Acoustic bass guitars The acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than a 6-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar and the double bass, the acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E-A-D- G, an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6-string guitar, which is the same tuning pitch as an electric bass guitar. It can more rarely be found with 5 or 6 strings, which provides a wider range of notes to be played with less movement up and down the neck.