Virtual Bass Guitar — Play 4 & 5-String Online

The virtual bass guitar is a free, interactive instrument that lets you play authentic electric bass in your web browser. Built on real-time physical modelling synthesis, it simulates the vibrations of four-string (EADG) and five-string (BEADG) electric basses with adjustable fingerstyle and pick attack presets, interactive drag strumming, and octave-aware note readouts.

Whether you are testing bass lines without an instrument at hand, learning the notes across the fretboard, or comparing the sub-bass reach of a 5-string neck, this tool gives you instant acoustic feedback. Every sound is synthesized client-side via the Web Audio API—nothing is sampled, tracked, or sent to a server.

How to use the virtual bass

Playing the virtual bass is designed to feel natural on desktop computers, tablets, and mobile smartphones:

1. Pluck single notes: Click or tap any fret on any string. The virtual bass immediately sounds the note, triggers string vibration, and displays the exact pitch, octave, frequency in Hertz, and MIDI note number in the live readout HUD above the neck.
2. Play open strings: Tap the dedicated nut buttons on the far left of the neck (fret 0). You can also press number keys 1 through 5 on your computer keyboard to trigger open strings from low to high.
3. Drag to strum: Press down and drag your cursor or finger vertically across strings. The tool detects pointer velocity and plucks each string in sequence, replicating the sweeping feel of a bass arpeggio or double-stop strum.
4. Switch 4-string and 5-string modes: Toggle the string selector button to switch between the classic four-string configuration (E1-A1-D2-G2) and the extended five-string configuration (adding low B0).
5. Select tone presets: Choose between Fingerstyle (warm, rounded fundamental with gentle transient attack), Pick (crisp transient plectrum snap with aggressive upper-midrange bite), Slap (percussive thumb slap with scooped midrange and metallic ping), and Palm Mute (tight, thumpy decay reminiscent of classic flatwound Motown bass).
6. Toggle fretboard labels: Cycle between Note + Octave (such as E1, A1, C2), Notes (pitch classes only), Frets (0 through 21), or Clean (unlabelled wood neck for ear-training quizzes).
7. Alternative tunings: Use the tuning dropdown to explore Standard, Drop D (D1-A1-D2-G2), Half-Step Down (E♭1-A♭1-D♭2-G♭2), or 5-string Drop A (A0-E1-A1-D2-G2).
8. Mute ringing strings: Click the Mute All button or press the M key on your keyboard to immediately dampen all vibrating strings.

4-string vs 5-string bass tunings and frequencies

Standard electric basses are built with four strings tuned in perfect fourths: E1, A1, D2, and G2. Modern musical styles—including contemporary pop, gospel, progressive rock, metal, and musical theatre—frequently require frequencies below low E. To meet this demand, the 5-string bass incorporates a heavy low B0 string.

The table below outlines the open string pitches, MIDI note numbers, standard frequencies calculated at concert pitch ($A_4 = 440\text{ Hz}$), and physical wavelengths in air at room temperature ($20^\circ\text{C}$):

String	Note	Octave	MIDI	Frequency ($A_4 = 440\text{ Hz}$)	Wavelength in Air
5th (Lowest on 5-string)	B	0	23	30.87 Hz	11.11 m (36.4 ft)
4th (Lowest on 4-string)	E	1	28	41.20 Hz	8.32 m (27.3 ft)
3rd	A	1	33	55.00 Hz	6.24 m (20.5 ft)
2nd	D	2	38	73.42 Hz	4.67 m (15.3 ft)
1st (Highest)	G	2	43	98.00 Hz	3.50 m (11.5 ft)

The role of the low B string

The addition of the B0 string extends the instrument’s range downward by five semitones: B0, C1, D♭1, D1, and E♭1. While this sounds like a modest numerical expansion, the acoustic impact is profound. At 30.87 Hz, the low B fundamental sits near the threshold of human hearing, imparting seismic sub-bass power to rhythm sections.

A second advantage of the 5-string layout is positional economy. On a 4-string bass, playing a low E or F requires shifting down to the open string or 1st fret. On a 5-string bass, you can fret low E at the 5th fret of the B string, keeping your fretting hand in a comfortable middle-neck position while maintaining consistent timbre across scalar runs.

Why bass sounds an octave below guitar

Bass guitars and six-string guitars share an intimate musical lineage. The four strings of a standard bass correspond exactly to the bottom four strings of a standard guitar—both are tuned to the pitches E, A, D, and G. However, the bass vibrates exactly one octave lower.

Guitar 6th String: E2 (82.41 Hz)  ──────┐
Guitar 5th String: A2 (110.00 Hz) ─────┐│ One Octave Higher
Guitar 4th String: D3 (146.83 Hz) ────┐││ (Double Frequency)
Guitar 3rd String: G3 (196.00 Hz) ───┐│││
                                     ││││
Bass 1st String:   G2 (98.00 Hz)  ───┘│││
Bass 2nd String:   D2 (73.42 Hz)  ────┘││ One Octave Lower
Bass 3rd String:   A1 (55.00 Hz)  ─────┘│ (Half Frequency)
Bass 4th String:   E1 (41.20 Hz)  ──────┘

Three physical principles explain how the bass produces these deep fundamentals:

1. Scale length: A standard electric guitar neck measures approximately 24.75 to 25.5 inches from nut to bridge saddle. A standard long-scale electric bass measures 34 inches (864 mm), with extra-long basses reaching 35 inches. This longer scale accommodates lower frequencies without string flabbiness.
2. String mass and gauge: Bass strings are wound with heavy steel or nickel wire around a core wire, yielding gauges typically ranging from 0.045 inches (G string) up to 0.105 inches (E string) or 0.130 inches (B string). According to Mersenne’s laws of vibrating strings, increasing the linear mass density lowers the fundamental frequency proportionally.
3. Octave transposition in notation: In standard musical notation, the bass guitar is treated as a transposing instrument. Music written in the bass clef is notated one octave higher than the pitch that actually sounds. If it were written at true pitch, common notes like low E1 would require three ledger lines below the staff.

Practising bass notes and ear training

Developing fretboard fluency on the bass requires understanding how note patterns repeat across strings. Because the strings are tuned in uniform intervals of perfect fourths (five semitones), visual shapes remain consistent everywhere on the neck:

• The two-string, two-fret octave: Plucking any note on the E or A string, then playing two frets higher on the string two steps up, produces the exact same pitch class one octave higher (for example, E1 on the 4th string open or fret 12, compared with E2 on the 2nd string fret 2 or fret 14).
• The fifth-fret unison rule: Fretting the 5th fret of any lower string sounds the same pitch as the next open string above it. For instance, fret 5 on the 4th string (E) is A1, which matches the open 3rd string (A).

When you are ready to tune your physical instrument or dive deeper into neck geometry, explore our companion resources:

• Check your instrument with our microphone-powered Bass Guitar Tuner to dial in precise cents-accurate pitch.
• Study the complete neck map in our Bass Fretboard Notes Guide to master note locations up to the 12th fret.
• Compare guitar voicings and register overlap on the Virtual Guitar.
• Lock in your timing and pocket grooves with our Online Metronome.

Related tools

• Bass Guitar Tuner — Tune 4-string and 5-string basses with microphone pitch detection.
• Virtual Guitar — Play acoustic and electric guitar online with chord diagrams and strumming.
• Online Metronome — Practice groove, tempo control, and pocket timing with clean audio clicks.
• Chromatic Tuner — Universal pitch detection for all instruments and vocal ranges.