Which bass guitar should i buy

Necks come in a variety of styles. Depending on your preference and playing style, certain neck shapes may make it easier to navigate the fretboard. This style of neck is thick and rounded. The soft V-neck is more rounded, while the hard is often cited as being more comfortable for players. The C-shaped neck lends itself to most playing styles. Short-scale basses are better for bassists with smaller hands since they have a shorter distance between frets.

Different types of wood affect the sound, tone, and even the weight of the guitar. Rock, metal, jazz, and funk often look to different types of solid body bass guitars. Some genres, like the blues and even some more experimental styles, sometimes lean toward a semi-hollow body style. There are a ton of choices of solid body guitars, so testing each one out to find the right sound for you is part of the fun of shopping around! This can help you understand what other players are talking about and help you develop a better understanding.

It lifts your strings away from the fretboard so that they can ring out when you fret a note. These markers make it easy to visualize what fret you are playing, especially when using tablature. Like their six-stringed counterparts, there are several different types of bass guitars. The two main categories of bass guitars are electric and acoustic. Electric basses tend to leave you with more options to choose from -- including solid-body and semi-hollow body basses. Before Leo Fender created the Fender Precision Bass in , bassists played large, cumbersome stand-up instruments.

The electric bass as we know it came to life thanks to Leo Fender, packing the powerful sound of a standup bass into a compact package that could be electrified in the same way as a guitar. To this day, the electric bass remains a staple of funk, rock, metal, pop, and country. Acoustic bass guitars look similar to classic acoustic guitars in that they both have a similar hollow body and sound hole.

And while they definitely possess the low-end rumble of their electric bass counterparts, acoustic bass guitars have a more mellow, muted sound. While the bass is often an unsung hero of a band, an acoustic bass lends a different sound to a song.

An acoustic bass might not be the right fit for beginners, given that it has a thicker neck than an electric bass. For beginners or players with smaller hands, the structure of an acoustic bass may be more difficult to master than learning on an electric bass.

Similarly, if you want to play louder, more rhythm-driven like funk and rock, the mellow sound of an acoustic bass may not be suited to your style of music. Feel like an acoustic bass is right for you? Beyond the more popular electric and slightly less popular acoustic bass, there are a few other different types of basses:.

They produce a similarly deep, booming resonance as a fretted electric bass, however, they give musicians an added element of freedom. However, a well-trained ear and mastery of the fretboard is required to truly make a fretless bass guitar sing. Artists such as Jaco Pastorius, Les Claypool of Primus, and James Brown bassist Bernard Odum are some of the most notable names spanning the genres of rock and funk to pick up a fretless bass and show legions of music lovers how it's done.

To see just what you can do with a fretless bass and the fluidity of fretboard movement allows, check out this demo of Grammy Award-winner Mel Brown playing the Fender American Standard Jazz bass:.

It lacks the portability of the smaller electric bass. Nut Width: 45mm. Pickups: Passive humbucker. Electronics: Active two-band EQ. Controls: Volume, bass, treble.

Hardware: Chrome hardware, open elephant-ear machine heads, fixed chrome bridge. Weight: 4. Reasons to avoid - Lacks the finesse of the top range models. Fender Mustang bass guitar. Made In: Mexico. Colour: Sonic Blue Gloss. Neck Joint: Bolt-on, four-bolt attachment. Nut Width: 38mm. Fingerboard: Pau ferro. Pickups: Passive split and single-coil.

Electronics: Passive. Controls: Volume, tone, pickup selector switch. Hardware: Chrome hardware, open elephant-ear machine heads, standard bridge.

Left-hand option: No. Reasons to avoid - Softer tone due to scale length. Yamaha TRBX bass guitar. Made In: Indonesia. Colour: Mist Green Gloss. Body: Mahogany. Neck: Maple and mahogany.

Nut Width: 43mm. Fingerboard: Rosewood. Pickups: M3 humbuckers. Controls: Volume, pickup pan, bass, treble, five-position performance EQ switch. Hardware: Black nickel hardware, Yamaha die-cast machine heads, top-loading bridge. Reasons to avoid - Lacks mid EQ - Slightly weighty. Fender Geddy Lee Signature Jazz bass. Pickups: Passive vintage single-coil pickups. Controls: Volume, volume, tone. Reasons to avoid - Might be too bright and twangy for some.

