Choosing A Bass Guitar: The Essential Picks For Novice Bassists
By Daniel Wright

Buying a musical instrument for the first time is not an easy task. It requires great patience, extensive research and careful check on important features especially with elaborate instruments like the electric bass guitar. There are styles to consider, body composition, and tone requirements depending on the genre of music you intend to play.
The rule of thumb in buying your first bass guitar is to keep it simple. Avoid guitars that doesn't suit your level of skills. Once you've controlled your excitement, choose the type of bass guitar you want to use. Fender bass guitar offers the two most common types of bass guitars: the Precision Bass, or P-Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The P-Bass was designed and mass-produced by Leo Fender in 1951. Easily recognizable for its split pickup and alder-made solid body, the P-Bass is most popular with blues, rhythm and rock bassists for its hard-edges sound and articulated fundamental tones.
The Jazz Bass, or "J-bass," is the second Fender bass guitar model. Its rich and bright tones produce various midrange sound from "jazzy" to "folky." Looking at a J-bass, one would notice that its neck is narrower than the P-bass and has two single coil pickups to cancel external noises out. The difference between J-Bass and P-Bass pickups are distinct, but many bassists nowadays choose the combination of a "J" pickup at the bridge and a "P" pickup at the neck. This kind of Fender bass guitar is the usual recommended type for new users.
The are four-,five-, six-stringed bass guitars available in the market, and first time buyers are usually confused on which to pick. The rule of thumbs is, the less complicated the better. New guitar players are encouraged to buy

four-string bass guitars, tuned EADG, because it covers the usual notes required. The purpose of using more strings is if the type of music you play demands hitting a lower and higher pitched notes all the time.
The scale length is another common concern. The standard for electric bass guitars is the 34" of the Fender bass guitar. The length depends on the number strings preferred and the hand size of the guitarist. Using a 5-string guitar requires 35" scale to hit that low B string perfectly. But it might be uncomfortable to play such scale and higher if you have small hands. In that case, four-stringed guitars with either 30" or 32" scale length are ideal and recommended.
To go "fret-less" or not is another design aspect to consider. The Fender Precision earned its named because it has frets that allows for precise fingering, as oppose to the original double-bass cello. Playing on fretted bass guitars, such as the P-bass, enables musicians to reach the highest harmonics, while fretless guitars, when played accurately, produce a more warm tone. Because not all new bassists quickly develop the skills of playing tunes in their minds and correctly play it right on their guitars, it is most recommended that beginners play fretted guitars first.
There are still a lot of factors to consider when choosing and buying your own guitar. I usually urge people to test the guitars and get the feels of its weight, its balance and fit against the body, the range of tones and the overall look. Keeping it simple and targeting the fundamental requirements is the key. After all, one's first guitar must serve to improve your skills and inspire you to grow as a musician, not to overwhelm and intimidate you.
Learn more and browse dozens of Fender bass guitars and hundreds of other bass guitars at The Guitar Center.