Cleaning the neck and fretboard is a part of bass guitar maintenance that needs doing periodically. If it is lacquered, the back of the neck can be cleaned with guitar polish. Just spray a little on a soft cloth and give the neck a good wipe. If it is not lacquered an application of beeswax will keep it in good condition. Read more »

Over time, bass guitar strings gradually become dull and lifeless. Sweat and oil from your fingers and general dirt become trapped in the string windings. The acid in your sweat will attack the strings and gradually prevent them from vibrating as well as they did when new. Read more »

In this article we take a look at what are not really bass guitar effects, but units that help control your volume. More accurately called dynamic controllers they control the volume under various playing conditions. We will discuss three types of dynamic controllers: compressors, limiters and noise gates. Read more »

The body is home for several components including the pickups, bridge, scratch plate or pick guard, controls and strap buttons. Read more »

In this final part in our series of posts on how to tune a bass guitar we look at electronic tuners. Available in pocket-size models costing around $20 to large rack mounted models costing several hundred dollars, electronic tuners are a highly accurate means of tuning any instrument and after using one for a while you will wonder how you ever managed without one. Read more »