Artist MiniP 3/4 Size Electric Bass Guitar & Accessories

An ideal first electric bass – Pros: * classic design * compact size makes it ideal for children, and an easy switch for people who are used to playing normal guitars * required minimal setup * less prone to feedback than an acoustic bass * Artist Guitars happily sent me a machine head to replace the one that was damaged in transit. Cons: * comes with only 19 frets, and with only a single pickup * tone lacks the richness of an acoustic bass * needs an amplifier, even for practice.

This 4 string electric bass is a copy of the classic Fender Precision bass. It has a 30 inch scale length with 19 frets, compared with the standard 34 inch bass scale length and 22 frets. It's marketed as 3/4 size, but it's closer to 7/8. Because it's the same overall length as my dreadnought-size acoustic guitar, I find it easier to play than the standard electric bass that I used for the previous six months.

Like the basic Fender Precision bass, it comes with a volume control, a single tone control and single split pickup near the bridge. It doesn't offer the option of a second pickup near the neck, with a different sound.

It was easier to set up than either of my two previous basses. I took about twenty minutes to set the intonation, using a screwdriver to move the bridges and using an electronic tuner to check the intonation.

The string heights didn't need adjusting. They were about 3mm above the 12th fret, measured with a capo on the first fret. Both my previous basses needed string height adjustments. You can adjust the string heights on an electric bass with an Allen key. The string heights on the acoustic bass were initially 7mm above the frets. Even fitting a custom saddle only brought them down to 5mm. The higher action meant that I needed to put more pressure on the strings, and that the intonation became progressively less accurate as I moved down the fretboard.