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While ideas in the electric guitar market occasionally become stagnant, with the same old shapes and sounds endlessly repeated by designers desperately looking for a way forward, the bass has always ploughed its own oddly shaped furrow.

Bass players may not be the most obviously glamorous band members – it is their job to settle the band, tie it all together, lock down the rhythm with the drummer and, most of all, bring the funk and get those hips moving, all while not taking any attention away from the singer or the electric guitarist.

So, given the wide range of jobs they have to do, it’s no real surprise that there’s such a diverse range of bass guitars on the market, with something to please all tastes and budgets.

EMD
A long-standing stalwart of the bargain bass for the wide-eyed beginner, EMD’s Stagg brand continues to find its way into the hands of players searching for an instrument that will look, feel and, importantly, play the part, without costing arms, legs and divorce proceedings.

Take the Vintage Style J-Bass, for example: a solid alder body is home to a fine pair of Stagg JB pickups, with a maple neck adding an extra touch of class to the whole affair. A nice honey finish and you’ve got a very nice little bass, all for under £200.

Keeping with the vintage vibe, the Rock ‘G’ Electric Bass, while lacking a snappy name, is a great looking beast of an instrument, based on Gibson’s ever-popular rock behemoth EB3. A single humbucker on a mahogany body with straightforward controls and a suitably old-school looking cherry finish makes this an excellent sub-£250 instrument for any Jack Bruce on a budget.

JHS
Also with plenty to shout about on the more affordable side of things is JHS, which has three brands for us to cover in this sector.

First up is the Encore E4, the entry level bass from perhaps the most widely known entry-level brand. A contoured solid Wuton body and vintage profile C-section maple neck make this another all-solid affair, and with the line having been given a recent overhaul by UK guitar guru Trev Wilkinson, these are great value at £139.

Continuing the trend for ‘relic’ guitars that hold the interest of the nation’s pickers and pluckers, the Vintage Jaco Icon actually combines two things – a distressed guitar and a tribute model designed to emulate the look and feel of jazz fusion nutcase Jaco Pastorius. Not a bad idea for fans that can’t afford the Fender custom shop version, which is probably most of them…

Finally, from Trev Wilkinson’s Fret King range comes the Esprit 4, a beautiful piece or three-piece mahogany eye candy that has that strange, almost familiar yet definitely new look that a lot of Fret Kings have. A distinctive reverse headstock and familiar J/P pickup pattern complete the package on what is a fine bass.

ADAM HALL
Antoria is providing a steadily popular bass brand with Adam Hall, and with the best-selling Cosmos giving excellent J-shape bang for buck it’s easy to see why.

A solid Carolina body, hard maple bolt-on neck and rosewood fingerboard are joined by a pair of Antoria JB pickups, chrome hardware and a classy looking sunburst finish just to cap things off.

HÖFNER
There is really only one bass to mention when talking about Höfner and as we all know it’s Macca’s pride and joy, the violin bass.

For those lacking old Sir Thumbs-aloft’s healthy bank balance, the Contemporary series of instruments includes the Club and Violin bass (put together in Hofner’s very own Chinese factory), which carry an RRP of £565 and feature the Schaller Staple pickups and an added internal centre block for pickup, as well as spruce tops and maple back and sides.

Beatles completists might want to check out the German-made Cavern Bass 61 or Violin Bass 62, both exact replicas of the instruments that McCartney worked his way through as the Beatles were beginning their ascent to fame. Unlike their Contemporary Series cousins, however, these hand-built replicas, built to exacting standards by Höfner’s best, are well over £1,000. Money can’t buy you love, but it will certainly collar you one of these beauties.

PEAVEY
First up from Peavey is its best-selling Millenium range, offering affordable, active or passive rockist basses for the masses.

Available in four or five string options with a number of finishes, these are an excellent starting point for those taking their first breath before the plunge into the world of the bass.

Elsewhere at Peavey, there is the Zodiac, another rock-oriented bass that features one P-style and one J-style pickup, an eight-inch radus maple neck, all chrome hardware, butterfly tuners and a switchcraft jack. A Danny Ellefson signature model is also available, which features a solid alder body with custom Seymour Duncan pickups, a gloss black finish and mirrored pick guard.

WARWICK
Renowned for its work in the bass sector, as is expected Warwick has an excellent selection of quality basses.

The Corvette Standard should fulfil the needs of the most demanding players, with its switchable active MEC 2-way electronics making for incredibly versatile tone control in both stage and studio settings. Available in four, five or six-string configurations, it features a Bubinga body, Ovangkol neck and a raft of high-quality Warwick hardware (all in chrome, of course) to keep everything steady.

ARIA
First up from Aria is a new addition, the AVB 77, designed to fit the position of a workhorse that won’t break the back every night while still delivering the punch and tone required by the picky ears of the common bass player.

