does anyone know/??

Here's the info I could find, from: http://www.weedhopper.org/Bass_Guitar_History.asp Among the first known bass instruments are the "Viola da Gamba" from the late 15th century which was over 8 feet tall, had 6 or 7 strings, and tuned similar to the modern double bass. (E A D G, etc). A bow was used to play it, but it had a fretted neck, which were removed around 1800. Then, in 1951, there came a massive shift. Leo Fender forever changed the way the world would hear bass by creating the first electric bass guitar. And since it was shaped like a solid body guitar, it could be played easier than the large double bass. History of the bass guitar: 1490 : 6 & 7 string Bass Viola da Gamba from Silvestro Ganassi - Venice, Italy 1926 : First "Electric Upright" from Lloyd Loar 1933 : Paul Tutmarc builds first amplified Bass guitar (article here) 1959 : First 6 string Bass UB1 from Danelectro (Tuning: E A D G B E) 1978 : Hamer builds the first 12 string bass for Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick 1983 : Ibanez MC 924 "half and half" (fretted to the 12th fret then fretless) 1997? : Conklin builds first double neck 7 string bass 2004 : 11 String bass by Michael Adler. Uses the C#00 (17hz) string. First played and currently owned by Garry Goodman.