If you are in any way like me, you wanted your rock star ambitions to be reflected in every aspect of your life. This means that you wear clothes that even Keith Richards would look at with a skeptical eyebrow raise, you have a carefully cared for and highly specific facial hair arrangement and an elaborate haircut that you think will someday end up being iconic (spoiler alert: it probably won’t).
You also probably have a cool mode of transportation, shiny shoes and a smile that drives everyone and their mom insane. If you have taken it too far, you probably also have a Guitar Hero character that you have kept since the game came out and have regularly played with, fulfilling your dream and fantasy of having crowds of people scream your name and playing alongside some of the most famous musicians of all time. If you don’t, well I do, and yes I am a loser, but my character is not – He is exactly the opposite of a loser. He has a green mohawk, a tank top and tight jeans and is the best bass guitar player the world has ever seen.
With tattoos all over his body, he puts Sid Vicious, Sting, and Flea all to shame. The speed of his playing by far exceeds mine and…Oh god I need to get my life together. The bottom line is, the bass guitar is proven to be an instrument of exceptional importance and power and holds sway over how the band sounds, looks and feels to an audience. This is why bass players deserve only the best bass guitars.
Top 9 Best Bass Guitars
| Image | Bass Model | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Dean E09M Edge Mahogany Electric Bass |  (4.9 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Yamaha TRBX204 GLB 4-String Bass |  (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Squier by Fender Vintage Modified Jazz Bass '77 | (4.9 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Sterling by Music Man RAY34-NT Bass | (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Fender Jaco Pastorius Jazz Electric Bass |  (5 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Squier by Fender Affinity Jazz Beginner Electric Bass | (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | ESP LTD B-205SM Spalted Maple | (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Schecter Stiletto Studio-6 Electric Bass | (5 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Ibanez PCBE12MHOPN | (4.9 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
Bass Guitars for Beginners
Squier by Fender Affinity Jazz Beginner Electric Bass
We all have to start somewhere right? Where is the best place to start but with an easy to play, affordable guitar that allows you to experiment and stretch your abilities and the abilities of themselves? Exactly, nowhere. So here is my suggestion for you – one of the best affordable bass guitars on the market. This alder body, two single-coil pickup bass guitar is just like silly putty: it will adapt to you and do what you want for as long as you feel challenged by what the instrument offers. All you have to do is start playing it and you will get addicted to it. The lightweight body and the slim neck are comfortable and easy to play with. Eventually, you will learn to exceed the abilities of this instrument, but until then Squier by Fender Affinity Jazz Beginner Electric Bass will take you on the journey of finding the true fun of playing the bass guitar.
Pros:
- Incredibly Affordable
- Decent, funky sound
Cons:
- Alder Body
- String Noise
- Tuning Stability Issues
Cheap Bass Guitars
Dean E09M Edge Mahogany Electric Bass
There is beauty in simple things, a beauty that can rarely be replicated by the overly complicated and highly priced. The beauty lies within the pleasure of knowing that whatever you have in your hands did not take too much to make, it did not take much to buy, but you will make it work so much that the creators of the item will stand, mouths agape, their expectations trumped beyond their wildest imaginations. All the while, they will realize that what they have produced might be even better than what they imagined it would be. The Dean E09M Edge Mahogany Electric Bass is one of these simple things. It is the best affordable bass guitar that many men or women, unrich (haha) as me, will ever get to buy. It is also the one they will always be thankful for, since the instrument gives the broke beginner everything they will need to learn and play the bass right – sound, looks and durability all included.
Pros:
- Incredibly Affordable
- Decent Tuning Stability
- Beginner Friendly
Cons:
- Low Action
- Strange Design
Bass Guitars Under 300
Yamaha TRBX204 GLB 4-String Bass
There is value in flexibility and there is even more value in being able to adapt to the needs of those seeking your product. Yamaha understands this, most of the time, pretty well. This is why they do everything in their power to deliver to those asking for more, allowing you to take an affordable guitar and customize its body tonewoods just so you can make sure you are getting what you want. The TRBX204 GLB 4-string bass is a product entirely dedicated to being what you want it to be. Yamaha allows you to choose several versions of it, with different tonewoods, in the price range that caters to anyone that has a taste for a specific tonewood and an affordable price. This allows the instrument to have the subtle specifications you like and the sound that you have been craving for so long. Whether you are getting mahogany, alder, or the TRBX premium, you can have what you want.
