How to choose your first electrical bass?
A 4-string bass, comfortable with your hand, and a small amplifier are all you need to start with. We explain what to check before you buy.
To start with, select a 4-string low with scares: long scale if your hands allow or short scale if they are small, with the right mast, the strings at a comfortable height and an electronic that doesn't make noise. Add a small low amplifier or a way to practice with hearing aids.
The rest - color, body shape, number of knob - matter far less at first than comfort. A low that feels good in your hands is a low that you will play every day.
To sum up
- It starts with 4 strings: it's the standard methods and the mast's easier to cover.
- The short scale, about 30 cm, is a good choice for children and small hands and the length, 34 cm, is the most common.
- It starts with scattering: The low scatless scattering requires a very precise tuning and will be put to a later date.
- The bass needs a bass amplifier, and not a guitar amplifier. A small with an earphone output is sufficient for his home.
- Check mast, scrape, electronics and clamps and ask your teacher to touch them before they pay.
4, 5 or 6 strings?
| Tipo | What adds | To get started? |
|---|---|---|
| 4 strings (Mi, La, Ree, Sol) | That's the standard format. | Yeah, that's the best choice. |
| 5 strings | A more serious string | Just if you already know that you'll play genres that demand them, the mast's bigger. |
| 6 or more strings | Additional serious and acute | No. It's an instrument for advanced phases. |
With four strings you can play most rock, pop, salsa, cumbia, funk or balada songs. The lines that you are about to learn for that first year are written for that range, and everything you learn will later move to a low of five if you ever need them. If you still doubt between this instrument and guitar, read guitar or low: what to learn about:.
The same applies to scattering: a scatless bass has a very particular sound but requires to place every note of ear as at a bottom. First, it learns with scattering and if it arrives, change will be much easier.
Short, medium or long scale
The scale is the distance between the cebula and the bridge, that's to say, the length of the string that vibrates. It depends on the separation between the scares, the tension of the strings and the general size of the instrument.
| Scale | Approximate measure | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| Larga | 34 inches | The most common one and adolescents and adults with medium or large hands |
| Media | 32 inches | A middlepoint, comfortable with medium hands |
| Corta | 30 inches | Children, small hands or whoever looks for a lighter and more compact bass |
A simple test: with the low hung and the left hand at first fringe, tries to cover four consecutive scattering, one finger by frying, without stretching the wrist. If impossible, try a shorter scale. Be aware that short scale low cuts require a string of their size and long scale low cuts do not serve.
The weight also counts. Many low are heavy and some tend to leave their heads: by releasing them, the clawer goes down to the ground. Test them with a strap, but they're sitting and see if you can play ten minutes without shoulder pain.
Mast, scattering and string height
Here we decide whether a bass's easy or difficult to touch. Check:
- Straight Mast: looks from the clamp to the body, along the border of the diapason. A light curve is normal and a clawk as a propeller does not.
- Reg height: if they are high above the scattering, you will have to do a great deal of strength. It can be adjusted but a new bass should come calibrated.
- StagesA buzzer at one or two locations may indicate a high or spent cut.
- Diapason bordes: passing his hand through the sides of the mast. If the tipples of the scrape, the wood was contracted and passed as an instrument travels from hot ground to a cold climate as that of Bogotá.
- Dying: pint with [low tuning]](/herramientas/afinador/bajo) and compare the note to the air with that of 12. If they are very different, we have to adjust the bridge.
- Nipples: they have to have a matching turn and hold their tuning.
The soul, the metal stick inside the mast, allows to correct its curvature but should not be forced. how to care for an electrical bass We explain why we better leave that suit to a technician.
Pills and electronics: how fair you have to know
To start with, you don't have to be an expert at pills but you have to understand two differences:
- A pill or two: A broken pill at the centre of the body gives a round and with weight sound and two simple coil tablets offer more brilliance and combinations. With either one you can learn anything.
- Liabilities or assets: A low passive works without batteries, an active has an internal preamplifier using a 9-volt battery and stops ringing well, or sonar, as soon as it's run out. To start with, the passive's easier.
When tested, move each knob with the connected low: if a snap or a scrape sounds, the potentiometer is dirty or worn out. It also moves the cable into the output connector: if the sound cuts, the connector's low. A light buzzer that goes down at the touch of the strings or the bridge is usually normal at simple coil tablets.
The amplifier and how to practice at home
Without amplify, the electrical low can barely be heard, so the amplifier is part of the purchase. Use a thought for low: guitar low are not designed for so serious frequencies and at high volume they can sound bad or damage.
| Option | Ventajas | Please note |
|---|---|---|
| Small low amplifier with speaker of 8 or 10 cm | Sufficient to practice at home and at class | Not enough to drill with a battery |
| Amptifier with hearing aids | Do anything at any time without disturbing the neighbours | Find an auxiliary entrance to play about songs |
| Audio interface or hearing phone amplifier | Very compact and useful for recording and for virtual classes | Do not replace the amplifier when you touch with others |
| Large amplifier | Required to be tested with band | Unnecessary first months and space |
Do not forget the basics: a strong instrument cable, a high strap, a padded cover and a support. And use the [methonomic]](/herramientas/metronomo) from the first day: at the bottom, to wear time is your main job.
New or used: what to check before you pay
The low ones used are usually a good choice: they have little sensitive electronics and, if the mast is healthy, most other things are adjusted. Pay attention to these signs:
| What you see | What can you say |
|---|---|
| Rods in the scattering under the most powerful strings | Expensed events and sooner or later they will have to be leveled or changed |
| Rotified bridge screws | Warm-held and can be difficult to calibrate |
| Unglow and opple rods | Normal in a used and changing the strings is part of the purchase |
| The soul doesn't turn or it's already at its best | Mast problem; best to look for another |
| Additional holes or wires cut into the control compartment | Modifications, she asked what had been changed and why |
Ask your teacher to play and listen to them connected. In a few minutes she knows if the bass will help you or to get in the way. If you have no teacher yet, you can start [electrical bass classes]](/clases/bajo-electrico) and defining the purchase with its direction.
Frequently asked questions
What's best for a child?
A 4-string and short scale, light and with low-height strings. Test with strap: the child should reach his first cut without stretching his or her upper left arm and hold his or her arm without pounding.
Can I learn under with a guitar amplifier?
To get out of the way and at low volume works but it's not ideal: sound lose serious and speaker suffers. While you get a low amplifier, practice with hearing aids with an interface or an ear amplifier.
Can you start with a 5-string bass?
It can but the mast is more widely and the extra string adds up noise that we have to learn to control. If there's no concrete reason, the 4-string mast makes it easier for the first few months.
Do we have to play guitar before we learn bass?
No. The bass's an instrument with its own technique and its own role in the band, and many bassist start directly with it.