Buying Your First Bass Guitar
Buying your first Bass guitar can be an intimidating prospect, with a vast number of brands and styles to choose from; it can be difficult to know which option is right for you. In this article we’ll go through some common options, popular brands and various other factors to bear in mind when choosing your first bass guitar.
Scale Length
One of the most important things to consider when buying your first bass is the scale length of the instrument. Scale length refers to the distance from the nut to the bridge, a longer scale length means you will need to stretch further with you fretting hand, therefore an instrument with a shorter scale length is ideal for younger students and those with smaller hands.
There are a number of common scale lengths –
- Standard Scale (34″)
- The most common scale length
- Suitable for all styles of music
- Ideal for slap bass
- Short Scale (30″)
- Ideal for younger students and those with smaller hands
- While suitable for most styles of music the lower string tension can be an issue for performing slap bass (don’t completely rule out a short scale for slap bass though! The lower string tension can result in a unique slap sound that’s quite different to a standard scale bass)
- Medium Scale
- Medium scale basses are less common than their standard and short scale counterparts and can vary in actual scale length, a popular example would be the Rickenbacker 4003 (as used by Paul McCartney, Chris Squire of Yes, and Bruce Foxton of The Jam) which has a 33 and a quarter inch scale length.
- Medium scale basses can be a good compromise between the greater playability of a short scale bass and the sound and versatility of a standard scale bass.
Common Styles of Bass Guitar
- Fender Precision Bass
- Originally released by Fender Guitars in 1951, the Precision Bass (often shortened to P bass) would go through several iterations until the release of the 1957 Precision Bass, a design that would become the basis for all Precision Basses thereafter.
- The Precision Bass name came from the instruments inclusion of frets; like those you would find on a six string guitar; allowing the instrument to be played with “precision” in contrast to the fretless double bass.
- While originally produced by Fender, the P bass has become one of the most common designs, with many manufacturers producing copies.
- The P bass is arguably the most common bass guitar used in popular music recordings, despite its lack of tonal versatility due to its single split coil pick up; the P bass is known for its mid heavy sound that fits perfectly in most genres of music.
- Recordings featuring the Precision Bass
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrel (James Jamerson on Bass)
- London Calling – The Clash (Paul Simonon on Bass)
- Forget Me Nots – Patrice Rushen (“Ready” Freddie Washington on Bass)
- N.I.B – Black Sabbath (Geezer Butler on Bass)
- The Trooper – Iron Maiden (Steve Harris on Bass)
- Fender Jazz Bass
- First released by Fender in 1960 as a “deluxe” alternative to the P Bass; the Jazz bass has gone on to become one of the most popular bass guitar designs alongside its older brother.
- Features a slimmer neck than the P bass for greater playability, as well as two single coil pickups for greater tonal versatility.
- Like the P Bass; the jazz is one of the most copied bass designs, with many manufacturers producing both “J” and “P” style basses.
- The Jazz bass is popular in many genres, particularly amongst slap players.
- Recordings featuring the Jazz Bass
- Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick – Ian Dury and the Blockheads (Norman Watt-Roy on Bass)
- Come on, Come Over – Jaco Pastorious
- Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine – The Killers (Mark Stoermer on Bass)
- Ramble On – Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones on Bass)
- Tom Sawyer – Rush (Geddy Lee on Bass)
- Fender Mustang Bass
- Originally released as a student model, the 30″ short scale mustang has proved to be a popular bass in its own right. The Mustang bass has become a more common sight over the last few years, benefitting from a general resurgance in the popularity of short scale basses.
- With its 30″ scale; the mustang bass is good choice for younger students and those with smaller hands.
- With its mini split coil pickup; the mustang has a sound reminiscent of the P bass.
- Musicman Stingray
- Designed by Leo Fender shortly after selling Fender Guitars to CBS, the Stingray features a number of features considered cutting edge at the time.
