In any music, bass guitars provide the backbone upon which other instruments rest. Bass tone highlights the rhythm and grants music the power to inspire.
Here looking for information about bass guitars? Then we have you covered. Contrary to what you might think, there’s a wide range of cheap bass guitar options under $500/$1000 to choose from. And these basses aren’t just junk. They’re quality stylish instruments armed with catchy electronics and incredible features.
As a beginner bassist, it can be intimidating to know what to look for in a cheap bass guitar. To save you the trouble, we’ve prepared a comprehensive bass buying guide, just for you. We also reviewed a couple of basses that we’re sure.
Contents
Features to Consider in Cheap Bass Guitars
Body Type
Although the body shape won’t make much of a difference in the sound of the music you’re playing, it will somewhat affect the tone.
Hollow body
Hollowed bass bodies are, well, hollow like acoustic guitars and employ magnetic pickups just like their counterparts, solid bodies. And though hollow basses have the advantage of being lighter, the sound volume is limited because they feedback too easily.
Solid body
Made out of solid wood and offer greater sustain than guitars with hollowed bodies. Besides, they also work well on sound amplification and are not affected much by feedback interference.
Semi-hollow
These lie somewhere between solid and hollow bodies and are known for their warm tone and earthy resonant sound. What’s more, they’re lighter than the solid bodies and most bassists think they’re the best in versatility.
True hollow
Although the rarest, true hollow body basses are entirely hollow and output sound similar to acoustic basses. The major benefit of these is that they allow sound amplification. At mid to high volume, true hollow bodies have high feedback interference issues.
Body Style
Bass guitars feature different body styles. In this case, we’ll focus on three body styles – J Bass Style, T Bass, and Z Bass Style.
J Bass Style
It commands a sleek well-balanced design that wins the heart of many bassists. Guitars employing the J Bass Style feature an innovative contour on which to rest your arm for comfort as you play. They also feature a property called duped ‘tummy cut,’ that comes in handy when playing the instrument when seated. The cut makes it easy to rest it on your knee comfortably.
T-Bass Style
Well, these types of guitars lack a balanced shape which makes them harder to handle. The major selling point for basses that adopt this style is that they can be hollow or semi-hollow and will give much more freedom concerning sonic qualities.
Z-Bass Style
Known for its extreme shape – sharp edges and several bevels. The bevels are expertly placed so you can comfortably hold the bass in any position.
Body Materials
The materials making up the body of a bass guitar also influence the sound it produces which means tonewood is an important aspect. Tonewoods comes in two main categories of hardwood and softwood.
These woods come with varying levels of hardness and have varying impact on the tone and sound. They include hard maple, bubinga, zebrawood, alder, ash, and black walnut.
Neck Type
The size of your hands will determine what neck type your bass should have. You’ll come across three types of bass necks, each named based on how it attaches to the body.
Bolt-On Neck
This is the most popular and involves bolting the neck on the body with nuts keeping it stable so it doesn’t wiggle up and down. Basses with a greater overlap of body and the neck not only offer more stability but also ensure better string vibration and remarkable sustain.
Set Neck
Here, a mortise or dovetail joint is used to join the neck to the bass guitar’s body. Although it can prove difficult to adjust, a bass guitar with this type of neck renders better resonance and sustain.
Thru-Body Neck
You’ll find this design on high-end bass guitars. They’re crafted in such a way that the neck and the body are one piece from base to the tip. In these types of bass guitars, there’s absolutely no joint to water down the vibration, which grants them outstanding resonance and remarkable sustain.
Neck Material
Bass guitars feature different types of wood for their necks and the wood type determines the sound and tone quality. Some basses use the same wood for the body and the neck while some used different woods for each section.
There are those basses that use softwood, while others used hardwood for the neck. Most electric bass guitars use hard maple. Ebony takes the second place. Bocote, Bubinga, bloodwood and Goncalo Alves will also feature.
Bass Strings
Number of Strings
Traditionally, bass guitars are four string instruments, but five strings and six strings bass guitars are also common.
