It takes a unique person to choose a Bass guitar as the player instrument for so many different reasons, and finding a great playable Bass guitar could be a tough call to make. Our ultimate shortlisted Top 6 Best Bass Guitar Reviews Update 2021 – Pros & Cons will give you all the knowledge you need to make your move to buy your Bass guitar with confidence.
Buying a Bass guitar is a big investment. Especially the training a bassist would undergo is way challenging, yet at the same time super stylish and rocking. The Bass guitar you choose should be the one that inspires your training and skills. We have listed down the best Bass guitars in the market with different price ranges that fit everyone’s requirements.
Editor Choice
Fender American Ultra Precision Bass Guitar
Why is it better?
- Versatile Performance
- Pro-Level Tone
- Quality Hardware
Editor Choice
Fender American Ultra Precision Bass Guitar
Why is it better?
- Versatile Performance
- Pro-Level Tone
- Quality Hardware
The line up at a glance
After a series of in-depth research on several products, we’ve selected these 6 best bass guitars. Read through each product with its pros and cons to find your guitar.
Image
Summary
Our Rating
Fender American Ultra Precision Bass Guita
Fender’s most advanced series of guitars and basses. Versatile & superb playability.
Ibanez SR500 Electric Bass Guitar
Simple, yet premium producing smooth professional sounding tones.
Schecter Hellraiser Extreme-4
Durability and great artistic craftsmanship. Snappy, crisp, and dense all at a balanced pace.
Ibanez SR2405W 5-String Bass Guitar
Exceptional built, super affordable, playability at the best, and great electronics.
Fender Modern Player Telecaster
Simple but great layout and boasts two massive humbucking pickups. Reliable and reputed brand and value at every inch.
Sterling By Music Man SUB Ray5
Uncluttered look that is instantly recognizable and respected. Amazingly affordable and great electronics. Best playability.
Our Picks For Top 6 Best Bass guitar in 2021
1
Fender American Ultra Precision Bass Guitar
Fender’s most advanced series of guitars and basses.
+ Versatile performance
+ Great neck and playability
+ Pro-level tone
+ Liter tan looks and awesome satin finish
+ Quality hardware
– Price Tag
– Some prefer the older stuff
– No option available for left-handers
Verdict
It has a great tone, superb playability, and versatile performance. Satin finish and the grease bucket tone circuit gives that ultimate undeniable feel to the player.
Why is it our best pick? All of the mentioned, plus the posh hardshell case, strap locks & the Certificate of Authenticity that comes with it. The price could be a bit high, but look at the product details and you will see that the price is for the quality.
Detail Reviews
American Ultra Precision Bass Guitar is a lead from Fender’s most advanced series of guitars and basses. This 4 strings single coiled Fender is made of Alder and weighs 11 pounds. 34″ Scale Modern D Maple Neck provides extreme comfort to the player. 10 -14 compound-radius Rosewood fingerboard with 21 medium jumbo frets great for effortless play and soloing. The amazing passive tone originally has its great character and plugging it into an amp makes it simply legendary. Fender’s revolutionary noiseless circuitry eliminates the signal noise and hum that are common in vintage single-coil pickup design providing endless tonal possibilities. The control layout includes a pickup pan pot; 3-band EQ helping you to change your tones just as you wish to. 4-Saddle HiMass Vintage (Topload) Bridge and Fender “F” Light-Weight Vintage-Paddle Tuning Keys with Tapered Shafts are indeed adding a charm to its character. Solid & Sustain.
2
Ibanez SR500 Electric Bass Guitar
Simple, yet premium producing smooth professional sounding tones.
+ Easy four-string guitar
+ Ultra-thin SR4 5-pc jatoba and Bubinga neck
+ The posh look & lightweight
+ Diversity of tones
+ Playability
– Price Tag
– Can scratch easily
– 24 frets may be complicated for beginners
Verdict
Simple but premium sounding bass for beginners as well as for professionals. Colorful full-range output and matte brown mahogany smooth artistic contour, and great tonal sound through Ibanez very special custom Bartolini pickups. Beautiful finish, super easy to play, great sound, and lightweight. Let it be slapping, funk, heavy bottoms, or warm tones, you may dial-in just about any style that you want and you can rock this guitar all the way. The price can be high for some but you will get a 45-day return period and 60-day price protection under their policy.
