A bass guitar adds flavor to the rhythm on just about every music genre. Despite the fact that bass is often one of the most overlooked instruments in a musical group, it is probably the most critical instrument. A bass guitar is a plucked string instrument and produces lower frequencies. Its shape looks like an electric guitar but has a longer neck and scale length. The bass guitar comes in four, five or six strings.
Traditionally, the bass performs two basic and vital functions within a band or group:
- It provides the rhythmic foundation: A rhythmic foundation is the consistent, steady pulse, rhythm or beat of the music.
- It provides the harmonic foundation: In music, harmony is the playing of several different notes at the same time.
Bass Guitar Buying Guide Contents
How to Choose a Bass Guitar?
When buying a bass guitar, there are many, many things to consider. Let’s not get too overwhelmed and take it a step at a time. In this article, we are going to walk you through the important features you should look for when looking for a bass guitar.
The Number of Strings
There are three kinds of bass guitars in terms of number of strings. They come in four, five or six strings. What are the differences among those?
Four-string bass guitar:
A four-string bass guitar has a much narrower neck than a five or six string guitar. The four-string guitar is easier to handle and learn to play, therefore it is useful for beginners. It is tuned in standard E-A-D-G format.
Five-string bass guitar:
Although a four-string bass guitar is easy to handle, but there are styles of music that favor the five-string bass guitar like country music. A five-string bass guitar tunes in B-E-A-D-G.
Six-string bass guitar:
Six-string bass guitars are useful for bass solo performers. It is tuned B-E-A-D-G-C.
Fretted vs. Fretless
The differences between fretted vs. fretless bass is important. A standard bass guitar has a fretted neck with steel frets dividing each half step of the chromatic scale. This makes finding the correct notes easier and therefore useful for beginners. On the other hand, a fretless bass has a neck that does not have steel frets, it is just wood. With a fretless neck, the player’s fingers are the only factor determining the length of string that is vibrating. Therefore, it requires skill and practice to play a bass guitar with a fretless neck. A bass guitar with a fretless neck has a different sound to it; it has a warm singing quality to it. In addition, the player can smoothly slide from note to note.
Passive vs. Active Pickups
A bass pickup consists of a magnet around which a copper wire is coiled. When the vibrations of a bass guitar string disturb the magnetic field of the magnet, small voltage fluctuations in the copper coil are produced. These fluctuations are then transmitted to the bass amp, amplified and translated into sound. In other words, a pickup is responsible to create the sound of the guitar.
So, what is the difference between a passive and an active pickup?
Passive pickups:
Passive pickups provide a dynamic sound and warm and full tone. But on the other hand, they give you less overall control over the tone of the instrument. This is good for those who like fat and punchy.
Active pickups:
Active pickups produce bright, percussive and clear tone on a bass guitar. They also include built-in battery powered preamp, which makes them produce a much higher output than passive pickups.
Electric Bass Body Types
Solidbody:
Solidbody bass guitars are the most common types. These are often made of a solid piece of wood that transfers vibration well.
Hollowbody:
Hollowbody bass guitars have hollow body like an acoustic guitar but use the same magnetic pickups as solidbody bass guitars. They are mostly used by jazz and folk players. It is for quieter music that requires a more acoustic like tone. These feedback more easily.
Another type of hollowbody bass guitar is the acoustic-electric. This has the same built as an acoustic guitar and is usually equipped with a piezo pickup. Instead of using a magnet to create an electrical signal, piezo pickups use crystals to create the electric signal necessary for amplifying the sound from the guitar.
Semi-hollowbody:
Semi-hollowbody bass guitars have a solid center block and hollow outer halves of the body. These are less prone to feedback.
Bolt-on Neck vs Neck Through
Bolt-on:
A bolt-on neck is a separate piece of wood that is bolted onto the body. This is the more common and traditional body construction. One advantage of having this type of neck is that the player has the ability to replace the neck if it is damaged.
Neck through:
A neck through spans the entire length of the instrument. This feature provides sustainability and more direct energy transfer.
Precision vs. Jazz Bass
The difference between precision and jazz bass guitars is in their body, neck and pickups.
Body design:
In 1951, the precision bass guitar had a deep doubled cutaway and forward-raked design. In 1954, it adopted the contoured body of the new Stratocaster. The sculpted recessions at the bottom and top made it comfortable to hold.
In 1960, the jazz bass guitars were released. These had an offset-waist body. This moved the mass of the body forward and out of the way of the guitar player’s right arm.
