leader Christopher Gbenye takes 60 Americans and 800 Belgians as hostages.
- October 29 - A collection of irreplaceable gemstones, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India, is stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
- October 31 - Campaigning at Madison Square Garden, New York, President Lyndon Johnson pledges the creation of the Great Society.

November


- November 1 - Mortar fire from North Vietnamese forces rains on the USAF base at Bein Hoa, South Vietnam, killing 4 U.S. servicemen and wounding 72, and destroying five B-57 jet bombers and other planes.
- November 3 - The Bolivian government of President Victor Paz Estenssoro is overthrown by a military rebellion led by General Alfredo Ovando Candía, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
- November 3 - U.S. presidential election, 1964: Incumbent U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson defeats Republican challenger Barry Goldwater with over 60 percent of the popular vote.
- November 5 - Mariner program: Mariner 3, a U.S. space probe, intended for Mars is launched from Cape Kennedy, but fails.
- November 9 - British House of Commons votes to abolish the death penalty for murder in Britain.
- November 10 - Australia partially reintroduces compulsory military service due to Indonesian Confrontation.
- November 19 - The U.S. Defense Department announced the closing of 95 military bases and facilities, including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and Fort Jay, New York.
- November 21 - Second Vatican Council: The third period of the Catholic Church's ecumenical council closes.
- November 21 - The Verrazano Narrows Bridge opens to traffic (at the time it was the world's longest suspension bridge).
- November 24 - Belgian paratroopers and mercenaries capture Stanleyville but a number of hostages die in the fighting.
- November 28 - Mariner program: NASA launches the Mariner 4 space probe from Cape Kennedy toward Mars to take television pictures of that planet in July 1965.
- November 28 - Vietnam War: National Security Council members, including Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, and Maxwell Taylor agree to recommend that U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson adopt a plan for a two-stage escalation of bombing in North Vietnam.

December


- December 1 - Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam (after some debate, they agreed to enact a two-phase bombing plan).
- December 3 - Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and massive sit-in at the administration building protesting the UC Regents' decision to forbid Vietnam War protests on U.C. property.
- December 14 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules, in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States 379 US 241 1964, that, in accordance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, establishments providing public accommodations must refrain from racial discrimination.
- December 15 - The Washington Post publishes an article about James Hampton, who had built a glittering religious throne out of recycled materials
- December 18 - In the wake of deadly riots in January over control of the Panama Canal, the US offers to negotiate a new canal treaty

Date unknown


- 7000 residents of New Hanover, Australia, refuse to pay taxes and found a fund to purchase Lyndon B. Johnson.
- Jerome Horowitz synthesizes zidovudine, an antiviral drug used in treating HIV.
- The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is founded.
- John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language that has been included on many computers and even some games consoles.
- First Moog synthesizer designed by Robert Moog.

Births

January-March


- January 2 - Pernell Whitaker, American boxer
- January 6 - Henry Maske, German boxer
- January 6 - Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan swimmer and sports commentator (d. 2005)
- January 7 - Nicolas Cage, American actor
- January 12 - Jeff Bezos, American president of amazon.com
- January 13 - Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
- January 23 - Mariska Hargitay, American actress
- January 27 - Bridget Fonda, American actress
- January 29 - Andre Reed, American football player
- February 4 - Noodles, American guitarist (The Offspring)
- February 5 - Laura Linney, American actress
- February 5 - Duff McKagan, American musician (Guns N'Roses)
- February 15 - Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
- February 16 - Christopher Eccleston, British actor
- February 17 - Mark Kennedy Shriver, nephew of John F Kennedy, son of Eunice Mary Kennedy.
- February 18 - Matt Dillon, American actor
- March 7 - Bret Easton Ellis, American author
- March 9 - Juliette Binoche, French actress
- March 10 - Edward, Earl of Wessex
- March 11 - Shane Richie, British actor
- March 17 - Rob Lowe, American actor
- March 18 - Bonnie Blair, American speed skater
- March 18 - Irene Cara, American actress and singer
- March 18 - Rozalla, Zambian singer
- March 20 - Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer
- March 25 - Lisa Gay Hamilton, American actress
- March 29 - Elle Macpherson, Australian model
- March 30 - Tracy Chapman, American singer