Detail Reviews
This high-quality guitar weighs just 3.7 Kg, easy to travel with, and great for those who intend to start a pro journey as a bassist. The build and specs of this guitar are professional. Easy 4-string Okoume body Ibanez SR500 has 24 frets, 34” scale length with a thin fast 5-Piece Jatoba/Walnut neck. The bridge is simple and can be adjusted to change the string spacing. Bartolini BH2 pickups are engineered to afford smooth and low-end tones. EQ Bypass switch and a 3-way mid-frequency switch to choose from different Hz ranges such as 250Hz, 450Hz, or 700Hz through which you may achieve that mesmerizing tone you are aiming for. Some users claim that the finish of this bass guitar is prone to scratches.
3
Schecter Hellraiser Extreme-4
Durability and great artistic craftsmanship. Snappy, crisp, and dense all at a balanced pace.
+ Artistic Craftsmanship
+ Long sustain
+ Top-notch woods & electronics
+ Fast neck
– Unbalanced tone
– The response is better with pickup than fingerstyle
– Price can be a bit high for some
Verdict
Striking quilted maple top finished in a distinctive Crimson Red Burst all on a Mahogani body. Extremely fast Maple neck with a solid ebony fretboard supported by an easy play C-neck. The combination of Maple and Walnut woods on the neck gives a mixture of brighter and darker tones which compliments the instrument really well. Long sustain.
Detail Reviews
Extreme 4 bass guitar weighs 15.25 pounds and comes with 4 strings on an Ebony fretboard, and a scale length of 34”. A choice of Ebony or Maple fingerboards and Floyd Rose tremolo or TonePros string-thru-body bridge for a perfect string vibration and Mahogany body with a quilted maple top. Multi-laminated Maple & Walnut neck of which the 3 pieces of Maple strips giving a brighter tone and 2 pieces of Walnut strips producing a darker tone, giving you a well-balanced tone reaching your sound desire. Single (new version of the J pickup built in the CS -ceramic and steel) and dual-coil EMG 35TW pickups (CS dual-coil consisting of two coils opposite each other creating a pickup similar to model 35CS), each with its own output. Clarity of single-coil and fatness of the dual-coil can be altered and controlled through the push/pull volume pot.
Extreme-4 originally came with an Ernie Ball 4 String Super Long strings set (.045-.105) and we already know the reputation that the Earnie ball strings manufacturer holds.
Some people are not really happy about the balance of the tone, and the price could be slightly high for some.
4
Ibanez SR2405W 5-String Bass Guitar
Exceptional built, super affordable, playability at the best, and great electronics.
+ Exceptional build
+ Value for price
+ Super playability
+ Great EQ & electronics
+ Diversity of styles
– Slightly heavy neck
– Too fancy finishing for some
Verdict
Beautiful, unique, and exceptional built, playability at its strength, great hardware electronics that handle all styles. The best part comes when you could get all of this at a very fair price and did I mention to you that it comes with a quality gig bag… Nice!
Detail Reviews
African Mahogany core, Panga panga and Maple top, Panga panga/purpleheart 5-piece laminated neck with a 34” scale length and a Panga Panga fingerboard. Panga panga is a slightly darker timber tree species that produces heavy and dense tones. This 5-string SR2405W comes with 24 frets which could be a little too complicated for beginners and more than best for professionals, two Aguilar Super Double Single-Coil pickups, 5-tone control knobs with three-way mid-frequency switch (250Hz, 450Hz, 700Hz), Gold MR5S bridge, and Gotoh Machine Heads. Individual string saddles that can be adjusted to change the string spacing. Caribbean Green and Brown Topaz Burst finish.
5
Fender Modern Player Telecaster
Simple but great layout and boasts two massive humbucking pickups.
