5 Best Bass Guitar For Beginners With Complete Buying Guide

Playing bass guitar is not like playing your normal electric or acoustic guitar. It requires a different set of skills to play bass guitar since the strings are thicker, the neck is longer and with the deep register.

A bass artist has a very different role than many other band members, one of the special purposes is to create a bridge between the drummer and other instruments in the band. It will keep the music in sync and capture attention in many cases.

Selecting the first bass guitar for the beginners can be a little tricky, but don’t worry as we have the selected the best 5 bass guitars with features and components in an affordable range. Picking the right model needs help from the experts to those who are new in buying a bass guitar.

Our article about top-rated bass guitars can lead you to make the right decision and get yourself the type of bass guitar that will lose your practice session and make you a good learner.

OUR TOP-LISTED 5 BESTSELLING BASS GUITARS

5 Best Beginner Bass Guitars

We are mentioning the very helpful bass guitars for the beginners which at a cheap price can get you the perfect sound. Their price is also mentioned in the link provided below the descriptions of each of the descriptions.

Ibanez GSRM20

The ultimate choice for the beginners, Ibanez Mikro short-scale bass guitar is for the users who want a slimmer and a small instrument that can fit anywhere while you play.

The small neck of Ibanez GSRM20 lets the users play tones smoothly and it is the best deal for someone with small hands.

Ibanez GSRM20 is good for children, but it is not the smaller size which makes it ideal bass guitar in 2020, the features are:

• Just 8.4 pounds’ body weight
• 60 neck dimension
• Metal made knobs
• Short scale bass 726mm/28.6
• Passive bass
• B10 Bridge

Looking at this bass guitar pro we could find that it is very affordable for someone who wants a small-sized guitar that doesn’t look like a toy, at all!

Its light-weighted body allows users to carry it anywhere with ease. The size of the guitar also supports the short fingers which makes it the ideal instrument to learn for teenagers or children.

In a nutshell, Ibanez GSRM20 is the best bass guitar for someone who wants to learn to play bass guitar with ease and access to creative skills.

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Schecter Omen-4  4-Stringed Bass Guitar

Schecter Omen 4 is the perfect electric-bass guitar for beginners to intermediate players. The quality material has been used and also the technical aspects it is a complete package for upbringing spellbinding tones.

Omen 4 is a smooth bass guitar with a neck made of maple wood, the maple body makes the body reflective and the body wood similar to the mahogany wood.

Schecter Omen 4 comes with diamond plus pickups, and also a ceramic magnet overwound coils which gives the aggressiveness to the sound.

For the players who admire the crunchiness in sound and blazing leads, these features of Omen 4 can drive any newbie crazy.

• Maple Neck
• Mahogany Body
• Rosewood fingerboard with 24 large frets
• Schecter bass tuner
• Diamon plus pickups
• Semi Goth Inlays- Pearloid
• Active 2-band EQ
• 34 Scale

The amazon offering Schecter Omen 4 in Walnut Satin design and color.

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Yamaha TRBX174EW Mango Wood 4-String Electric Bass Guitar (Natural)

Yamaha TRBX series got a huge success after which the TRBX174EW is seriously astonishing beginners with its reasonable price tag and appealing mango wood.

With the help of Yamaha TRBX174EW, you can be able to perform your music with innovation and much vigor. This can let you cross the boundaries while learning the most exquisite bass guitar sound.

The custom design from Yamaha is long-lasting, precise and uses the advanced engineering, which bass guitar players appreciate.

This is the review of Yamaha TRBX174EW from the long-time player Mando.

(I couldn’t be any happier with my new entry-level electric bass guitar!!! I previously purchased a high mass bass guitar from another music company which was the quadruple amount I paid for & was unhappy with it. even tho with the extra appointments it had it still didn’t phase me. though my bass (Yamaha TRBX174EW) which I named “Root Beer” (because of its color) had the simple standard appointments of a traditional bass guitar that does the same job as what an expensive bass guitar can do. kudos to Yamaha, Sweetwater & a special thanks to my “sales engineer” Mr. Frank Gerdts for making it happen for me. this is why I gave it the highest ratings!)

from The Bronx, NY

Background:

50 1/2 yrs musician & 42 yrs professional bassist

Features

• 34 Scale length
• Sonokeling fingerboard
• Maple neck
• 40mm broad nut
• Mango wood body
• Covered tuner
• Vintage style bridge
• 1 split-coil and 1 single-coil pickup

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Jackson Series Spectra JS2

Jackson Series Spectra JS2 is another top-rated name in the bass guitar arena. The bass guitar is introduced in 2020 for the beginners who want to play versatile music with the extreme comfort level.

