Body for bass guitar

A bowl-shaped body formed in a single piece of graphite, fiberglass or impregnated fabric and having a waist separating a smaller upper bowl portion from a larger lower bowl portion. The lower bowl portion has a circular bout and is substantially deeper than the upper bowl portion. Preferably, the upper bowl portion also has a cutaway portion adjacent the fretboard, for fingering at the higher positions, and a more deeply curving waist portion on the same side to allow the guitar to be more easily held during playing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to four and eight string bass guitars, and more 
particularly to a bass guitar having a bowl-shaped body. 
Guitars have been constructed for a variety of materials, including wood 
and plastic, and according to a variety of sizes, such as the traditional 
shape with an inwardly curving waist, as well as the pear shape 
characteristic of lutes. Similarly, guitars employing bowl-shaped bodies 
have long been available. 
More recently, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,697, guitars have been 
constructed using both a bowl-shaped body and plastic and other 
non-typical construction materials. However, as to four string or 8 string 
bass guitars, problems as to size, shape, and acoustical properties have 
remained. That is, bass guitars have presented special problems, both as 
to playability and acoustical characteristics, such as resonance, because 
of their substantially larger square-box size, being made of wood sides 
and back. As a result, presently available bass guitars have been 
restricted to conventional guitar shapes and materials. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
In accordance with this invention there is provided a bass guitar 
constructed in a single piece of graphite, fiberglass, or impregnated 
fabric in a continuous layer of substantially uniform thickness. A waist 
portion separates a smaller upper bowl portion from a larger lower bowl 
portion, the lower bowl portion having a circular bout and a substantially 
greater depth than the upper bowl portion to allow the larger portion of 
air space to be in the lower bowl, with the sides of the body curving 
downwardly to meet the bottom in a continuously smooth surface. 
It is a primary object of this invention to achieve improved resonance in 
bass guitars by means of an improved bowl-shaped body defining a large 
interior air space disposed next to a substantially smaller air space. 
It is another object of this invention to provide a bass guitar which can 
be comfortably held as it is being played. 
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a bowl-shaped body 
which can be used with either acoustic or amplified bass guitars to 
achieve improved resonance and playability.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
As shown in FIG. 1, bowl-shaped body 11 is formed in one piece and has 
lower bowl portion 12 and upper bowl portion 13 separated by waist 14. The 
sides 15 of the bowl-shaped body 11 slope downwardly in a gradual curve 
and also merge smoothly where the lower bowl portion flows into the upper 
bowl portion at waist 14. 
The sides 15 are perpendicular to the top of the body at two areas of the 
body, namely at the front 16 of the upper bowl portion, and at the side 22 
of the waist 14. All other surfaces taper downwardly to the center of the 
bowl, causing the interior of the bowl to concentrate sound vibrations 
such that they flow outwardly from the sides until they escape through the 
sound hole. 
The use of upper and lower bowl portions in accordance with this invention 
makes for the most advantageous concentration of interior space, not only 
with respect to playability but also as to acoustical properties. 
Surprisingly, the use of the substantially deeper lower bowl portion 
produces greatly improved resonance in bass guitars. 
Bowl-shaped body 11 is preferably constructed in one piece of graphite. The 
use of such material has yielded bass guitars having superior resonance. 
Various other materials can also be used in molding the bowl-shaped body, 
including fiberglass or impregnated fabric or A.B.S. plastics, as long as 
such materials can be formed into a continuous layer of substantially 
uniform thickness having sufficient strength for guitar construction. 
As shown in FIG. 2, lower bowl portion 12 is substantially larger than 
upper bowl portion 13 and has a circular bout 17. A cutaway portion 18 is 
formed into the upper bowl portion 13 adjacent the point of attachment of 
the guitar neck, such cutaway portion allowing more ready access of the 
player's fingers to the higher positions on the fretboard. The cutaway 
portion as shown would be for a right handed guitar player, with an 
identical cutaway portion being formed into the opposite side of the upper 
bowl portion for a left-handed guitar player. Also, the side of waist 14 
adjacent the cutaway portion 18 is formed with a deeper inward curve 19 
and is otherwise molded such that the bowl-shaped body will rest snugly 
and yet comfortably on the player's leg as the guitar is being played. 
FIG. 3 shows the upper bowl portion 13 with holes 20 for attachment of the 
neck. Sides 15 slope away from the top of the body to define the bowl 
shape of body portion 13. 
As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the lower bowl portion 12 has a substantially 
greater depth than the upper bowl portion 13. Preferably, the depth of the 
lower bowl portion 12 is from about 7 to 12 inches depending on the 
resonance and harmonic frequency required. The width across such portion 
is from about 61/2 to 221/2 inches. The length of the entire body, 
including both upper and lower portions, can be from about 20 to 24 
inches. 
The sides 15 of bowl-shaped body 11 curve downwardly from all points around 
the top of the body, the sides merging smoothly with the bottom 21. As 
shown in FIG. 6, the side 16 of the upper bowl portion 13 is at first 
perpendicular and then curves steeply downward and gradually tapers to the 
bottom 21 of the larger bowl portion 12. 
As noted above, the bowl-shaped body of this invention is preferably 
constructed of graphite, in a continuous layer of substantially uniform 
thickness of about 3/32 to 1/8 inches. Bass guitars having bowl-shaped 
bodies according to this invention, constructed of graphite, will exhibit 
not only superior resonance but also greatly improved playability.