Did you try to be a guitarist?

[tk421]

im fairly proficient at both. ive played both in bands. ill write for both. not a big deal to me. i see 6 little strings, i think one way, i see 5 big ones, i start listening for a kick drum. no biggie.

is it just me, or does everyone that plays bass around here (sw ohio, that is) also play at least guitar fairly proficiently? almost all of the "bass players" i know play at least one other instrument, most of them play several.

to quote Heinlein, specialization is for insects.

 

[Rockmusician]

I started on guitar and still play it. I switched to bass because I was playing another guitarist and a drummer and we didn't have a bass player. I found that whenever I did an fills, I was usually playing bass lines so it seemed like I was destined to play bass. It became my main instrument. I can also play keys. However, during the last few years I have become increasing bored with the bass. I can play everything I ever wanted to play and the challenge is no longer there. I'm considering playing drums or doing something in a totally different direction such as classical or jazz guitar.

 

[sonic assassin]

is it just me, or does everyone that plays bass around here (sw ohio, that is) also play at least guitar fairly proficiently? almost all of the "bass players" i know play at least one other instrument, most of them play several.

to quote Heinlein, specialization is for insects.

im finding that there are fewer and fewer competent musicians around here, so i might as well be able to play everything. thats why i picked up bass. no one wanted to play it. i wanted to play it on songs i wrote. i wanted that new perspective on writing. i was playing bass in a band 2 weeks later and was with that band for 3 years.

theres not much else to do around here. might as well pick up an instrument or two and then have every club in town tell you your pants arent tight enough to play there.

 

[4to5to6]

I started playing bass when I received one as a Christmas present when I was 13. A few years later I started playing electric guitar and then about 15 years after this I really got into acoustic and even the banjo. I really learned the guitar well but bass has always been my main instrument. It just perfectly suits my rhythm and ear strengths. I also found it hard to be a guitar player as you are then expected to sing lead and singing isn't one of my strong points. I have learned to play many instruments but fits me the best. I'm fortunate to have started on it.

As a side note... knowing the guitar chords really enhances my bass playing abilities... this is true for many readons but especially true in a jam situation where I can watch the guitar player. I can easily follow him because I recognize all the chord shapes.

 

[plangentmusic]

I think it's important for a bass guitarist to play some guitar -- for both composition and to improve dexterity. It's helped me tremendously.

But it's been only recently where I've been bold enough to record full parts and solos -- but I kinda play like a bassist!

Here's a track from Cd where I play all the instruments.

Oddly enough, I've never done a gig on guitar. I just feel like it's something on which I can express myself. But the bass is an extension of who I am.

Does that make sense?

 

[lousybassplayer]

I never started out to be a guitar player, but I have picked up some guitar stuff here and there. My old teacher decided one day he wanted to learn guitar, and was a virtuoso inside of a few months, so I figured if I got good enough at the fundamnentals I could pick up guitar whenever I got around to it. Never ended up happening.

I do find that when I have some song fragment rattling around in my head it'seasier to get it out with a guitar. I hear guitar parts in my head most of the time, and trying to write bass parts around them requires me to already have guitar parts written or it just sounds weird.

 

[ciubz]

i used to play rhythm guitar when i was 16, but then realised that bass is my coup of the, so here i am 27 and playing bass ) I write songs on guitar, but that is as deep as i go on the guitar

 

[treekiller]

I started out playing guitar as a teen, but usually only played rythym parts. I was never really comfortable playing lead.
I got my first bass nearly 4 years ago and it has been a revelation!!! I picked it up fairly quickly and it felt fairly natural from the begining. I rarely pick up a guitar now and when I do it feels weird to me......

 

[Atticus]

Inverse for me. I played bass for 3 1/2 years before I picked up an Epiphone SG to help with song composition. Bass was and still is by far my preference, but the added skill is nice to have.

i can't get passed that damn pick!

Nothing wrong with playing guitar with your fingers. I figure if it's good enough for Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck, then it can work for me. I can play both guitar and bass with a pick, but I prefer the tactile experience of putting your fingers to the strings.

 

[bolophonic]

I've never played anything but bass guitar. A tiny bit of drums in the past couple of years, but nothing major.

 

[39-Bassist]

Oh yeah, was given an acoustic and played it for 6months but wanted to sound like "Boston and Triumph" so bought a electric guitar for 6 more months. Not really happy with feel to my bigger hands, went and picked up a bass at the store and the rest is history. Well at least my history.

