Bass Guitars: Checkout Reviews of the best bass guitars for various brands and prices. Whatever your style, there’s a bass for you. Available in 4-string and 5-string electric bass, find your next bass guitar from our extensive selection. Here we bring to you the best bass guitars from top brands Fender, Yamaha, Gretsch and Ibanez, and we’ve got everyone covered, from beginners to bassline maestros. Find reviews and the bass accessories that you need to sound like a pro.
Introduction
Though these stringed instruments are available as acoustic and electric versions, there are many who use the term “bass guitar” to refer to an electric bass.
These look similar to the electric guitar, but come with a longer neck and scale length. Available in four, five, six, or eight strings, the four-string bass however is the more popular one.
There are some that come bundled with an amp, strap, bag and more.
An Electric Bass Guitar is played primarily with the fingers or thumb, by plucking, slapping, popping, tapping, thumping, or picking.
Here we have reviewed several good value-for-money options to help you get started on the Bass Guitar. Most of them are bundled package so you don’t have to worry about getting any accessories.
You may go through the bass buying guide (at the bottom of this page) that lets you know everything you need, from entry-level basses and amps to must-have practice accessories.
Best Bass Guitars
All-in-One Bass Kits
This is the most convenient way to get started on the bass because all the important instruments and accessories are bundled together, you don’t have to research and buy them separately. These all-in-one electric bass packs usually bundle a bass, an amplifier, and useful accessories into a single affordable package. See the Best Electric Bass Packs…
Electric Basses
Don’t fancy a bundle, want to buy things separately? You can choose from a a wide selection of affordable bass guitars that are great for beginners, and offer versatile tones and easy playability. Guitar players usually start learning on acoustic guitars, but most bassists start on a comfortable electric bass as their first guitar. See the Best Entry-level Electric Basses…
Electric Bass Amplifiers
If you intend to build your own bass setup/rig, you’ll also need a good amplifier to pair with your bass. Here are some affordable bass amps that pack plenty of punch; these also include built-in headphone jacks for late-night practicing. See the Best Entry-level Bass Amplifiers…
More Useful Bass Accessories
If you intend to build your own bass setup/rig, you’ll need some essential accessories such as Cables, Tuners, Picks, Bass Strings, Gig Bags, and more.
Whirlwind EGC Guitar Instrument Cable: A reliable instrument cable that connects your bass to the amp is needed.
Korg GA40 Guitar and Bass Tuner: For beginners, a simple tuner can save hours of precious time that can go into practicing.
Eagle Mountain Guitar Strap: Makes it comfortable to hold your bass
Fender 351 Classic Celluloid Pick (Heavy, 12 Pack): A pack of heavy-gauge picks can also be extremely helpful for novice bass players.
D’Addario EXL170 XL Nickel Wound Bass Strings (Soft, Long): These break quite often, so it’s a good idea to have extra packs.
On-Stage GS7462B A-Style Folding Guitar Stand: doesn’t occupy much space and you can easily access your bass/guitar whenever required.
World Tour Padded Bass Guitar Gig Bag: Keeps the bass clean and makes it easy to carry around your bass
Starter Series Beginning Bass Volume One Book and Video
More Options…
Full Size Electric Bass Guitar Starter Beginner Pack (by Davison Guitars)
FULL-SIZE, complete electric bass package from “Davison” for just over hundred bucks, has reasonable quality, and is a great package deal for all beginner players out there. It comes with a small practice amp as well, which you may choose to upgrade once you get better. Though its a full bass size guitar, its contoured body makes it easy to play for younger players as well. The starter pack includes everything you need to get started on the bass — Full Size 45″ Bass Guitar, Maple Neck, Dual Pickups, Practice Amp, Accessories Bundle.
- PROS: Great bass guitar for beginners, holds tune well, comes with everything you need to start playing – practice amp, gig bag (but these are not of the highest quality though)
- CONS: Its for beginners, tone knob does not make much of a difference to the tone, the tone knob effects are not of the highest quality
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So any issues with the guitar? Here are some minor glitches which can be fixed or ignored.
- The Amp is small but works good, it’s more a practice amp but is sufficiently loud for practice or for jamming, that’s what you can expect for the price anyways.
