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Am i a bass player or a guitar player ?

T

TheBigMoney

Mar 6, 2020
15
21
#1
Hi guys. I started guitar at age 12 and always wanted to become a solid hard rock/heavy metal player. I eventually got good at it. My hereos are people like Micheal Schenker, Randy Rhoads, George Lynch or John Sykes. Marshalls and big tones.

Last year i bought my first bass out of boredom and noticed i grabbed my Les Paul only two times ever since. I must say i have a lot of fun playing bass and i honestly think i am better at everything rhythm than lead, at least i seem to have more fun that way, maybe out of laziness.

Yesterday i took the LP out of it's case and plugged it into the good old Marshall 2203 and wow... I missed that a lot. At the same time i really want to play bass. I feel puzzled about what i should do. The thing is i dont want to be "jack of all trades, master of none". I guess i wasn't the only one feeling that !
 
#3
I sat down with my guitar one day, and realized "I'm better on the bass." that was the turning point. You may have the same revelation, or not. Play both, play one, be happy doing whichever it is you choose.
 
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#4
I'm not a lawyer or a judge, but I see no crime in being a competent multi-instrumentalist.

Would Wilton Felder have been a better saxophonist if he hadn't taken a detour with the electric bass? Would Jaco Pastorius had been a more influential electric bass player if he hadn't squandered his early years messing around with drums? Would Flea have been more valuable as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers if he hadn't wasted all of those early years messing around on trumpet? I mean, seriously...trumpet...such an unsightly piece of contorted, twisted brass with absolutely no low end. ;)

For the past few months during this unprecedented global halt to public performances, I've actually spent more time studying jazz piano than double bass or electric bass guitar, which are my primary instruments. Have I made a mistake?

TL;DR: When it comes to music, I don't subscribe to the "jack of all trades, master of none" philosophy.
 
#10
I play bass, am half competent on drums (I can keep time at least), make noises on guitar and mandolin. The only reason I would call myself a bassist is because I fall back on bass concepts when I run out of skill on other instruments.
 
#11
TheBigMoney said:
Hi guys. I started guitar at age 12 and always wanted to become a solid hard rock/heavy metal player. I eventually got good at it. My hereos are people like Micheal Schenker, Randy Rhoads, George Lynch or John Sykes. Marshalls and big tones.

Last year i bought my first bass out of boredom and noticed i grabbed my Les Paul only two times ever since. I must say i have a lot of fun playing bass and i honestly think i am better at everything rhythm than lead, at least i seem to have more fun that way, maybe out of laziness.

Yesterday i took the LP out of it's case and plugged it into the good old Marshall 2203 and wow... I missed that a lot. At the same time i really want to play bass. I feel puzzled about what i should do. The thing is i dont want to be "jack of all trades, master of none". I guess i wasn't the only one feeling that !
Click to expand...

Your both. Its entirely possible. I play drums and a pinch of keyboards as well. Not uncommon at all
 
#13
Congratulations, you are a multi instrumentalists. That means that you can now pick up as many different instruments as you would like. Knowledge that you gain from each of these will add to your understanding of music and change you as a musician. The only down side is that instruments are expensive.
 
#15
I've picked up the only guitar I kept (PRS SE Custom 24) maybe 3 times since I switched to bass late last year. Each time, the strings feel closer and closer together, my right-hand metal rhythm chops have gone further down the drain, and it sounds plinkier and wimpier.

Recently traded off the acoustic guitar and mandolin, but I'm leery of getting rid of the last electric guitar. Whether it was acoustic, mandolin, banjo, or dobro, I've always come back to electric guitar. This time, though, I think I've fully moved on. When someone pops up with a bass I dig in trade for my PRS, guess I'll find out :)
 
#16
TheBigMoney said:
Hi guys. I started guitar at age 12 and always wanted to become a solid hard rock/heavy metal player. I eventually got good at it. My hereos are people like Micheal Schenker, Randy Rhoads, George Lynch or John Sykes. Marshalls and big tones.

Last year i bought my first bass out of boredom and noticed i grabbed my Les Paul only two times ever since. I must say i have a lot of fun playing bass and i honestly think i am better at everything rhythm than lead, at least i seem to have more fun that way, maybe out of laziness.

Yesterday i took the LP out of it's case and plugged it into the good old Marshall 2203 and wow... I missed that a lot. At the same time i really want to play bass. I feel puzzled about what i should do. The thing is i dont want to be "jack of all trades, master of none". I guess i wasn't the only one feeling that !
Click to expand...
Why wouldn’t you want to be as best as possible at everything you do, or at least good enough to serve your purposes in the instruments that you consider secondary? Whatever instrument you identify as primary, your skill on that is enhanced by progress made on the others. Being dogmatic is self-limiting.
 

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