Bass Guitars – Buying Guide Overview
£229.00
was £279.00
SAVE £50.00
Don your Afro and travel back to the...
Most of the bass guitars available are solid-body electrics. A reasonable quality bass guitar can be purchased for under a hundred
pounds these days. For the beginner there are a number of starter packs available which will include everything you need to get
started. The choice of brands is huge, but we suggest that you opt for one of the better known brand names such as Fender Squier,
Ibanez or Peavey – all of which offer quality starter packs at a good price.
What To Look For In A Bass Guitar
Bass Guitars have different necks so you need to find the one that is right for you. The type of neck you choose is dependent on
the size of your hands and the shapes differ from rounded and flat back to oval, 'yee'. There are also asymmetrical bass guitars
where the neck is thinner on either the treble of bass side of the instrument.
Four string bass guitars typically have smaller sized necks than those with 5 strings. You can also find 6, 8 and 12 string basses,
but you need to have big enough hands to play the instrument!
Scale Length:
Scale length is the distance between the bridge saddle and the nut and determines the vibrating length of the guitar string.
The longer the scale the more distance there is between the frets.
Active or Passive Basses
A passive bass has the pickup connected directly to the volume and tone pots and then to the jack socket with no electronics to
modify the sound. You will be able to control the volume and tone, but the adjustment of the sound will be limited. Nearly all
beginner bass guitars are passive.
An active bass will have in-built electronics to help shape the tone of the bass. It will have a battery to power it and is
switched on when you plug the jack lead in. Bear in mind that the battery won't last forever so keep a spare handy.
You can choose a bass guitar in any colour and believe me; the range of shades and finishes available is practically infinite.
Seeing as it won't affect the sound of your bass you can be as bold as you want.