“C” shaped neck:
Most precision and jazz bass guitars have a modern “C” shaped neck. The difference between the precision and jazz bass guitars in terms of their neck shape is that the precision bass keeps a consistent thickness and tapers slightly as it approaches the nut, whereas the Jazz starts with its strings in a noticeably narrower spacing at the nut which gives it a tapered feel and some players feel is easier fingering.
Bass Guitar Pickups
Pickups are electromagnetic devices that capture the sound created by the vibrating strings and body of the bass converting it to an electronic signal.
Single coils were the first kind of pickups. At first, the precision bass guitar had a single-coil pickup with a chrome-plated cover. Few years later, it was created with a split-coil pickup which has a solid and defined bass sound. On the other hand, the jazz bass guitar was released with dual eight-pole humbucking pickups that gave players a wider variety of tonal possibilities.
Humbucking pickups were created to cancel the hum or noise of the single coil. The humbucking pickup has a fatter, cleaner sound, more tonal variation possibilities and is noise free. The humbucker sound can get muddy at higher volumes though.
Tonewoods
The type of wood the bass guitar is made of has a significant effect on its tone. Let’s explore the different tones each type of wood produces on a bass guitar:
Mahogany:
Mahogany bass guitars sound warm and full bodied. They have good sustain, but is heavy in weight.
Ash and Alder:
Both ash and alder are very similar. They both provide sustain, full and evenly balanced tone that is rich in harmonic overtones.
Agathis:
Tonally, bass guitars made of Agathis wood produce a medium between Ash/Alder and Mahogany.
Basswood:
In nature, the quality of Basswood is very soft which absorbs vibration. It has a shorter sustain, making it ideal for more complex playing techniques.
Maple:
Maple is a heavy and very dense wood which produces a very good sustain and a bright, crisp tone.
Bass Guitar Construction
Now that we’ve talked about what to generally consider when buying a bass, let’s check what to look for in the construction of a bass guitar:
Neck:
Necks come in different shapes; round, oval, flat back, “vee” and asymmetric (thinner either on bass or treble side). Choosing the neck type of a bass guitar depends on the size of your hand.
Scale length:
A longer scale provides a more defined sound on the low strings, whereas a shorter scale is acceptable for four-string basses and is good for smaller hands.
String number:
Consider buying a four-string guitar because it is easier to play.
Tuning machines:
Enclosed machine heads don’t need as much maintenance or replacement as open tuning machines because the heads resist rust and airborne corrosives.
Intonation:
Intonation refers to the instrument being in tune along the fretboard. If the distance between the frets (usually above the 12th fret) is off, then the bass guitar will be incapable of playing in tune.
Bolt-on or neck through:
Neck-through basses are stronger with better sustain and note resolution. On the other hand, bolt-on necks have a punchier sound. Choose the one that suits your style.
Fingerboard:
A coated fingerboard produces a trebly and whining sound and longer sustain. Whereas uncoated fingerboards have a warmer and more natural sound.
Number of frets:
Most basses have 21, 22 or 24 frets and it is a matter of personal taste to choose a bass guitar with the desired number of frets. Also, since there are bass guitars with frets and others without frets, choose one that has frets unless you are an expert and are ready for a challenge.
Wood:
The choice of woods affects the tone and weight of the guitar. So if you’re going to play standing and for longer hours, a guitar with a lighter weight is preferable. If on the other hand you’re going to play sitting, choose a bass that sounds better to you with the wood type of your choice.
Concluding Our Bass Guitar Buying Guide
When buying a bass guitar, consider the following:
- Price range: A bass guitar can be pricey. Buy one that you can afford but have in mind that a good bass will make learning easy.
- Size/age of the player: There are different shapes, sizes and weights of bass guitars. A player’s age, height and hand size matter in choosing a bass guitar. It’s important to find one that, physically will best fit the player. Bass players who are younger or smaller in size will do good with basses that have thin necks, short scales and are light weight. On the other hand, bass players who are tall or have large hands will be comfortable with heavier basses with wider necks and longer scales.
- Style of music you want to play: The style of music you play, requires the right instrument for the job. Some bass are known for their versatility and are used for several genres of music and other basses are genre specific. So, choose the bass guitar that suits the genre of music you’re going to be playing.
- Electric bass guitar package: This is useful for beginners as it comes with a variety of accessories that might come in handy. Accessories like amps, instrument cables, strap, gig bag, etc…