April-June


- April 1 - Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
- April 3 - Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist
- April 4 - David Cross, American actor and comedian
- April 7 - Russell Crowe, New Zealand-born actor
- April 13 - Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress
- April 24 - Cedric the Entertainer, American comic and actor
- April 21 - Ludmila Engquist, Russian-born Swedish athlete
- April 25 - Hank Azaria, American actor
- April 25 - Andy Bell, English singer and songwriter (Erasure)
- April 29 - Federico Castelluccio, Italian-born actor
- May 6 - Dana Hill, American actress (d. 1996)
- May 8 - Melissa Gilbert, American actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild
- May 8 - Bobby Labonte, American race car driver
- May 12 - Brett Gurewitz, American guitarist (Bad Religion)
- May 24 - Adrian Moorhouse, British swimmer
- May 26 - Lenny Kravitz, American guitarist and singer
- May 28 - Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer
- May 28 - Christa Miller, American actress
- May 28 - Phil Vassar, American musician
- May 30 - Wynonna Judd, American singer
- June 10 - Jimmy Chamberlin, American musician
- June 12 - Paula Marshall, American actress
- June 13 - Kathy Burke, English actress and comedienne
- June 13 - Iain Donaldson, British politician
- June 15 - Courteney Cox, American actress
- June 21 - Doug Savant, American actor
- June 22 - Dan Brown, American author
- June 28 - Mark Grace, baseball player
- June 29 - Stedman Pearson, British singer

July-December


- July 3 - Joanne Harris, English author
- July 3 - Yeardley Smith, American voice actress
- July 16 - Miguel Induráin, Spanish cyclist
- July 22 - Bonnie Langford, British actress
- July 24 - Barry Bonds, baseball player
- July 26 - Sandra Bullock, American actress
- July 28 - Lori Loughlin, American actress
- July 30 - Vivica A. Fox, American actress
- July 31 - Jim Corr, Irish singer and musician (The Corrs)
- August 16 - Jimmy Arias, American tennis player
- August 19 - Dermott Brereton, Australian rules footballer
- August 24 - Salizhan Sharipov, cosmonaut
- August 25 - Maxim Kontsevich, Russian mathematician
- September 2 - Keanu Reeves, Lebanese-born actor
- September 7 - Eazy-E, American musician and record producer (d. 1995)
- September 8 - Michael Johns, American health care executive and Presidential speechwriter
- September 11 - Ellis Burks, baseball player
- September 11 - Roxann Dawson, American actress
- September 22 - Bonnie Hunt, American actress
- September 23 - Koshi Inaba, Japanese singer (B'z)
- September 28 - Janeane Garofalo, American actress and comedienne
- September 29 - Les Claypool, American bassist (Primus)
- October 2 - Dirk Brinkmann, German field hockey player
- October 15 - Quinton Flynn, American voice actor
- October 22 - Drazen Petrovic, Croatian basketball player (d. 1993)
- October 26 - Marc Lépine, Canadian serial killer (d. 1989)
- October 29 - Yasmin Le Bon, British model
- October 31 - Marco van Basten, Dutch football player and manager
- November 9 - Robert Duncan McNeill, American actor
- November 10 - Kenny Rogers, baseball player
- November 11 - Calista Flockhart, American actress
- November 14 - Bill Hemmer, American broadcast journalist
- December 5 - Karin Snelson, author and editor
- December 8 - Teri Hatcher, American actress
- December 13 - Bass (disambiguation). Bass (disambiguation)]] Bass guitar (also called "electric bass guitar," "electric bass," or simply "bass") refers to an electric bass or an electric/acoustic string instrument with a similar appearance to the guitar, but with a larger body, commonly four strings, longer scale neck and tuned an octave lower in pitch than a guitar.

Overview

The instrument is a descendant of the double bass (a cousin of the violin and viola da gamba) and shares design attributes of the electric guitar and features in common with a range of other bass instruments. Electric basses may be fretted or fretless, although fretted basses are more common. The electric bass, in contrast to the upright bass (or double bass), is played while being held horizontally across the body. Unlike the double bass, it is not played with a bow; instead it is usually plucked with the fingers (and sometimes also the thumb) or a plectrum (pick). In electric basses, as with the electric guitar, the vibrations of the instrument's metal strings create electrical signals which are picked up by electromagnetic sensors mounted in the body of the instrument called pickups. The signals are then amplified and played through a speaker. Various electronic components, and the configuration of the amplifier and speaker, can be used to alter the basic sound of the instrument. The electric bass is the standard bass instrument in many musical genres, including country, jazz, many flavors of rock and roll, soul, funk, and modern orchestral music.

