The double bass, also called upright bass, string bass or bass fiddle, is the largest and lowest-pitched instrument of the orchestral string family. It usually has four heavy strings tuned in fourths, E–A–D–G, sounding an octave below the cello, and the largest instruments approach six feet (about 1.8 metres) in length. Its ancestors date back to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century.
Orchestral bassists mostly use a bow, but in jazz the strings are almost always plucked with the fingers (pizzicato). In a jazz group the bass anchors both the rhythm and the harmony, typically with walking lines that give the root of each chord on the beat, which frees the pianist to use rootless voicings. Its round, woody, slightly percussive tone is a favourite in jazz lo-fi, whether sampled from old records, recorded live or recreated with virtual instruments, as a softer alternative to the electronic sub-bass of other hip hop styles.