- The Stingray features an “active” preamp system powered by a 9v battery, this allows for greater control of your sound using the onboard controls.
- The Stingray is particularly popular among slap players.
- Recordings featuring a Musicman Stingray
- Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine (Tim Commerford on Bass)
- Another One Bites The Dust – Queen (John Deacon on Bass)
- Sledgehammer – Peter Gabriel (Tony Levin on Bass)
- Music for Chameleons – Gary Numan (Pino Palladino on Bass)
How Much Should I Spend and Which Brands Should I Consider?
There are numerous bass guitar brands producing instruments varying in price from sub £100 instruments from dubious brands on Amazon; to £3000 plus instruments from brands like Fender and Ernie Ball Musicman. In this section we’ll go over the price point that gives the best value for money, and recommend a few brands and retailers that you might want to consider.
Bass Guitars can be expensive and it can be hard to know where the sweet spot is for price vs value. Generally sub £100 instruments purchased from outlets like Amazon can be plagued with issues. I’ve seen a number of students turn up for their first lesson with one of these Amazon guitars only to discover the instrument isn’t playable. Sometimes this can be rectified with a bit of tweaking, othertimes they’ve arrived from the factory with warped necks and other issues that are expensive to fix; if they can be fixed at all.
The next step up is instruments in the £150-£250 price bracket. There are numerous offerings at this price point from well known brands such as Fender, Ibanez and Yamaha. While instruments at this price point can lack the attention to detail and creature comforts of more expensive instruments; they are generally solidly constructed and will perform perfectly well as your first bass guitar.
Personally I feel that the next pricepoint is where you find the best value for money starter instruments. Once you enter the £250-400 price bracket you start to find instruments with higher quality hardware (tuners and bridges for exaample), better sounding electronics and a greater attention to detail when it comes to quality control.
Buying second-hand can be a great way of getting yourself a great starter guitar. I’d recommend purchasing from a reputable guitar shop rather than from an online marketplace. While you can find a great guitar on Facebook Marketplace or Ebay; there is usually little to no recourse if you later discover an issue with your instrument; whereas most retailers provide some level of guarantee on second-hand purchases.
A couple of brands you might want to consider include –
- Squire
- Squire is Fender Guitars budget brand offering cheaper alternatives to most Fender models including the P Bass, Jass Bass, and Mustang Bass.
- Website – https://uk.fender.com/collections/squier
- Yamaha
- Yamaha produce basses at many different price point ranging from £200-300 starter guitars through to premium Japanese made models.
- Yamaha offer various models including their P bass inspired BB series, as well as various more modern style instruments.
- Website – https://uk.yamaha.com/en/musical-instruments/guitars-basses-amps/products/electric-basses/
- Ibanez
- Like Yamaha, Ibanez produce a variety of instruments at varying price points.
- Ibanez make a variety of designs varying from vintage Fender inspired basses through to modern style basses popular amongst jazz and metal players.
- Website – https://www.ibanez.com/usa/
- Epiphone
- Epiphone is Gibson Guitars budget brand.
- While Gibson Style basses have never been as ubiquitous as Fenders; they have still produced many iconic models, many of which have versions available from Epiphone.
- Website – https://www.epiphone.com/en-GB/Collection/bass
- Harley Benton
- Harley Benton is Thomanns in house guitar and bass brand.
- Harley Benton are a great budget option, offering a variety of different styles of bass guitar at a low price point while still offering decent build quality.
- Website – https://www.thomann.co.uk/harley_benton.html
Here’s a list of UK/EU retailers you might want to consider –
- Andertons Music Co. – https://www.andertons.co.uk/
- Rich Tone Music – https://richtonemusic.co.uk/
- Guitarguitar – https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/
- Thomann – https://www.thomann.co.uk/
Still Not Sure What To Buy?
If you’re still not sure which bass is best for you then I’m more than happy to talk new students through the variety of options available. Book your free trial lesson through my website today using the contact form on my contact page!