- Some may find the guitar action to be High but that can be fixed, in case you also feel the same.
- Some users have experienced a buzzing sound after playing for some time. You can get this fixed at your local guitar shop by making some adjustments.
If you have played guitars before, and have never played a bass before, this is something that you may use to test the waters. Just do some adjustments (if required) and you have a guitar that is fantastic value and offers a lot more terms of quality and usefulness.
Competition Check / Comparison
Davison also offers a Full-Size Electric Guitar beginners package which is cheaper, just in case you’re tight on budget. Another nice bass guitar is the [easyazon_link identifier=”B0009XPMOM” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Dean E09M Edge Mahogany Electric Bass Guitar[/easyazon_link], slightly expensive but nice build quality.
Key features/specs:
- Diecast tuners, maple neck, alder body
- 30 Watt Peak (15w RMS) Amplifier
- Amp Case Strap and Cable Included
Great bass guitar, price is awesome, its perfect for beginners. The amp is tiny, but worth it if you’re not trying to make too much noise. If you are looking for an affordable, all-in-one beginner bass kit, this Davison bass is a real value-for-money. You get everything that you need to get started on the bass. Perfect for for beginners or children who wish to learn how to play bass guitar.
Buying options:
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Silvertone LB11 Bass & Amp Package
This Bass guitar package includes BAXs bass amp, digital tuner, instructional DVD, strings, strap, picks, cable, gig bag. This Blue bass guitar offers warm resonance and fat tone. You also get a 10-watt amp with 4-band EQ. Overall, a good package that provides you everything to control the rhythm.
Gibson Bass Guitars
Way back in the 1950s, Gibson introduced their first bass pioneering the single-pickup bass design. The 60s saw an explosion of rock which saw the launch of newer Gibson bass models, turning thousands of enthusiastic players towards their new burgeoning line of products.
Rock bassists were drawn towards the thunderous Gibson low-end sound, brought on by Gibson’s fiery humbucking bass pickups. And when Gibson set the now-legendary Grabber loose in ’73, their bass star rose, and stayed on the big stage.
Take any big names in Rock music and you will find them using Gibson bass guitars!
Gibson guitars deliver powerful sounds, and one of the main reasons is their pickups. Most of their guitars come with a combination of humbuckers, each offering different tonal capabilities, that makes these ideal for playing in different styles of music.
The humbuckers on these versatile instruments are wax-potted, which makes them capable of capturing and recreating the classic attributes of the early Gibson basses.
Most Gibson bass guitars, especially the ones in the SG series, feature Gibson’s innovative three-way adjustable bridge system. You can adjust and fine-tune the height of the bass’ strings in any direction, giving the bridge a “floating” feature that allows for multiple set-up options and a variety of string gauges.
Gibson 2014 EB5 Electric Bass, 5-String (with Case): Gibson’s EB5 Bass reaches new lows with this 5-string, the tones are warm and the overall tonal range is balanced. You can dial in a wide range of bass tones with two blendable, coil-tappable alnico humbuckers. Read more…
Gibson 2015 SG Standard Electric Bass (with Case)
Good-looking short-scale bass delivers thick grooves, courtesy its two T-bird pickups. It plays effortlessly and delivers full tone thanks to its T-Bird Plus and vintage-style T-Bird Mini pickups. Read more…
Best Electric Bass Guitars
Here are some good value-for-money options to help you get started on the bass guitar. Most of them are bundled package so you don’t have to worry about getting any accessories, at least to begin with.
Squier Affinity Jazz Bass
Squier basses are made by Fender, one of the most famous guitar companies in the world. Fender Jazz Bass is a favorite with musicians in all kinds of genres, but it comes with a price tag of over $1,000, and it’s not exactly meant for beginners! A better option for them is the Squier Affinity Jazz Bass. Though not the best of the bass guitars, the the Squier Affinity is great for beginners, considering its price point.
Body: Alder, Fretboard: Rosewood. Pickup: Single-coil. Dimensions: 3.5 x 51 x 14.75 in
Ibanez Soundgear GSR200
Ibanez is known for producing value guitars and basses. Like their guitars, Ibanez basses also have thin, fast necks. The Soundgear basses also have slightly narrower string spacing (compared to the Squiers), making it better suited to playing with a pick. The GSR is a great starter bass for beginners, probably the best choice for newbies.