Pros:
- Great Value
- Full Tone
- Cool Design
Cons:
- Heavy
- Cheap Saddle
Bass Guitars Under 500
Squier by Fender Vintage Modified Jazz Bass ’77
You might have encounter the jazzmaster guitar somewhere before – Its funky lines and hazy designs are the birth child from the jazzed-out mind of one beatnik or another. You might be surprised that the jazzmaster had a cousin, the child of a similar abstract mind, with the allure and power that the Jazzmaster can be proud of. The Squier by Fender Vintage modified Jazz Bass ‘77 is this mysterious cousin out of nowhere, with a sound that fits so perfectly into the world of jazz music you start wondering – is this a rogue jazz note that gained a physical shape and became an instrument? Well, no. Since I am done exaggerating the story of this guitar so much, I would like to say that it is a very good bass. Definitely the best bass guitar for the price. The Agathis body of the instrument gives it a nice and warm sound, while the single-coil pickups make up for the softness with their snappy, vibrant sound. This is a great instrument, both for beginners and for the more advanced.
Pros:
- Lovely Vintage Look
- Bright Sound
- Lightweight
Cons:
- Agathis Body
- Soft Body
Bass Guitars Under 1000
Sterling by Music Man RAY34-NT Bass
When my friends ask me where the funk is, I tend to direct them toward the closest bass player standing to me. If you are coming to me with that very same question, let me redirect you to one of the best, funkiest sounding bass guitars on this list. The Sterling by Music Man RAY34-NT bass guitar is an improbably good instrument that, for the price it is hanging around at, sounds so good you want to cry. Whether the tears are of sadness that you can’t have it or because the funk unleashed by the bass guitar is too powerful, I do not know. What I do know is that if you are looking to pick up a new bass guitar, this one is definitely worth considering. The maple wood body is warm, mellow and so deep on the lower registers it scratches your soul. The passive pickups farther make the lowest registers powerful and emphasized, with the warmth of the tone making the temperature in the room rise faster than on a spaceship crashing into the sun. If there was any more low register emphasis, you would probably be consumed by the funk.
Pros:
- Minimalistic, Tonewood oriented look
- Highly Expressive Midtones
- Versatile Sound
Cons:
- Plastic Nut
- Heavy
Bass Guitars Under 2000
Fender Jaco Pastorius Jazz Electric Bass
If you are here reading through this list, you must know who Jaco Pastorius is. If you do not, I would like to request that you pause reading this for a second and go look the man up. After you come back, let’s talk. Go, now…. Ok, now that you are back, and now that you know who the master bass god is, I would like you to think about the fact that this bass guitar is tribute to that man. It takes everything that is part of the history of this musician and tries to condense it into the physical form of a musical instrument. Yes, the guitar is one that Jaco Pastorius could have held once. The thing is, the guitar is up to standard with what Jaco would have expected of his instrument. The sound is strong, yet warm, enhanced by the Alder body and the two single coil classic jazz pickups. This is not an affordable guitar, and you cannot ask it to be. This is an instrument dedicated to one of the best musicians who ever lived. Respect the instrument and it will show you, love. It will show you the best sound it has.
Pros:
- Amazing, Detailed Sound
- Lovely Tonewood Combination
- Incredibly expressive tone
Cons:
- Expensive
5 String Bass Guitars
ESP LTD B-205SM Spalted Maple
| Build Quality: | |
| Hardware: | |
| Electronics: | |
| Sound: | |
| Value: | |
| Average: | |
I always see quite vividly that we tend to overcomplicate things. Simplicity seems to be boring or mainstream, for some reason, and we keep searching for sophisticated guitars and devices. But at the end of the day the instruments that work the best are the ones that are straightforward. With such guitars, brands focus on important features and do their best to deliver maximum quality in everything they incorporate. The results? Well, they will blow your mind. If you want to understand what I’m trying to say, you have to take a look at ESP LTD B-205SM. This 5-string bass is way less expensive than it should be. If you were to listen to its sound blindfolded, you’d certainly name a fancy piece. The brand managed to put together a real beast – ash body is finished with a spalted maple top, 5pc maple/jatoba neck and roasted jatoba fingerboard. The electronics are passive here, with ESP Designed SB-5N neck and ESP Designed SB-5B bridge pickups (the EQ is active). This beautiful bass comes in two colors: Natural Satin and See Thru Black Satin. Both look mesmerizing – regardless of your choice, you’ll end up with a magical beast.
