7 Best Bass Guitars For Recording

Bass guitars are one of the most important instruments in music. And recording it properly is crucial. A bad bass tone can ruin the entire song.

There could be different issues why your bass recording sounds bad. And one of the issues could be the bass guitar itself. A good recording requires a good instrument.

In this post, you will find the best basses for the home recording studio. All of them are very affordable and produce a great tone.

What’s The Best Bass Guitar?

All the electric bass guitars listed here have great tones, features, playability, and price and all of them are perfect for recording. Also, if you are interested, check out acoustic bass guitars.

1. Schecter CV4

Schecter CV4 bass guitar is an affordable recording machine. The build quality, tone, and features make this instrument an amazing tool for recording. Schecter is known for making great instruments and the CV4 bass is one of them. Ash body, maple neck, and fingerboard produce great tones for recording and live performances.

It’s equipped with Schecter Diamond humbuckers with options of split, parallel, and series. Has tone and volume knobs with a 3-way toggle switch. So, you can dial in different types of tones. Versatile bass guitar. Has 22 extra-jumbo frets and an S-Tek bridge with adjustable saddles. One of the best bass guitars under 1000.

2. Spector Performer 4

Spector Performer 4-string bass is a versatile instrument. This bass is great for any type of music style. You can record rock, pop, metal, blues, country, and even jazz with a Spector bass guitar. It is a 4-string beast with great tone and features. Has a great neck and playing this bass is a pleasure. Nato body, maple neck, and Amara for fingerboard make a great tonewood combination.

Performer series are equipped with P-style and J-style pickups. These pickups are made by Spector and sound great. This combination gives you the ability for tone diversity. And it offers tone and volume controls for each pickup separately. These features allow you to dial in very different bass tones. One of the best basses for recording any genre of music.

3. Danelectro 59DC

Danelectro 59DC is a unique instrument among other bass guitars. Thanks to lipstick pickups and short-scale length, the tone this bass produces is one in a million. This Danelectro bass guitar is great to record rock and blues. It’s not a great recording instrument for heavy music. But for a unique rock tone, it’s perhaps the best. A very affordable instrument too.

This particular model has a short scale but it also comes in a long-scale format. The two lipstick single-coil pickups make the 59DC model a special bass for recording. The neck is C-shaped and very easy to play with. Has 24 frets, an aluminum nut, and a maple neck, and the body is made from plywood with a hardboard top. It’s not only a recording guitar but also a gigable instrument.

4. Squier Contemporary Jazz

Squier Contemporary Jazz basses are amazing and diverse instruments for recording. Playability and tone variations make this bass a perfect choice for any home recording studio. The contemporary series is a modernization of the classic J-style bass guitar. The combination of wood, pickups, controls, and price make this jazz bass guitar a must-have. Also, these series include basses with active pickups.

Contemporary J bass comes with ceramic single-coil pickups which add punch and clarity to the tone. A modern bridge helps to enhance resonance. With J bass you can record not only rock or blues but heavy music too. It’s a very versatile bass guitar. It plays and sounds perfectly. One of the best bass guitars for rock.

5. Epiphone Embassy

Epiphone Embassy is one of the most unique-looking bass guitars you can find. But looks are not important if the sound is not good. And that’s not a problem with this bass. The tone of the Embassy series bass guitar is amazing. It’s a modern variation of the classic bass guitar and Epiphone did a great job. They created a recording machine.

The body and neck are made from mahogany and it’s one of the reasons why this bass sounds so great. The embassy bass guitar is equipped with ProBucker Bass 760 humbuckers. But that’s not all. It has a blend knob that lets you blend both pickups and create any tone you want. The Epiphone Embassy is a must-have recording instrument, especially for rock players.

6. Ibanez Artcore AFB200

Ibanez Artcore AFB200 is a hollow-body bass guitar with unique features. This is a special bass for recording because of the body style and tone it produces. AFB200 is not a metal bass guitar but you can record blues, country, jazz, and rock. It will do the job. The neck is perfect and makes playing very easy. But the main reason why I chose this guitar is the tone.

First of all, the guitar looks amazing. It’s a gorgeous instrument. The body and neck are made from maple and have a 30.3″ scale length. Ibanez installed Classic Elite bass humbuckers in it and they sound awesome. Whether you play with a pick or fingers, this bass will have a great recording tone. Also, the wooden bridge adds additional character to the tone.

7. Yamaha BB235

Yamaha BB235, like any other instrument from this brand, is amazing. This particular model is a 5-string bass. But they also have standard, 4-string basses. But having an extended-range bass guitar in your home studio might be a good thing. The extra string can make a big difference. Also, it’s great for drop tuning and heavy music recording. Perhaps the best bass guitar is under 500 bucks.

This Yamaha BB235 bass guitar comes with ceramic single-coil pickups – VSP3 in the neck and VSC3 in the bridge. Has two volumes and a master tone knob. The guitar body is made from alder and the neck is from maple. It’s a modern version of classic BB series basses which were very popular. If you want to have a classic tone with a modern twist, then this might be the perfect bass.

Conclusion

All bass guitars listed here are great for recording. Choosing a good instrument is crucial for great recordings and when you have a good bass guitar it makes bass guitar mixing easier. An expensive instrument is not required to create great bass tones because you can do it with affordable instruments too.