The Bass guitar, to be more precise, the electric bass guitar is one of my favorite instruments. The possibilities are endless with a bass guitar if an experienced bass player is playing the instrument.
Many people, especially guitarists, often look down on bass guitars and treat it like the easier version of a guitar, which is not particularly false, but as an instrument, the bass guitar has its own place, and it has its own challenges and rewards.
Want to see what a bass guitar can do in the hands of a master?
See this video of master bass player Victor Wooten playing his song:
As an instrument for children, a bass guitar can be a great starting point because it is a bit easier to play the basics on bass than the guitar. There is plenty of great bass guitar for kids that you can find online.
A kid bass guitar is available as an acoustic and an electric instrument. In my opinion, an electric bass guitar is best for kids or adults regardless as it has more uses, but you can find a small bass guitar fit for kids.
I will be providing recommendations for acoustic and electric bass guitars, so let’s look at the best kid bass guitars without further ado.
In a hurry? In my recommendation, the best kids bass guitar is the Ibanez GSRM. For an acoustic-electric bass, you can go for the Cordoba Mini II Bass MH-E, and for an affordable kid’s ¾ bass guitar, you can opt for the Safeplus Electric Bass.
Before we start with the reviews, you need to know that bass guitars are best played with an amplifier, even if it is an acoustic bass. For the best sound, you would want to buy an amp for your bass guitar. You can also use any free virtual amp I have written about previously for the best sound.
Best Bass Guitars For Kids
1. Ibanez GSRM
Ibanez is one of the top guitar manufacturers in the world, and I have repeatedly written about their products in my other reviews as well. Their guitars are truly some of the best instruments at their respective price ranges, especially in the affordable instruments category.
This particular bass guitar is just the same with solid build quality, great features, good wood, and pickup selection. You can do a lot with this bass guitar, much more than just beginner playing. Let’s take a closer look at the different aspects of this bass guitar.
Body & Build
The Ibanez GSRM is a solid body electric bass guitar, meaning you can not play this bass loudly without an amplifier. The body is built from poplar and the neck from maple wood.
These wood combination provides a girthy and thick tone to the bass, which you would ideally want from a bass guitar.
The build quality is the best thing, in my opinion, for this bass because it is by far the best short-scale bass guitar you can find in this price range.
The overall features are not too flashy, but as a beginner, it is better not to worry about these features. You can absolutely play your heart out on this bass without any problem.
Sound Tone & Playability
The sound of this bass is very nice and thick, with a lot of versatility. You can very well play many genres of music on this bass, starting from pop to funk to metal without any problems.
The tone is rounded thanks to the good quality strings that ship with the bass itself. You can absolutely go for a better pair if you dislike the general sound.
The P neck pickup and J bridge pickup offer quite a lot of versatility in your sound; you can dial in the perfect tone of your liking using the volume control for each pickup and the tone control knob.
Overall, it’s a great bass, and you can play all styles of music on it.
With low action, which is a popular feature of Ibanez guitars, this bass is very easy to play for beginners and experienced players alike.
You can play it with a pick or with fingers, whichever you want, and you will be quite comfortable on this bass.
2. Safeplus Electric Bass
This is perhaps one of the only unbranded bass guitars that I am adding to the list, but it is because this particular model has quality bang for buck features.
As a beginner-friendly bass guitar, you get everything you need to start your musical journey.
It should be noted that, unlike the Ibanez model, you will not be able to go the distance with this bass, it is great for beginners to start learning, but eventually, you have to move on to a better instrument.
One of the best qualities of this bass is that it is made for kids in specific. The dimensions of this bass are suitable for kids of all ages above the age of six.
As a junior bass guitar, you have a lot of potential with this instrument, so let’s take a detailed look at it.
Body & Build
The body of this bass is perhaps not its best feature. It is built from a wood called paulownia which I had never heard of before. The fretboard is made from rosewood.
As one of the lowest-priced bass guitars available, there is not much I expected, but surprisingly, this model does hold its own when you play it.
The build quality is not the best, you will have a hard time tuning the instrument at first, but once that is done, you will be able to enjoy playing without much more problems.
As the instrument is built for beginners, you can get started on it, but soon you will be left wanting more.
Sound Tone & Playability
The build quality and body might be a bit weird, but this bass redeems itself in terms of the sound and tone. It has a nice round tone which is not very gain heavy.
You will get a bit of noise from the pickups as they are not the best quality, but it should not be a hindrance when you are just starting out. Pro-tip, try to play at low volumes with less gain to avoid noise from the amp.
