Bass guitar in 1958. 1956 saw the appearance at the German trade fair "Musikmesse Frankfurt" of the distinctive Höfner 500/1 violin bass made using violin construction techniques by Walter Höfner, a second generation violin luthier. The instrument is often known as the "Beatle Bass", due to its endorsement and use by Beatles bassist Paul McCartney. In 1957 Rickenbacker introduced the model 4000 bass, the first bass to feature a neck-through-body design in which the neck is part of the body wood. The Fender and Gibson versions used bolt-on and glued-on necks. With the explosion of the popularity of rock music in the
Vox Bass Guitar a batwing shaped pickguard and looks identical to the Panaramic brand bass guitar made by Crucianelli in 1963. In 1966, EKO took over the manufacture of the VOX Cougar and EKO Cougars can be easily identified by the white pickup mounts. The Crucianelli made VOX Cougars are extremely rare today as are Panaramic guitars made by Crucianelli. The Constellation double-cutaway, hollow body bass guitar was slightly smaller than the Cougar, similar to the Hofner Violin Bass. It was used by Larry Graham with Sly and the Family Stone, and also by John Entwistle of The Who. It had a sunburst