Bass Guitar Vs. Electric Guitar

July 13, 2024
min read

For all the beginners just starting out on their musical journey, choosing the right kind of guitar for yourself will make all the difference to your learning process. Two of the primary guitar options that you have are bass guitar vs. electric guitar.

While there are many similarities between the two instruments, there are very prominent differences as well, such as each having its unique playing style, guitar size, varying numbers of strings, and much more.

But, we are here to clarify all the confusion you may have about a bass or an electric guitar. So, if you are looking to gain more clarity over the two guitars, stick through with us till the end of the article because we will be delving deep into explaining the main differences to help you understand!

 

 

Key Differences Between A Bass Guitar And Electric Guitar

Guitar Size

Typically, many new musicians cannot distinguish between electric and bass guitars. But if you look closely and with more focus, you will see that the two guitars have a size difference.

A bass guitar is larger compared to an electric guitar, and this is because the scale length of a bass is longer than its electric counterpart. The scale length of a guitar is the distance between the bridge and the nut of the guitar, and with electric basses, there are two kinds of scale lengths: long and short, and both are lengthier than the scale length of an electric guitar.

Bass guitar scale length

  • Scale length of electric guitar: 24-25.5 inches
  • Short scale length of bass: 30 inches
  • Standard/ long scale length of bass: 34 inches

See how the measurements of the scale length of an electric and bass guitar differ, and this is why when you put an electric guitar against a bass guitar, it will be taller. Also, the shorter scale length bass guitar can be an ideal instrument for anyone with small hands because the distance within the frets is shorter, making playing notes and chords much easier.

Even if you are transitioning from an electric guitar to playing bass, the short scale length of the bass can benefit you as it will be easier for your hands to travel up and down the neck.

Although you will not see many musicians using a short scale bass guitar quite frequently, there are some well-known iconic examples of this guitar type, such as the Squier Bronco Bass and the Fender Mustang Bass.

Fender Mustang

Fender Mustang Bass Blue

Squier Bronco Bass

Fender Mustang Electric Guitar

 

Sound

Electric guitars are mostly used in pop, rock, jazz, metal, and blues. Whereas, bass guitars are used more in genres like funk, R&B, country, and sometimes also in rock and pop. Still, bass guitars are usually opted for playing music without distortion.

This is because a bass guitar produces a low, mellow, clean sound. You could say its sound is more or less like the sound produced by an acoustic guitar, but it is much deeper. The sound difference between the two instruments is due to the thicker bass strings, which make sure the frequencies are low while the tone is deep and powerful.

Despite the bass working in the background of the bands, its overall sound is important for the overall feel and groove of the song because it lays a harmonic foundation that brings together and perfectly binds the sound of all other instruments.

As electric guitars have comparatively thinner strings, the frequencies are higher, and the tones are clear, crisp, and bright. Also, the sound is more prone to be distorted in an electric guitar where, depending on the intensity of distortion, you can create extremely aggressive, rough, edgy, and gritty sounds.

So, if you are an aspiring musician more inclined towards playing guitar solos or being one of the lead guitarists, electric guitars offer the perfect melody you require to play!

zoom up of guitar strings

String Numbers

One key difference between bass and electric guitar is the number of strings. While your electric guitar has six strings, a bass guitar has fewer strings- only four. Though most bass guitars indeed have four strings, there are some exceptions to the rule, and in the market, you will also find electric basses with five and six strings; how exciting is that!

These five and six string bass models will produce the same sound as the four string bass, but there will be more tuning options for you to experiment with in the other two kinds of bass because of the extended range.

Bass guitar string numbers and thickness zoomed in

String Thickness

Now that we know about the difference in the number of strings, the story of the bass strings does not end here. The four strings on the bass are much thicker, longer, and slightly more expensive than strings for your electric guitar. Also, there are many more options for electric bass strings, from which you can pick and choose strings according to your personal preferences.

Nickel and steel strings are the way to go for an electric guitar. But, for bass, the different string types are:

Roundwound Bass Strings

The most popular and arguably the most common bass string type is the roundwound string, made of steel and wrapped with nickel or stainless steel round wire to give them an authentic loud and bright tone.

Because these strings are heavy, they prove to be the most suitable pick for bassists who use a slap bass playing style.

Tapewound Bass Strings

Though not such a popular bass string type, tapewound strings have a round or flat metal winding wire with a nylon layer on its exterior. A noticeable feature of the tapewound bass strings that almost always tells them apart is that they are most often found in black color.

So, if you are looking for strings that will be easy on the fingers and generate a soft tone, our pro tip for you is to look around for bass strings that are in black.

Flatwound Bass Strings

For all our aspiring jazz bassists, the perfect bass strings for you are the flatwound bass strings. With the steep core wrapped in flat wire, these strings, when on your bass guitar, will produce a mellow, smooth tone to lure your audience toward you!

