Buying a bass guitar can be an overwhelming experience, especially for a novice. There's more choice in the market than a beginner can deal with and with the overdose of magazine reviews, YouTube videos and celebrity endorsements ready to influence this decision, it can be quite a confusing experience. What to look for when buying a bass guitar for a beginner ?
Bass Guitar Playability
If a bass is not comfortable, then there's no point buying it. No one likes to play on an uncomfortable instrument, more so a beginner. If the instrument is not comfortable to play on, then even the most ambitious beginner will find some excuse or the other to not practice and in no time at all it ‘s for sale on eBay for less than half the original price.
The hands are going to do all the work on a bass. Whether big or small, they should be able to access the various parts of the bass guitar neck with relative ease. A big handed person will be comfortable, even on an extra thick neck where a person with relatively smaller hands might struggle. However there’s nothing to worry about as there are enough bass guitars in the market for all sorts of shapes and sizes.
For example - a small handed person could just go for a bass with a thin neck. Problem solved.
One more thing to consider is the weight of the bass. If the bass is particularly heavy for a person’s body type then they will be more inclined to avoid playing it no matter how good it sounds or looks.
Bass Guitar Action
Most of the basses in a beginner’s price range are mass produced in a factory setup. This simply means that it can be customized further to suite a particular person’s comfort or needs. One problem most beginners almost always have with such guitars is with the action.
What is the ‘Action’ ? It’s just a technical term for the distance between the fretboard and the strings.
If a newbie is struggling to press the strings to the fretboard and create a sound then more often than not, it means that the action needs to be lowered. the in store techs should be able to take care of this. It only takes a few minutes and will make a huge difference.
Financials - How Much does a Bass Guitar Cost?
Most beginners for various reasons have a budget they need to work around.Though every bass player wants to own a vintage Fender jazz or a first edition solid body Warwick,it’s not always possible. Especially for a beginner bass player.
Instead of going for a particular brand because Jimmy’s brother’s girlfriend’s dad said so or because the guy in Kiss plays a particular one, it’s better to go to a store and try one in the desired price range.There are always bound to be one or more good pieces in any price range. Following the tips outlined in this article will help immensely.
Also,most decent music stores will almost always have a combo deal on offer. It is usually a Bass plus amplifier combo at a much discounted price. This is mostly true when it comes to buying beginner level instruments. It’s a good idea to ask the store person about these deals in advance.
Other tips
Yes, it is very easy to buy the instrument from an online store however as a beginner it’s particularly important to like the feel of the instrument before buying it. Hence, a rule of thumb : Always go to a store and play the bass before buying it. Grab everything in the store to get an idea of what’s comfortable.
It can be a bit unnerving to go to a guitar store especially when better players are around showing off their chops. No need to get intimidated by better players or sales staff pressures. We were all beginners once.
And not to forget, the color of a bass is important. No one likes to play a bass they don’t like the color of.
Yogesh Bakshi - Music and Technology are to me what the skateboard is to Bart Simpson and for the better part of the last ten years i have been fortunate ...
