TalkBass Acronyms

The following is just a start to a new help page that will display common acronyms found on TalkBass and other forums.



210: 2 X 10" speaker configuration

410: 4 X 10" speaker configuration

610, 810, 115, 215, 112, 212: You get the idea

AEB: Acoustic-Electric Bass

AFAIK: As Far As I Know

CAR: Candy Apple Red, a particularly red finish color, made famous by some older Fender basses.

CBS: As in the television network "Columbia Broadcasting System"

CIJ: Crafted in Japan

CJ: Contemporary Jazz

dB: Decibels (Unit of SPL measurement - see SPL)

DB: Double Bass

DI: Direct Input

DR: DR strings (well...)

EBMM: Ernie Ball Music Man

ERB: Extended Range Bass (ie lots of strings)

EUB: Electric Upright Bass

FB: Fingerboard or Fretboard

FL: Fretless

FTW: For the Win

GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome

GC: Guitar Center

IMHO: In My Humble Opinion (sometimes used where humility may otherwise be lacking;))

J Pup: Single coil pickup a la Jazz Bass

J-bass/'J': Jazz Bass

JFs: Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flatwound Strings

MIA: Made In America

MIJ: Made In Japan

MIM: Made In Mexico

MM Pup: Humbucking pickup a la Music Man Stingray

MM: Music Man or Marcus Miller dependant on context ;)

NBD: New Bass Day

P Pup: Split coil pickup a la Precision Bass

P-Bass (or just 'P'): Precision Bass

Pots: Potentiometers (the knobs that control volume, tone, blend)

PU: Pickup

Pup: Pickup

Ric: Rickenbacker

RMS: Root Means Squared (Standard method of measuring an amplifier's power output)

RW: Rosewood (often in the context of yet another fingerboard wood debate ;))

SPL: Sound Pressure Level (ie Volume or Loudness)

SR: Stringray (or occasionally Soundgear)

SR5: Stingray5

SVT: Super Valve Technology, a line of Ampeg amplifiers.

TI: Thomastik-Infeld (Purveyors of fine quality strings)

TLDR (Tl,DR or TL;DR): Too long, Didn't Read. (TL;DR version = short version)

URB: Upright Bass

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary