Whether you're buying your very first bass guitar or you're making an upgrade, this guide will explain all there is to know about picking out the best bass for your style and sound.
Ultimate Guide to Electric Bass Guitars
Basses are incredibly expressive, musically rich and satisfying instruments. They play an important part in contemporary music, bringing the power and groove to what could otherwise be a flat, lifeless song.
Those of you looking to pick up the bass for the first time will find here all there is to know about the basics of the instrument, like the legendary bass shapes and tones. If you're already a bassist considering the next steps in your musical journey, then you'll benefit from exploring the various different brands to choose from, the different types of electronics and pickups, and the exciting advanced features you could get with your next bass.
What is a Bass Guitar?
The bass guitar is a fundamental instrument for most bands and musical genres, and commonly serves as the backbone of a song. Basses can fill multiple different roles and achieve a wider variety of sounds thank you might think – a bassist can even be the central focus of the music in some cases. But what remains consistent across groups utilising a bassist is their job to lock in a tight rhythm section and keep a steady tempo.
Production-wise, a bass occupies the low frequency end of a song's mix, giving your music a fuller richer spectrum of sounds. In western music, a bass is tuned one octave lower than an electric guitar. That means if a guitar's strings were to be tuned to the standard EADGBE notes, a four-string bass would be tuned to EADG but 12 notes/guitar frets lower than the electric guitar.
Bass Guitars
Why Basses are Bigger Than Guitars
To keep the bass guitar playable at those lower notes and to get the classic bassy timbre of the instrument, the strings need to longer and thicker than that of an electric guitar. That's why bass guitars are noticeably larger with a longer fretboard.
Guitars incorporate a measurement called “scale length” which is the distance between the nut at the headstock and the bridge on the body. The average electric guitar is 27.5 inches in scale length while a bass guitar is usually 34 inches. As well as improving the ability to tune lower than a guitar, it also has an effect on how the bass feels, as the distance between each fret is that much wider than a guitar so it's not quite like-for-like if you were to play both instruments.
Are Bass Guitars Easy To Learn?
As with any instrument, how quick or successful you are learning to play the bass guitar will come down to your affinity with its functions and quirks, and how much time you can dedicate to practicing.
Is the bass guitar easier to play than an acoustic or electric guitar? For most people it probably is, but it's just as difficult to master. Because the bass guitar isn't often leading the melody of a song or adding colourful accompaniment in pop, folk, country or rock music, then chords aren't a necessary requirement. You can still get a good sound out of fretting just one note at a time with one finger, while guitarists will need to fret chords with multiple fingers, which overall takes more practice.
Bass Guitar Features
Basses come in an extraordinary amount of shapes and sizes. There are a lot of small details that make up a bass, all of which have an effect on its sound, playability and durability. However, the most important part of buying any guitar is how it makes you feel when you look at it: does it inspire you to make music?
All basses have varied necks, bodies and hardware. Once you’ve found a shape you like, buying basses in the future becomes easier. Basses come in four-string, five-string and sometimes six-string variations. I would recommend beginning with a 4-string bass for their simplicity. As you progress as a musician, you might find an extra string or two works better for your technique or suits the type of music you play.
Bass Guitar Shapes
P-Bass
The P-bass design is based on the Fender Precision bass. This is about as simple of an electric instrument as you can get, but there's beauty in simplicity. It's relatively compact, making it easy to handle and it normally contains a single pickup. Perfect for pop, rock and punk but also widely used in dub bass styles like reggae.
J-Bass
The J-Bass design is based on the offset Fender Jazz. This bass has a larger body normally with a pair of single coil pickups and wider scope of sounds compared to the P-Bass style. This is suited to pretty much any style where subtlety is required over oomph. Jaco Pastorius was a big advocate of the Jazz bass and he drew inspiration from a lot of funk music. Highly technical players Geddy Lee and Marcus Miller also gravitated towards the Jazz for its adaptable feel.
Offset Bass Guitars
The J-Bass is an offset too, but there are a load of different designs that fall into this category like the Gibson/Epiphone Thunderbird, the Fender Meteora, Squier Jaguar and the Ibanez Talman. Simply put, it's a slanted shape with one lower bout and one horn of the body more elongated than the other side.
Double Cuts
Again, the P-Bass is technically a double cut, but companies like Gibson and Epiphone with the SG bass, the Music Man StingRay and Bongo, the Rickenbacker 4003 and the Warwick Thumb all have two distinct “horn” cutaways at the neck-side of the body.
Modern Styles
This is a catch-all term, but what I mean by a modern bass is one that is stylistically sleek and contemporary, and often fitted with either humbucker or soapbar pickups. Brands like Ernie Ball, Ibanez, Dingwall and Warwick make basses that suit a wide range of music, although you will most commonly see them used by rock, metal or even jazz bassists.
Headless Bass Guitars
Headless guitars look like they're here to stay with more and more current virtuosos playing them like Tosin Abasi, Plini, Yvette Young, Ichika Nito and Jacob Collier. Available as basses too, these guitars remove the headstock – where section where you tune the guitar – and relocates the tuners behind the bridge on the body. The result is a lighter, more ergonomically balanced instrument.
Bass Guitar Woods
Guitars and basses have always been constructed out of cuts of wood, whether electric or acoustic. Although some companies are now moving away from this building process, most still follow the traditional process. Basses can be built out of the likes of alder, ash, mahogany or basswood – check out our guide to bass woods for more info.
Alder - This is considered to be the most balanced and versatile of any bass tonewood. That’s why you will often find it on basses that are focused more on versatility than one set sound. 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.
Bass Guitar Necks
The way a bass guitar neck feels to hold and fret should play a significant factor in the instrument you end up buying. Necks will vary in depth and width and should ideally fit the size of your hand. They are often referred to by their shape: for example, a “D”, “C” or a “U” – the shape of the neck represented by the literal shape of the letter. Some players will like the rounder 70’s Squier Jazz Bass style “C” necks and others may want to opt for the flatter “D” neck of an Ibanez.
The number of frets on a bass can vary too. The P-Bass champions just 20 frets, while a Music Man StingRay has 22 and a Warwick Corvette has 24. More frets gives you a higher register to play in, but it also equals a longer neck. Keep that in mind when you weigh up how comfortable a bass feels for your shoulder and hand positions.
Short-Scale Bass Guitars
I mentioned scale length earlier and how it impacts the size of the bass. Some basses might be a little on the large side for some people and picking out a short-scale bass will alleviate the issues with bulkiness and the wide distances between each fret. Whereas a standard bass is 34 inches, the short-scale bass clocks in at just 30 inches. It'll make for a much more comfortable playing experience for the bassists with smaller hands. It also has a huge effect on the sound because the string tension isn't as tight as a conventional bass. It'll deliver a nice thumpy tone that you would have heard from Paul McCartney to Tina Weymouth in Talking Heads and to Mike Kerr of Royal Blood.
Bass Guitar Fretboards
The fretboard sitting on top of the neck should also feel comfortable for your fretting hand. It has its own measurements to consider: the fingerboard radius, which determines its curvature; and the nut width, which sets the spacing between the strings. A vintage 7.25 inch fretboard is a pronounced curve, while a 12 inch is much flatter. A narrow nut width might feel better to players with smaller hands. The Jazz bass features a 1.5 inch width, while a wider nut can extend to 1.75 inches on a Precision bass.
Beginner bass necks and fretboards will likely be made of wood. Popular variations include maple and mahogany necks, and rosewood, ebony and maple fretboards.
Fanned Fret Bass Guitars
Fanned frets are now a popular appointment on metal and modern rock-oriented basses that are tuned lower than your standard bass. This modern feature is quite striking, as the slanted frets follow the splayed shape of a fan as you move up the fretboard. They allow the instrument to retain a greater string tension on the lower strings. Some players might find they prefer them for the benefits of comfort as they accommodate for a more relaxed fretting hand.
Fretless Bass Guitars
A fretless bass is exactly as the name suggests: it's got all the markings of a regular bass, like a neck and fingerboard, but without the frets on top. This allows a bassist to produce a smooth, gradual transition between notes. Fretless basses are certainly more difficult to play than a standard bass but the resulting sound is glorious in the hands of an experienced players like Jaco Pastorius, Bill Wyman, Sting, Tony Franklin and Les Claypool.
Bass Guitar Pickups & Electronics
Pickups and preamps define the sound that your bass makes. Some pickups are great for rock and metal, others are better suited to pop, funk or jazz and everything in between. A bass pickup is a magnet wound in copper coil. When the magnetic field is disturbed by plucking a string, it captures and sends a signal to your amp. The type of magnet and the amount of coil windings affects the frequencies that are sent to your bass amp.
You've also got passive and active pickup types: the former being the standard on most basses, while the latter active pickup amplifies the signal using a 9-volt battery.
Find out more about how they work in our guide to guitar pickups. Here I will break down some of the common bass pickups, the sound they produce and how preamps provide more tone-altering options. Check out our YouTube videos to hear what a bass sounds like in action.
Straight Single Coil (J-BASS)
The Jazz style pickup is the most common type of single coil pickup you'll come across. Depending on your bass amplifier, you can use these for pretty much any style or music genre. Although not quite as raw or full as a P-Bass pickup, you get clearer definition with each pluck.
Split Coil (P-Bass)
A split coil is two single-coil pickups positioned together, and is often used as a singular pickup on a bass. They are loved by rock and punk bassists for their tight, clear and punchy sound that compliments high-gain distorted guitars. If it's paired with another pickup, it'll likely be with a straight single-coil pickup in the bridge position so you have the option of a more treble-prominent tone.
Dual Coil (Humbucker)
Humbuckers consist of two magnets that cancel out one another. The resulting hum-free sound allows you to add more gain/distortion on your amp or stompboxes without bringing in any unwanted hissing and temperamental noise. Humbuckers produce a large, smooth sound. Depending on the details of the pickups, some are voiced for softer bassy frequencies that are great for vintage tones, and other with a tighter bass for modern high-gain rock.
Humbuckers on their own can sometimes like a little dynamism, which leads guitar builders to pair them with an active preamp for a more diverse range of sounds.
Piezo
A different entity to the regular passive pickup, the piezo creates a signal based on the vibrations of the strings rather than magnetic fields. This gives a bass an acoustic character that could suit folk and ambient musical styles. Piezo pickups aren't usually equipped singularly – they're often added to a bass to broaden its tonal scope.
Optical Pickups
You likely won't be seeing optical pickups on a beginner or budget-minded bass because a lot of tech has gone into creating these new types of pickups. As the name suggests, optical pickups sense motion from the string and convert that into a signal. The pickup is in essence a motion sensor, which has its benefits being able to eliminate radio wavelengths entering the signal which causes interference in single-coil pickups.
Soapbar Pickups
Soapbar pickups are simply an enclosure and have no inherent sound. They can house any type of pickup, so if your bass has a soapbar it could be a split coil, single coil or a humbucker. It allows guitar makers to equip the same bass with multiple different configurations.
Active Preamps
An active preamp equaliser (EQ) grants increased control over shaping the sounds from your bass. You can boost and cut frequencies without having to touch your amplifier. All active systems vary, although most will contain at least one volume control, a treble boost/cut, a bass boost/cut and if you have multiple pickups either a blend control or a second volume pot to combine the sounds generated from each pickup.
Active electronics do require a battery to run which will need to be changed out every few months to a year. If you leave the bass plugged in you’ll drain the battery quicker.
Passive Preamps
Although not strictly a preamp with passive circuitry, these bass controls act much like any other guitar you may have seen in being able to raise or lower the volume or “tone” (usually a low-pass filter), and possibly include blend control or second volume. This system lacks control when compared to an active circuit yet it does still impact the tone, just not to the same degree or refinement. Some bassists like passive systems for a natural, rounded tone that works better for jazz, blues and other similar styles.
Popular Bass Guitar Brands
There are so many great guitar makers out there building exceptional instruments, from entry-level basses to premium, hand-crafted masterpieces. I'll take you through some of the brands you should definitely consider when buying your first bass or bringing your playing up a notch for the improved feel and tone.
Fender
Arguably the largest and most successful guitar and bass makers ever, Fender and its budget-conscious brand Squier most famously produce the Precision and Jazz basses.
Squier make the Affinity series for entry-level players, offering the best value for money. The next step up is the Classic Vibe series, which pays homage to the original basses with old school aesthetics and sound.
The Fender Standard is where the quality increases yet again in hardware and electronics. The Player II range adds some comfortable features such as rolled fretboard edges and a satin neck. The Vintera, American Professional and Ultra series increase each time in dedication to build quality and features, until you get to the Fender Custom Shop, where their best guitar builders work to make your dream instrument.
Best for: Players who want a slice of the most iconic bass tones ever produced
Budget: Entry level to boutique custom shop
Gibson & Epiphone
Another massively iconic guitar builder, Gibson and its subsidiary brand Epiphone make famous shapes like the Thunderbird, SG and Jack Casady signature basses. Although primarily built for rock, Gibson have always been highly versatile thanks to their humbucker pickups, which can be dialled in to sound smooth, funky or gnarly. Gibson and Epiphone basses also boast flatter fretboards than some other vintage-inspired instruments and a lot of players like how easy that makes them to play.
Best for: Exquisite pop and rock tones
Budget: Low cost to professional standards
Gibson Bass Guitars
Epiphone Bass Guitars
Sire Marcus Miller Bass Guitars
Sire have made serious waves in the bass scene over the past few years. That's partly down to partnering with jazz legend Marcus Miller (who has played with the likes of Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock and singer Luther Vandross) to get his expert opinion on what a great bass sounds like and feels like to play. Sire's still extremely affordable basses don't look out of place in an American-made line-up. The Edgeless rolled fingerboard, a smooth construction feature found mostly on high-end basses, is a standard appointment even on their most affordable models. The Heavymass bridge is another common feature ensuring pinpoint intonation and tuning stability.
There's also an incredibly broad catalogue to choose your preferred shape (like classic P and J-Basses), number of strings, colour, pickups configurations, and passive or active preamps.
Best for: Insanely good features and sounds for excellent prices
Budget: Low cost to professional levels
Eastcoast Bass Guitars
By far the best brand to opt for if you're looking to dip your toe into bass without spending a considerable amount of money. Even better still, EastCoast basses feel genuinely good to play unlike other budget options from Amazon or Argos.
These basses come with quality wood appointments like rosewood fingerboards, solid hardware so you're not having to retune every five minutes and nice, clear pickups with a wide sonic palette. You can also get huge bass bundles, which include a bass amp, cable, tuner and plectrums, saving you from laying out any more expenses and buying them individually.
Best for: Beginners looking to try out the instrument
Budget: Entry-level
Ibanez Bass Guitars
One of the biggest names in the guitar and bass world, Japanese giants Ibanez have built an impeccable reputation among professional musicians and are hugely popular with players in jazz, rock and metal.
Tone-sculpting options and gorgeous playability makes them a stand-out choice. Most of their basses are equipped with soapbar pickups, which is great for you because you'll find an instrument in their line-up that's equipped with humbuckers, single-coil or dual-coil pickup designs. They are also famous for their extremely flat fretboards that technical bassists love. You can get a taste for all of this from their entry-level GSR range.
Ibanez basses often come equipped with cutting edge hardware and features like Schaller locking tuners for tight tuning stability, and Luminlay glow-in-the-dark side dots so you can see where you're positioned even on a hectic stage. They're an advocate for fanned frets too, which is ideal for bassists who like to tune low for metal.
Best for: Jazz, rock and metal players in need of a modern feel
Budget: Entry-level to professional
Yamaha
Everyone has been raving about Yamaha and rightly so. Their refreshed guitar and bass ranges have raised the levels on what a great sounding instrument should be at a very alluring price. They look gorgeous with a vintage touch that doesn't conform to the standard P or J-Bass shapes. Yamaha are also pushing forward on the construction front, using “Diagonal Body Thru Stringing” to get a more satisfying feel out of the vibrations through the body.
Overall, a very classy left-field pick that you shouldn't discount.