Body: Basswood, Fretboard: Rosewood. Split-coil and single-coil pickup combination. Dimensions: 3 x 40 x 12 in
Ibanez GSR200 Electric Bass Guitar
Ibanez GSR200 is a 4-String electric bass guitar with nice balance and feel, available for a very friendly price. Suitable for all skill levels, but great for beginners who want to get into the world of electric basses. The GSR200 sounds and feels good too, thanks to its thin, fast neck and PJ pickup configuration.
Ibanez is known for producing affordable quality guitars, including bass guitars as well. And for several years, Ibanez GSR200 is one model that has been the clear winner in this regard. This bass is the ultimate beginner model – its cheap, reliable and gives a decent performance.
Its a nice starter bass, would recommend it even to intermediate bass players (not for professionals though). The good thing about this guitar is that Ibanez gives you a bit of everything so that this bass guitar can be used for a wide variety of music genres (play anything from rock to funk).
- Pros: Great pricing, good pickups (has Jazz and Precision pick-ups), string action is adjustable, lightweight
- Cons: The knobs are plastic and feel cheap. Tuners work pretty well under light use but may not suit very aggressive playing. May need to change the strings, remember that its a 200 dollar bass (its not really a pros axe)
- Best USES: Jamming, Practicing, Small venues/concerts, School bands, Recording
This is also one of the lightest bass guitar that you will come across. For someone who gigs for a few hours, its a real comfort on the shoulder. And this bass is durable too, it will take all the bumps when on the road.
Thin, Fast Neck + Versatile PJ Pickups makes it the Perfect Beginner Bass
Ibanez’s GSR200 electric bass features a GSR4 agathis body, a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard of 22 frets, a Powersound P and Powersound J pickup pairing, tone, volume, EQ, and PHAT-II bass boost controls, attractive chrome tuners, and a secure and enticing chrome Standard 4 bridge.
Comes with simple features, has handy tone and volume knobs, is pretty responsive tuners, and is quite easy to use.
Active Electronics
The best thing in the GSR200 is the electronics it has to offer. For the price, instead of getting a passive set of electronics, Ibanez gives you an an active one in the GSR200. You have a split coil pickup at the neck, and a single coil at the bridge. It’s the traditional P/J configuration, but this one is an an active one.
Bass Boost
It comes with a bass boost setting. The Phat Boost knob adds a lot of depth to the sound. Avoid pushing the bass boost all the way up as it can sound muddy (medium boost keeps the mud out). You can also get a clean sound by cutting the boost off, and cleaning the tone up using the tone pot/knob.
Eye-catching Looks
The chrome tuners and bridge not only helps produce better and consistent sound, it also makes your guitar looks nice…thanks to the shimmer of chrome. The GSR200 shows that a beginner’s bass guitar doesn’t have to look cheap or lack in sound or flair.
About the battery
The guitar uses active electronics and comes with the 9V battery. This bass needs a 9V battery for the pickups & EQ’s to work.
“The bass stopped playing last week, and I took the cable, bass and amp to a music store to see what the problem was. It turns out that there’s a 9 volt battery in the bass that periodically needs to be replaced. With a fresh battery installed, it plays like new again,” Greg.
Make it a habit to unplug the bass from the cable when it’s not in use, this way the battery will last longer.
Always keep spare batteries on hand, especially if you gig with this guitar (you could even change the battery before a gig, just to be safe). You don’t want the battery to die down in the middle of the gig.
Competition Check
The standard Fender jazz bass is another option that you may consider. You may also consider the Yamaha ERB070 and a Epiphone Thunderbird IV Goth (produces good sounds for all styles of music).
Specs
Main features:
- PHAT II active bass boost for more low-end power
- Powersound pickups deliver full tones and strong low-end
- Agathis body, rosewood fretboard
- One-piece comfortable maple neck
- Active EQ with PHAT-II Bass Boost
- Pearl dot inlay, chrome hardware
- Medium frets, fully adjustable bridge.
- Split-coil and single coil pickup combination.
- In terms of finishes, you get black, jewel, transparent red, and pearl white.
