Anyone here play bass?
Any thoughts on a novice looking to learn to play and which guitar to go for or avoid? My current thoughts are that affordable and looks nice is a fair starting point until you’ve developed enough talent/ear for it to matter.
I would add one more attribute to affordable and looks nice by saying that the most important thing is that it feels comfortable in your hands, mainly in your left hand (if you are right handed). Guitar and bass necks have different shapes and thicknesses and you will find some decidedly more or less comfortable. Your hands and fingers will be longer or shorter and fatter or thinner than the next person's so if you can get into a local music shop simply with the aim of finding which bass necks feel good in your hands and, while you are at it, which basses feel too large or too small.
Feel free to tell the shop sales person that your budget limits you to buying secondhand; see what the shop has but be prepared to walk out if nothing appeals to you nor fits your budget.
Beardy and ElyDave mentioned the action, which covers a number of things. Assuming you are a cyclist that adjusts things on your bike, we can guide you through adjusting your bass if you have allen keys, a few screwdrivers, feeler gauges and a tuner or a tuner app.
Personally, I would suggest you buy a strap and use it even when you are sitting to play. It is a good habit to get into.
A small, cheap, secondhand bass combo will be an ideal starting point.
Playing bass requires short fingernails on both hands as you don't want to be scraping the fretboard with your left hand nor plucking the strings like a fingerstyle guitarist with your right hand.
Yours, yet another forum bass player with yet another viewpoint.