Spectra JS2 is a sleek designed bass guitar with inexpensive material used in the construction.

Jackson Series Spectra JS2 is the first bass guitar in our list which offers P/J pickups configuration which provides bass boost control and support to the different music genres.

The bass boost control gives it a familiar identity that separates it from other competitors.

Jackson guitars have always amazed users by their sense of creativity, their guitars have been used by professionals and in many guitar schools for children and adults.

Features

• Full-scale Poplar body gloss finish (Cottonwood)
• 24 jumbo frets
• Maple Neck
• Laurel fretboard
• P/J Pickups-For both active and passive bass boost

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Squier by Fender 328800506 Vintage Modified Jaguar Special Short Scale Bass, Black

Squier is the latest name by Fender which is considered the father of guitar manufacturers. The curved shape of Fender 328800506 Vintage gives it a perfect shape and size for small-handed players.

The pickups sound great which is not so common these days, the single-coil bridge gives the beginners a sense of clarity to make the lucid sound.

And the short scale has got a maximum improved playability.

Within a good price range, you can purchase bass guitar by Fender with style, economical price range and the perfect choice for the beginners who want to experience the newest tones to their taste.

Features

• Agathis wood body
• Standard 4-saddle
• Maple neck with C-shaped curve
• 1 single-coil jazz bass, 1 split single-coil precision bass pickup, 2 volumes control and master tone

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Beginner Bass Guitar Buyer’s Guide

Here is a situation, you walk out of your home, you go to the local guitar shop and choose the best bass guitar. Well, it isn’t going to be this much easier as you will find more than many options which can bewilder your decision-making skills.

Before spending any money on the bass guitar you have to see the following aspects or features you can say.

Guitar Comfort

Thick stringed instruments like the bass guitar are going to be hard on the fingers, this is in fact reality that bass guitar has a certain level of difficulty than most guitars. The longer scale length requires you to stretch the fingers which are not common with learning other guitars.

The majority of the beginners find it hard to cope with the larger neck which is why choosing a bass guitar with a short scale is advised. We listed the Ibanez GSRM20 at the top of our list because of its short scale length and durability while playing. The shape of the bass guitar also defines the level of comfort; some are bigger than others so this is also one of those things you should keep in mind while considering your comfort level.

In short, choosing a short-scale bass guitar can be the perfect move for beginners to play it easily.

Strings

The standard bass guitar consists of 4 strings, but that’s not always, some popular models have 5-6 strings, but as a beginner sticking with the 4 stringed instruments is feasible to learn. Even learning 4-stringed bass guitar is crucial, but you can give it a try!

After developing a certain set of skills, you can try the 5-string bass which can open up wide horizons in the music field. But still, starting from the 4 string bass is a good idea to learn the basics and get yourself familiar with its playability.

Bass Electronics

Buying a bass guitar gets you to choose between two types of electronics, they differ in the passive and active models which have both good and bad things. Passive pickups produce a more dramatic sound and require no external power source to work. These are the most common on beginner’s bass guitars since they are cheaper to produce and are user’s friendly.

Active pickups require a battery to operate so they deliver more powerful and boastful output. They are considered a hot instrument in the music industry, which is certainly not for beginners. Until you develop a taste for chords and tones, playing on active pickups can only deviate you from learning more about bass guitars. And by the way, electronics is not something beginners should worry about.

Cost

There is no limit on how much you can spend on a bass guitar; I mean the highest priced bass guitar by 67 Rickenbacker will cost you $23,000! But that’s not the type of bass guitar you should go for, learning on the instruments price ranges from $150-$300 is an ideal sum of money. The cheap models of the bass guitars do the same thing; you can do more by stretching your budget t0 $400 which can get you the best quality instrument.

The quality instrument can stick your attention in the right place and is usually comfortable to play these gems. The comfort level is all that counts to grow into the instrument and explore more of their language. Not every beginner can afford $2,000 bass guitar and this is the reason we decided to take a toll on the most affordable and best ones.