Best for: Bassists who love alternate, classic style and vintage tone
Budget: entry-level to intermediate
Strandberg
Strandberg arguably make the most striking and recognisable modern guitars of the past couple decades. Known mostly for their electric guitars, Strandberg apply the same build philosophy to their bass range too. These futuristic headless basses a designed to feel as lightweight and comfortable to play as possible. Quick tuning is a breeze, thanks to the tuners being located close to the picking hand. Options for tonal control are extensive: there are toggles for classic, full frequency and hi-fi voice selections, as well as blend pots and coil split, which unlocks both single-coil and humbucker sounds.
Best for: Bassists after boundary-pushing performance, tech and style
Budget: £1000+ professional levels
HILS Bass Guitars
If you're looking for contemporary tone and vibes but on a smaller budget, then HILS are the best option for headless basses. HILS Guitars – part of renowned Korean guitar maker HEX – are exciting in the guitar world for their ability to make these innovative designs way more accessible. From prog metal riffage to jazz fusion, their custom single-coil pickups can do it out the box. You also get incredible features like stainless steel frets that'll last you a lifetime of playing, multi-scale fanned frets, and active/passive, blend and 3-band EQ controls.
Best for: Insane modern features on a reasonable budget
Budget: Intermediate £400-£700 mark
Warwick
A huge name in the bass community, Warwick make gorgeous instruments often in natural satin finishes or with exotic flamed and burled top woods. The range extends from their mid-priced basses through to quality professional options and up to the boutique Masterbuilt series. The Corvette has been played by brilliant pros Dirk Lance of Incubus and Stuart Zender of Jamiroquai. The Streamer model is another core part of Warwick’s line-up and opts for a more classic aesthetic. The active preamps in Warwick basses make for extremely customisable tonal control.
Best for: Players with a modern yet refined sense of style
Budget: Intermediate levels to premium custom shop
Dingwall
Right at the cutting edge of modern craftsmanship, Dingwall are a premium brand specialising in multi-scale, fan fretted basses. Adam “Nolly” Getgood, formerly of American metal band Periphery, is a huge proponent of their instruments. These basses are sleek, ergonomic and pack a powerful punch thanks to the growl of their highly controllable NG-3 and FD-3N pickups.
Best for: Ultra modern hi-fi tones and outstanding sound-sculpting
Budget: Professional to premium costs
How To Choose The Right Bass Guitar
Now we have looked at a broad selection of bass shapes, necks, electronics and the brands that make them, it's time to narrow down what you might be after from this instrument.
The very first thing you should do is look at the basses that you could see yourself picking up and playing again and again. From there, get an idea for the number of strings, the scale length, neck size and fretboard width that feels comfy. Think about the sound – basses are generally more flexible for a variety of musical genres than electric guitars, but the tone you get out of the pickups should still be taken into account – it has to sound great to your ears. Any other considerations should follow, like what type of bridge or tuners the bass is kitted out with. These will likely improve with each upgrade you make.
Bass Guitar Bundles
For those of you who are complete beginners to the bass, then a bass bundle will sort you out with everything you need to get started, while saving you a load of money. You'll find bundles with the likes of a bass amp, soft-shell carry case, stand, plectrums, guitar strap, cable and tuner all included.
Replacing Your Bass Strings
Like all stringed instruments, you’ll need to change the strings on a semi-regular basis. For most non-gigging players we recommend changing your bass strings every 3-6 months. If you are practicing, recording or gigging regularly you might need to replace them more often depending on the corrosion from your sweat. Generally it’s best to replace your strings when you notice they have lost their shine and sound dull, and before any visible rust markings start to appear.
Setting Up Your Bass Guitar
Sometimes, a new bass could do with a little adjustment to the intonation and string height after it's been in transit, or has been sitting in a warehouse for any extended period. It’s worth getting your bass set up by a trained guitar tech at least the first time round. From there, you can learn how to adjust your guitar yourself, or hand over your bass to our pros here at Andertons for a setup to make sure it plays perfectly.
Find Out More
To help on your buying journey, check out our many YouTube videos covering loads of different bass brands, ranges amps and bass pedals. Otherwise, come by the Andertons shop and we'll help you out in person!
Keep learning everything there is to know about the bass guitar in these guides:
• Fender Jazz vs. Precision basses
• Fender Precision buyer's guide