Top 10 Bass Guitars

For a music lover, it’s very important to have the right instruments at hand. Actually, it’s more than just owning one piece of amazing equipment. What’s important is that you're able to express your passion and love for sound and find fulfillment in what you are doing.
But every bass player has his own list of top bass guitars.
Here is my:

1. Warwick Corvette $$™ NT Bubinga
The neck-through variation completes the successful Corvette family: the first Corvette with a multi-layer, neck-through Maple neck (4-string three layers, 5-string four layers), which gives the sound of the Corvette new qualities.

Swamp Ash or Bubinga are available as a selection for the body wood. The durable Bubinga causes an aggressive and offensive sound with much attack; the Swamp Ash version " in contrast " delivers a growling rock sound, stable and with much low-mid sustain. Both versions are equipped with the two separately configurable MM-style humbuckers by EMC with large open pole-pieces, thus being usable in an extremely flexible way.

2. Fender Jazz Bass
The J-Bass, as it’s commonly called, is the second electric bass guitar. There are two factors that set this bass from P-bass. For one, it gives less importance on fundamental harmonic. Moreover, its tone sounds much richer and brighter. Those who make use of jazz bass are usually those who are engaged in a mix such as power trios. It has 4 strings, 2 pickups, as well as bridge tailpiece that is very easy to adjust. Its design is also classic—a combination of rosewood fingerboard and a neck made of maple. Its body is normally alder and is 34-inch in length.

3. Ken Smith
Are you in for real crazy hard-rock music? Then Ken Smith (with 6 strings) is the best choice for you. Its roundwounds are usually made of stainless steel, which gives your bass guitar smooth and stylish finish. It’s well-loved by musicians because of its flexibility. It has a winding length of 38 inches. You can better protect your guitar by making use of silk, which you can wrap around it.

4. Squier Bronco Bass
This is one of the easy-playing bass guitars available and is perfect for those who are only starting out playing or learning bass guitars. It’s also a small-scale bass guitar, around 30 inches. You won’t have any problem adjusting its tunes. Furthermore, because of its pickup composed of single coil, it produces rich and full sound. It possesses agathis body, maple C-shape neck, and die-cast tuner.

5. Ibanez 5-String Acoustic Bass Guitar
This acoustic bass guitar is an awesome sight. Made of mahogany, it embodies a perfect blend of modern and vintage style. However, it’s not only it looks that captures the fancy of bass guitar players. It contains an SST pre-amp, a pickup from Fishman Sonic, as well as onboard tuner. Together, they make this guitar truly versatile. It also contains a lower range through the addition of the B-string, also creating a fretless fingerboard.

6. Gibson Thunderbird IV Bass
Speak of Gibson, and you know you’ll never go wrong with your guitar, more so with your bass guitar. The Gibson Thunderbird IV Bass was launched in 1963 as part of the Firebird series. It was reissued in the 1980s, with a more sophisticated pickup and body. It also possesses a three-way adjustable tailpiece.

Its plating finish is black chrome while its knobs are black top hat complete with inserts. When it comes to control, it has 1 tone and 2 volumes.

7. Ritters
Bass guitars from Ritters are one of the best made. They all feature bolt-on necks, which give them longer sustainability as well as better sound. There’s no need to break the oscillation between the guitar’s bridge and the nut. The downside is that they can be very expensive. In fact, they never settle below a thousand. What’s more, using bolt-on necks may be disadvantageous if you’re looking for a longer-lasting bass guitar since they appear to be less durable.

8. Stiletto Series
Bass guitars from Schecter is ideal for those who have more experience in handling such guitars as they can be pretty demanding with regards to car. They can be pricey too, falling along the upper midrange. The Stiletto series is the most popular, especially the one with 5 strings. It’s larger compared to other bases and has 24 frets. It also possesses a neck-through structure.

9. Daisy Rock Bass Guitar
This is ideal for women rockers out there. For one, it isn’t really heavy, so you don’t have to bear the burden of carrying it most of the time. It also has narrower necks so you won’t experience difficult time changing keys or even gripping your guitar. A good example is the Heartbreaker Bass, which features a maple neck, basswood body, and rosewood fingerboard.

10. H-25 and 27 Basses
Harmony is a vintage brand, and its guitars aren’t considered to be truly amazing. Nevertheless, playing and carrying them around is one of the coolest things you can do. The H-25 and H-27 types are preferred among other kinds of Harmony basses. They are very durable and are efficient in balancing sound. They’re also excellent if you’re going to play some jazz music.

Top Bass Guitars For Beginner

Buying a bass guitar for a novice can be tricky... there are a ton of cheap beginner basses out there, but many of them feature cheap hardware, and shoddy workmanship. The trick is to find a bass guitar that is both easy to learn on, yet also easy on the pocketbook. The following basses, all of which hover in the several hundred dollar range, are some of the best valued bass guitars on the market.

1. Yamaha RBX374
Yamaha have earned a reputation for being a company able to produce quality instruments with low price tags. The RBX374, with it's fully alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and P-style pickup, is no exception. Although not the cheapest bass on this list, this model offers quite good value for the price.