 

[dvil88]

About a year ago my friend lent me an old guitar (a VW guitar from the old Jetta promo, no less) because he wanted a rhythm guitarist in his band so I sorta started there (no appreciable music experience before that). Then his bassist quit last march so he lent me his bass to learn that instead. I took to that a lot better than guitar so he stopped looking for a bassist.

 

[Rob22315]

I started on guitar in high school 20+ years ago first with steel string, then with classical. Discovered with classical that a wide fingerboard and lots of finger exercises worked wonders (which is why I love the Ibanez BTBs). In my 20's and 30's, I did open mike nights, played at a coffee house, and even did a wedding but kept up with my classical self-study. I have toyed with the idea of getting into bass from time to time because I've always like bass runs in classicial and I knew the finger picking techniques would translate well.

Finally got the push to try bass four months ago when I joined my church's praise band and have been loving it ever since. I perform live every weekend (usually 4-6 songs) as part of the early AM church service. The band is looking to expand our playing opportunities a little bit with an occasional extracurricular gig but we haven't got anything specific set up yet.

 

[Rune Bivrin]

I played guitar for close to 30 years before picking up the bass in earnest. I would say I'm a pretty functional rythm guitar player but a mediocre solo player.

Interestingly my guitar playing has very little in common with my bass playing, both technique wise and harmony wise. I tend to play 12 string guitar with a plectrum. Still, I have noticed that my guitar playing separates the bass strings from the treble strings, and I will often do short walks on the bass strings when changing chords. I think I have always done that.

I also play very basic piano. No lessons, but knowing harmony I can accompany myself singing just enough to get by and write songs.

To me it's a complete mystery how anyone can play bass and no other instrument. How do you know what you're supposed to augment with your playing?

 

[Kermin VH]

My best friend in middle school got a guitar for his 13th birthday, I noodled around on it and fell in love with making noise. I had actually decided to ask for a bass for my 13th birthday (I've always loved the way bass sounds), but one of our other friends got one before I did, and they already had a friend that played drums, so I decided to get a guitar and learn rhythm.

Played with them for a few years; it fizzled out and I started jamming with a group of guys as their rhythm guitarist. The bass player pissed off our lead guitarist's mom by eating a WHOLE BAG of unopened Chips Ahoy in ONE NIGHT, in addition to always helping himself to everything in sight anyway, so she told him he wasn't welcome anymore. After about a month of looking for a bass player, I sold my Hughes and Ketner Triamp and cab, bought a Warwick Streamer standard 5, Ampeg B2E and 410HLF cab, and haven't looked back. Took me six years to get there, but I'm glad I did.

 

[cycler]

I play both in current band and also bass synth parts via Mainstage. Was ex-pro guitarist before current profession and drafted into an 80's female pop/dance thing this year when no bass player could be found. I'm really enjoying learning Forget Me Nots, Jermaine Jackson, Feel For you etc etc and ( best of all ) buying new GEAR !! RH450 AND GB 2X12, PJ, Active JB at the moment but we all know what a slippery slope that is.

To OP - most of the bass players I know can play a little guitar but none very well. THe ones that do are crossovers like myself for the most part

 

[Chrisk-K]

Instead of buying another bass (I have 4), I'm seriously thinking about buying an ES-335 (I have 2 Strats). I'm listening to Larry Carlton too much nowadays.

 

[lomo]

Never had any desire to play guitar-went straight to bass.

 

[acedabone]

I actually became a musician from a different angle... Growing up I was a very high level choir and solo singer starting from church and moving on thru school and beyond into bands. A friend of mine and I got signed out of Nashville to a developmental deal that was really crappy. The company suggested I pick up acoustic guitar cuz it would ad to the whole "Country" look. I picked up guitar and did pretty well at acoustic strumming. But I was always told that I play the guitar like a bass player. I would like to thump and pluck the strings and apparently annoy the crap outta people. lol I guess the whole rhythmic style of my playing came as a result of my short stint in Middle and High school as a drummer. I never stuck with that cuz I never could get my feet to fully cooperate with me. After getting dumped my Capital, I moved back home and answered an ad for a vocalist position and they need a bass player. Well, I found out that the Bass and I were like peas and carrots and the rest is history!

 

[R. Laevinus]

I have a beautiful skinny six, and I can make it weep... but I'm not a guitar player, and never will be, in any real sense.

Because of an arm injury a few years back, I can't maintain a proper hand position for chording - and what good is a guitarist who can't chord? I can do all sorts of great things with single-note riffs and lines, but without chording ability, I'm never going to play guitar in front of people unless I wrote the songs specifically to accomodate.