Acoustic bass guitar

Traditional music of Mexico features several varieties of acoustic bass guitars, such as the guitarrón, a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass guitar played in Mariachi bands, the león, plucked with a pick, and the bajo sexto, with six pairs of strings.

The Bassoguitar built by the Regal Musical Instrument Company was likely the first mass-produced acoustic bass to make use of a guitar-like body.

Ball's aim was to provide bass guitarists with a more acoustic-sounding instrument that would match better with the sound of acoustic guitars.

Ball said that "...the closest thing to an acoustic bass was the Mexican guitarron...in mariachi bands, so I bought one down in Tijuana and tinkered with it.

"[2] Ball collaborated with George William Fullerton, a former employee at Fender, to develop the Earthwood acoustic bass guitar, which was introduced in 1972.

In part, this is because the body of an acoustic bass guitar is too small to produce a resonance of acceptable volume at lower pitches on the low "B" string.

Another solution is to rely on amplification to reproduce the low "B" string's notes, or by making the body a little bit larger.

The guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass guitar played in Mariachi bands.