If you’re a starter, then it’s best to begin with a 4 string bass guitar as the higher ones can be hard to get used to. But it’s still important to point out at this point that the music genre you’re into might require an extra string or two to sound better even if you’re a beginner.
A four string bass guitar is adequate for most music styles and since it has a neck smaller than a five or six string bass guitar, learning is obviously easier. Five string basses feature an extra B string granting the instrument a deeper range. A five string bass will also have a wider neck than that of a four string bass.
String Types
We’ll start by stating that you can buy your bass and change the strings to your preferred ones later if you’re uncomfortable with the original strings. Bass guitar strings are of different types and are named depending on how they’re wound:
- Roundwound: It’s the most popular bass guitar string. They involve an unsmoothed out metal wrapping around a core. Such strings will have ridges and will feel rough to the touch. And you guessed it right – they produce a broad array of frequencies. Roundwound strings bring out high-level frequencies resulting in vibrant, clear metallic sound that really stands out.There’s one major shortcoming, though. Roundwounds are uneven and rough which means they can be hard on the frets, fingerboard and even your fingers.
- Flatwound: Just like the roundwound, these strings are wrapped on the core but are smoothed out. They are comfortable to play meaning you won’t develop blisters. Flatwound strings produce more of a dark, muted ‘dead’ sound. But with sufficient low-end thumb, they output much softer sound perfect for those bassists who are into rock and jazz.Two glaring demerits of the flatwound strings types are that they have lousy sustain and have a dynamic range smaller than that of the counterparts.
- Halfwound: Lying somewhere between flatwound and roundwound strings, halfwound strings are actually roundwound strings that have been tapered down so they’re smoother. They produce bright, warm sound and are relatively gentle on your fingers.
- Tapewound: These types of strings are mainly made from nylon but are relatively rare to come by. Usually found on acoustic basses, tapewound strings produce a dark and warm sound that doesn’t work particularly well when amplified.
String Materials
The string type and the materials from which they’re made have a huge impact on the sound and tone.
- Nickel-Plated Steel: Most basses use nickel-plated steel for their strings, usually in roundwound strings. It strikes an excellent balance between sound brightness and warmth and works wonderfully for lots of genres.
- Pure nickel: Strings made from this material produce a warmer tone than the rest. The jazz and blues that require softer sounds are best played with bass guitars whose strings are made of pure nickel.
- Stainless Steel: Then hen there’s stainless steel, known for the brightest sound of all. Bassists who play funk, pop and metal will love basses made from this material.
String Gauges
Essentially, this is how thin or thick a bass string is. String gauge affects the tension as well the sound it produces. The tension influences the ease of fretting the notes and playing the bass.
Bass strings with thin gauges produce a bright sound with great sustain while strings with thick gauges deliver warmer and darker sound with less sustain.
Bass Scale Length
It’s the length between the nut (sandwiching the fretboard and the headstock) and the bridge i.e. the point where the strings are anchored at the base or tail end of the body. The scale length influences the tone and playability of any bass.
Most basses come with scale lengths of 34” with the longer scale 35” (common in five strings and six strings basses) and the shortest scale at 30”.
Fretboard Number & Layout
You can choose between two fretboard layouts – fretted or fretless. A bass guitar with a fretted neck features steel frets dividing or splitting each half-step of the scale. Even if you’re a beginner, it’s simple to locate the correct notes.
A fretless bass will have no frets on the scale but a plain smooth wood. There’s this belief that fretless basses offer smoother and warmer sounds compared to the fretted basses but we’d say it really depends on your finger position.
Truss Rod
Fitted inside the bass neck is a metal truss rod which keeps the neck from either twisting or bending due to the extreme string tension. Bass guitars may have a truss rod with adjustments so as to straighten the neck if it twists or assumes a bow shape.
Headstock
This is the wider portion of the neck whereby the bass guitar strings end at turning pegs (turning machines). The turning machines adjust the tension of the bass strings which impacts the pitch.