Etymology

There is much debate among musicians and fans of the instrument about what to call the instrument. While "bass guitar" (pronounced "base") is a common term others prefer "electric bass guitar," "electric bass," or simply "bass." Many are happy to use the terms interchangeably but some express a strong preference for one or other of them. Fender's early dominance in the market for mass produced bass guitars led to the instrument frequently being called the "Fender bass" although, with the plethora of alternative manufacturers producing similar instruments, this term has fallen out of fashion. Modern bass playing draws on both guitar and double bass for inspiration as well as an increasing vernacular of its own.

History

The necessity for a louder individual bass instrument can be traced back to the 1920's. Jazz combos had double basses accompanying banjos, brass and woodwind sections, pianos, and drums. Simply being heard was hard, and transporting a double bass was harder. The Audiovox Manufacturing Company in Seattle, Washington had an upright solidbody electric bass on the market by February 1935, designed by Paul H. Tutmarc, a musician/teacher/instrument & amplifier maker. Audiovox's sales catalogue of around 1935-6 listed what is probably the world’s first fretted solid body electric bass played horizontally - the Model #736 Electric Bass Fiddle. The change to a "guitar" form and the addition of frets made the instrument much easier (and more precise) to play. The first mass-produced electric bass was developed by innovator and manufacturer Leo Fender in the early 1950s. Fender trained as an accountant and was a self-taught electrical engineer who started repairing radios and built P.A. systems before getting into the electronics and amplification of electric instruments. Ironically, Leo Fender could not even play guitar or bass: by his own admission, "not a note." The Fender Precision Bass was first offered in 1951. Named for the exact intonation a player could achieve with its fretted neck, the Precision Bass was equipped with a single piece, four-pole pickup, and a simple, uncontoured 'slab' body design. In 1954 the body was contoured with beveled edges for comfort. In 1957, the pickup was changed to a single "split pickup" (staggered) design. The pickguard also underwent a radical change, as did the headstock. This 1957 design has remained as the standard electric bass, and is still widely available. Another industry standard, the similar, but more highly-engineered Fender Jazz Bass, was introduced in 1960. These designs have become so ubiquitous that pickups based on the ones found on the Precision and Jazz basses are often referred to as "P" or "J", respectively. (Fender also produced a six-string bass, the Fender VI, in the 1960s.) Following Fender's lead, other companies such as Gibson, Danelectro, and many others started to produce their own version of the electric bass. Some, like the Rickenbacker 4000 series, became identified with a particular style of music. Rickenbackers were pioneered by John Entwistle, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, and other progressive rock bassists. In 1971 Alembic established the template for what would subsequently be known as "high end" electric bass. Key design elements included active electronics, premium woods, and multi-laminate neck-through-body construction. Other innovations by Alembic included the world’s first graphite neck bass and the first production 5 string bass with a low B string - both in 1976. The first low B string on a bass appeared in 1975, when Fodera collaborated with Anthony Jackson to create a new six-string electric bass. Early uses of the instrument saw bassists doubling the double bass part or replacing that instrument entirely with their new, more portable and easily amplified alternative. The upright double bass became functionally obsolete for a while in many kinds of popular music, allowing bassists to move further up front in the band mix, both visually and audibly. However, the improvement in pickups and amplifier designs for electro-acoustic horizontal and upright basses as well as the trend for "unplugged" performances has led to a revival in interest in the upright bass and the increase in choices for acoustic-electric basses. Innovations and refinements continue through to the present day.

