The bass guitar is a plucked stringed instrument that looks like the electric guitar, both technically and aesthetically. The sound it produces is quite low, like that of a double bass, its neck is long and it generally has 4 strings, sometimes more.
The characteristics of the bass guitar
A bass guitar is usually used to give rhythm. It is used particularly in groups, as an accompaniment.
Concerning the neck, it is generally the neck that will allow you to decide if the instrument suits you or not, depending on your sensations on the feel of the guitar, but also on the comfort felt when using this guitar. It allows you to play very low notes. In fact, the longer the neck, the more bass sounds can be played.
How to choose a bass guitar
When you want to buy a bass guitar, you can ask yourself if it is worth buying a new or used guitar. A second-hand bass guitar makes it possible to have good equipment at a much cheaper price. However, if you are a beginner, you will not know the difference between a good deal and a bad one. We must therefore remain vigilant and sometimes spend more money for assured quality. Did you know that it is also possible to consider a mini credit online, I let you check if you are interested.
To be sure that a bass is of good quality, you can test several things, as long as you know something about it. First of all, you have to be careful about the frets that protrude. It is advisable to put your hand on the neck and especially on the edge, where you can feel the frets. If these exceed by If you have a touch or feel sharp angles, this is not normal, as you could injure your fingers.
Second, the potentiometers, which are used to adjust the volume and tone of the instrument, can be checked. They must be well fixed and not turn in a vacuum.
Third, you have to inspect the wood and varnish of the guitar, because they are very important to produce good sounds. Cracked or damaged wood will cause problems.
Fourth, it is necessary to check that the easel is well fixed and that the mechanics are precise. This will also ensure that the instrument is correctly adjusted: the strings should not be too far from the neck.
A second criterion to consider when choosing a bass guitar is whether you want a guitar of a known brand or not. If you choose an unknown brand, you can quite easily be confronted with a good quality instrument at an attractive price, but it will be more difficult to resell it later, which is not the case with a known brand. Here are some known brands: Ibanez, Squier, Yamaha, Peavey, Epiphone, Cort.
A third criterion to be taken into account is whether you want an active or passive guitar and this concerns the field of electronics. The microphone(s) on the guitar take the sound when the strings vibrate, which is then modulated by the volume, key and balance of the instrument. On a passive bass guitar, there is no pre-amplification, while on an active bass, pre-amplification is available, which allows the sound to be louder.
There is a trick to making the sound louder on an electric bass, it is to use an amp. In this case, the vibrations of the cables are picked up by a microphone that will transform the vibrations into an electrical signal. The amp is therefore a very suitable accessory for bass guitars, as it fully supports the very low frequencies produced by this type of guitar.
The look of the bass guitar
Even if they all have practically the same sound, know that there are on the one hand, the classical basses, and on the other hand, the radical basses. When choosing, choose a bass guitar that you like in terms of color and style, and that fits very well with your favorite music style. Of course, it’s not a chic and funky look that will make the bass sound, but at least it will encourage you to play your guitar more often.
Bass guitar with 4 or 5 strings?
The 4-string bass is the standard model that is also the historical heir to the double bass. You will notice that it is on this bass that most bass players start playing. On the 4-string bass, the tuning is done according to the scheme E (E), A (A), D (D) and G (G).
On the other hand, you have the 5-string bass guitar with a B-string, and much lower than the E-string. Because of the heaviness it brings to the sound, this type of bass is usually only found in rock and metal genres. Moreover, if you are looking for a much lower sound palette, you have basses with 6 or more strings next to it (even if it is very rare!).
Finally, you will notice that the neck of the 4-string bass guitar is much thinner or narrower (which is quite logical) than that of a guitar with 5 or 6 strings. However, this has some advantages for beginners ence that they can place their fingers more easily and simply. So, until you can get used to the instrument smoothly, we recommend that you start playing on a 4-string model.
The body of the bass guitar
The body of the bass guitar is usually made of solid wood. However, the type of wood can vary from one guitar to another. Also, note that each type of wood has its own sound signature and that this actually affects the overall sound produced by your guitar. If you are a beginner, it is very likely that you will have some difficulty knowing exactly what your preferences are. However, the difference between woods can be of particular interest to anyone with a well-trained ear.
If you want a guitar that produces a well-balanced sound with lots of harmonics and sustain, then you’ll benefit from surfing on alder and ash. For more softness in the sound with significantly less mediums and sustain, the lime tree will do the trick. The warmth and richness for their parts, will be more at the rendezvous with a body made of mahogany. On the other hand, maple, which is a wood renowned for its density, will allow you to have a clear sound naturally with a very beautiful finish and a lot of sustain.
The type of wood for the handle
The sound as well as the playing sensations will also be greatly influenced by the wood of the key. As with the guitar body, it will be just as difficult for you to determine your preferences here if you are a novice.
For the neck or fingerboard of your guitar, the most commonly used woods are ebony, maple and rosewood. It is quite easy to distinguish the maple because its color is rather light and in addition, it delivers a its natural light with a sharp attack. The soft sound will be obtained with a rosewood fingerboard. However, there is nowadays an ecological alternative to the increasingly preferred rosewood, the pau ferro, which is very easy to identify from an aesthetic point of view due to its dark brown colour. Finally, you will find ebony more on models that are relatively expensive. At first glance, this wood is distinguished by its aesthetics or very dark tone. In terms of sound, ebony allows you to have super-fluid playing sensations, as well as a long sustain.