Groundwound/ Half-Round Bass Strings

The groundwound strings are a by-product of flatwound and roundwound strings. These hybrid strings are the least common type of bass strings and are produced by pressing the roundwound strings against the ground to flatten them.

Still, these strings have some really good qualities, such as minimizing the fret wear and generating a very crisp, bright tone, so with them, you kill two birds with one stone.

Finalizing Bass Strings

Choosing the right kind of strings for your bass guitar is a trial and error process, but if you are lucky enough, you might find your perfect strings in the first shot. Something that can help you narrow down your string options is your playing style, which is whether you want to play the electric bass with a pick or your fingers.

As the description of the four-string types might have made it clear for you, some strings are light and easy on the fingers, while others may be problematic because of their heavier gauges. Likewise, strings like roundwound strings may work better if your favorite playing technique is the slapping style but when playing directly with your fingers, softer strings like tapewound bass strings can be helpful!

tuning of a bass manually

Tuning

As there is a difference in the number of strings in electric bass and guitar, their tunings are also different. Electric guitar’s standard tuning is E-A-D-G-B-E, where the strings range from the thickest and lowest strings to the thinnest and highest strings.

On the flip side, the standard tuning of the bass guitar is only E-A-D-G and an octave lower than the lowest and thickest strings on an electric guitar. This means that when playing the lowest E string on an electric and a bass guitar, the bass’s E string will sound much lower because it has been tuned an octave lower than the electric’s E string.

Another difference between these varying tunings is that electric strings are tuned in perfect fourths, with only the B and G strings being a major third. But all four strings on the bass guitar are tuned to perfect fourths.

Five and Six String Bass

Previously we discussed the exception to the conventional four string bass to having five and six string variations. The strings of the bass variations are also tuned differently, and though their strings may have the same individual notes, the patterns and sounds of these notes are really different.

Five string bass tuning: B-E-A-D-G

Six string bass tuning: B-A-A-D-G-C

Which Is Easier To Play- Electric OR Bass?

Finally comes the question for which you have read this article- which guitar is easier to play, bass or electric? In all due honesty, this question has no exact answer, nor is there a consensus over what the majority agrees with because it is all about preference.

Some people may find it easier to learn electric guitar, while others may suggest that bass is easier to play. All these opinions over these two guitars are personal and come from the standpoint of every individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Every person is unique, and it is not necessary that if your friend found it easier to learn the bass guitar, it might as well be the case for you.

It can be different. You might have small hands with tender fingers, which will make it more challenging for you to practice on bass because your fingers might not properly adjust to the fewer and thicker strings.

Several other factors apart from the main differences that we have listed play into your decision-making, for example:

  • Your genre preference: pop, rock, funk, country, blues? (While the genres overlap with bass and electric guitar, still knowing your liking can be helpful)
  • The sort of music you enjoy listening to and want to play in the future
  • Your long-term goals like if you want to play in a band or all by yourself?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can an electric guitar be used as a bass?

No electric guitar cannot be used as a bass because electric guitars have more strings, and these strings are tuned differently than those on a bass guitar. Bass guitar strings are tuned lower on an octave than that of an electric guitar which means that electric produces louder sound compared to bass.

Does bass or electric guitar sound better?

Both the guitars sound great but what is better for you depends on the sort of music you like. If you are more into mellow and deep tones, then the bass will definitely sound better to you, but if you like crisp and bright sounds, the electric guitar will be your top preference.

Can bass players play electric guitar?

Definitely! A bass player can always transition to an electric guitar, and considering that you have already practiced on thicker strings that are lesser in number, playing an electric guitar will be much easier for you with the support of six thin strings.

Is it better to learn guitar or bass first?

Does not matter which guitar you learn first because many of the basic techniques of both the guitars are the same. But, when transitioning from one instrument to another instrument, you might have to make a few changes to your playing technique. Other than that, there will not be a lot of problems that you will face.

guitar gps method online guitar lessons for all levels

Conclusion

While both bass and electric guitar play an important role in music, you can only choose a guitar out of the two when you are solid on your preferences. We say that you try out both guitars and then go with your gut feeling, whichever guitar feels right to you and is easy to play; only that guitar should be your companion in your musical journey.

If at any point you find learning the guitar more complex than you thought it would be, the Guitar GPS Method is here to ease it for you. At the academy, the guitar master- Preston Howard himself, teaches students the instrument using a gamified method where for every accomplishment, they are rewarded with points, and can always track their progress and see it all come together on the dashboard!

About the Author

Preston has been a professional guitar instructor since 2010 and is the founder of SLC Guitar and the Guitar GPS Method. His holistic method helps players learn quickly and understand what they are doing musically, while his gamified learning platform make practice fun and effective. 

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