+ Simple & intuitive layout
+ Great control
+ Stronger and distinct lead tone
+ Better tuning stability
+ Durability
– Less versatile
– Less strong neck pickup
– Less comfortable upper fret access
Verdict
Easy modern C-shaped glossy Maple neck and iconic Tele shaped single-cutaway solid Pine body give this bass guitar that looks just like the feel. Available in two colors, Sunburst and Butterscotch Blonde. Butterscotch blonde is people’s favorite that has the power to attract the audience’s eyes even before their ears. Great sound and classic look all for an affordable price. Virtue!
Detail Reviews
The maple used as neck and fretboard material, 20 medium jumbo frets,9.5” radius, 34” scale length making this 4-string bass guitar extremely comfortable and playable. As the 3-pickups (neck volume, bridge volume, master tone) have 3 different unique characteristics, the Fender Telecaster sounds very versatile. A Tele single-coil at the neck, a Strat single-coil in the middle, and a humbucker at the bridge. A vintage-style bridge with four brass saddles and open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome are added to the hardware list.
6
Sterling By Music Man SUB Ray5
Uncluttered look that is instantly recognizable and respected. Amazingly affordable and great electronics
+ Cheaper four-string version available
+ Simple tone controls
+ Tonally versatile
+ Smooth playability
– Midrange EQ control would be nice
– Some corners have been cut
Verdict
Best bass guitar for a very budget price. 8 beautiful colors to choose from. Perfect set-up with great low action and no fret buzz. Hard to believe? You may read the confirmed Amazon user feedback yourself.
Music Man Stingray is already very affordable and worth more than the price and is also available in 4 strings and the price gets cheaper at that as well.
Detail Reviews
Basswood body with a 6 bolt hard Maple neck and Jatoba fretboard, equipped with a Sterling by Music Man designed Ceramic pickup and 2-band active preamp (volume, Treble & Bass), and beautiful finish with black pickguard. This iconic Music Man weighs 9 pounds and comes with 5 strings. Active electronics, low noise humbucking pickups, rock-solid hardware, and a simple look with an astounding tone. Players are quite happy about the purchase and agree that this Music Man Stingray worth more than it actually costs and plays fast and smooth as well.
However, some more hardware was preferred by some users that could help to increase the playability and the tone.
Criteria used for evaluation
Playability
Body shape and the neck has a massive impact on the overall playability. Fretted or fretless necks, fanned-fret models can affect the playability in diverse ways. MM stingrays and Ibanez are most reputed at best playability among the Bass guitars. Guitar set-up is equally important as well.
Tone
Simple & solid sounds always are best for the feel and blend with other instruments easily, since bass is at any time best to play with other instruments. The choice of wood affects the tone in big time and if the body and neck are made of solid wood or laminated wood will also create an impact on the versatility of the tone. Ex: Ash and Alder usually produce a balanced tone, mahogany will give a warmer tone and a pronounced emphasis at low ends.
Passive vs Active
Passive bases are normal basses with basic single tone controls, whereas active basses are referring to an addition of a preamp, just like you would use an amp on your electric guitars. So briefly, Passive or normal and active is powered. These Preams are powered by batteries.
Feel factor
High-quality bass guitars will always sound better and feel better. But we still can find many options in the market which are cheaper in price yet versatile, looks good and made with quality.
A shorter scale and neck profile such as C is approachable and comfortable for players.
Shorter string length is usually producing darker tones providing great low end for basses.
Strings
Most basses are four strings. 4 strings are best for beginners and students as they are usually less complicated and easier to play. However, there are plenty of basses with 5 and 6 strings, which are a bit complicated in comparison to 4 strings and advanced at tonal qualities.
Frequently Asked Question
Playing the Bass requires a different knowledge base and skill set. Bass guitars and Electric guitars are completely two different instruments to play and a Bass is not necessarily easier than an electric
A bassist always starts playing alone, yet at some point, the bass needs to meet other instruments to blend in where you get the best sound and use of the bass guitar
