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In the English language: An electric bass could mean any electrified bass instrument: electric bass guitar, electric double bass...

I'd say Vunzmstr is trying to improve the naming accuracy. A bass could be: a tuba, a low voice, the Basso voice range. Bass guitars and guitars simply have more in common than the bass guitar and the double bass, which belongs to the violin family, while the (electric) bass/bass guitar does not. Note the first (commercially successful) bass guitar: it was built by Leo Fender, not by Stradivarius!
Differences between bass guitar and double bass:
 playing technique: one may use a bow for the double bass
 design: the bass guitar is a direct derivative of the guitar (both electric and acoustic), while the double bass was derived from the violoncello
 octave: the bass guitar is one octave lower than the guitar, the double bass an extra octave lower

Add to this that the number of electrified bass instruments may increase in the near future, further reducing the clarity of ""electric bass"".
IMHO an encyclopedia should be clear and properly categorised. Electric bass instead of (electric) bass guitar does not meet that standard.  15:10, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC)"