It’s hard to find the best bass guitar for beginners when you are new to basses and you are just starting to learn. If you are new to bass, you probably don’t know the difference between humbuckers, single coils, and soapbars. It’s all nonsense to you and honestly it doesn’t really matter for a beginner.
You just want something that looks cool, is comfortable to play, and has good tone. Don’t get bogged down with the details of each different bass. The important thing is that you find one that fits your style and the music you want to learn. Everything else will be there as you learn you instrument.
To help you figure out which bass you should start with, we’re reviewed tons of different starter basses and narrowed it down to a few that we think are the best. See which one you should get for your first beginner bass guitar.
Top 3 Beginner Bass Guitars
Contents
| Best Beginner Bass Guitars | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|
 |
Sterling by Music Man StingRay | CURRENT PRICE |
 |
Yamaha 4 String Bass Guitar | CURRENT PRICE |
 |
Schecter OMEN-4 | CURRENT PRICE |
Top Bass Guitars for Beginners
Below is a list of the best bass guitars for beginners that are affordable, look sweet, sound great, and will help you learn bass.
- Sterling by Music Man StingRay Ray4
- Yamaha TRBX170EW
- Schecter OMEN-4
- Jackson Spectra Bass JS2
- Ibanez GSRM20B
Sterling by Music Man StingRay Ray4
The Sterling brand was born with a guitar design built by Music Man and named after Sterling Ball who is the son of the founder of the company, Ernie Ball. Today, there are several guitars and basses under this Sterling by Music Man brand.
One of these is the Ray4 from the brand’s StingRay series. The StingRay Ray4 is a four string bass guitar that is nicely priced to be just right for the beginner. It features a basswood body with a hardwood neck attached to the body with 6 bolts. The fretboard which holds 21 medium frets is also made of hardwood.
This 34 inch scale length bass guitar sports a fixed bridge, a H-1 ceramic humbucking pickup designed by the brand and at the other end, open geared tuning machines. The pickup is powered by an active preamp and controlled via three knobs for volume, bass and treble controls.
It is presented in a lovely black finish with grey trimmed black pickguard adding to its lovely look. You will also find further highlights around the control panel area and the top bout.
Overall, this is a lovely guitar that offers value that exceeds its price. This will be great for a beginner and even an intermediate player.
Pros
- Number of strings – 4.
- Number of frets – 21.
- Playability – Plays well after setup.
Cons
It may require some setup to get it playing really well.
Recommendation
If you need a bass guitar that is very affordable but plays really well, then you should surely take a look at this.
Yamaha TRBX170EW Bass Guitar
Yamaha is one brand that has impacted the lives and careers of more musicians than any other. With products in practically every area of the music industry, it is difficult not to have at least one of its products in your face at all times.
Here, we are looking at the brand’s TRBX170EW Bass Guitar. Yamaha is known for making products for musicians of all levels of proficiency. This is one of its offerings to beginners and folks on a tight budget.
This bass guitar features a body made of mahogany and exotic wood laminates. The bolt-on neck on the other hand is made of maple while the fretboard which holds 24 frets is made of rosewood. This is a full 34 inch scale guitar so it offers the guitarist enough room for expression.
A look at the electronics department reveals a set of split single coil ceramic pickups at the neck and a full single coil ceramic pickup at the bridge. To control this, you have two volume knobs, one for each pickup and a master tone knob.
The gloss polyurethane finish of the body gives it a lovely sheen while the satin polyurethane finish of the neck aids playability.
Pros
- Number of strings – 4.
- Number of frets – 24.
- Playability – Plays very well.
Cons
It’s a beginner instrument and it is affordable so you really can’t have any complains.
Recommendation
Merely seeing the brand name will tell you the minimum quality you can expect from this. As a beginner bass guitar, you cannot go wrong with this.
Schecter OMEN-4 Bass Guitar
Schecter Guitar Research started in 1976 as a manufacturer of replacement parts for established guitar brands like Gibson and Fender. Having recorded a lot of success in that field, it has now upgraded its operations and now offers guitars under the Schecter brand.