Design considerations

The classic 4-string Fender bass designs remain popular choices. In some musical settings departing from these de facto standards is discouraged. General open-mindedness toward new technologies and musical instrument design as well as appreciation of fine lutherie by bassists has given the modern bass player a wide range of choices when choosing an instrument. Design options include:

Body

Bodies are typically made of wood although other materials such as graphite (for example, some of the Steinberger designs) have also been used. A wide variety of woods are suitable - the most common include alder, mahogany and ash. The choice of body material and shape can have a significant impact on the timbre of the completed instrument as well as aesthetic considerations. Other design considerations include:
- A wide range of colored or clear lacquer, wax and oil finishes exploiting the amazing variety of natural wood forms
- Various flat and carved industrial designs for different types of both traditional and exotic woods, large percentage of luthier-produced unique instruments (affecting weight, balance and aesthetics)
- Headed and headless (with tuning done at the bridge) designs
- Several artificial materials developed especially for instrument building, most notable being luthite
- Unique production techniques for artificial materials, including die-casting for cost-effective complex body shapes One further variable is the solidity of the body. Most basses have solid bodies but variations include chambers for increased resonance or to reduce weight. Basses are also built with entirely hollow bodies. Many of these have enough volume for unamplified performance and are discussed in the article on acoustic bass guitars.

Number of strings (and tuning)

acoustic bass guitar Leo Fender's classic design had four strings, tuned E, A, D, G (with the fundamental frequency of the E string set at 41.3 Hz). Modern variants include:
- Five strings (normally B, E, A, D, G but sometimes E, A, D, G, C)
- Six strings (B, E, A, D, G, C or B, E, A, D, G, B—although E, A, D, G, B, E has also been used). Basses with seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and even twelve (untripled) strings are also available (see also extended-range bass.
- Double and triple courses of strings (eg, an 8-string bass would be strung Ee, Aa, Dd, Gg while a 12 string bass might be Eee Aaa Ddd Ggg, with standard pitch strings augmented by two strings an octave higher)
- Tenor bass: A, D, G, C
- Piccolo bass: e, a, d, g (an octave higher than standard bass tuning—same as the bottom four strings of a guitar)
- Sub Contra bass : C#, F#, B, E (C# being at 18 hz and the E string being the same as the E string found on standard basses)
- Detuners, commonly called Hipshots, allow one or more strings to be easily adjusted while playing (most commonly used to give the option of dropping the E string down to D on a four string bass). This type of tuning peg is descended from the Scruggs peg, used on banjos.

Pickups

banjo The earliest basses had a single coil, but later split coil magnetic pickup. Modern choices include:
- Active or passive electronics (active circuits use a battery (usually a 9V PP3) to boost the signal and/or provide active equalization)
- Magnetic pickup type (single coil, split coil, dual coil "humbucker", triple coil "humbucker") Pickup type:
- "P-" pickups (name taken from the original Fender Precision) are actually two distinct single-coil halves, wired in opposite direction to reduce hum, each offset a small amount along the length of the body so that each half is underneath two strings.
- "J-" pickups (name taken from the original Fender Jazz) are wider single-coil pickups which lie underneath all four strings.
- Soapbar pickups, found, for example, in MusicMan basses, are the same width as a J pickup, but about twice as tall (much like an electric guitar's humbucker). The name comes from the rectangular shape being similar to a bar of soap.
- Non-magnetic systems, eg. piezos or the innovative new optical systems (by Lightwave Systems) allowing the bassist to use non-metallic strings
- Pickup configuration. Many inexpensive basses (as well as older/vintage basses) have just one pickup (typically a "P" or "J"), but multiple pickups are also quite common, the two most common configurations being a P near the neck and a J near the bridge (e.g. Fender Precision Deluxe), or two J pickups (e.g. Fender Jazz). For single pickup systems, the placement of the pickup greatly affects the sound, with a pickup near the neck joint thought to sound "fatter" or "warmer" while a pickup near the bridge is thought to sound "tighter" or "sharper."

Frets

The majority of basses use frets to break the fingerboard into semitone divisions, although fretless basses are also widely available. The original Fender basses had 20 frets but some modern basses have 24 or more frets covering a range of two or more octaves per string. There are also further variations on the theme of frets. Some fretless basses have 'fret lines' inlaid in the fingerboard either because they have been converted from fretted necks or as an aid to intonation. Some fretted basses feature a "zero fret" on the fingerboard just in front of the nut, which is alleged to offer tonal and setup advantages. Some fretted basses have scalloped fret boards for easier string bending. In addition to frets, many basses have further markers inlaid into the neck as a guide to position. A typical arrangement would be single dots below the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th frets and double dots at the 12th fret, all repeated at the equivalent positions an octave higher. However, there are many variations, including decorative shapes, large blocks and small dots on the side of the neck.

