{"id":462394,"date":"2022-03-19T14:26:35","date_gmt":"2022-03-19T13:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/?p=462394"},"modified":"2023-07-27T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T12:49:24","slug":"bass-for-beginners-what-to-consider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/gear\/bass-for-beginners-what-to-consider\/","title":{"rendered":"Bass for Beginners: What to consider when buying"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s clear: If you want to learn bass , you need a bass for beginners<\/a>. So clear, so simple. Unfortunately, the range is so extensive that you need a little background information to find a suitable instrument. You can find out from us what you should look out for when buying a bass for beginners.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If you go to a music store for the first time to choose your first bass<\/a><\/strong>, you probably don’t know much about the instrument. You may have heard of four-string or five-string, but the different body shapes, scale lengths or pickup types are confusing at first, not to mention strings… But there are a few details that are easy to explain and allow narrowing down your selection.<\/p>\n

Buying a bass for beginners: choosing the pickups<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the most important features of an\u00a0electric bass\u00a0are the\u00a0pickups<\/a><\/strong>, because they shape the basic sound (along with the electronics, the body and the scale) – more on that later. There are two basic types here, namely single coils<\/strong> and humbuckers<\/strong>. Technically, the single coils consist of a single coil, the humbuckers, the further development of the single coil, consist of two coils. The humbucker hums and hisses less and also has a significantly higher output, but it also sounds different.<\/p>\n

\"Fender
Fender Original Jazz Bass PU Set<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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This results in a completely different sound.\u00a0Not better, not worse, just different.\u00a0The single coil sounds rather clear, crisp and with a nice attack, while the humbucker usually performs more oppressively and fatter.\u00a0Of course, these descriptions tend to be understood, and the final tone depends on the interaction of all components.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Marcus<\/a><\/dt>\n
Marcus Miller V3 MA 2nd Gen<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"Marcus<\/a><\/dt>\n
Marcus Miller P7 Alder 4 Black 2nd Gen<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"Marcus<\/a><\/dt>\n
Marcus Miller M2 5 TBL 2nd Gen<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

An example of a single-coil bass would be the\u00a0Fender Jazz Bass<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0It features two of these pickups that can be used individually or together, each resulting in a different sound.\u00a0The\u00a0Music Man Sting Ray<\/a><\/strong>, on the other hand, may represent a bass with humbuckers.\u00a0The\u00a0Fender Precision Bass<\/a><\/strong>is a special case, it seems to be equipped with two coils, but each of them is only responsible for two strings. This design is called “split coil<\/strong>” and is ultimately a modification of a single coil and sounds quite similar.<\/p>\n

\"Fender<\/a>
Fender Player Series Jazz Bass PF BLK<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Advertisements<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>

Bass for beginners: 4 or 5 strings?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Next comes the question of how many strings the bass should have for beginners.\u00a0It is available with\u00a0four<\/strong>, five and even six strings<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0Here the clear recommendation applies: If you have already informed yourself and know roughly where you want to go, then you should do that and, for example, get a five-string as your first instrument if you want that.\u00a0If not, then a four-string is a good choice as the default instrument.<\/p>\n

Buying a bass for beginners: the scale<\/strong><\/h2>\n

An important consideration when buying a beginner bass is the scale length.\u00a0This means the length of the vibrating string.\u00a0Here the four categories are roughly short (short scale 30 inches), medium (medium scale 32 inches), long (long scale 34 inches – this is the standard scale of most jazz and precision basses) and extra long (everything over 34 inches extra). \/super long scale).<\/p>\n

With the short scale, the frets are closer together than with the longer scale, so you don’t have to spread your fingers as far.\u00a0Especially for people with small hands it is more comfortable to play.\u00a0But you have to be aware that a bass with a short scale length will sound different.\u00a0The longer the scale, the fatter the sound of the lower strings in particular.\u00a0On the other hand, a short-bore bass has its own unique sound with its own appeal.<\/p>\n

Bass for beginners: fretted or fretless?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The basses we have been talking about have frets<\/strong>.\u00a0There are also basses without frets, so-called\u00a0fretless basses<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Here the fretboard is either completely without markings, or instead of the frets there are lines<\/strong> that are inlaid into the fretboard.\u00a0You can play super cool slides on a fretless with its warm, cello-like tone.\u00a0But since it doesn’t have any frets, you have to play it very precisely in order to intonate the notes correctly.\u00a0Often (but by no means always) fretless basses are strung with so-called flatwound<\/strong> strings<\/strong>.\u00a0In contrast to roundwound<\/strong> strings<\/strong>, these have a smooth surface and are therefore very soft to grip. They also sound different, namely warmer and rounder, but not as brilliant and aggressive.<\/p>\n

\"Harley
Harley Benton B-450FL BK Progressive Series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Buying a beginner’s bass: Still no idea?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But what do you do when you really don’t know what you want? Except that it should be a bass, of course. In this case, it is best to use the most flexible and popular bass type. This has four round wound strings on a long scale, two single coils – and a phenomenal reputation.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49 With these bass sets for beginners<\/a><\/strong>, you have everything you need right away!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49 More learning about all things BASS in our bass guide<\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"Harley
Harley Benton PB-20 SBK Standard Bundle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Harley
Harley Benton JB22 Set 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our advice for you<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Are you still unsure?\u00a0Or do you have questions?\u00a0Our team in the\u00a0bass department<\/a><\/strong> will be happy to advise you, and, of course, without obligation. Come by our shop in Treppendorf, chat with us or give us a call. As you prefer. Your first bass is waiting for you. Start groovin’!<\/p>\n

guitar@thomann.de<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+49 9546 9223-20<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Advertisements<\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thinking of buying your first bass? There are lots choose from… we hope this article helps you choose the right one!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":462398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tblog_post_audio_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1083],"tags":[10674,3837,7012,6199,7010,10664],"class_list":["post-462394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear","tag-bajo","tag-bass-en","tag-bass-guitar","tag-basses","tag-electric-bass","tag-low-end"],"category_colors":{"color_key":"gear","css_classes":{"text":"cat-gear","text_light":"cat-gear-light","bg":"cat-bg-gear","bg_light":"cat-bg-gear-light","border":"cat-border-gear","text_on_bg":"cat-text-on-gear"}},"reading_time":{"minutes":5,"formatted":"5 min"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomann.de\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}