- Includes 3 allen wrenches necessary that allows you to make the necessary adjustments.
The GSR series includes some of the most affordable 5 and 6-string basses, but still offers comfort and easy playability at these entry-level prices. The Ibanez GSR200 is a good beginner bass to practice/learn, until you’re ready to get an upgrade. You may change the strings or slightly adjust the action to get a better sound/feel. But for a first bass, this is a good buy available at a low price.
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If you want something of decent quality, but don’t want to spend a fortune on it, this is the guitar you should consider. You will find great prices on the Ibanez GSR200 here.
Here are some more affordable options:
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Best Acoustic Bass Guitars
Acoustic Bass Guitar guide and reviews of the best brands/models out there. You can have some serious low-end fun with one of these acoustic bass guitars (most are acoustic-electric designs), even when they are not plugged in. Perfect as an accompaniment and towards the softer side of the audio spectrum, an acoustic bass is a great way to jam with a guitarist. While acoustic bass are quite popular among players, many prefer to own an acoustic-electric bass which allows them to play via an amplifier if need be. [easyazon_link identifier=”B00I0SDHKY” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Checkout this best acoustic bass guitar on Amazon[/easyazon_link].
Here we take a look at the best acoustic-electric bass guitars:
Breedlove Solo Acoustic-Electric Bass (with Gig Bag)
Rich, resonant tone. LR Baggs Element pickup, Breedlove LR-TCV preamp. Gives you total control over the tone.
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Ibanez PCBE12MH Acoustic Bass
Mahogany top, back, and sides, projects rich, balanced tone. Great for practicing at home, or for playing on stage, or in the recording studio.
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Dean EAB Acoustic-Electric Bass
An entry level acoustic-electric bass that sounds good either wasy – acoustic or plugged-in. On-board electronics lets you tweak your sound.
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Best Fretless Bass Reviews
A fretless bass is similar to a normal bass but minus the frets, which makes it harder to play because you have to press exactly where the fret markers would be (its used mainly by experienced players) to get the right notes. The advantage being, you can slide really easily on these for obvious reasons. [easyazon_link identifier=”B00DWVB7YC” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Skip to the best fretless bass guitar on Amazon[/easyazon_link].
Here are some recommended Fretless Basses.
Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Jazz Bass
A great guitar for those who are just starting out on the fretless, although several experienced players also prefer it for its mellow sound and good build quality.
One piece maple neck, Ebonol fingerboard with white fret-marker lines (makes it easy for beginners), adjustable bridge. Looks good, and sounds just like a Jazz bass. Produces punchy yet warm sound.
Number of Strings: 4, Body Material: solid-wood, Neck Material: Maple, Dimensions: 4 x 52 x 16 in
Squier Basses produce affordable products of reasonable quality that also look nice. Squier Basses are known to produce identical looking and sounding basses than the much more expensive Fender basses. However, becasue these are cheaper than the fender, you can expect some quality and durability related issues with these basses, when compared with the Fender basses.
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Here are more fretless bass options:
- Schecter Stiletto Studio-4 Fretless Electric Bass
- Ibanez SRF705 5-String Fretless Electric Bass
- P-Bass Replacement Neck with a Fretless Ebonol Fingerboard
Best Fender Bass Guitars
Fender is known to produce some of the best music instruments on the planet and and musicians are always looking for opportunities to own a Fender. Being one of the oldest manufacturers of electric guitars, they understand the technology involved quite well. Over the years they have also made a name for themselves in everything related to guitar, including bass guitars. They have consistently produced some of the world’s finest bass guitars.
Fender makes a wide range of electric bass guitars and is now synonymous with all things bass. Fender basses are among the most recorded basses and is used in most popular music today because of the unique sound of their bass guitars.
Just pick up a Fender bass guitar once, spend some time with it, and you’ll realize why music legends (in almost every genre) have chosen classics like the Jazz Bass and Precision Bass as their weapon of choice.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, Fender has a nice variety of bass guitars that will not disappoint you. Just try one out and you may be in for a pleasant surprise. Here we have reviewed some of the best fender bass guitars.
Popular fender bass guitars include the Precision bass, Mustang & Jazz. Fender bass guitars are available in a wide range of price points and colours. Besides electric guitars and amps, Fender electric bass guitars are increasingly preferred by musicians world wide.