Pros:
- Does have plenty of character
- Excellent sonic quality
- Great construction
Cons:
- Needs initial setup
- You might want to change the strings
6 String Bass Guitars
Schecter Stiletto Studio-6 Electric Bass
If you are greedy and the standard 4 strings is not enough and the 5 strings only makes you want more, than you know that the 6 string bass guitar is for you. The added flexibility of sound and the full range of tonal fun you could have on such a beast is something you want to tackle. The Schecter Stiletto Studio-6 Electric bass is the beautiful piece of musical marvel that will allow you to shred through bass solos that those pesky guitar players could never even think of, let alone imagine. While the guitar is on the heavy side thanks to its build and the thick neck, it is still comfortable to play and enjoyable to play with. The EMG-Hz pickups are dedicated to picking up the lowest and the highest of tones that the guitar is capable of, and they do a great job. This affordable guitar is perfect for all of you bass demands.
Pros:
- Long Lifespan
- Bubinga Top
- Deep, Warm Sound
Cons:
- Heavy
- Could use more high tones
Acoustic Bass Guitars
Ibanez PCBE12MHOPN
Not all bass guitars need the power of electricity to turn heads and make hearts pump. The acoustic bass guitar is just as powerful in controlling the minds and souls of the listeners, with Ibanez PCBE12MHOPN being one of the best beginner acoustic bass guitars out there. It offers sophisticated sound thanks to its full mahogany body build, emphasizing the low register, powerful tones so beloved by the bass heads. The lack of electronics only serves to challenge you, eventually enhancing your understanding of what an acoustic and an electric bass guitar can do. This instrument is stylish and vintage, something of a combination that all dedicated to folk, country or any other musical genre venerating the vintage will find perfect. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself with one of these instruments as it will cause you to acquire more knowledge and a better taste of and for music, respectively.
Pros:
- Thick Tones
- Powerful Projection
- Rustic Look
Cons:
- Cheap Nut
- Tuning Stability Issues
How Bass guitars are Built
If you think the bass guitar and the electric guitar are not much different from each other in structure, you are right. If you think that they are not different enough to warrant an individual section describing how the bass guitar is structured, you are wrong. The instrument itself is not complicated, but understanding its parts and what each one of them does is integral to understanding what makes a good bass guitar.
Similar to the electric guitar, the bass guitar has a body, neck, fretboard and headstock. The neck of the bass guitar is much longer than that of the electric guitar, this is needed to get the strings of the instrument to vibrate at the frequencies required to produce the typical bass guitar sound. The bass guitar also has magnetic pickups, tuners, bridge, 4 to six strings, and electronics that allow for more control of the sound of the bass guitar.
The body
- The body of the bass guitar has several typical types of tonewoods, categorized by their hardness. The harder the wood, the more percussive and snappy the sound of the bass guitar is. The soft woods, as you might have guessed, produce a mellower sound. Depending on your preference you might choose wood of a certain hardness.
The neck
- The neck of the bass guitar is longer than what you might be used to on an electric guitar. This results in a heavier instrument, but is needed to accommodate the physics of low frequency sounds that bass guitars produce.
The fretboard
- The fretboard of the bass guitar most often uses rosewood, just like in an electric guitar. The bass guitar also has two options in the fretboard – with or without frets, which affects your playing of the bass.
The headstock
- The headstock of the bass guitar tends to be smaller, if it has four strings, than that of the electric guitar and contains the tuners for the strings.
The tuners
- The tuners of the bass guitar are stronger so they can accommodate the additional pressure exerted by the thicker strings.
The bridge
- Just like the tuner, the bridge of the bass guitar needs to be able to resist the stronger forces exerted by the thick strings of the bass.
Control Knobs
- There can be several control knobs on the bass guitar that affect the tones of the bass guitar, allowing you to customize the sound of your instrument in the moment.
Strings
- The strings are the most important part of the bass guitar, which, well, duh. The bass strings are thicker and heavier than the strings of the electric guitar. This results in the low sound of the bass guitar.
Pickups
- The second most important part of the bass guitar. This is what allows the vibration of the steel strings to be translated into an electric signal which is then amplified and projected through the amplifier. There are two types of magnetic pickups for bass guitars, passive and active, both of which have an effect on the sound of the instrument.
