Does learning guitar make you a better bassist?

[Squidfinger]

I've got my first acoustic coming to me in the mail right now as we speak. I'm not looking to become a guitarist I just don't want to be so ignorant of the instrument I'm backing up 95% of the time.

I'm curious.

Have any of you guys found that after learning how to play guitar it helped you as a bass player?

[P. Aaron]

The other way around for me. I think learning bass made me a much better guitar player.

[BassGod]

I'd absolutley say that learning guitar helped me become a better bass player. I think any instrument you learn has it's own musical voice, and when you transfer that voice over to the bass, it gives you a new perspective, and new musical ideas that you would have never thought of before.

Graeme

[Figjam]

Helps me a little bit.

[Aaron Saunders]

Both kind of support each other, for me. Everytime I switch to a different instrument, I find it helps my understanding of everything I'm playing. For instance, experimentation with guitar voicings helped reinforce intervals and modes, bass helped my feel on guitar, and sight-singing has helped my reading in both treble and bass clef tremendously.

[sargebaker]

helped me tons.

[Minger]

I just ordered an Agile. I'm expecting it to help my bass playing, as did playing Piano and Viola...and then learning Electric bass has helped me start Double bass.

It all adds up...wind instruments on the ohter hand I don't think I could ever approach.

[syciprider]

[confession] I'm a frustrated geetard [/confession]

[Squidfinger]

Thanks for the advice Smash.

[superbassman2000]

it helped me a lot, of course, i wouldn't limit it to just guitar, i think that any instrument can help you become a better bassist, because i think that all instruments have a different function in a band, so you see a new way of playing bass...i think being an oboe player can have an impact on how you play bass, etc...

[pklima]

Helpful but only a little. Piano is far more useful - makes theory a lot easier to understand. Learning mandolin proved quite helpful in navigating a bass tuned in fifths. Learning DB has definitely made me a much better bass guitarist.

[Ray-man]

More than anything, it helped me understand guitarists better.

[chips]

Originally Posted by Squidfinger

I've got my first acoustic coming to me in the mail right now as we speak.

dude, how big is ur mail box?

[Aj*]

I play piano to a pretty high level (full Sonatas) and so really I felt that did far more for my abilities than guitar could ever do. In reality I noodled around on guitar for a while but there's no groove happening there and I didn't feel it was of any worth to me musically.

[Marcus]

By far I would suggest taking up piano if you would really, really would like to benefit your bass playing.

The ear training alone is worth the time and effort.

[Dream Works]

Well, my teacher is a studio bassist, but is better at guitar and I do believe that's his main instrument. So essentially, he's teaching me guitar techniques, so I do believe that playing guitar does help quite alot.
Guitar technique is not very different from bass, anyway.

[tplyons]

For me, I believe that the most beneficial part is learning how a guitar fills sonic space, and learning the role of the guitar, so as a bassist, you can think like a guitarist and play AROUND that.