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BASS QUITTERS ON CRAIGSLIST

#22
Floyd Eye said:
Being both a guitar player and a bass player, I certainly wouldn't say bass is easier. I would say to be mediocre at either is pretty easy. To be a good bass player is probably harder than being a good guitarist if for no other reason than once you learn a boatload of chords it is merely rote memorization. Bass lines are often much more detailed.

I can tell you that it is much easier to sing while playing guitar than it is to sing while playing bass. And in any respect, wanking away on 4 chords is much easier than repetitively walking the same bass scale, in time.
Click to expand...

I also agree here. I play guitar and since around last fall play it allot and have gone back to writing songs which i love. I can strum chords and sing and fingerpick melodies while singing. I have trouble walking a bassline and singing with bass.....heck playing roots and singing with bass it tough. I can stay home and on a guitars neck and reach allot of easy chords where on bass i have to walk and travel the neck to make up interesting basslines and add texture to a song...slides ,slurrs, pull offs etc. Guitar i strum, pick and it sounds so good.Bass is much tougher on my hands and wrist as well as fingers...so guitar is easy...bass...ummm not as easy as folks say.
 
#24
Floyd Eye said:
I can tell you that it is much easier to sing while playing guitar than it is to sing while playing bass. And in any respect, wanking away on 4 chords is much easier than repetitively walking the same bass scale, in time.
Click to expand...

I think you mean to say it is easier to strum chords than play a single note riff like a bass line. As an example ask any guitar player to play a single note line and sing along at the same time.
It separates the wheat from the chaff.
 
#26
Beginner Bass said:
Order of difficulty:

1. Mandolin
2. Guitar
3. Banjo
4. Bass

More strings make harder instruments, Guitar Center told me so!
Click to expand...

But - MILLIONS of minds want to know - how do these compare in difficulty to the Concertina???

concertina.jpg
 
#30
okay okay, I have played just about everything in order of descending difficulty:

  1. Horns take a lot more physical conditioning of a body part where most of us have very flabby muscles, your mouth! Correct pitch and intonation is only half the battle. Good tone is also hard to acheive.
  2. Keys are just hard as hell. It involves not only more complex chords/inversions than you can possibly play on a guitar or bass, but also playing different things on the left and right hands most of the time.
  3. drums Not only do you have to coordinate all 4 limbs, but for most styles of music you will be doing one thing with your right hand and foot and quite another with the left hand (snare) and foot (hat). Very physically demanding, PLUS the whole band relies on you to keep time. tempo and signal changes.
  4. bass - Sure you could just play straight quarter notes on the E string, but in any band that is any good you have to be exactly on time and in key. Also, to be perceived as a great bassist you have to really be on another level entirely. Bassists rarely get noticed at all unless they blow chunks.
  5. guitar- Really, timing is not as essential as it is on drums or bass. You can hold a chord and kind of fiddle with the strings for 4 bars, then change to the next chord and fiddle around. To be perceived as a good guitarist you really have to kick major but though.
  6. vocals- dont even have to own gear. Without taking any cheap shots, the only real requirements for a vocalist is to be engaging and not utterly tone deaf. If doing originals it is crucial that they be able to write lyrics that arent utterly hackneyed and pandering garbage. Its way too common for vocalists to either;
    A) Write childish garbage (most hip-hop, metal and punk bands I have been in or seen).
    B) Write "deep" lyrics that do not bear close scrutiny. Lots of "conscious" hip hop, and much of the jam band/indie circuit is rife with this. hey, what sells, sells.
    But I digest...

Of course violin and accordion have their own difficulties, as does playing harp without sounding too cornball.

More OT, I see far more guys getting out of bass due to the wife/kid on the way, then ones selling of their kids gear.
though I have seen a couple where it was obvious some teenager violated some line in the sand and the bass went up on CL. I am not gonna be that guy that swoops in to snag a deal on some kids bass that wants to play it. After all, I was a total juvenile delinquent when I was a teen!
 