Fender has world class basses and bass amplifiers (and continues to make newer models) for everyone from the beginning player to the more experienced touring and recording professionals.
Fender Deluxe Active Jazz V 5-String Electric Bass
If you’re a serious bass player who spends hours on rehearsals and gigs, you need to chckout the Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V. This five-string electric bass guitar features Vintage Noiseless pickups, a comfortable C-shaped neck, active electronics, and more.
Fender American Deluxe Jazz V 5-String Electric Bass
Access your favorite songs on the the Fender American Deluxe Jazz V that features N3 pickups with an active/passive mini toggle, a re-engineered preamp, and a maple fretboard.
Fender Standard Precision Electric Bass Guitar
Among the first mass produced electric bass guitar, the Fender Standard Precision Bass is a classic and still quite popular among musicians, a high quality bass guitar at a very affordable price. Since its early-’50s introduction, this bass guitar has remained the world standard for thick tone and smooth playability. Comes with a maple fretboard for punchier attack, the Fender Standard Precision Bass has a historic bass tone.
Fender American Professional Jazz Bass
Fender American Professional Jazz Bass is an upgraded version of the Fender Jazz Bass. Modern-C neck contour, pair of V-Mod single-coil J-style pickups, the American Professional Jazz Bass sounds better than ever.
The Jazz Bass used to be a regular in Funk, fusion, disco, and, now in modern rock. The same instrument has now evolved to cater to the needs of today’s musician, by combining modern features and materials with Fender’s world-class craftsmanship and expertise.
The Fender American Professional Jazz Bass is the latest incarnation of the ground-breaking Fender Jazz Bass. Designed from the ground up to offer you an ideal gigging and recording instrument, the American Professional Jazz Bass comes with several player-friendly features.
Originally introduced in 1960, the Jazz Bass become an icon. The slim, ultra-fast neck and slick offset-waist styling made it a favorite of bassists everywhere. This upgraded American Pro guitar now features dual V-Mod pickups for a distinctive, robust, J Bass tone.
2 V-Mod single-coil pickups blend vintage and modern tonalities. The new V-Mod single-coil Jazz Bass pickups (developed by pickup master Michael Bump) use a blend of alnico magnet types for balanced tone with authentic Fender sonic DNA.
The slim modern “C”-shaped neck profile is designed for comfort and performance. The narrow-tall frets provide a familiar playing feel and perfect intonation. Posiflex graphite support rods on the neck adds stability, while resisting warping. The redesigned tuning machines keeps the string windings tight for increased sustain and enhanced tuning stability.
Watch: US bass player Nik West breaks down the Fender American Professional Jazz Bass
Features / Technical Specs:
- Right-handed, Jazz Bass (J-Bass) design
- Number of Strings: 4
- Body Material: Alder . Body Finish: Polyurethane Gloss
- Neck Material: Maple . Neck Shape: Modern C profile
- Radius: 9.5″
- Fingerboard Material: Rosewood . Fingerboard Inlay: Dots
- Number of Frets: 20 . Scale Length: 34″ . Nut Width: 1.5″ . Nut Material: Bone
- Bridge/Tailpiece: Hi Mass Vintage Bridge, thru body
- Tuners: Fluted shaft tuners
- Neck Pickup, Bridge Pickup: V-Mod Jazz Bass Single-coil
- Controls: 2 x volume, 1 x tone
- Case Included: Elite Hardshell case
The refined and elegant Fender American Professional Jazz Bass has been upgraded for today’s modern musician.
Buying Links & Pricing:
Bass Guitar Accessories
Here are some of the useful accessories that you may need. Also consider buying bass guitar packages as they come bundled with some of these and offers you a value-for-money deal.
- Amplifier: An electric bass guitar needs to be plugged to an amplifier so that it can be heard. If you are looking at practicing at home, a 100 watt amp would be good enough, however, if you want to perform at a venue, you may need 200 watt or more.
- Guitar Case: Bass guitars are prone to a lot of wear and tear as well as damage due to live shows and tours. Hence, it is always advisable to carry your bass guitar in a case that will protect the guitar from any damage as well as temperature changes etc.