What to Look For in a bass guitar
There are several details to consider when deciding what the best electric bass guitar for you is. The most important detail is the sound you want to produce – a detail that is affected by so many things in the structure and construction of a guitar. Things such as tonewoods, their hardness, the type of pickups, frets and so many others need to be considered to bring the perfect bass guitar into your possession. Here is a quick rundown of some of the items to consider and their effects on the way you will sound when you play your instrument.
Tonewoods
There are many different types of tonewoods used for the bass guitar. All of them have a unique impact on the sound of the guitar. This means choosing the guitar with a specific type of tone wood will allow you a sound that is more customized and related to your demands. The hardness of the tonewoods also determines the sound of the guitar, with the softer woods absorbing vibrations more readily. This results in a mellower sound. The opposite happens when the tonewoods are hard.
Some of the more common woods used for bass guitar bodies:
- Alder – Alder has a very beautiful grain, which is often featured in the design of the instrument. This wood also has a tendency to enhance the sustain that the instrument produces, while also providing a well rounded sound and harmonic overtones.
- Agathis – This wood is most often used in entry-level bass guitars because it is relatively cheap. It tends to emphasize lower tones over higher tones and enriches the deep sound of the bass guitar.
- Basswood – The basswood is incredibly soft, which mellows out the percussive sound of the bass guitar. The lightweight body and the flexible nature of how it enhances sounds makes it a very popular wood for those looking to be able to perform over a large number of genres.
- Maple – The hardness of the maple results in a very snappy, clear and vibrant sound that is very popular with recording artists.
- Mahogany – This wood has a medium hardness and a very beautiful emphasis on the lower register tones of the bass guitar.
Pickups
The two types of pickups are available for bass guitars. The Active and the Passive.
Passive Pickups have been around for as long as the electric bass guitar has. It is the more traditional of the two and one that a lot of bass players prefer. The passive pickup produces a warmer, fuller sound but also gives less control of the tonality of your bass guitar to you.
Active Pickups are the more recent addition to the bass guitar family, which means that a lot of people find the pickups too new age to be liked. The facts are that the active pickups produce a brighter, clearer sound than passive pickups while also allowing flexibility and customizability to the sound of the bass through a built-in battery-powered preamp. Just don’t forget to change the battery once in awhile.
Fretless or Fretted
The bass guitars also come in two other forms – fretless and with frets. The difference in sound between the two is not too distinctive. The true difference between the two lies in how hard each one is to play and the smoothness of transition between the sliding tones on the bass guitar. The fretted bass is standard for most bass guitars and allows the player to easily identify the position their fingers are holding on the fretboard. While some will say this is best for beginners, having a fretted bass guitar is simply a comfort that is nice to have. Fretless bass guitars are harder to identify the correct positioning of the fingers on, but at the same time offer a warmer, clearer sound once played. One other virtue the fretless bass guitar offers is the ease with which the musician can slide up and down the fretboard. The sliding also creates an interesting sound effect. This is not an option well suited for beginner players
Best Bass Guitar Brands
Ibanez
The thing with bass guitars is that there are a whole lot of brands that manufacture them. A lot of people even believe bass guitars to be the secondary product of a company, with the primary position being relegated to the electric guitar. Yet this could not be any less true. The bass guitar is just as important as any other instrument, and making the bass guitar right is a big responsibility for manufacturers. This brings me to Ibanez, and the fact that they are probably the best, or at least one of the best, bass guitar manufacturers to have ever graced the market. Ibanez has a long track record of wonderful electric guitars, but the list of bass guitars produced by them is just as long and just as impressive. Some of the most impressive and famous bass guitar models by ibanez are the Gio series models, the Talman Bass series, the BTBs, the ATKs, the SR series, the Mikro series and the Bass workshop series and a few others that would make a list too long to read or to talk about. The thing is, Ibanez is one of the best electric guitar brands and it is also definitely one of the best electric bass guitar brands. Good stuff Ibanez, keep it up!
Fender
The very first electric bass guitars were invented way back in the 1930s. The guy who invented the instrument shall forever remain relevant to the genres of blues, rock and roll and, actually, every single genre that has ever used a bass guitar. Which means all of them. Which is why it is important to appreciate him. But it is just as important to know of the people who innovated in the field of bass guitar making, and reintroduced the instrument into the market the way it had never been known before. The Fender musical instrument company did this in 1951. Clarence Leo Fender introduced the Precision Bass to the world, creating one of the most iconic and famous bass guitars of all time. That single reinvention of the instrument brought the Fender bass guitars to the forefront of the favored bass guitar brands and ever since then, Fender has remained the favorite of many. Today the brand offers electric bass guitars that can fit either the vintage or the modern category. They remain true to the iconic precision bass but have since introduced new lines of bass guitars that are in no way inferior. Proving themselves to be one of the best brands for bass guitars, they should be mentioned on any list that tries to talk about where the best bass guitars come from.