#33
My opinion is that bass is "easier" in this respect:

One can get in a low level cover band their first few weeks of playing and just hang out on the root notes and create a decent overall sound with the band. Then, over time they can improve their skills by being able to practice often in a live band environment.
 
#35
Surely if you put 100% effort into being a good musician, then all instruments are equally demanding? Your best effort is your best effort, after all. And if you suck on one instrument, you'll probably suck on everything else.
 
#36
masterFlash said:
Have to agree that horns are the toughest to get up to a mediocre level of competency.

Singing and playing bass is tough because rythym of the bass is very important, often more important than the note.

Guitar is only tough until chord patterns are committed to muscle memory.
Click to expand...

Violin is harder to get up to decent performing level than horns. Horns have their issues with range and endurance, but getting a decent tone isn't too hard.

Getting enough skill to be worth a d@mn on any instrument isn't easy, but some are easier to mess around with than others.
 
#37
Wow!! Thanks for all the replies.

Quick story: Last year I bought an Ibanez SR300 Roadster Orange, almost brand-spanking new from a very young guy for $100. When I arrived to pick it up, he also gave me a new Roadrunner case, and about ten bass instruction books(with CDs still glued to the last page) worth nearly $250. He was gonna throw in a Fender practice amp for $20 more but I told him I already had two of those.

Oops, I forgot. There was also a brand new Levys leather strap inside the case that I guess he forgot about??

Now I kinda know what the Louisiana Purchase must've felt like.
 
#38
Floyd Eye said:
Being both a guitar player and a bass player, I certainly wouldn't say bass is easier. I would say to be mediocre at either is pretty easy. To be a good bass player is probably harder than being a good guitarist if for no other reason than once you learn a boatload of chords it is merely rote memorization. Bass lines are often much more detailed.

I can tell you that it is much easier to sing while playing guitar than it is to sing while playing bass. And in any respect, wanking away on 4 chords is much easier than repetitively walking the same bass scale, in time.
Click to expand...

Count me in (a bit late)! I absolutely agree with this, especially the singing while playing bass part. I think it's what amazes me the most about Geddy Lee!;)
 
#39
Calaverasgrande said:
okay okay, I have played just about everything in order of descending difficulty:

  1. Horns take a lot more physical conditioning of a body part where most of us have very flabby muscles, your mouth! Correct pitch and intonation is only half the battle. Good tone is also hard to acheive.
  2. Keys are just hard as hell. It involves not only more complex chords/inversions than you can possibly play on a guitar or bass, but also playing different things on the left and right hands most of the time.
  3. drums Not only do you have to coordinate all 4 limbs, but for most styles of music you will be doing one thing with your right hand and foot and quite another with the left hand (snare) and foot (hat). Very physically demanding, PLUS the whole band relies on you to keep time. tempo and signal changes.
  4. bass - Sure you could just play straight quarter notes on the E string, but in any band that is any good you have to be exactly on time and in key. Also, to be perceived as a great bassist you have to really be on another level entirely. Bassists rarely get noticed at all unless they blow chunks.
  5. guitar- Really, timing is not as essential as it is on drums or bass. You can hold a chord and kind of fiddle with the strings for 4 bars, then change to the next chord and fiddle around. To be perceived as a good guitarist you really have to kick major but though.
  6. vocals- dont even have to own gear. Without taking any cheap shots, the only real requirements for a vocalist is to be engaging and not utterly tone deaf. If doing originals it is crucial that they be able to write lyrics that arent utterly hackneyed and pandering garbage. Its way too common for vocalists to either;
    A) Write childish garbage (most hip-hop, metal and punk bands I have been in or seen).
    B) Write "deep" lyrics that do not bear close scrutiny. Lots of "conscious" hip hop, and much of the jam band/indie circuit is rife with this. hey, what sells, sells.
    But I digest...
Click to expand...

The one thing about vocals: you cannot change your instrument. If you were born with a bad one (like me), you can't buy a better one. When you break it, it's broken. Sometimes it sounds awesome this way but the world only needs one Tom Waits.
 

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