One of the guitars from this brand is the Omen-4, a 4 string bass guitar built with a nicely designed body with a comfortable contour that makes it easy to rest your forearm while playing. This body is made of basswood while the neck which is a bolt-on type and held with 6 nuts, is made of maple. The fretboard on the other hand is made of rosewood and holds 24 jumbo frets.
In the electronics section, we find two Schecter Diamond Bass pickups, located at the neck and bridge respectively. The preamp is powered by a 9 volts battery stored in a battery compartment at the back.
To control the pickups are two volume knobs, one for each pickup and then the bass and treble control knobs.
This bass guitar is nicely finished in walnut satin and promises a performance delivery that will rival bass guitars that cost way more than it.
Pros
- Number of strings – 4.
- Number of frets – 24.
- Playability – Very playable.
Cons
You may find a few fret ends that may need filing down.
Recommendation
Calling this a beginner guitar may not actually be fair since it offers way more value than the average beginner guitar. That said, if you can afford this as a beginner, then you can be sure that it will continue to serve you well past your beginner years.
Jackson JS Series Spectra Bass JS2
From the moment Jackson Guitars released its first product, the Concorde in 1980, it was clear to everyone in the guitar world that this was a brand that meant business. This brand continues to impress with guitars that serve a wide range of guitarist. The fact that it is now a brand owned by Fender gives it even more prestige.
The brand’s product in focus here is the JS Series Spectra Bass JS2. This is a 4-string bass guitar offered under the JS Series, a series that includes bass guitars for beginners and anyone on a tight budget. This guitar is designed for comfort and extended playing. The body is made of poplar while the neck which is bolted on is made of maple. It has 24 frets and these are hosted on a laurel fingerboard.
This bass guitar can be used for various musical styles. It offers impressive tones thanks to the combination of pickups used at the bridge and neck. These can also be tweaked to achieve other tone variation using the included volume, blend and bass boost controls. There’s also the option to bypass the active circuit of the bass by simply pulling up the volume knob.
Pros
- Number of strings – 4.
- Number of frets – 24.
- Playability – Very playable.
Cons
For the price, there really is nothing to complain about.
Recommendation
As far as beginner guitars go, this is a great choice. It is very affordable while providing very good value. Even non-beginners on a tight budget will also benefit from the value that this bass guitar offers.
Ibanez GSRM20B Electric Bass Guitar
It’s practically impossible to mention top bass guitar brands without mentioning Ibanez. This brand has practically grown from nowhere to become a major player in the electric bass guitar sub-niche.
What we are looking at from the brand today is the GSRM20B also known as Mikro. This is bass guitar designed to be more compact and lightweight than regular size bass guitars. This much is obvious in its shorter scale length of 28.6 inches.
It features a body made of poplar while the neck is made of maple. For the fretboard, it is made of jatoba and holds 22 medium frets.
A look at the electronics reveals a split Dynamix P neck pickup at the neck and a Dynamix J neck pickup at the bridge. These are controlled with the help of two volume knobs, one for each of the pickups and a master tone knob.
Presented in a dark brown finish with black hardware, this guitar has a matured look that belies its classification as a beginner instrument. This will also work fine as an instrument for small sized adults.
Pros
- Number of strings – 4.
- Number of frets – 22.
- Scale length – 28.6 inches.
Cons
You may find a few extended fret edges. Filing these down solves the problem.
Recommendation
If you don’t just need a beginner bass guitar but something that is smaller than the regular bass guitar size, either for a young player or a small sized adult, then you should go for this.
Our Opinion
We’ve surely had a great time reviewing these different bass guitars for beginners. As a beginner, there are a few things that are really important. These include cost, playability, durability and continuity. While you will of course need to upgrade your instrument as you get better, you will love to have something you can use for as long as possible.
Considering all of the above, we chose the Yamaha TRBX174EW Electric Bass Guitar as our Top Bass Guitar for Beginners. We believe that this guitar offers the best balance of all the factors listed above, especially cost and continuity.