- Bass Strings: Bass strings are thick and hard to break, but if it does, it is always best to carry extra strings along with you, in case you may need them.
- Strap: A strap helps you play the guitar comfortably while standing up and performing. Without the strap, you would have to hold it awkwardly or place it on the knee while you sit. It also prevents your guitar from falling and getting damaged as you move around with it during a performance.
- Small screw driver: A bass guitar may require many adjustments for which you will find it handy to carry a small screw driver with you at all times.
- Tuner: A tuner is a must for any guitar. Electronic tuners will help you tune your bass guitar easily.
- Cable: A cable wire is important to carry the sound from the bass guitar’s output jack to the input jack of the amplifier.
Recommended Bass Guitars
Bass Guitar Buying Guide
Various Types
Bass Guitars are available as acoustic as a well as electric basses (and also as fretless, left-handed). As with most electric instruments, the type of finish does not affect the overall sound quality (as it does in case with acoustic bass guitars).
The bass electric guitar is similar to electrical guitar except for the fact that bass guitars are bigger and have fewer but thicker strings which create a low pitch sound. Bass guitars are also available in acoustic guitars except they need to be plugged in to an amplifier, to be heard clearly.
Except for the fact that bass guitars produce lower octave sounds, in terms of functionality the electric bass guitars are more or less similar to electric guitars. You have to consider pickups, amps and so on.
Most bass guitar players use the four-string basses (which are quite common) but some players, especially the experienced players, may prefer a five-string bass guitar. The sound of the Bass guitar that you choose will depend on the tonal properties of the wood it uses, the electronics used (in case of electric), so the expensive ones will definitely sound better.
Electric Acoustic Bass guitars let you have the best of both the worlds. You can play them as an acoustic bass and if you need some variation, switch on the electric mode and the electronics will let you alter the sound produced.
Any bass player would expect a thick, beefy tone with warm sustain from their bass guitars, and this what you precisely get out of the best bass guitars. The best guitars deliver powerful sounds, and one of the main reasons is their pickups.
- Body: Electrical bass guitars are available in both solid body as well as semi hollow body style. While the former is more common, the latter is used to produce a more acoustic and rounder sound.
- Tonewoods: Tonewood refers to the type of wood used on bass guitars. The wood used on a bass guitar can be classified into hard wood and soft wood.
Hard wood like ebony, walnut, hard maple, rosewood etc. creates a brighter and snappier sound with a percussive note.On the other hand soft woods such as alder, basswood, swamp ash etc creates a mellow and warmer tone. You will find soft wood being used commonly in bass guitars.
Construction
- Frets: A bass guitar has 24,22 or 21 frets. So, you can choose the bass guitar as per the number of frets you would prefer to have. You also get fretless bass guitars.
- Neck: The neck of a bass guitar comes in a variety of shapes, such as: oval, flat-back, round and asymmetrical. However, choosing the bass guitar depends on how well your hand fits the neck of the guitar.
- String: Most of the times, you will find bass guitars with four strings. However, nowadays you even find bass guitars with five or six strings.
When you buy a bass electric guitar, you want one that gives out a balanced sound (across the octaves) so that it’s suitable for diverse musical styles. Usually the cheaper ones sound good only across a narrow range of notes, the higher notes tend to be a bit thin.
The quality bass guitars give a consistent, balanced sound across the entire fretboard. You get piano-like clarity at the top with plenty of growl at the bass.
Several brands employ different types of pickups to give the sound their unique touch, though single single-coil pickups are quite popular.
Brands such as Rickenbacker produce a neck-thru-body bass design (Single Piece Design) wherein a single piece of wood from the headstock to the tailpiece is used. Such a design allows the string vibrations to travel unhindered through the length of the instrument. Such a design produces better clarity of tone and a ringing sustain that is usually unmatched by the bolt-on or set-neck designs.
This construction process is too time-consuming for most mass-production brands to implement, but many boutique bass builders are now discovering the benefits of this design. It may take a little longer to build this bass, but it’s worth the wait.
Several manufacturers use a chunky, bass-heavy design for their guitars, but most quality guitars go in for a slim, streamlined body that provides increased treble response and added punch.
