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Let's start with a list and I'll break it apart. It will be useful as a checklist if you're thinking of starting out or if you're thinking of buying a gift for a bass player. With the technical advances over the last couple of decades, the price has dropped so that beginners can achieve a nice sound at starter prices.

Starter kit:

• Bass guitar
• Amplifier
• Lead
• Strap
• Strings
• Case
• Stand
• Optional: Strap Locks
• Pick or plectrum

Bass Guitar:

This is the easy no-brainer requirement; to learn bass, you'll need a bass. It gets more difficult straight after that. What type of bass do you want? 4, 5 or 6 string? Active, passive? P or J-Bass? Short-scale or long-scale?

Have a think of bassists who you like. What do they play? Most live hard rock is done on a P-bass so it cuts through the mix. It's not necessarily always the case, there are enough exceptions to that rule. For recording, a jazz bass or a hybrid with a one jazz and one set of p-bass pickups maybe more appropriate. Do some research into the different types and how they sound. Any shop salesperson should at least demo the differences to you especially if it's obvious you can't play for yourself.

If you've no real idea after that, then the safest option would be a 4 string Jazz bass. Wherever you decide to progress to after that, at least you'll have a basic bass.

Play (or at least hold) the bass as you'd like to be able to play it, e.g. sitting or standing. Does it feel comfortable in that position or does it keep slipping? When sitting, would you use a strap? It does help keep it place more.

Amplifier:

If you're just into recording and you've got a good DI route through your DAW/multitrack/mixing desk, then you don't actually need an amplifier. You could just plug into the interface/board/outboard DI and go from there.

Assuming you want to hear yourself sound a bit more like a bass at the time of recording, or if you're like a lot of people, just want to learn a bass without recording it, then you'll need an amplifier. There is a lot of information around about the differences between amplifier types. We'll keep it brief here. Suffice to say that there's usually an amplifier section comprising a preamp and a power amp, usually with some eq and then there's a speaker section comprising the speaker and cabinet. When the two are together in the same housing, it's a combo. If you're starting out, it'll probably be a combo unless you've got the money for a separate head and cab.

For a transistor amp, 30W is about the minimum. 10W and 15W exist, but there's more potential of you getting fed up with the sound and the instrument. If you can stretch to more, then better. 300W seems to be about standard for playing with a drummer. Some, more efficient amps will work even at 150W or 200W but you'd need to check. Bear in mind that, assuming energy efficiency, 100W is only twice as loud as 10W. If you're thinking about valve amps for bass, then you're not in the beginner league anymore. Although I was looking at the new breed of 7W all-valve guitar amps and wondering if I could plug a bass in and use a 15inch speaker cab. 7W valve can be very loud.

Some features may see on your amp:

• eq or at least bass, middle, treble so you can shape the tone of the bass. Generally though, how does it sound with all the eq flat?
• input gain - basses have a lot of dynamic range, so if you're plucking hard, then the ability to turn the input gain down would be useful
• output volume - the main volume for the amplifier
• headphone socket - usually disengage the speaker (not always, so check), useful for quiet rehearsals, also for a cheap quality direct out
• direct out - for passing the signal from the preamp out for recording or for input to a slave amplifier.
• tuner - some amplifiers have tuner built in. More common on guitar amplifiers than bass
• tuner out - to connect a tuner to
• effects in/out or send/return - to connect effect processors/pedals in the loop between preamp and power amp stages
• speaker out - to power an external speaker from the amplifier. Not sure why a beginner amplifier would benefit from this. I can't imagine a 30W bass amp being able to drive a 15 inch speaker that well
• handles - often an afterthought when buying, but how are you going to carry the amp? Can you lift it safely? Can you get it up and down stairs or ilft it in and out of your car safely?
• DSP Effects - effects built-in to the amp that colour the tone of your bass guitar sound. Often not worth the hassle of having them. The quality of the effects used to be awful. But I've been surprised by the quality of amps and basses recently, so maybe these are now adequate.
• Limiter/Compressor - used to be only available for the more expensive amps, but I've noticed that even some of the budget Laneys have limiters built-in. These are very useful, depending on your playing style.

Also have a think about where you're going to put the amp. Will it fit? I've measured them up before to check sizes.

The combo pictured on this page is an Ashdown Perfect 10. It's a 30W transistor bass amp and has a nice set of features, great for a beginner and sounds nice too.  

Lead:

You'll need a lead to connect the bass guitar to the amplifier. It's a mono signal usually with a jack at both ends, although I have seen XLRs used as well, but not on beginner-level kit.

Get a decent lead, you don't need a branded, moulded, super-duper lead with extra-special directional, silver cable. Get a decent, nice thick lead that doesn't look like it will snag. If it's got some heavy-duty screwed-on plugs on the ends, it's usually a good sign. I've had my main guitar lead for 15 years. Still going, although I think I may need to replace the plugs now. I'll get some proper (non-fake) Neutriks. No point using anything else.

