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Convince me to join the low end?

Best under $250 bass that you can buy in stores in Toronto?

  • ESP B-50

    Votes: 8 22.2%

  • Ibanez GSR200

    Votes: 29 80.6%
  • Total voters
    36
J

jreme

Mar 18, 2011
14
0
#1
Okay so recently I posted a thread asking what the best newb basses were. (I'm gonna decide between the GSR200 and ESP B-50, don't suggest to me to buy anything else, it's final.) But lately i've been having second thoughts and thinking I should just spend the money on an electric guitar instead. I love the low end, and im aware that bassists are in demand waay more than guitarists...

but bass just seems a tad boring to me, maybe once I start playing it will be different, but.. Also, there's just something about guitar that is alluring (maybe the two extra strings? :P ). I play acoustic now so it seems like the bandwagon approach. ;) I don't want to start playing bass just because its not guitar.

PLEASE, can anyone convince me otherwise? If I can get experienced bassist's views on the situation, it would help a lot.
 
#5
Trying to determine whether this is just a troll/flame thread by the OP.

If you're actually serious, why the preconceived notion that bass is boring? Have you listened to or watched all players? Bored because you feel there's no challenge? Check some of players whose playing would make your head spin.... Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Bill Dickens - the list can go for miles but you get the point.

If you want 6 strings, the same option is available for the bass. I own a 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-string bass. You should be equally proficient on the bass regardless of string number. What if you're used to the 7-string and someone asks you to substitute for their player with only a 4-string?

And really, if you're still considering electric guitar with the budget range of a GSR200 or ESP B-50, I can't imagine you're going to end up with anything that will keep you interested.
 
#10
I think your initial instincts are correct and you should stick with guitard.
Bass IS terribly boring, and you are dead wrong about the demand...
Over the last 30 years our field has become both swamped and competitive. Look at Craigslist-i see dozens of bassists my age with chops, experience tallent and drive advertising weekly looking for paying work.
There is absolutely little room in a field so boring and competitive and so topheavy with dedicated bozos like me...for bored superstars like you who will suck up paying gigs until you are bored and ruin the gig through bad attitude and poor work ethic.
I assure you that your initial instincts were correct about boredom-bassists love what we do, and don't want guitard attitudes to sully a respectable field and endeavor.
 
#11
jreme said:
I love the low end, and im aware that bassists are in demand waay more than guitarists...

but bass just seems a tad boring to me, maybe once I start playing it will be different...
Click to expand...

It sounds like you don't have your mind made up yet, and your passion is misplaced. True, bassists are in demand, but that doesn't mean you can compete with bassists who take their instrument seriously and are pursuing a career with that instrument. If you want to play guitar on the side while playing bass as well, nobody is going to chase you with pitchforks and torches (I guarantee you that at least half of us on here could pick up a guitar and play SOMETHING), but don't get into this because you think its an automatic ticket into a band, because its not.

Trust me, it's better to play something you love in a band than be stuck in a role because it's "needed". I played rhythm guitar in a band one time and did some lead work, it was ok but the bassist just didn't have a solid foundation and it threw us all off. Picking a bass back up in that band was like getting a kiss from your favorite ex-girlfriend from high school (don't ask, its a long story lol). There's plenty of time to be miserable in your life, make sure you enjoy it when you're making music. :bassist:
 
#15
The bass is just so much more versatile than guitar. All a bassist needs is a bass and an amp. You can play with a pick. You can run your fingers. You can slap and pop. Can't really say the same about guitarists. They typically need all kinds of varying effects to change their sound. While all a bassist has to do is change technique, where he's hitting the strings or the amount of force. Yes, I have an effects system. But, I bought it for the varying head and speakers options; not for the distortion, chorus, flange, compression, overdrive, wah, etc. If you find it boring, then you are playing boring songs. If you spend all of your life playing U2, usually 4 or 5 notes, it will be monotonous. Challenge yourself.
 
#16
Plays_For_Dog said:
You have to go with what pulls your heart strings.

For me, I started on guitar. Hated it. Traded it in on a bass for sh*ts and giggles. As soon as I plugged the bass in, i was hooked. Never considered another guitar since. Go with what's in your soul.
Click to expand...

I was kinda the same way. I started learning six-string guitar, tried several different guitars but nothing ever clicked. Then I tried a used Fender P in the shop one day just to go, "Look, I'm Steve Harris!" and instantly got hooked. Go figure. :p
 

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