Bass Guitars: Staff Picks

Bass Guitars: Staff Picks For Sale at The Music Zoo

Buy Bass Guitars: Staff Picks online now from The Music Zoo! We have a great selection of guitar gear available for purchase in our Bass Guitars product collection. Awesome customer service and secure checkout are always included with your Staff Picks purchase. The products listed for sale in this collection are ready to ship immediately, with expedited delivery options available. If you're looking to make monthly payments, financing options for your Bass Guitars: Staff Picks order are available on checkout. Your satisfaction is always our top priority, so we offer a no hassle return option on every item we sell.

About Our Bass Guitars Product Catalog

The Music Zoo never overlooks our friends who hold down the low-end. That’s why we host an incredible selection of high-quality bass guitars from the biggest and most popular brands. Whether you’re looking for that one-of-a-kind custom shop masterpiece, just starting out, or need a modern or extended range guitar that sits at the intersection of quality and value, we’re your one-stop destination for all of your bass guitar needs! Shop for your new bass guitar now or schedule a consultation with our in-house experts!

Bass Guitar Types

Solid Body vs. Hollow Bass Guitars

To this day, most bass guitars are closely modeled after the original Fender Precision and Jazz Bass. Though the tonal differences are similar to electric guitars, solid bodies tend to have more punch and play nicely in a rock band setting, while semi- and full hollow-body basses excel at clean tones.

Active vs Passive Electronics Bass Guitars

Bass guitars generally have one of two types of pickup systems, active and passive. A bass guitar with active pickups pairs a battery-powered pre-amp with the pickups inside the bass for more tonal flexibility, lower noise, power, and headroom (if needed). Alternatively, passive pickups are simply copper coil wrapped magnets with no extra preamp. Both offer a wide dynamic range and character, but their true viability is up to the player.

Short Scale vs Long Scale Bass Guitars

While the 34” Fender-created scale is the modern standard, shorter scale (30” - 33”) bass guitars are still quite popular. Aside from the usual smaller body size and shortened distance between frets on a short-scale, they also tend to trade the depth and punch of a 34” scale bass, with a softer and warmer tone, particularly in their hollow-body form. This juxtaposition is clear when comparing the tonalities of a bold and powerful dreadnought acoustic guitar against small bodied contemporaries.