2. Squier Standard Jazz
This is Fender's low priced version of the classic Fender Jazz bass. The pickups and electronics are inferior, and there are lots of other reasons why this Squier model isn't of the same caliber as the original, yet for the price tag, this instrument will still provide that Fender Jazz sound, without busting your budget.

3. Epiphone Les Paul Special Bass
If you're a bassist who loves the look of the classic Gibson Les Paul guitars, this Epiphone model bass guitar may appeal to you. The Epiphone Les Paul bass features a solid mahogany body with maple neck, and two humbucking pickups. The bass is fairly heavy, and should be able to withstand a good amount of abuse.

4. Ibanez GSR200
This low-cost Ibanez bass guitar has an individual look and feel. The body is made from Athagis wood, the neck from maple, and the fingerboard from rosewood. The GSR200 features a rather thin neck, which many people might find easier to learn on. As is usually the case with low cost instruments, the electronics aren't top notch, but for the money, the GSR200 is a good bet.

Bass Guitar For You

In this material we shall take a look at some of the things you should look out for when buying a bass guitar. This will help you in better understanding bass guitar descriptions and reviews. We shall talk about different types of body styles, necks, scale lengths, tuning machines, intonation, bolt-on necks, neck-throughs, fingerboards, number of frets, pickups, woods and finishes. We shall explain what each of these features are all about to help you decide what is the best bass guitar for you.

Body Style:
Most electric bass guitars are solid-body electrics. But if you're looking for a rounder and more acoustic sound you should buy a semi-hollowbody bass instead.

Fingerboard:
Another thing to pay attention to when choosing the best bass for you is the fingerboard. If you're looking for a warm, natural sound, you need a bass with an uncoated fingerboard. With a coated fingerboard the sound produced is whining and trebly and it sustains longer.

Neck:
How do you know what neck to choose? It's pretty simple. The type of neck you choose is dependent on the size of your hands. There are different shapes for you to choose from including round, flat back, oval, "vee" and asymmetrical where the neck is thinner either on the treble or bass side. Naturally, four string basses usually come with smaller necks than 4 string or 5 string basses.

The scale length is the distance between the nut and bridge saddle. It is the vibrating length of the string. The longer the scale the more distance there is between the frets. The scale length chosen is important because it is what influences the tonal quality of the notes and the tension of the string when a note is played.

What scale length is best? Is it a short scale of 30 inches, medium scale of 32 inches, standard scale of 34 inches, 5 string long scale of 35 inches, or an extra long scale of 36 inches? Well it all depends on the instrument you're thinking of getting and the tone you desire. Let's say you're interested in getting a five string bass for example and want a defined low B string sound. In that case the longer the neck, the better. For a four string bass a shorter scale will do and it helps you get the most out of the G string. If you have small hands, a short scale bass is probably the best bass guitar for you.




Intonation:
Pay close attention to intonation. This is what determines whether the various notes on your bass play in tune. On some basses, the distance between the frets can be a little off and as a result these basses don't play in tune, usually when you pass the 12th fret. As far as I'm concerned these basses are useless and you shouldn't waste money on one.

Tuning machines:
In choosing the best bass guitar for you, you must pay attention to the type of tuning head your bass guitar has. This is what you use to fine tune your instrument and hold pitch. Ensure that you get the best one available. An enclosed machine heads are better than open tuning machines. They resists rust and airborne corrosives and you therefore don't have to maintain or replace them often.

Number of Frets:
The number of frets you choose is also a matter of personal preference. You can choose between 21, 22, or 24 frets. Personally, I do not worry about this too much since most playing takes place in the lower frets anyway.

Pickups:
When it comes to sound, pickups are perhaps just as important as the strings on your bass. No matter how good the wood of the bass is, if the pickups are lacking, it's pointless. But you need the right pickup for your bass since one pickup may work very well on one bass and not on another. You also need the right combination of strings and pickup. There are many pickup models available and they are either active or passive. If you choose one that is active, keep in mind that you will have to keep replacing batteries.

Bolt-on necks and neck-throughs:
In terms of neck, the best bass for you is all about your personal preference. If you want one that is stronger, has better sustain and note resolution, buy a neck-through bass. But for a punchier sound, nothings beats a bolt-on neck; the only limitation is that they are more prone to having dead spots.

Wood:
When buying the best bass guitar for you, choice of wood is important. The wood you choose will affect the tone and weight of the instrument. If you're gonna be standing up to play it's wise to have one that is lightweight. Swamp ash wood is a lightweight soft wood that produces low mids and a punchy tone. Alder is another lightweight wood except that the tone it produces is more crisp. At the end of the day, although you should pay attention to the weight of the instrument, it's all about whether or not you like the sound.

Finish:
You can choose any finish you like since it doesn't really affect the sound of your electric bass.
All the best in finding the best bass guitar for you. As long as you have a clear understanding of what you need it should be easy to find the right bass guitar.