From beginners to experts, having the best electric bass guitar does wonders for your playing style and technique. We're here to help you find that perfect instrument with our thorough buying guide and reviews of seven top-rated bass guitars. They range from affordable to higher-end so that, budget aside, everyone can find something worthwhile.

Buying Guide

Electric Bass Guitars – What You Should Know

The bass guitar has a long history that spans across numerous of music genres. Since the 1950s, it has undergone quite a few changes, so choosing what's the best now starts with understanding more about the instrument and what qualities you should look out for.

Music Style and Purpose

As previously stated, multiple genres utilize this type of instrument. However, there are some bass guitars that are genre-specific and may perform better under one style than another

For instance, you may notice one bass mixes flawlessly in a jazz group, but it may sound out of place in a rock or heavy metal band.

Others are simply versatile and can blend well under any genre. Knowing what genre you're playing might help you narrow down your options.

Also, understanding the purpose of the bass is another helpful deciding factor. Do you need it for recording purposes? Or do you need something high-quality for live performances? Perhaps you or a younger musician is just starting out and need something user-friendly for learning purposes?

The answers to those questions will be useful in deciding if you need a high-end bass, a kit of sorts, or just something you can practice on.

Bass Construction

Bass guitars come in a number of different designs, and each has their own advantages.

Neck

The neck style of your bass guitar factors in how the instrument plays in addition to its resonance. Generally, you'll only find electric bass guitars with three types of necks: bolt-on neck, set neck, and thru-body neck.

Bolt-on necks are the most common type used. As the name implies, with this style, the neck is bolted directly into the body. This gives it more stability, but it's also easy to replace if your bass is ever damaged.

With the set neck style, it's similar to bolt-on necks, but a dovetail or mortise joint is used instead of bolts. This offers greater resonance, and the sustain rating is usually rated between bolt-on styles and thru-body styles.

Speaking of the thru-body neck, this is one continuous piece that goes through the whole body of the bass. With nothing to cut the vibration, the sustain rating is highest in this style, but these are also more expensive than the other two types.

Body

More than likely, you'll come across a bass guitar with a solid body construction. Meaning, it's only made of one solid piece of wood.

There are also hollow bodied bass guitars, also referred to as semi-acoustic electric basses. They're less prone to feedback, but you can achieve higher feedback levels when plugged in.

As for the type of wood, it plays a role in the playability of the bass as well as its warmth, sustainability, and its overall appearance.

You'll typically notice bass guitars made with basswood since it's the most inexpensive option. Other types of woods used are maple, mahogany, and ash.

Pickup

The kind of electronics found in your electric bass guitar of choice determines how the sound is captured and shapes the overall voice of the instrument.

Usually, basses feature a single-coil or humbucker. There are those that use split-coil as well though.

Single-coils are popular as they're found in both basses and guitars. Some basses have two single-coils installed, but they're separated as one is by the neck with the other by the body. They're simple, yet noisy.

Humbucker pickups seem to be an improvement on single-coils as they're essentially the same, but the two single-coils are next to each other instead. This design cuts down on the noise while improving things like the gain.

With the split-coil pickups, they utilize a single-coil to behave like a humbucker. It gives you the best of both worlds; the sound of a single-coil, but without the excessive noise.

Pickup

Bass guitars typically have four, five, or six strings.

Four is the most common, and it's also the most ideal one for beginners to use due to their simplicity and suitability for multiple musical styles. Also, the neck is generally smaller and handles better.

Five-string basses have a deeper range and a wider neck style. With the six-string basses, they're more challenging as the neck is even wider. They have an extended range as well compared to the others.