Home Bass

Basses

Featured Offers and More

Deals on Basses

Deals on Basses

Don’t Miss Out! Shop the best bass deals available today!

Shop Now
Open Box Basses

Open Box Basses

Score Big Savings! Shop discounts on open-box basses!

Shop Now
Up to 48 Month Financing

Up to 48 Month Financing*

Limited-Time Offer! Special financing on select gear—promo varies by brand!

Shop Now
Used Basses

Used Basses

Shop top-quality used basses at unbeatable prices!

Shop Now
Save 10%
Fender Player II Jazz Bass Limited-Edition Electric Bass...
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $839.99
Or $17.50/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
48-Month Financing*
Ernie Ball Music Man Pino Pino Palladino StingRay Electric...
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $3,499.00
Or $72.90/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
Pre-Order
Squier Classic Vibe Active '70s Jazz Bass V Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $556.99
48-Month Financing*
Martin BC-16E 16 Series Rosewood Acoustic-Electric Bass...
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $2,199.00
Or $45.82/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
Sale
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay5 Special HH 5-String Electric...
5.0 of 5 stars (3)
from  Product Price  $2,319.00
$2,849.00
Or $48.32/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
48-Month Financing*
Breedlove Pursuit Exotic S Concert CE Myrtlewood...
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $849.00
Or $17.69/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
Price Drop
Fender Limited-Edition Laura Lee Jazz Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,499.99
$1,579.99
Or $31.25/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
Pre-Order
Martin 000C Jr 10E Acoustic-Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $799.00
New
Spector NS Pulse 5 5-String Electric Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,189.99
48-Month Financing*
Ernie Ball Music Man Pino Palladino Fretless StingRay Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $3,499.00
Or $72.90/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
New
MTD Kingston Andrew Gouche 5-String Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $2,249.00
24-Month Financing*
Gibson Non-Reverse Thunderbird Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $2,199.00
Or $91.63/month^ with 24 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
New
Yamaha TRBX604 Electric Bass Guitar
4.0 of 5 stars (4)
Product Price  $649.99
Pre-Order
Gretsch Guitars Electromatic CVT Double-Cut Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $399.99
New
Spector NS Pulse 4 Electric Bass
4.0 of 5 stars (1)
Product Price  $1,099.99
Price Drop
Fender American Ultra II Jazz Bass V Maple Fingerboard
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $2,419.99
$2,519.99
Or $50.42/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
Sale
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay Special HH Electric Bass...
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $2,239.00
$2,699.00
Or $46.65/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
$2,439.20
Pre-Order
Schecter Guitar Research Stargazer-4 LH Electric Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,049.00
Pre-Order
Squier Classic Vibe Active '70s Jazz Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $524.99
48-Month Financing*
Dean USA John Entwistle Hybrid Bass
0 of 5 stars
Call for Price
New
MTD Kingston Super 5 5-String Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,279.00
New
Sterling by Music Man Sterling SB14 Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $649.99
48-Month Financing*
Cort Space 4 Artisan Headless Electric Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $749.99
Or $15.63/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
New
Squier Classic Vibe '60s Jazz Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $473.99
Sale
Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay5 Special H 5-String Electric...
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $2,239.00
$2,749.00
Or $46.65/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
New
Jackson Pro Plus Pure Metal CB1A Limited-Edition Concert...
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,579.99
Schedule a video demo
Ibanez Prestige SR6605 5-String Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $3,499.99
New
Strandberg Boden Standard Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $2,395.00
Save 10%
Fender Player II Modified Jazz Bass Maple Fingerboard
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,149.99
Or $23.96/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
New
Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $473.99
New
MTD Kingston ZX 5-String Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $2,249.00
Pre-Order
Squier Classic Vibe Active '70s Jazz Bass V
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $556.99
Schedule a video demo
Rickenbacker 4005V Semi Hollow Body Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $4,999.00
Pre-Order
Schecter Guitar Research Stargazer-5 LH Electric Bass
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,099.00
Save 20% With Code MEMSAVE
Fender Kingman V2 Acoustic-Electric Bass
5.0 of 5 stars (3)
Product Price  $549.99
Save 15% With Code MEMSAVE
Markbass MB JB Electric Bass Guitar
5.0 of 5 stars (2)
Product Price  $299.99
New
MTD Kingston Saratoga Deluxe 5-String Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $1,149.00
Schedule a video demo
Spector Doug Wimbish Euro 4 Signature Electric Bass Guitar
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $3,499.99
Price Drop
Fender CB-60SCE Acoustic-Electric Bass Guitar
5.0 of 5 stars (16)
from  Product Price  $329.99
$347.99
Sterling by Music Man SB4 4-String Electric Bass Guitar
4.5 of 5 stars (9)
Product Price  $399.99

About Bass Guitars

Try to imagine the sound of music with no bass instrument. Without the low throb and pulse building a foundation for everything else, it wouldn’t be compelling. For decades, in jazz and pop, the bottom end came from the upright, double bass. Since the early 1950’s, most of that has shifted to the far more portable bass guitar. From the earliest Fender electric bass to the full gamut of builders today, the choices encompass instruments that fit any style of music and any budget. Musician’s Friend offers a huge selection of bass guitars from makers like Ibanez, Gibson, Spector, Ernie Ball Music Man, G&L, Hofner, Squier, Warwick, Epiphone, Mitchell, Guild, Gretsch, Lakland, Fodera and many others. We also offer a selection of double bass instruments for those who choose to swing that way.