Pickup Type
Bass guitars employ two types of pickups. Passive pickups render dynamic, warm and full tone, but offer less control over your instrument.
Active pickups, on the other hand, produce bright and clear tones. Most modern bassists love them. Some think they’re too heretic.
Intonation
Basically, intonation seeks to establish if the bass notes play in tune as you progress up the neck. A bass whose distance between the frets is off the line, then notes will not be in tune as you move up the bass neck.
Fingerboard
A bass guitar featuring a coated fingerboard will produce sound with trembles but with longer sustain. Basses with an uncoated fingerboard output warmer and almost true-to-life sound.
Best Cheap Bass Guitars Under $500
1. Squire by Fender Vintage Modified Jaguar, Short Scale
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
Let’s start with the scale length. Squire by Fender Vintage Modified has a scale length of 30-Inch.
It means, therefore, that the distance between the frets is shorter than that of a larger scale instrument, which implies the jumps and skips are easier. This bass is, therefore, perfect for beginners and for those with small hands like children as well as experienced bassists.
What’s more, the bass features a maple neck complete with a rosewood fingerboard and a really pretty black headstock. Its body is pure basswood.
This bass has two types of pickups – single-coil Jazz Bass bridge pickup and the legendary style split single-coil Precision Bass middle pickup perfect for a clear cutting voice that goes well with Blues and Pop music.
For each control pickup, there’s a volume knob. And then there’s a master control knob for the two pickups. That way, you can personalize the sound as you want.
Performance
Longer scale basses have tighter or high-tension strings, which helps produces tighter and brighter sound.
With a shorter scale bass as Squire Vintage Modified Jaguar, you can expect the string tension is much less, and vibrato and bends will be simple to make. It will produce bright but tighter sounds marked by lots of bends and vibrations.
Verdict
For beginners, this bass has the perfect scale length and string tension, which makes it a comfortable learning instrument.
- Short scale length for comfort
- Impressive build quality
- Remarkable electronics selection
- Tight and bright sounds
- Best for those with short hands
2. Ibanez 4-Strings Bass Guitar (GSRM20BS)
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
With a scale length 28.6”, Ibanez GSRM20 Bass Guitar is a solid instrument especially for those with small hands, beginners or those who want to carry it anywhere.
In playing guitar, comfort is everything. A bass guitar should feel like a part of or an extension of your body. Ibanez GSRM20 packs a compact lightweight body, with a slender neck meaning it’s pretty easy to get your hands around.
Performance
The bass guitar uses dynamic passive pickup that delivers warm and full tone with the fat and punchy tone highlighting it. While you don’t have much control over the tone, it still leaves you the freedom to turn down the bass and treble frequencies.
Verdict
If you’re looking for a short scale length bass guitar that can render warm and full tone for your classics, then Ibanez GSRM20 won’t disappoint.
- Compact and lightweight
- Comfortable to handle and play
- Strongly built
- Delivers full sound pickups
- Rough roundwound strings
3. Ibanez Artcore Semi-Hollow 6-String Electric Guitar (AM53TF)
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
Featuring a semi-hollow body, Ibanez Artcore 6-String Electric Guitar is one of its kind. It offers a perfect balance between a solid body and a hollow body and is lighter than a solid body.
The bass is built up with tonewoods carefully selected for their aesthetics and musicality making this baby a real beauty. With a slim mahogany set-in neck, you can expect it to withstand high tension without snapping for years to come.
It also boasts infinity R pickups marked with dynamic, warm and balanced articulate tones. The ART-ST bridge guarantees tuning stability. Considering that fact, Artcore AM53TF is the instrument perfect for a wide variety of music genres.
Performance
With its semi-hollow body, Ibanez Artcore AM53TF delivers warm, earthy resonant sound with fat tones and deep notes. The bass offers a high level of versatility in the tone which makes it perfect for most music genres.
It’s has a humbucker pickup, basically containing two single coil pickups. A humbucker is mostly associated with heavy rock and metal.