Epiphone Viola Bass. Colour: Vintage Sunburst. Body: Maple. Scale: Neck Joint: Set. Hardware: Chrome die-cast. Weight: 5. Reasons to avoid - Not the most versatile, tonally. Colour: Dragon Eye Burst Flat. Body: Mahogany with spruce top.

Neck: Jatoba and bubinga five-piece laminate. Fingerboard: Panga panga. Pickups: AeroSilk piezo system. Electronics: Active. Controls: Volume, tone, individual piezo gain adjustment. Hardware: Black matte hardware, Ibanez machine heads, custom bridge.

This bass has a larger body normally with a pair of single coil pickups and therefore a larger range of sounds compared to the P-Bass style. This is suited to pretty much any style where accuracy and subtlety are needed more than aggression.

Modern Modern-style basses are normally fitted with soapbar or humbucking pickups with a large thick body. Brands like Fender, Ernie Ball, Ibanez and Chapman Guitars make basses in this style that work really well for a wide range of styles although you will most commonly see them used with rock and metal players.

Bass Guitar Woods Now this is a complex subject and one that takes up a lot of time to explain but I will keep it brief here. Alder This is considered to be the most balanced and versatile of any bass tonewood. If you want one bass for any style check out Alder. Ash Ash is very similar to Alder tonally but it does have some slight differences. With Ash you will generally get a bit more high end and faster attack.

These small differences make this the perfect wood if you are a slap player that also needs to play with a pick or fingers as well.

Mahogany Mahogany is a deep warm wood that works brilliantly for picked and fingered styles that need to really hold up the low end in a mix. The main issue with mahogany is that is weighs a lot which when used on such a large instrument can make it a pain to play.

Basswood Warmer than Alder but not as dark as Mahogany, Basswood has an interesting sound that you will either love or hate. It has a beautifully balanced sound but with a bit more low end to carry the mix. This is most commonly used on basses with active preamps as it lets you take advantage of that balanced sound.

Electronics In A Bass This is where things start to get a little complicated. Active electronics give you much more control over your sound from your guitar allowing you to not only cut but boost frequencies without having to touch your amplifier. Active electronics do require a battery to run normally 9v which will need to be changed out every few months to a year. Passive Preamps Although not strictly a preamp when it is passive the circuitry in the guitar would act much like any other guitar you may have seen.

Normally you would have at least 1 volume control and 1 tone control as well as possibly a blend control or second volume if you have multiple pickups. This system lacks control when compared to an active circuit but it does affect the tone. A lot of bassists prefer a passive system for a more natural rounded tone that works better for jazz, blues and other similar styles. Pickups Just like the electronics the pickups come in active and passive forms but also different sizes and shapes.

Straight Single Coil J-Bass The Jazz style pickup is by far the most common type of single coil pickup you will see as depending on your amplifier you can use these with pretty much any style.

They will never sound quite as raw or fat as a P-Bass pickup though you do get a much clearer definition.

Split Coil P-Bass Normally used as the only pickup on a bass or with a straight single coil pickup in the bridge position. These pickups are loved by rockers for their tight, clear and punchy sound that works well with high gain distorted guitars in a mix. They also produce a very large, round sound that works amazingly for some vintage rock style tones.

Normally humbuckers will be found with an active preamp for a more diverse range of sounds. Contact Us On Contact Form. Sign up for our newsletter Please enter a valid email address. Quick Info Content. The P-Bass design is based on the Fender Precision Bass and is focused on being a simple to use instrument. Modern-style basses are normally fitted with soapbar or humbucking pickups with a large thick body. This is considered to be the most balanced and versatile of any bass tonewood.

Ash is very similar to Alder tonally but it does have some slight differences. Mahogany is a deep warm wood that works brilliantly for picked and fingered styles that need to really hold up the low end in a mix. Warmer than Alder but not as dark as Mahogany, Basswood has an interesting sound that you will either love or hate.

With an active EQ the only limitation is how many controls are there. Although not strictly a preamp when it is passive the circuitry in the guitar would act much like any other guitar you may have seen.