Pickup Design

The beginners’ bass guitar comes in the standard pickup layouts, learning these 4 pickup layouts can be difficult at first, each of them is about different feel.

Precision layout- A typical layout which has only 1 split-coil pickup at the neck, emanates thicker tones with durable sounds at a very low budget.

Jazz layout- Consist of 2 single-coil pickups where one is located at the bridge while the other one on the neck. Jazz layout is all about clear and versatile tones, but it doesn’t provide the growls as compared to the precision layout.

Precision and Jazz layout- P/J layout is the mixture of the aforementioned 2 layouts. Bass guitars with this type of layout usually have a single split-coil pickup at the neck and bridge. You can get the benefits of two layouts and this offers a pretty interesting solution to the newbies.

Double Pickup layout- This is the standard pattern that comes in the model you chose, usually it has both single-coil pickup ad humbuckers.

You can go to any of these 4 since there is no concept of making mistakes here. Choose any of these pickup configurations according to your likeness in the music.

Things to Remember Before Purchasing Bass Guitars for Beginners

Easiest-To-Play Bass Guitar

 5-6 stringed bass guitars are getting popular in the guitar world but it would be best to learn on a 4-string bass. It has been said by many experts that bass guitars with 5-6 strings add few unnecessary complications. This would be difficult for the beginners, the standard 4-stringed bass guitars, on the other hand, are easy to play due to their narrow neck.

Most of the songs a new user is going to learn requires the simply 4 stringed bass guitars so there is no use for the other 2 extra strings. Even for other types of music, the standard 4-stringed bass is the ideal selection because of its comfortability. Every chord you play on the bass guitar should be played slowly and nicely, this way you can find the right comfort spot encouraging for the creative minds.

Things You Need to Play Bass Guitar

Here is what you need shortly:

• Amplifier
• Bass
• Cable
• Picks
• Case
• Tuner

After purchasing the bass guitar, here are the things you need to play it meticulously. An amplifier is the enhancer of the sound effects of a bass guitar (although you can dry practice without the amp), the amplifier is integral for jamming purposes and while performing with a band.

Now hold on, the beginners shouldn’t have to go for the bigger size and watted amps. You can get the small practice amp ranges between 20-40 watts, which will do the best job! The amp wire plays an important role to deliver decent tones, so work out and get a good cable range between $10-$20 prices which may last longer.

It is never easy to play bass guitar without the picks, so get yourself some plectrums if you are on the rock, metal or punk taste of music. The picks can deliver an enhanced and aggressive sound which, unlike playing with fingers doesn’t. Also, buy a cheap guitar tuner that every bass guitarist needs before getting into play. A decent looking gig bad would also be nice which can ease the traveling mode.

How Much to Pay for A Beginner Bass Guitar?

We wouldn’t recommend the first time to spend $5,000 on the bass guitar for the beginners. Although playing with an expensive guitar can encourage the users to learn it with more interest and also the easiest. The customer bass guitars are not always advised to practice since you can get a decent bass guitar at a much cheaper price. Like the premium ones, they also can let you plug it into an amp and play along with the drums.

Also, if you are new in the guitar world, why spending thousands of dollars on your first purchase? Get an idea and buy an inexpensive instrument so you will be ready for the next big thing. There are bass guitars under $300 which have quite a decent playability and it won’t hurt the fingers for more than a week.

Buying Used Bass Guitar

It is difficult to highlight the red alerts while purchasing a used bass guitar unless you have an expert with you. Buying used bass guitar is something most beginners tend to do because it gives them a huge margin in the price. Some used bass guitars have faulty electrics, therefore, it is important to test while playing them with the amp.

This is why choosing a brand new bass guitar from the trusted source can eliminate these risks. You can get the money-back guarantee and return policy when things get wrong.

Conclusion

The first step in learning the bass guitar is to purchase one first. Learning bass guitar could be a little trickier than an electric or acoustic guitar, and the market is giving you hundreds of options so you need to buy the one that will teach you the know-how about music.

We enlisted the most demanding and top-rated bass guitars of all time, and also the best ones in 2020. They will not only save your budget but gives you the lifetime experience by making you a versatile bass guitar player. Learning bass guitar lessons can be found online, but you should learn to choose the best guitar for yourself first.

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Last update on 2023-04-02 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API