ESP
It is assumed that the general rule of thumb is that if a brand produces a high quality electric guitar, then you should expect some incredible quality bass guitars from them as well. This is a rule of thumb that makes sense on the surface, but is not always easy to follow, which is why this list of brands is so short and concise. The length of the list is how you know that the brands on the list are actually worth taking a good, long, hard look at. ESP has a long and complicated history, which might make some people hate it and some people not really care about it, but we all have to come to an agreement. These people know how to build their instruments, and they invest a whole lot of dedication and effort into them. Which shows and is reflected in the quality of their guitars. Offering up a variety of bass guitar series, ESP has produced some of the most iconic, unique looking and hard-working basses out there. Whether you become partial to the ESP-II bass series or the LTD bass series, or a number of other series, you are likely to realize that each and every series has something you admire about them. You are not alone, which is why ESP is on the list.
Schecter
If you have been following me for a while, or reading the things I write, reviews blog or whatever else, you know that I am one of the biggest fanboys of Schecter guitars there has ever lived on the planet. So I won’t judge you too much for being suspicious of me when I place Schecter on the list of the best brands of anything, and yet I want you to trust me, not because I am a fanboy, but because Schecter has proven itself so many times already. When I say Schecter is one of the best bass guitar-producing brands, I want you to look at all of the examples. Whether they are custom (oh lord save us all) or whether they are more mass market-oriented, the bass guitars offered by Schecter are definitely something else. Here is a quick rundown of some of my favorite models and ones that you should probably check out some day: Simon Gallup Ultra Spitfire Bass, Baron H Vintage, the C-5 and the C-4 series are quite impressive, and for the all around great bass guitar, just take a look at the Stiletto bass guitars. Just make sure you have a piece of cloth to wipe away the drool when you are looking at the bunch of them.
Music Man
Music man joined the bass guitar manufacturing game a little later than most of the crowd listed up above, not much earlier than Schecter did in fact, and yet they have been killing the game from day one. Music Man is famous for their musical instruments, especially guitars and bass guitars which they have been producing since 1976, when their first manufacturing plant went up. They have produced some of the most iconic guitars ever since, with the first guitars being criticized a little, but becoming more popular with later iterations. Today, the music man signature Stingray bass guitars are pretty much a staple, loved among most bass players from around the world. The Music Man bass guitars are numerous and all of them offer something for any buyer, whether you are a newbie bass player or an experienced one. This is why I have slapped their name onto the list right here. The thing with bass guitar manufacturers is that there are so few of them that can actually be said to be the best. The Music Man brand learned from whatever mistakes their first bass guitars had and built upon those mistakes, bring the world a slew of wonderful instruments to work with and love. This makes them one of the most consistent bass guitar manufacturers in the world, and the one that is most loved or appreciated by me. If you don’t think you have found the bass guitar you have always dreamt of, look closer because the Music Man brand might have something you will enjoy.
Conclusion
While I might have been trying to be funny up top, when referencing my awesome guitar hero character, I believe the subject of the bass player in a group should be discussed much more. It is often perceived by those of lesser understanding of music that the bass player and whatever they do is not that important, especially in a rock band. The bass players of the world should know that they have my deep and unfaltering respect. It is thanks to the bass players of the world that we get some of the most interesting music to listen to. It is thanks to them that rock and roll has flavor, character and punch. It is to you, oh aspiring or already professional bass player reading through my ode to you, that music does not sound empty or “missing something”. Makes me hope that the list I have arranged will be a useful guide and a helpful hand in your search for the best bass guitar. The list itself is chock full of incredible instruments, what it takes to find the right one for you is an objective understanding of your financial capability, preferred style and that feeling you get when you know you have found the right thing. Once you have the right instrument, the best instrument, you could ever have (one of the ones above, or one of the ones that are on the many lists related to bass guitars) you can have what you always wanted – to be the silent star of the show. Or, if you don’t like being quiet, the loudest star if you are anything like flea.