- You want a full, bright tone with a nice, crispy bite.
- You don’t want notes in the upper register sound harsh or shrill.
- Irrespective of what style or technique you play, you want the tone to be expressive and clear.
If you look at some of the expensive models, the individual string-saddles on the bridge are fully adjustable to fit any playing technique.
This is a great feature if you’re a:
- Slapper
- Picker, or a
- Finger-style player
You can set the action to the perfect height and start playing. Raise the strings to really dig in to the groove, or drop them down for a softer touch!
Most pro musicians prefer a thin (but hard) neck that lets them play the slickest runs without getting bogged down (the way you get on a fat-necked bass).
Most guitars employ a dual truss rod system that can be tightened or loosened to compensate for changing conditions (temperature, humidity), letting every note ring out as it should.
Bass Guitar Reviews
Few bass guitars may have loose strings or make some buzzing sound, which can be corrected by making some adjustments. Tightening the truss rod is one of the things you may try out once you have your guitar.
Minor adjustments like replacing the strings, filing the frets on the sides (for some of them), may be required depending on your personal choice.
But if you are going in for one of those budget guitars, remember that those guitars do their basic job nicely, like producing a decent tone, holding the pitch, etc. But don’t expect them to be of high build quality. There is a reason they are inexpensive and it is apt for certain users.
Acoustic Bass Guitars
The acoustic bass guitar is like a traditional acoustic guitar, a full hollow body that sounds great even without the amplifier. However, most acoustic basses are actually acoustic-electric basses so they will come with all the electronics required to hear them through amps.
The first modern acoustic bass guitar was developed in the early 1960s by Ernie Ball, who wanted to provide bass guitarists with a more acoustic sounding instrument that would match better with the sound of acoustic guitars. Though its commonly used in folk music and country music, you will also find Acoustic bass guitars used in pop and rock.
The acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body (similar to an acoustic guitar) and is usually somewhat lengthier than a steel string acoustic guitar. A steel strung acoustic bass guitar is louder and sounds brighter than a classical guitar.
Bass guitars are constructed from different materials, the better ones use solid top, back and sides. Normally cedar and spruce are used for making the solid wood tops. Back and sides are often made from mahogany, maple or rosewood.
The acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E A D G (tuned an octave below the lowest four strings of the 6 string guitar).
The most popular acoustic bass guitars are the acoustic-electric ones, which contain built-in pickups and all the electronics so that it can be heard through an amplifier or mixer. You can use these powered-up or unplugged. You can even choose between a fretted or fretless bass. Acoustic electric basses have pickups, either magnetic or piezoelectric or both, so that they can be heard/amplified using an instrument amplifier (can be difficult to hear an acoustic bass guitar without an amplifier when playing with other musicians).
Entry-level acoustic bass guitars, suited more for beginners, generally use laminated wood. In the mid range, acoustic bass guitars may have a combination of solid parts, often solid top and laminated woods.
You can choose a bass guitar styled after a dreadnought guitar or a classical one, or opt for a cutaway design that improves your access to the frets closest to the soundhole. Acoustic bass guitars are also available in a variety of finishes.
Here are some characteristics of this musical instrument:
- The acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body
- Also known as ABG or acoustic bass
- Can be difficult to hear an acoustic bass guitar without an amplifier, hence most acoustic basses have pickups that they can be amplified with a bass amp.
The acoustic bass is basically a cross between an electric bass and an acoustic guitar. It is held and played like an electric bass, though it produces sound the same way as an acoustic guitar.
Fretless Bass Guitars
As the name suggests, Fretless Bass guitars do not have any frets, and there are many bass players who love this instrument because of its unique tone, and also because its a bit easier to slide gracefully between the notes. Many beginners also get influenced by their idols/bands who could be using fret-less.
The fretless bass may not be a great first bass choice for most beginning bass guitar players, but the instrument does have a beautiful sound to it which makes it well worth the extra practice.
Guide to Fretless Basses and what makes them unique.
Characteristics of a fret-less Bass
- Fretless guitars do not have frets
- Makes it possible to play music in other than 12-tone scales
- Suited to play the non-Western or experimental music
- Produce less volume than their fretted counterparts
- Ear needs to be better to recognize the minute differences in intonation
The advantages of using a fretless bass:
- Its easier to slide over the fingerboard because there are no frets
- Because the player is pressing more or less directly onto the wood of the fingerboard, the instrument produces a more distinctive and sharp sound. The sound of bending a string on a fretless is wicked.