It is advisable for you to change the strings as you can do better on the strings overall. In terms of playability, you can easily play this instrument and learn the basics on it.
You can also play different musical genres starting from pop, funk, blues, jazz on this bass. Notice how I did not mention rock; this is because this instrument is not best suited for rock music.
3. Squier by Fender Mini Precision Bass
Squier by Fender is a great choice for bass guitars; as one of the premier manufacturers of guitars and basses, Fender has a lot of experience in building high-quality basses that are played by experts all around the world.
The precision bass or P-bass is one of the most popular bass models of Fender, and it is widely regarded around the world.
The mini version lives up to the name of its older brother and provides amazing quality performance on a shorter scale length.
You get the same known-and loved P-bass sound, and you also get easier to play quality with a reduced body size that is fit for kids and adults.
Overall, it is one of the best classic basses for kids that you can currently buy. Let’s take a detailed look at it.
Body & Build
This Squier replication of the Fender P-Bass is made out of poplar for the body, and the fingerboard is made from laurel. We have seen these woods being used in the past for other Squier models.
They are used to save costs and keep the price of these instruments low. One of the best features about this bass is that it is considerably lightweight, and the overall instrument is really nice.
The build quality is solid and something you can rely upon because of the great manufacturers. This bass is a great bass for kids.
For adults, it is more of a gimmick product that you try for fun. It will be really unique if you play it live so you can try it out if you are into that idea.
Sound Tone & Playability
In terms of sound, this bass is the best one on the list so far, with amazing sound quality that properly replicates the sound of an original P-bass.
You will probably be surprised by the tone of this bass. It is very versatile and can be used to play any style of music you can imagine.
The playability is also amazing and great for kids and beginners, thanks to the small size and comfortable dimensions of this bass.
The die-cast tuners are not too shabby definitely can hold their tuning but not for a long time.
You would probably have to tune it every other day, which is not bad considering it’s an amazing instrument at a pretty affordable price.
The overall playability is great, and it is one of the best kids bass guitars you can find online.
4. Cordoba Mini II Bass MH-E
The only acoustic/electric option on the list, and it comes from Cordoba. I was not very familiar with this brand, but I really liked their products after checking and testing their guitars out for the best ½ size guitars blog.
In my opinion, this brand has really mastered the craft of making mini guitars as all of their models are really good with quality performance and features.
The Mini II Bass is a great first bass for your child. It is loud, and you can play it alone in a room without any amplifier. The fact that you can connect it to an amp when you want makes it an even better purchase.
The size is really made for kids, and it is really one of the better kids bass guitars available currently. Let’s take a closer look at it.
Body & Build
The body is made from mahogany and provides a rich tone to the bass. The only striking factor that I should point out is that it is a nylon string bass, so the tone is really very soft, but due to the nice make of the body, you get a quality deep sound from it.
As it is made for kids, the build is a bit average. But as a nylon string bass, you can expect durable and quality performance from this bass if maintained well.
The tuners are surprisingly pretty good on this model, much better than you would expect, and they can hold the tuning well.
Sound Tone & Playability
The sound of this bass is very different from the other bass guitars mentioned in the list. The primary reason is that it is an acoustic bass guitar with nylon strings.
For kids just starting, it makes no difference, but for adults, they can really hear and feel the difference in the sound of this bass.
The tone is really good, and you get a good deep and round tone that is great for playing along with your favorite acoustic tracks. The tone and sound of this bass are not versatile.
You can play a few genres of music with this bass. It is a great instrument for learning and starting out, but you will have to move to an electric bass for the versatility you need in the long run.
The playability of this bass is really nice because it is made specifically for kids. You have to adjust the action of this bass when you first get it but then it is smooth sailing from there.
The nylon strings are great as they don’t hurt the fingers of kids, and they can learn how to play the instrument without the finger pain that comes from steel strings.
Final Thoughts
From another one bites the dust, to seven nation army, and practically the entire catalog of music by Red Hot Chili Peppers, the list of amazing bass players making their mark on music with catchy basslines has moved music as we know it forward over the years.
If you also want your child to be one of the people that pushes the envelope forward it’s a great idea to get them started on the bass guitar early.
The bass guitar is a great instrument for you to start your musical journey. You can learn a lot about rhythm, groove, and overall musicality by playing the bass guitar.
So, why wait? Get your child started on the bass guitar with any of the ones I reviewed in the article. You can also share your thoughts or questions in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
Anindya is a Self-taught Musician and a Home Studio Owner who likes sharing his two cents on Guitars, Gears, and Music. You can find his Music on Spotify, YouTube and Facebook.