Fender bass guitars have altered very little since their release, despite a few small changes over the years. There is a huge demand for authentic vintage Fender basses from the fifties, sixties, and even seventies, because Fender began to make basses that greatly deviated from the original models and they were met with extreme dissatisfaction from many bass players.

Despite the big conflict about which makes a better bass guitar, you can now purchase bass guitars in many shapes and materials. It is really all essentially what pleases you best. Wood is the most normally used construction material for bass guitars. Different types of woods are, nevertheless, being used, and received well, such as alder and ebony as well as graphite. Similar shoes, you will want to try a few basses out to figure out which sound and tone you appreciate most. Some bass guitar necks have frets and others don’t, introducing another choice to be made. This has a unique effect on the guitar’s sound, as a bass missing frets will have the strings vibrate on the wooden neck itself.

No matter the style of bass anyone would purchase, they are fun and have aided in making music more entertaining to listen to.

The bass guitar is very much like a slightly larger version of an electric guitar, but it usually only has four strings and also has a longer neck and a slightly wider body. Anyone learning to play the bass (or planning to) needs to first understand the instrument’s place in a band – IE – what it’s main purpose is, and secondly to understand the different techniques employed for the different genres of music played by the band.

There are a variety of different and interesting techniques which can be used to play the bass guitar.  For example, slapping is a technique where you use your thumb to strike the E string (normally) before quickly pulling it away to make a slapping sound.  The E string is the largest string, the one that plays the lowest sound.  Funk music is one of the genres that uses this technique extensively.

Popping is another bass playing technique.  It is done by putting one of the fingers underneath the string, pulling it outwards, and then releasing it so that it pops back.  The two techniques, can be used alternately by moving the hand in such a way that first that the thumb is used to slap, the finger then pops, the thumb slaps again etc. Of course, by doing it this way, it can be done a lot faster than if one were to repeatedly repeat the one technique on its own using only the one digit.

The main backbone of a band is made up of the bass guitar working closely with the drummer. This section provides the rhythm, the main melody and the basic harmonic foundation for the rest of the band who play chords over the top of this foundation. Obviously, the bassist therefore needs to have particularly good timing. You will normally find more men than women playing the bass, not least because of how thick the strings are, therefore it needs a reasonable amount of finger strength and toughness to be able to play the instrument for very long periods of time without causing injury.  It is more likely to be the case if it is a particularly aggressive, rapid style of bass playing required for that type of music.

Also many larger built men find that their finger tip size, hand size and limb length make it much more comfortable and productive for them to choose the bass rather than the electric guitar. Specifically, a rhythm guitarist will quite often only play chords, which require hand dexterity and ideally, thin fingers. So for someone with big ’sausage’ fingers, who also might be a little more ‘clumsy’ than others, the bass is the best solution as they may find normal guitar playing quite frustrating.

Bass guitars are most usually played by using the middle finger plus the index finger to alternatively pluck the strings.  The thumb is usually used as a support and is most commonly rested just on top of the pick-up.  You can also play the bass guitar with a pick (otherwise known as a plectrum) and there are bass pics manufactured specifically for the bass guitar-these are thicker and more sturdy than the typical electric guitar pick.

Before purchasing a bass guitar on the internet, it’s a good idea to make sure that the person selling it will be using suitable packaging to make sure that the guitar is not damaged in the post.  If you’re looking to buy a second hand one, it is also wise to have a good look at pictures of the item to see if it has any damage, scratches or any other kind of signs of mistreatment or evidence that the guitar has previously been dropped, because in the worst case scenario, this can permanently affect the quality of the sound produced by the instrument.

Of course, as with any purchase on the internet, is a good idea to have a good look at the credentials of the summer (for example if the seller is on eBay) or if it is on a website, it is wise to thoroughly check out the legitimacy of the website, how long it has been selling for online, and any customer reviews who have previously bought from that website.  Be sure to check out the refund policy as well as any other terms and conditions.

Iconic bass guitars like the Fender Precision not only drove many a jazz, rock and surf band but became as recognisable as the screaming lead instruments.Unlike lead guitars, where most novices are advised to start out with an acoustic, bass players will probably go straight to a four string electric bass guitar. Some great brands for starters include Washburn, Squier and Epiphone. These companies produce guitars that look good and play great for the price. Fretless, acoustic and five-string basses each have their own type of sounds and can be very powerful and sonorous, but they are very hard to learn compared with the four string electric bass. Most tutorial books or CDs for beginners are written for the four-string fretted bass.

You can buy a second hand bass guitar.  Most used equipment drops in price over the years and can offer better quality and sound for the same price as a new bass if you are lucky.Many other used instruments have poor sound quality and setup with unreasonably high action, or simply do not hold tune correctly.Always check a second hand instrument for damage and play it (or have someone else play it) before buying it.   The time and effort you would have to put into carefully selecting a used bass guitar is substantial, and it’s probably safer to look at some of the quite reasonably priced electric guitars and bass starter packages from well known brand names.

The Behringer bass guitar pack for example includes the guitar and a dedicated bass guitar amplifier, gig bag, cable, an adjustable strap and picks. The Ibanez GSR190J 4-String Bass Guitar Pack also includesan amplifier and accessories at a very affordable price.Or go for the best you can afford and go straight to Squier Precision bass guitars.They are the worlds best-selling bass guitar because of their excellent value. They feel good, sound good and fit any bass player on a budget.

Whichever route you take, always try before you buy.Most guitar shops will let you plug in and play around with any instrument so you can check how it sounds, looks, and feels in your hands. Do not buy something used without playing it first unless it comes from a reputable dealer. There are very reputable and well established Internet-based music stores that can generally offer better prices than retail stores but be very cautious about buying instruments on Internet sites such as eBay.Bring someone along who is an experienced bassist and get them to play any instruments you are considering buying.