Why Do So Many Bassist Leave And Take-Up Guitar?

haloonpc · #1 01-13-2007, 08:10 PM

It gets me kind of angery how so many people as soon as they start getting any good at bass just desert it and go after the electric guitar just 'cause it's usually the lead instrument. maybe they just get bored because they can't slap or something. The only good I see is that it lets me have more gigs.

Yell03SpecV · #2 01-13-2007, 08:10 PM

I think more people do the opposite. I did.

Superpang · #3 01-13-2007, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haloonpc

It gets me kind of angery how so many people as soon as they start getting any good at bass just desert it and go after the electric guitar just 'cause it's usually the lead instrument. maybe they just get bored because they can't slap or something. The only good I see is that it lets me have more gigs.

My friend is doing the same thing.

WalterBush · #4 01-13-2007, 08:15 PM

I did it because my singer at the time and I couldn't find a guitarist who would shut up and do what they were told. In college I studied classical guitar because the bass instructor and I didn't get along. Later, I found that playing a baritone guitar kind of let me have the best of both worlds, and I continue to play bass, DB, or baritone/7 string guitar, depending on the band.

And yes, I get more gigs this way.
Then again, your thread may refer to people who drop bass altogether, not people who pull double-duty.

I'd also point out that Geddy Lee played rhythm guitar on several Rush albums, and had a 4-banger/12-string guitar doubleneck for live use. A bassist playing guitar is not unprecedented.

haloonpc · #5 01-13-2007, 08:17 PM

Nah I mean't people who leave and never pick a bass up again.

spade2you · #6 01-13-2007, 08:20 PM

I did the opposite because there was an abundance of guitarists. I always think it would be cool to be a guitarist again, but who would play bass?!?!?!

MarkTAW · #7 01-13-2007, 08:26 PM

I play more guitar lately since I'm playing fewer gigs & I just like to pick up the acoustic and have a singalong. I don't solo or anything (though I probably could in a punk kind of way), but I am a pretty good player.

To be honest, I think every bass player should know how to play guitar, it's one of the things that makes us better than them. Guitarists are notoriously bad at bass, despite the fact that they think it must be easier because it has fewer strings. We should also know how to play drums too, but I never really got the chance - NYC apartment living and all.

haloonpc · #8 01-13-2007, 08:32 PM

Yeah. I can play guitar since I've studied some books i have on music theory and I know some chords plus. But I just think that the bass has more to offer me.

P.S. w00t they are showing Red Hot Chili Peppers LOADED on Fuse right now!

peaveyuser · #9 01-13-2007, 08:40 PM

I'd rather pick up drums as a second instrument. Too many guitar players out there. Bass will always come first though.

darthplagis · #10 01-13-2007, 08:57 PM

well i started on guitar but all the time i was craving deeper lower and 'better'

. then i picked up a bass one day at college and never went back (i was on a music course as a singer and dabbled in practice, ended up a singing bassist).

once in a practice my bro (guitarist too) was going on about how he could play 'my easy bass line'............well we swapped instruments and he tried (it wasnt too bad with a pick but not perfect) but me on the other hand played his 'harder' guitar parts with ease hehe but thats brothers for you

Dr. Cheese · #11 01-13-2007, 08:59 PM

I say let the music lead you and get into to what you want. Back in the 1980s, I played synthesizer because bass guitar on records almost became extinct. I found I really loved synthesizer and drum machines too. Later, I finally got a good five string and I also realized that as a full time graduate student, I couldn't play music as much as I would like, and I went back to bass exclusively.

tplyons · #12 01-13-2007, 09:00 PM

I play guitar to write, bass to perform.

g00eY · #13 01-13-2007, 09:03 PM

i recently picked up guitar so i could play music wherever without having to have somewhere to plug in. usually there is an acoustic around if i wanna play. i also figured i should learn chords so i can extract bass lines from what the lead is playing. i still play bass at least 2x more than guitar, though.

i'm a bassist at heart

.

Flintc · #14 01-13-2007, 09:08 PM

I played guitar for a long time. Everyone did. I couldn't find anyone who could give me the bass line I wanted to work against. I found that a lot of guitarists could work against a good bass line better than I could anyway. What to do, what to do? Hey, how about learning to produce that bass line? Should be pretty easy, right?

Well, no. Real super simple bass lines, maybe. But not anything fun to work against. That takes imagination, experience, and chops. So I needed those. Still working on them...

MarkTAW · #15 01-13-2007, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by g00eY

i recently picked up guitar so i could play music wherever without having to have somewhere to plug in. usually there is an acoustic around if i wanna play. i also figured i should learn chords so i can extract bass lines from what the lead is playing. i still play bass at least 2x more than guitar, though.

i'm a bassist at heart

.

Exactly. I have the bass, which is primarily a for groups. Guitar is for when I'm by myself.

Rocinante_x1 · #16 01-13-2007, 09:30 PM

I did it. I started on bass, then took up guitar. I still play bass more though. Im glad i took up guitar though , because its all i played for 5 months while my bass was broke'd.

Pickebass · #17 01-13-2007, 09:30 PM

I play both and piano/keyboards as well. I could play any at a gig but prefer to play bass. Unfortunately, outside the bassworld, most of the songwriting done on bass (especially, as a lead instrument) does not translate well to the masses.

I find that many over-simplify bass and don't understand what it takes to be a REALLY GOOD BASSPLAYER. Many times being good at the instrument does not garner the spotlight, but brings the right element to the song.

motleystew · #18 01-13-2007, 09:30 PM

I went from guitar to bass myself and still play both. I feel what I learn on one helps me on the other. By learning chords on the guitar, I have a knowledge of how chords are made and it helps me to play within that chord and not always having to play the root. On the flip side, by building strength and dexterity on the bass, I can play SO much faster/smoother on the guitar. I liken this to the batter in baseball who warms up with a weighted bat so when he uses his regular bat, it feels so much lighter and he can swing it faster.

Want a 9 · #19 01-13-2007, 09:33 PM

Them tiny guitar strings hurt my fingers. Guitars had too many strings. I started on bass about 4 years later. It fit better - bigger strings, longer neck, deeper tone. I went from guitar to bass - it fit me better. But now I mainly play 5, 6, and 7 string bass. I dying to get a 9 or 10 string bass. So much for a guitar having too many strings.

et141311 · #20 01-13-2007, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkTAW

I play more guitar lately since I'm playing fewer gigs & I just like to pick up the acoustic and have a singalong. I don't solo or anything (though I probably could in a punk kind of way), but I am a pretty good player.

To be honest, I think every bass player should know how to play guitar, it's one of the things that makes us better than them. Guitarists are notoriously bad at bass, despite the fact that they think it must be easier because it has fewer strings. We should also know how to play drums too, but I never really got the chance - NYC apartment living and all.

AMEN!!!