Playing styles

Sitting or standing

Most bass players stand while playing, although in some orchestral type bands the player prefers to sit. It is a matter of opinion as to which position gives the greatest ease of playing. When sitting the instrument is balances on the right thigh and so there is no discomfort on the left shoulder due to the weight of the instrument. When standing, the nut or first fret is usually farther away from the body centre line making low positions need more left arm movement.

Plectra vs. fingers or thumb

Most bassists prefer to pluck the instrument's strings with the fingers but some also use plectra (often called picks). Picks also come in many shapes, sizes and thickness. This often varies according to the musical genre—very few funk bassists use plectrums, while they are almost a necessity for punk rock. Using a plectrum typically gives the bass a brighter, more punchy sound, whilst playing with fingers makes the sound more soft and round. Some bassists use their fingernails flamenco-style to provide some compromise between playing fingerstyle and using a pick. Bassists trying to emulate the sound of a double bass will often pluck the strings with their thumb, and use their fingers to anchor their hand. James Jamerson, one of the most influential bassists ever, was well-known for his work in many popular Motown songs and is widely considered one of the greatest, most musical bassists of all time. Jamerson played the bass with only his index finger (which gained him the nickname "The Hook") but created intricate bass lines that have proven challenging even for modern bassists using the more usual two-fingered (typically index and middle) technique.

Right hand support and position

Variations in style also occur in where a bassist rests his right-hand thumb. A player may rest his thumb on the top edge of one of the pickups. One may also rest his thumb on the side of the fretboard, which is especially common among bassist who have an upright bass influence. Also, bassists with more than 4 string basses may utilize a low string which isn't often used as a thumb rest. By resting their thumb to anchor their hand while they use their index and middle fingers, bassists create a fuller and louder sound. Early Fender models also came with a "thumbrest" attached to the pickguard, below the strings. Contrary to its name, this was not used to rest the thumb, but to rest the fingers while using the thumb to pluck the strings. The thumbrest was moved above the strings in 70's models, and eliminated entirely in the 80's.

Striking or plucking position

Bassists also have different preferences as to where on the string they pluck the notes. While the influential bassist Jaco Pastorius and many with him preferred to pluck them very close to the bridge for a bright and sharp sound, many prefer the rounder sound they get by plucking closer to the neck, mostly near the neck pickup. Geezer Butler, among others, plucks the strings over the higher frets. Adding to the many choices is a decision for a bass player to use a fretted or fretless instrument. Fretless basses are known for the smoothness of glissando and similarity in tone to the double bass, but require precise fingering. Jaco Pastorius was one of the players to bring the fretless bass into the spotlight, having created the instrument (which was at that time unavailable on the market) himself by physically pulling the frets out of a fretted bass. Fretted basses are still a much more common choice although some bassists own both types of instrument.

'Slap and pop' and related techniques

The famous slap and pop method, in which notes and percussive sounds are created by slapping the string with the thumb and release strings with a snap, was pioneered by Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone in the 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1970s Stanley Clarke developed Graham's technique further, adding the popping and speed that are a hallmark of contemporary playing. Today, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers exemplifies slap and pop with a foundation in funk, and Les Claypool of Primus is known for playing extremely complex slap and pop basslines. An even more recent development is the two-handed tapping style, where both hands play notes by tapping the string to the fret. This makes it possible to play contrapuntally, or to play complicated chords and arpeggios. Since this gives the bass a wide audio spectral range and a brighter sound, it is mostly used by bass players who act as the lead in their music. Notable examples are Stuart Hamm, whose music is metal-oriented, as well as Victor Wooten and Michael Manring, who have a more jazzy/new age style. Tony Levin, the longtime bassist for King Crimson and Peter Gabriel, pioneered the use of two wooden dowels (called "funk fingers"), which are affixed with velcro to the index and middle finger of the right hand and used to strike the strings of the bass, producing a percussive attack and timbre similar to the "slap and pop" style.

