If you are in the market for a bass guitar you may want to consider a few things first. There are many models and designs of bass guitars. Picking the right guitar that will fit you may not be as easy as you thought, and because of this, it becomes an overwhelming task. When picking a bass guitar there are many things to consider, the first is whether you are a beginner or advanced player. Below I will list a few guidelines that should help you when picking a bass guitar online.
There are three main body types for bass guitar: hollow-body, semi-solid or semi-hollow, and solid-body. When looking for a guitar that will sound really good with lots of effects and loud amplification then the solid-body is the way to go. When more acoustic and higher amplification are needed, a semi-hollow will work excellent. The guitar that provides excellent quality music for jazz players is the hollow-body, at higher levels of amplification they tend to feedback more and really do a lot better with lower amplification.
Your hand size will determine the type of neck you’ll choose. There are a few shapes like the wide-thin, thin, and c-shaped. They have a few more but this will get you started. There are some scale length issues you may want to work out as well, and over the years they have been identified as the Gibson scale, Fender, and the 25inch scale, all of which give the guitar a unique quality of sound, and a tone all to its own.
If you are looking for something more professional and want to do some recording, make sure you pay attention to Intonation. This determines if the guitar plays in tune as your moving up the neck. If for some reason the fret distance is off just a little, this could cause the guitar not to play in tune as you move up and down the neck. If you are a professional you may already know this, but if you’re a beginner you may end up learning the hard way.
Some guitars come with set necks and some with bolt on necks. For some this makes a difference because they feel for better sustain, the set neck is better. But on some bass guitars you really have no choice, because if you were to choose a Fender Stratocaster, it only comes with a bolt-on. So check into this a bit more when online searching. Frets are something you only need to consider if playing in the higher register. Basic bass guitar come standard with 22 frets on the neck. A neck with 24 will provide you with a complete octave over the 12th fret. If you’re worried about the finish of a bass guitar doesn’t. The technology today, is far beyond the finish effecting the quality or tone.