Types of Basses

Electric Basses

Electric basses are available in several different types. While most are solid-body instruments, there are chambered, semi-hollow and full hollowbody versions, both fretted and fretless. Another variation is scale length. Long-scale basses (usually the 34” standard set by Leo Fender with the Precision Bass) have a more piano-like attack and articulation. This is due in large part to the higher string tension. Short-scale basses, like the Fender Mustang and the Hofner violin bass, are more “finger-friendly” with a warmer, somewhat rounder tone. Short-scale instruments are also great for younger players and players with smaller hands.

Extended Range and Multi-scale Basses

These 5, 6, 7 and. 8-string instruments offer several advantages. The additional strings, both low and high, enable a wider range of available notes in a single hand position. They also enable more flexibility in soloing and deliver the thunderous low-frequency sound in demand for modern metal. A recent development has been the multi-scale bass, in which the bridge and nut are slanted such that each string has a different scale length. This has several ergonomic advantages for players, as well as improving intonation.

Acoustic Basses

For centuries, this was the territory of the symphonic double bass. In the early 1970s, perhaps inspired by the Guitarron Mexicano (literally “big Mexican guitar), manufacturers began to make acoustic versions of the 4-string bass guitar. These became increasingly popular thanks to MTV’s Unplugged series, where they were heavily used.

The History of the Bass

The genesis of the bass stringed instrument lies in the mid-16th century in northern Italy where the first versions of what was to become the double bass were crafted. Also known as the contrabass, bass viol, bull fiddle and, in more modern times, doghouse bass, early versions appear to be derived from the 6-string viola da gamba, rather than the violin. While long a staple of the symphony orchestra, in the early 20th century, it began to be used in popular music, most notably replacing the tuba in the new musical style of jazz.

Although the first electric bass guitar was invented in 1936, by Paul Tulmarc, and marketed under the Audiovox brand, it wasn’t widely adopted. We had to wait until 1951 for it to become an integral part of the musical world. That was the year that Leo Fender introduced the world to the Precision Bass. Legend has it that Fender built it to enable guitar players to have an instrument they could double on, as big bands gave way to smaller combos. By the end of the 1950s, the electric bass guitar was surpassing the double bass in numbers, thanks to the explosive popularity of rock and roll. Even jazz players, like Wes Montgomery’s brother Monk, were swapping in their double basses for the convenience and versatility of the bass guitar. By this time, many other manufacturer’s were beginning to add bass guitars to their product lines. This burst of innovation had given us, by the end of the ‘50s, many of the features that carry over too today’s basses. The first thru-neck bass was produced in 1957, for example, and manufacturers like Danelectro, Kay, Burns, Hofner and Gibson offered a variety of scale lengths, pickup configurations and body styles, many of which are still in use today.

Throughout the 1960s and ‘70s, the instrument matured, from the introduction of the Fender Jazz Bass in 1960, Gibson’s short-scale EB-3 and long-scale Thunderbird a couple of years later. By the early ’70s, the boutique bass market was beginning to appear, starting with the startlingly advanced based Alembic began building with active electronics and new materials, like carbon graphite prominently features. Music Man, founded by Forrest White, Tom Walker and Leo Fender introduced the Stingray bass in 1973, one of the first regular production basses to feature active electronics. A year previously, George Fullerton, another Fender alumnus had worked with Ernie Ball to develop the Earthwood bass, the first successful acoustic bass guitar, and the connection between former Fender designers and Ernie Ball led the way to today’s Ernie Ball Music Man line, where the Stingray is still available. By the mid-‘70s, we started to see the first 5- and 6-string basses from Alembic, Tobias and other boutique builders and by the end of the decade, this extended range basses were beginning to spill into regular production instruments.

The 1980’s saw Ned Steinberger develop the headless bass and pioneer further use of modern high-tech materials in guitar construction. It was also the birth of new brands like Warwick, Spector, Fodera and many others who pushed forward the evolution of the bass guitar, expanding the choices in body styles, pickups and electronics. The innovation has never stopped since and bass design keeps pushing toward a future and it’s all about that bass. The bass guitar is still a showpiece of how new technologies find their way into instrument design. Every year, there’s some new idea, some clever twist on a previous concept that finds its way into the world of basses, and you’ll always find it here, at Musician’s Friend.