These are famous for the “mwah” sound you can generate on it, this is the sound you get when you slide up/down the fingerboard.
Disadvantages:
Its very unlikely that a beginner will start learning on the fretless bass (because the frets aren’t there). You will need a couple of years of playing experience before you can make the switch to this bass guitar.
You will also need a [easyazon_link identifier=”B00923H7MA” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]nice Chromatic Tuner[/easyazon_link] to set the intonation right so that it can be used to produce the right sounds (or you need access to a really good piano).
Learning fretless bass takes more time than learning the fretted bass. Without frets, most beginners find it very difficult to press the right notes. An when you play the wrong notes or play sloppily, its going to sound pretty bad. You require lot of extra practice to accurately play the notes on a fretless bass. So if you’re a beginner student, it makes more sense to learn on a fretted bass and then move onto a fretless bass.
On fretless basses, its also challenging to get a good slap bass tone (percussive style of bass playing done by slapping the strings.) Playing chords in-tune is also tricky. However, none of it is impossible; with practice you can do it.
There are some differences in technique and finger placement as well when using fretless.
However, one of the most common mistakes that players (those learning to play fretless) make is to auto correct, where they slide in to the notes rather than get them on pitch at the start (this requires lot of practice though). when practicing, its important to learn to hit the notes bang on, without any vibrato. When you get it wrong you need to feel how/why it was wrong (but don’t correct), and move one.
But then how do you get it right, in the beginning stages?
The trick obviously is to play at a lower tempo initially & try to work on the accuracy from the beginning. This requires patience, but then its well worth it in the end.
Most players use fretless bass for a certain mood (for the deep/rich sound). You will rarely find someone using it to play punk. its commonly used in a more ‘acoustic’ song or a slower song (best example is Pink Floyd’s Hey You, you can hear the fretless in the intro).
Bass Guitar Kits
Bass Guitar Kits can be quite cost-effective considering that in addition to the bass guitar, you may also need other important accessories such as amps, bag, picks, tuner and more.
If you go in for a bundled package, depending on the offer, besides the guitar itself, you can expect to get the following:
- Guitar Amp
- Gig bag
- Digital Tuner
- Spare Strings
- Guitar Strap
- Picks
- DVD guitar lessons
Build One or Get Readymade?
Whether you should go in for the pre-made packages or try to build one for yourself using a kit, depends on how much time you have to spare.
A package will quickly get you started, whereas building one means learning how to set up the truss rod, action, and intonation all by yourself.
Doing it all by yourself can be a good thing as the knowledge will help you in the future to do maintenance activities and upgrades on your own.
But if you are short of time and want to learn to play, you better get started quickly using the readymade ones.
Bass guitars are available in both acoustic as well as electric version. Though it makes sense to go in for the bundled packages as it comes with useful accessories, you can also build your own guitar using building kits. Bass guitar kits include all the accessories that you need to start playing immediately.
Closing Thoughts
Bass guitar is different from acoustic and electrical guitar, and yet similar in many ways. The Bass guitar plays an octave lower than acoustic and electric. If it is an acoustic bass guitar, you will need to plug it to an amplifier so that it can be heard clearly. Cable, guitar case, strap, amplifiers are some of the accessories that go along with a bass guitar.
Several bass guitarists use Ibanez guitars; they have some of the best beginner bass guitars which are also affordable. Gibson is another famous brand and produces bass guitars in mass quantities. It is one of the best companies for bass guitar. Fender is popular for quality and durable bass guitars; it was the first company to mass produce bass guitars. Apart from these, Yamaha, Dean, Epiphone, Hofner etc. are some of the other brands that produce quality bass guitars.
So go get a Bass Guitar and start playing slapping and other funk-related techniques.
Useful Links
- Bass Guitar Amps
- Essential Accessories for Bass Guitarists
- Learn How to Play Bass Guitar with these Easy Lessons
- Great Bass Scale Wall Chart (Reference) for ALL Bass Players
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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