A slimline body with deep cutaways allows for great access to the double octave fretboard, while the chrome satin hardware and quilted maple top catch the eye. The light alder body keeps things light, while a set of Seymour Duncan-designed alnico JB-101 pickups provide a classic sounding and crunchy tone.

The new SB1000CB is aimed squarely at the metal market and, having been modelled on the guitar played by the late Cliff Burton, should prick the ears of Metallica fans everywhere. A black gloss finish and black hardware set the tone, while Gotoh tuners and tailpieces offer tuning stability capable of taking the sort of thrashing these guitars are likely to get.

Active electronics include BB low-noise circuitry and a six position Pickup Attack Mode Selector control – a key aspect of Burton’s set up which allows you to tailor the low end attack of the instrument. An Ash body provides a bright tone, while a through neck construction adds to the sustain. At £749 it’s very appealing indeed.

ASHTON
Making great inroads into the starter market with the AB2 pack, Ashton ticks all the right boxes for beginners on a shoestring, throwing in a tuner, DVD, bag, spare strings, strap lead, plectrums and a manual alongside the AB bass itself for a mere £240.

Meanwhile the AB800 active bass looks to corner another niche in the market, bringing a versatile guitar into the hands of players looking for that little something extra. A 22-fret maple neck, elm body with deluxe bridge and active electronics give plenty of room for tonal manoeuvre and all at a sub-£300 price point ideal for bassists looking for that all-important upgrade.

TANGLEWOOD
There are a few bass options available from Tanglewood, stretching from excellent value starter packs up to some rather tasty mid-range options. The Rebel bass pack includes a Rebel bass, in itself a great starter bass, alongside a wealth of goodies including a gig bag, strap, lead, plectrums, headphone, accessories pouch and Hiwatt Maxwatt Hurricane amp.

The RVB-2 Violin Bass is an excellent budget variant on the Höfner classic and features a hollow body with spruce veneer top, flamed maple back and sides, a pair of humbuckers and on/off switches for both, as well as rhythm and solo switches to indulge those mop top fantasies.

RICKENBACKER
With a huge fanbase of players that lust after the great looks and distinctive tone of Rickenbacker basses, these are highly sought-after guitars that are well worth saving the pennies to get hold of.

The 4001 is a good place to start and, with its dot inlays, horseshoe pickup and flaming finishes, it’s only a psychedelic paint job short of All You Need Is Love. Full of retro charm, it features a fully laminated neck, striped headstock and redesigned dual truss rod system.

The classic 4003 is arguably the most recognisable Ricky bass around, having been wielded by a rogues gallery of indie players, not to mention the likes of the Clash’s Paul Simenon, and is on the top of many a wish list, while finally the 4004C Cheyenne II is a sleek update, which combines a low loss circuit with high output humbuckers for a distinctive and cutting tone.

FENDER
As you might expect from the company that came up with the whole idea of the bass guitar in the first place, Fender has some rather lovely specimens on the market at the moment that stick out from the pack to the cultured eye.

On the Squier side of things, there are a few really interesting models, and none more so than the excellent Classic Vibe guitars that capture some of the feeling of those period instruments without costing a fortune. For well under £400, bassists can pick up a 50s style Squier Precision, or 60s and ‘70s styled jazz basses. These are guitars that look and feel the part without coming across as too contrived, and give players aspiring to greater things a chance to get a grip on just what it is that differentiates a well-made second bass from the first plywood charmer that Dad bought from Argos.

Fender has been causing some serious ripples in recent weeks with its Road Worn series, a range that bridges the gap between Custom Shop relic dreams and realistically priced realities. Scuffed and chipped and beaten up a treat, these Mexican built guitars are of an astonishingly high quality. A two tone 50s Precision as well as a 60s jazz and a 60s P-bass are all available, and to those of us who will simply never have the readies for our very own custom shop special, this series could well be the answer. Already flying out of stores wherever they appear, the Road Worn series looks like it could already be a sure fire winner for those affable chaps at Fender.

Finally from Fender is the frankly funktastic 70s jazz bass, a beautiful reincarnation of the instruments of the era in the company’s Classic range. With great looking block inlays, bullet truss rods and vintage style pickups, all in all these basses scream funk, so it’s probably time to get you ‘fro out, sling on the star shaped shades and get your freak on.

EMD: 01293 862612
JHS: 0113 2865381
Adam Hall: 01702 613922
Barnes and Mullins (Hofner): 01691 668310
Peavey: 01536 461234
Warwick: +49 (0) 37422 555 3110
Aria: 01483 238720
Ashton: 01780 781630
Tanglewood: 01937 841122
Rosetti (Rickenbacker): 01376 550033
Fender: 01342 331711