Amplification and effects

An electric bass must be amplified to be audible in a live setting. The choice of amplification will have a significant impact on the bassist's overall sound. timbre Bass amplifiers may be categorised as either:
- combo units - the amplifier and speaker combined in a single unit; or
- head and speaker (or "cabinet") - amplifier and speaker are separate. Head units may, in turn, be either:
- integrated units, in which the preamplifier and power amplifier are combined in a single unit; or
- separate pre/power setups, in which one or more preamplifiers are used to drive one or more power amplifiers. Amplifiers may be based on solid state (transistor) or thermionic ("tube" or "valve") technology. Tube amps are generally regarded as giving a warmer, more natural sound while solid state amps are lighter and lower maintenance, but this is an area of much debate. A common setup is the use of a tube preamplifier with a solid state power amplifier. There are also an increasing range of products that use digital modelling technology to simulate many different combinations of amp and cabinet choices.

Loudspeakers

The requirement to reproduce low frequencies at high sound pressure levels means that most loudspeakers used for bass guitar amplification are designed around large diameter drivers, with 10", 12" and 15" being most common. Some speakers are 18" or larger, while there are also commercially available systems using drivers of 8" or smaller. The speakers are built into speaker cabinets, which contain one or more driver. The sound of these cabinets is influenced not only by the choice of driver but also their construction. Bass speaker cabinets are either sealed or ported with openings designed to elicit a specific frequency response. Speaker cabinets are largely designed around a single type of driver (common examples are 1x15, 1x12 and 2x10 or 4x10). Many players stack two (or more) cabinets containing different size drivers to obtain a particular sound. It is also common for high frequency "tweeters" to be included. These extended range designs were initially developed in the late 1970s in response to the better quality pickups and electronics being built by Alembic and other high-end manufacturers and to better reproduce the more percussive bass playing styles that were becoming popular at the time. Surveying the sites of the manufacturers mentioned below will give a good indication of the range of speaker cabinets currently available.

Amplification manufacturers

The 18 watt 1 x 12" Michael-Bell Bassamp, a closed-back amp designed specifically for upright bass, kicked off the modern era of bass amplification in the late 1940's. The upright basses were fitted with an Ampeg (short for "amplified peg") described in the 1946 patent application as a "sound amplifying means for stringed musical instruments of the violin family." In 1949, after the Michael-Hull company break-up, the Ampeg Bassamp Company was founded by Everett Hull in New York. Other well known manufacturers of bass amplifiers or loudspeakers include: Accugroove loudpeakers, Acme loudpeakers, Acoustic, Aguilar, Alembic (preamps and filters), Crate, Fender, Gallien-Krueger, Hartke, SWR, Marshall, Orange, Trace Elliot, Peavey and Ampeg.

Effects

Due to the particular role the bass plays in modern music, effects are not commonly used compared to the electric guitar, where the use of effects is the norm. Consequently, there is a much smaller variety of bass-specific effects available. Of these, "chorus" and "compression" are the most widely used effects for bass. "Wah-wah" and "synth" bass effects are also commonly associated with funk music. Some bands have experimented with "fuzz bass" where the bass is distorted either by overdriving the amp or by using a distortion unit; heavy distortion is typical of many metal bass players. Although many of these effects sound similar to guitar effects, players often use specialized bass effects units, which are adapted to work with the lower frequency range of the bass.

Musical role of the bass guitar

Another variable is the differing role of the bass within different types of music, and the position in the music that bassist prefers to occupy. Paul McCartney of the Beatles tends to favor a subdued, melodic approach a little further back in the mix. Progressive rock bassists have been revolutionary by making the instrument a more important and recognizable voice in their respective bands, a trend that caught on in many bands that have followed them. John Entwistle of The Who and Jack Bruce of Cream introduced a more aggressive styles with the former's trademark trebly tone and the latter's very smooth tone. Chris Squire of Yes took the instrument one step further in the early 1970s, combining McCartney's melodicism with Entwistle's energy and employing an aggressive, overdriven tone that expanded even further the bass's role as rhythmic and harmonic foundation. Geddy Lee of Rush has been experimenting with bass chords, layered bass lines, and flamenco-style fingerpicking in the group's recent recordings. Outside of the rock genre, Jazz-funk bassist Jaco Pastorius evolved bass playing to a new extreme in the band Weather Report and in his own solo work. Jaco then inspired bassists such as Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey and Stu Hamm, who have taken the bass' role in music to a new extreme with the addition of many new techniques on the bass, such as "Double Thumping" and the development of techniques such as tapping. Other bassists that have moved the bass forward as an instrument include Les Claypool and Marcus Miller.

Influential bassists

There is an extensive