Any bassplayers here play guitar too?

reggaeman · #1 03-02-2006, 05:55 PM

I've been playing bass for 7 years now... I am tired of not being able to find other musicians who play what I want to hear. So my goal is to become a one man band!

Anyways I just bought a MIA Fender Strat and I am wondering if any other bass players made this transition to guitar. Are there any pointers, tips and tricks you can give me?

I am finding it difficult to play a smaller neck and smaller strings with smaller spacing between them. The thing thats REALLY driving me nuts is chords. I know its gonna take some time before I can play well... but I think it will be very rewarding in the end

Btw- I have my first guitar lesson tomorrow

The Golden Boy · #2 03-02-2006, 05:57 PM

Every once in a while

fookgub · #3 03-02-2006, 06:21 PM

I think you'll find lots of us play both. I actually started on guitar, so I can't tell you much about what the transition is like. Going from guitar to bass was pretty easy for me... after all, it's just a big guitar with less strings, right?

P. Aaron · #4 03-02-2006, 06:27 PM

When I joined here, I played bass in a cover band. I switched to guitar a few years later.

I found that the years I did play bass to be some of the most enjoyable and satisfying gigs I had. If the gig was right, I would do it again.

Most 'out of the chute' guitar players have NO IDEA how important solid and good musical bass playing is to the quality of the music. Most guitar players never really listen to it all.

Jazzin' · #5 03-02-2006, 06:29 PM

I used to play guitar for a couple of years within my bass playing period, but bass is my home. Guitar was just for fun.

BurningSkies · #6 03-02-2006, 06:32 PM

Yup. I play both, but never at the same time period.

I know that sounds odd, but it's fer real. When I'm playing bass that's it...I never pick up my guitar.

Right now I haven't played much guitar since about 2000. From 1997-99 I played only guitar and no bass. From 1988-1997 it was all bass.

Bob Lee (QSC) · #7 03-02-2006, 06:38 PM

I picked up the guitar a few years before I started on bass.

AxtoOx · #8 03-02-2006, 06:54 PM

2 PRS's, a Les Paul studio, MIA Strat, MIM Strat and a Martin Acoustic.
I have the recording stuff to record my own things and a Drummer for a daughter who can sing.

I've been playing guitar for 30 years, I concentrate more on Bass now but you can't get rid of playing that long.

jay_t · #9 03-02-2006, 07:02 PM

Oh yeah....

I started on bass... went to guitar and lost my bass, played guitar for quite a long time and found the bass again. I will often switch between bass and guitar in a jam session with friends on the fly because one of my friends likes to play both as well.

Thunderbird91 · #10 03-02-2006, 07:06 PM

Yep.

thats a really bad picture....

jay_t · #11 03-02-2006, 07:09 PM

Hmmm. Just a hunch but do you like Tbirds?

Thunderbird91 · #12 03-02-2006, 07:12 PM

how did you guess? Yep I like firebirds, thunderbirds pretty much anything _____bird.

agreatheight · #13 03-02-2006, 07:21 PM

I play bass, guitars and drums, lol. Pretty much anything I can get my hands on! Bass for 20 years, guitar for 15 and drums for about 2. It's fun!

Basshole · #14 03-02-2006, 07:30 PM

Guitar, bass, drums, and just enough keys to sequence my way out of a wet bag.

I learned guitar first, so the transition to the "large guitar with less strings" was actually easy - but I agree that most guitar players don't have a clue on how to lay down a solid bassline.

I ended up concentrating on bass, so I'd like to think that I do (have a clue on how to lay down a solid bassline).

...But yes, I play guitar as well. I'd say probably a good number of Bass Guitar players do...with DB players perhaps not as much of a percentage...

Richard Lindsey · #15 03-02-2006, 07:49 PM

I play both, and I don't really consider either one or the other my primary.

j-bass-kreep · #16 03-02-2006, 10:05 PM

I play both but I preffer to do leads on bass than on guitar .

philzbass · #17 03-02-2006, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reggaeman

I've been playing bass for 7 years now... I am tired of not being able to find other musicians who play what I want to hear. So my goal is to become a one man band!

Anyways I just bought a MIA Fender Strat and I am wondering if any other bass players made this transition to guitar. Are there any pointers, tips and tricks you can give me?

I am finding it difficult to play a smaller neck and smaller strings with smaller spacing between them. The thing thats REALLY driving me nuts is chords. I know its gonna take some time before I can play well... but I think it will be very rewarding in the end

Btw- I have my first guitar lesson tomorrow

The transition from bass to guitar is a tough one. You have to re-train your left hand technique. Going from guitar to bass is much easier. If you can play guitar you can play bass but not the other way around. You could be really good on bass but clueless on guitar.

The advantage to going from bass to guitar is your outlook on music as a whole. You'll understand the importance of bass and the role bass plays in music. Guitar players who pick up a bass have the tendancy to play bass like a guitar. Different instruments have different jobs. Respect both instruments for what they are.

The only advise I can really give you is practice-practice-practice. The lessons will give you some good finger exercises. Eventually you'll get it.

Good luck

pocket_groover · #18 03-03-2006, 02:03 AM

I started playing ukulele then the guitar. I picked out melodies off records and learned the chords that way too. I started to include bass as well (I started at 13) and played both for a while, but I found that the bass is where I really have an interest. I still play guitar and have learned more of the "jazz" voicings (9th, 11th, 13th, b5 etc) recently; always something new to learn!

I also started playing the drums during junior high, but haven't really done a lot with it. I know chords on the keyboard, but I'm not very good at it.

keb · #19 03-03-2006, 04:44 AM

(Another doubler here.)

I don't have any real tricks to offer, other than to say just hammer it out! And I think you might find your skills on bass will improve as you grow on guitar (and vice versa.) That's been my own personal experience.

I love bass, but I love guitar too. (And keyboards as well!) I could never give any of them up.

Incidentally, my next instrument is 99% likely to be a Fender Strat. Just gotta have it.

Willem · #20 03-03-2006, 05:37 AM

I went from guitar to bass, but I found the transition not that easy. I had some trouble with the frets and strings being farter apart. But I take my bass with me 'op kot' so I can practice every day and not just in the weekends.