Verdict
If you want easy access to higher notes and high-level versatility, then Ibanez Artcore AM53TF is your best bet.
- For a wide array of music genres
- Strongly built mahogany neck
- Compact and lightweight
- Comfortable to handle
- The finish may peel if exposed to too much heat
4. Dean Edge 1 5-String Bass
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
Packing a compact and lightweight basswood body, Dean Edge 1 5-String sports a contoured body style for your comfort. It rocks chrome hardware plus a deep glossy finish that makes the bass highly playable and pretty.
The bass features a 34” maple material neck that’s sturdy, sleek and provides top-level playability. A custom-designed neck and heel coupled with an asymmetrical 4-bolt pattern offer continuous access throughout the 2-octave rosewood fretboard’s length.
Performance
Dean Edge 1 5-String has soapbar pickups known for their clean low-ends that will always stand out in the thickest mix. The passive pickups will deliver dynamic, warm and full tone.
Verdict
Dean Edge 1 5-String comes with an added length which makes it a perfect bass for down tuning.
- Excellent scale length for professionals
- Contoured body for optimum comfort
- Aesthetically appealing
- Strong built quality
- Might require a slight setup
5. Orange O-Bass 4-String Electric Bass Guitar
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
O-Bass takes pride in its impeccable sleek lines and outstanding esthetics. It has a custom-wound split-coil pickup which delivers distinctive and superb sonic mojo complete with balanced bass response plus bold and defined mid-range.
It has a maple ‘medium vintage’ neck with basswood material for the Okoume surprisingly lightweight body. The fretboard material is ebony. As such, you can be sure it’s a durable instrument set to take your rock n roll to another level.
The 34-Inch scale length is the most standard and ensures the bass delivers above average tone and playability. And the nut size is 1.69” in width. Basically, this is your right size bass and your best ally in making your music rock.
Performance
Regarding performance, O-Bass doesn’t disappoint. It has magnetic-single-coil pickup which helps deliver a warm earthy tone that will mark your music.
It features split-coil humbucker complete with a master tone as well as volume controls that make playability much easier.
Verdict
O-Bass Electric Bass Guitar was crafted with much care and is a combination of what they call ‘beauty with brains’ and excellent performance.
- It’s adorable
- Amazing resonant tone and playability
- The right standard scale length
- Robust
- Not for those with small hands
Best Cheap Bass Guitars Under $1000
1. Squire by Fender Affinity Jazz Beginner Bass
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
Affinity Jazz Beginner Bass Guitar has a solid body design, which as you’ll find out offers excellent sustain to the sound.
It has a short comfortable neck with superior construction that makes this bass a great instrument to purchase. It has a scale length of 34” which is standard for bass guitars and perfect for practicing.
The neck and bridge feature pickup volumes control as well as a master control that allows you to customize the sound to your preference.
What’s more, the fingerboard housing the frets is made from rosewood, the body from alder and the neck from maple. All of these combine to give rise to a solid instrument that’ll withstand several years of use.
Performance
With the two single-coil passive pickups which deliver a wide array of warm, clear-cutting classic and modern tones for your favorite music genre.
Verdict
Affinity Jazz Beginner Bass Guitar is a pretty quality instrument perfect for beginner bassists to run the ropes.
- Delivers warm and clear tones
- Perfect for beginners
- Customizable sound
- Excellent construction
- Strings not the best quality
2. Fender Standard Precision Electric Bass Guitar
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
If you’re looking to upgrade to a professional musical instrument, then Fender Standard Precision Bass Guitar will come in handy.
Featuring a tinted “C” shape neck, there’s no denying that this bass will make you appear classy and provide you with all-time comfort when playing your music.
Positioned at the tone nob is a push-pull switch that divides the humbucking pickup coil giving rise to a single-coil chime.
Performance
With the contemporary split single-coil Precision Bass Pickup, you’ll be in for an iconic electric bass tone. If you’re a rock and metal musician, then this bass will be your best companion.
Verdict
Fender Standard Precision Electric Bass Guitar is an excellent instrument for professional bassists serious about their art.