Strap:

I think this one's down to personal preference. I look for a bit of padding at the shoulder and end holes that don't look they'll stage to warp with the stress of a moving bass guitar.

Strings:

Actually, I don't have much to say about these. There's a lot of debate about which is the best type, let alone best brand. Check the bass forums around and see for yourself. I find that bass strings will last a lot longer than guitar strings, not only before they break (rare), but also before they begin to sound too muddy. Strings are nearly always a lot cheaper online than in shops. However, if you can get some thrown in to sweeten the deal, then do so. Check the condition of the strings on the bass before you buy, it maybe that you'll have a fair few months left in them.

Case:

Any guitar deserves a hard-case. I'm adamant about that. But I also see the advantages of a good quality gig-bag. I'd never use the nylon bags that usually come in starter kits. Sometime hard-cases for bass won't fit width-wise in most cars. That caught me by surprise when I tried to take my bass guitar to a rehearsal. So I used the relatively sturdy gig bag instead. The gig bag is also more useful for carrying, coming complete with shoulder straps, a variety of handles and accessory pockets. I like Warwick's Rockbags.

Stand:

Ok, you're busy playing bass and the doorbell rings. What do you do? Go downstairs with the bass on, clunking the neck into the staircase and doorframe, knocking everything in sight and a few things you didn't see? Or place it against a bookcase and answer the door, only to hear it slip and crash to the floor. If you're engrossed, chances are you'd leave the door anyway and carry on playing. But that's another story. For the sake of £10-20 get a stand or at least a wall hanger (although I don't know what they do the neck). Check that the stand fits the bass before you leave the shop. Sounds odd. I've seen my bass fall through the amps at the bottom of a stand before (luckily onto carpet) and I've seen stands that grip at the next but don't extend far enough for a long-scale bass.

Strap Locks:

I believe that every guitar and strap should come already equipped with these. Even better if we could have one standard so that if you forgot your strap, you could use another lying around. Unfortunately, there are several standards including some augmented plastic washers that I wouldn't even call straplocks.

The proper metal straplocks provide a sturdy, almost failsafe (like most in things in life, it's not completely failsafe) way of connecting the strap to the guitar. I've caught too many guitars as the strap has pinged off and the guitar's started to fall to the ground. I've seen a few that weren't caught and ended up being dented. Not good. They cost about £10-£15 for four pieces. Two to attach to either end of the strap and two to attach to the guitar. You have to unscrew the existing strap lugs and screw the new ones in. If you're lucky, they'll fit nicely. If you're not, then you'll need to fill the gap. Even on a Les Paul, I had to resort to this. My method was to take sawdust and PVA woodglue and put a tiny amount in the hole with a toothpick. Then screw the new lug in. It's worked for the last few years without any problem.

Sounds a lot of bother, but for a maximum of 30 minutes and a small outlay, I'm not watching the strap and worrying if it's going to hold. For every guitar I buy, I use the Schaller straplocks. The only decision I have to make is which colour.

Picks:

This divides bass players. Do they play finger-style, thumb-style or with a pick. I use all three. Even if you play finger-style, you may come across the need for a pick at one point or another. There are some rhythms I think can only be played with a pick. I'd dread to try them finger-style. I could hit the same pattern and rhythm, but the accents would be different. For bass you need a thicker pick than on electric or acoustic guitar. I like the Stubby from Jim Dunlop. I like the dent which is great for getting a good grip with. As for electric guitars, the pick material and attack makes a difference to the sound.

In total:

The above should be the minimum you'd be looking to come away with from a shop if you're into the usual learning and rehearsing onto aiming to play with others. If you're tight on budget, decide which activity you want to forego. For example, if you need time to learn before you play with others, then you may not need a bag/case for a while.

Future kit:

• Better amp and speakers
• Compressor
• Preamp
• More and better basses
• other fx processors/pedals
• new pickups

I'll leave this section for another day and another article.

Motivation:

Whatever kit you buy, it's down to you to learn how to play the bass. Regular lessons and a practice regime work well. If you're still not improving as you'd like to (and you think you're realistic), have a look at the social blogs on the right-hand side for quick hints.

Other References:

You should have a look at How to buy a bass. This goes into more detail about the bass itself. There's a lot of useful information, fortunately I don't see anything contradicting what I've written here either, so that's good. I've got one main addition to this, check that all the strings play open without clanking against the frets. A couple of the basses I played the other day couldn't do this. I was appalled.

A nice simple guide explaining the major differences can be found at Thomann

Want to understand whether you'll benefit from compression or not, then look at the Bass Players Guide to Compressors

Want to check reviews, then the first place is Harmony Central. Actually, I usually recommend this as the first place to look for anything related to musical instruments.

There are a lot of bass-related sites out there, there are a few here:

http://www.activebass.com/

http://www.bassplayer.com/

http://www.studybass.com/

In my experience, the best nuggets of information are on the sites and interviews of professional bass players.

Then there's the usual magazines you can find in most stores

Part of a series by Award Sounds offering a selection of creative ideas to kick-start or rejuvenate a composition.