Learning to play the bass guitar can be both exciting and just a little tricky. Regardless of your current skill level, playing bass requires a completely different approach to an electric guitar. For instance, the bass is played in a deeper register, has a longer neck, thicker strings, is used different techniques, and has a specific role in a band scenario.
Your task as a bass player is to bridge the gap between your drummer and all of those other band, thus keeping everything in sync. Although addititionally there is a lot of room to steal the limelight with a bass, don?t worry!
While we aren?t here to instruct you how to play, we are able to help with one of the main issues that beginners have at the start of their journey ? selecting their first bass guitar.
You can find just so many models that you can buy, with cool features and components available. Overwhelming is an understatement!
This short guide contains all the details you will need to both pick the right model for you personally as you start your bass journey, in addition to some tips, recommendations and general information on how to choose a bass guitar and what to watch out for when shopping.
The following chart highlights a handful of the top-rated bass guitars for novices. By enough time you?re done reading, you ought to have enough info to choose a bass that fits you like a glove!
Quite often, selecting your first bass will be as easy as heading into your local guitar store, pointing at one, and saying ?that?
bass guitar s the bass for me!?.
However, it?s not always that straightforward. Before making a rash decision and being left with a bass that?s not ideal for your needs, consider the following points:
In terms of a budget, there is no maximum amount you can devote to a bass guitar. Fancy a ?67 Rickenbacker? Which will be $23,000 please!
Vintage bass legends aside, it is possible to realistically spend hundreds of dollars on your own first bass ? nevertheless, you don?t need to. While everyone is different, our guideline is: spend as much as you can afford. A cheap bass coming in at under $150 will certainly do the job, but if you can afford to stretch into the $200 to $400 range, you will find far more choice and a better-quality instrument overall.
The benefit of learning on a better-quality instrument is that it'll usually be more comfortable to play, and that you will have more tone and power available, allowing you to grow into the instrument.
However, exceeding the $500 mark as a beginner isn?t necessary, and soon you build-up some skill and experience. Although assuming you have an endless supply of cash and fancy a $2,000 starter bass, then don?t let us stop you!
Learning how to play a new stringed instrument is always likely to be considered a little uncomfortable. Bass takes that discomfort to a whole new level! As it includes a much longer scale length than an electric guitar, you will be learning to stretch and spread your fingers much beyond you would have to on a guitar.
While this will take everybody a while to adapt to, in some rare cases, a person simply won?t manage to play comfortably on a standard scale bass. The solution? Buy a short scale model (they are well represented in our beginner?s chart).
The shape of the body also matters. Some bass guitars certainly are a little larger than others, as the balance of the instrument could be a problem, especially with more affordable models.
Ultimately, finding a bass guitar that is comfortable that you can play is definitely something worth doing. If you're a smaller person or searching for an adolescent, a short-scale bass is actually a good move, so keep it in mind.
Bass guitars are traditionally four stringed instruments, although models with five and six strings are available and more popular than ever. However, we claim that you stick with four strings initially. As a beginner, that?s complicated enough.
As you develop some skills, you can then move over to a 5-string bass if you wish to explore new styles and broaden your horizons. But, as you merely start out on bass, a model with four strings will suit you merely fine (look at somebody like Flea ? he?s never been limited in any way!)
Bass guitars include two different types of electronics ? just like electric guitars. You have both passive and active models, both making use of their own benefits and flaws.
Passive pickups tend to be more common on beginner bass guitars. These tend to be cheaper to produce, don?t require an external power source (like a battery) to work, and tend to be more expressive in tone.
However, active pickups are much hotter, this means they have a far more powerful and articulate output, but are more expensive and usually need a battery to operate.
As a beginner, the decision of electronics is not something you should be worried about too much. Passive pickups are simply fine until you create a taste for tone. Then you can certainly really assess whether a passive or active setup is most effective for you.
Affordable models tend to can be found in a few standard pickup layouts ? all of which are worth familiarizing yourself with.
First you have a Precision layout, which is essentially the most distinctive type. It includes one split-coil pickup at the neck position. The benefits of this layout include a fatter tone, great reliability and a standard lower cost.
Next may be the Jazz layout, which is another popular style. This layout includes two single-coil pickups ? one at the bridge and something at the neck. This setup offers more versatility and clarity, but lacks some growl in comparison with the Precision layout.
Another option may be the P/J layout. This is probably the most typical layout you can find and is really a ?best of both worlds? solution (mixing the Precision and Jazz layouts together). Basses that have this kind of pickup configuration have a split-coil pickup at the neck and a single-coil at the bridge. A P/J layout combines the benefits of the previous two configurations, offering a decent middle of the road solution.
Finally, there exists a standard double pickup layout that may include both single-coils or humbuckers, depending on the model you are considering.
Generally, each one of these pickup configurations is fantastic, and choosing one comes down to personal taste. As someone who is just getting started, you won?t create a mistake if you choose any of the four.
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