Learning how to play a musical instrument can bring so much excitement that newbies often find themselves eager to spend and buy an instrument, sometimes in a hasty manner. But choosing an instrument to buy requires great care, especially in choosing elaborate instruments such as an electric bass guitar.

The rule of thumb in buying your first bass guitar is to keep it simple. Avoid guitars that doesn't suit your level of skills. Once you've controlled your excitement, choose the type of bass guitar you want to use. Fender bass guitar offers the two most common types of bass guitars: the Precision Bass, or P-Bass, and the Jazz Bass. The P-Bass was designed and mass-produced by Leo Fender in 1951. Easily recognizable for its split pickup and alder-made solid body, the P-Bass is most popular with blues, rhythm and rock bassists for its hard-edges sound and articulated fundamental tones.

The J-Bass was the next Fender bass guitar model after the P-Bass. Having a less symmetrical and rounded body, with two single coil pickups with two pole pieces per string, the J-Bass produces stronger midrange sounds that varies from "jazzy" to "folky." But it is ideal for new guitar players to choose the combination of a "J" pickup at the bridge and a "P" pickup at the neck. This is widely available in the market and used my many experienced bassists, too.

Concerns about the number of guitar strings also plague the minds of new guitar buyers. The standard is the one with four strings tuned EADG. The five strings provides extended lower range and often used in metal and contemporary rock, while the six-stringed bass guitars, although less common, are used for additional low "B" string and high "C" string. New guitar players are encouraged to buy four-string bass guitars because it covers the usual notes required.

In considering scale lengths, the Fender bass guitars' 34" remains to be the standard. But generally, it depends on the number of strings preferred and one's hand size. Ideal for small hands are four-string bass guitars with either 30" or 32" scale length, while larger hands might require 35", 35.5" or 36" scale lengths. The longer it is the more stretching and shifting are required when playing. As such, test-playing guitars before buying them is recommended for first-time bass guitar players.

To go "fret-less" or not is another design aspect to consider. The Fender Precision earned its named because it has frets that allows for precise fingering, as oppose to the original double-bass cello. Playing on fretted bass guitars, such as the P-bass, enables musicians to reach the highest harmonics, while fretless guitars, when played accurately, produce a more warm tone. Because not all new bassists quickly develop the skills of playing tunes in their minds and correctly play it right on their guitars, it is most recommended that beginners play fretted guitars first.

There are still a lot of details to go over when buying your own guitar. Some of them includes feeling the weight of the guitar, the balance and fit of it against your body, the range of tones and its overall look. The important thing is to keep it within your skills range and not go overboard as an overly sophisticated bass guitar could only end up overwhelming you and discouraging you from developing your skills further.

Learn more and browse dozens of Fender bass guitars and hundreds of other bass guitars at The Guitar Center.