- Stylish & professional
- Delivers excellent tone
- Remarkably comfortable to use
- Quality construction
- Frets may require a little finish
3. Fender Standard Jazz Electric Bass Guitar
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
You’ve been playing bass for quite some time now and feel it’s a high time to upgrade to a professional instrument. After all, have a premium quality bass is the only way you can continue becoming a better bassist.
We introduce you the Fender Standard Jazz Electric Bass Guitar, a bass designed for professionals like yourself. You’ll love that the instrument comes in many classic vintage colors.
Featuring two contemporary style single coil jazz bass pickups, you can be guaranteed that this bass will deliver clear and articulate tones.
Fender Standard Jazz Electric Bass Guitar sports a tinted “C” shape neck that brings to life a vintage style and ensures your comfort.
Right out of the box, its stunning looks won’t go unnoticed. The brown finish on the body and the glossy maple neck will please you.
Performance
Fender Standard Jazz Electric Bass Guitar has a single-coil pickup. As such, bassists, regardless of their experience level, can expect to enjoy a warm, clear tone for their music.
Verdict
Every aspect of the Fender Standard Jazz Electric Bass Guitar points out to a premium instrument for beginners and professionals alike. It delivers an outstandingly clear tone that must stand out in your music genre.
- Stylish vintage design
- Comfortable to use
- Outputs a clear and articulate tone
- For beginners and professionals alike
- No string through body
4. Sterling by Music Man RAY34-NT Bass
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
RAY34-NT Bass sports a lightweight swamp ash body that not only renders it adorable but also makes it comfortable to use.
It has six bolt maple neck which makes it tough enough to withstand the rigors of everyday use by ardent bassists.
Its bass bridge is specially crafted by Music Man. As you’ve already gathered, the bass bridge is positioned at the body where the strings anchor.
RAY34-NT Bass Guitar uses active electronics. Active pickup uses a pre-amplifier powered by a battery. The amplifier not only allows you to boost but also cut the frequencies.
Compared to the passive pickups, active pickups deliver louder tones. And with this bass, you can expect brighter and clear sounds.
Performance
Unlike other bass guitars we’ve reviewed that come with passive pickups, the RAY34-NT bass has an active pickup. What that means is that you can expect warm, bright and clear tones.
The pickups allow for tone amplification and that’s because they pick up less external noise and interferences.
Verdict
RAY34-NT bass is a quality instrument for bassists who’d like to upgrade. It produces warm, rich and bright tones that’ll definitely improve the sound of your music.
- Lightweight
- Impressively warm, and bright tones
- Pickups with no noise or interferences
- Customizable frequencies
- Included bag not particularly nice
5. Ibanez 5-String Multi-Scaling Electric Bass (SRFF805)
Editor’s Rating:
Design features
This bass guitar has an ash body complete cutaway shape as well as a glossy black finish. Ibanez SRFF805 features varying fret to bridge distances, a property that aids in improving tonality making it sound much better.
The multi-scaling technique helps give each of the bass guitar strings much better tension, which in turn, gives rise to a warm and open tone.
Ibanez SRFF805 has a scale length of 34” usually on the G-string side and then elongates to 35.5” at the low B. It boasts a slim 5-piece Jatoba and Bubinga neck.
A solid and reliable mono rail V-bridge guarantees impressive string isolation, intonation as well as vibration transference. The custom 3 band EQ provides excellent tonal variation.
Performance
Ibanez SRFF805 5-String Multi-Scaling Bass Guitar has a passive pickup which delivers dynamic warm, full tones in your music.
And with the unique multi-scaling technology used in crafting it, you can expect that the high string tension will deliver nothing but warm and bright sounds.
Verdict
Ibanez SRFF805 5-String Bass Guitar is a perfect instrument for those who can stand nothing but the best in a broad array of music styles.
- A nice slim neck
- Impressive tones
- Multi-scaling technique ensure high tension strings
- Stylish and attractive
- Includes no casing