How to Buy an Electric Bass

There’s one thing that’s true about a bass: it has four strings. Actually, even that’s not true—there are six string basses or even more. Even though it’s a simpler instrument than guitar, you’ve got some choices.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Around $100 and up

1. If you’re beginning, stick to four strings. Five or more strings are for hotrodders who play more intricate music, like jazz fusion.
2. Choose solid body or hollow body. By far, solid bodies are the most popular electric basses. Paul McCartney made hollow bodies popular and they have a very distinctive Beatle-esque sound.
3. Choose the scale of the bass. The most common scale for a bass is 34”, from the bridge to the nut. If you’re very small, you could look for a shorter bass, in which the frets will be closer together—good for a small person with smaller hands. Keep in mind that the sound will change according to the length of the bass: the shorter it is, the higher the pitch.
4. Choose fretless or not. Most often basses have frets. It’s very hard to get a non-fretless sound on a fretless bass. Fretless basses are used for jazz—check out Jaco Pastorious, a master at the electric fretless bass.
5. Select a pick-up design. A common set-up is the Fender Precision Bass which has a split pick up design—the top strings have lower pick-ups than the bottom strings. More new basses use a standard pick-up design.

Tips & Warnings

• There’s nothing like your ear to tell you if it’s a good bass. Take a number of basses out for a test drive. See which feels right in your hands—both seated and standing. See which has the best action and is easy to play. Finally, plug the bass into a good bass amp and check the tone. Fiddle with the knobs on the amp and the bass to see how it responds.