For those who double - guitar

[dr bonkers]

I started on bass years ago and picked up guitar a few years after that.

I think learning each instrument helps the other.

For bass, I started out very scalar in my approach. Learning guitar opened up my ear to a more chordal approach to supporting the harmony of a song as well as thinking melodically about the bass line.

For guitar, the idea that we as bassists take for granted with passing notes becomes very interesting when applied to guitar harmony.

It also helps you with arranging and tone building so that you don't have parts that sonically mask each other by playing in the same frequency or note range.

 

[Dan_reeves]

I started on bass and picked up an acoustic guitar recently. I am having a lot of fun and you probably will too! Don't expect to play a ton of stuff right away - as long as you have the right expectations I think you'll do fine!

Good luck and have fun!

 

[gjohnson441496]

I started playing guitar about 2 months ago. I'm taking guitar lessons at the university in town. It helped me that I learned modes because we're going through those on the guitar now. I thought I would have problems with playing chords but my instructor told me to practice everyday and sure enough now I'm can play Wish You Were Here and Let It Be. He had me learn the ending to Stairway To Heaven in order to work on bar chording. I'm just a little older than you and like 70's rock as well so I bought a tube amp, fuzz, OD, and chorus pedals. You should do it. I'm having a blast.

As far as playing with other musicians; I'm in 1 band, a weekly jam session, and perform as a duet (all on bass), and honestly IMO too much is made about collaboration, especially if you simply enjoy playing an instrument. That being said, I don't particularly care to be in the company of other people (compromise is also over rated, IMO).

My advice to you is to just go for it. What have you got to lose?

Edit: another thing... learning the guitar has helped me understand bass playing more.

 

[singlemalt]

Six string bass is its own kind of beast. Lots of strings to keep quiet, lots of new areas to learn. You'll need to dedicate some time.

E-c is nice, usually no major set up issues, the nut might be cut too big, but some creative shimming will fix open string rattles.

I had a six string but sold it, and find E-C fits me best. Any thing a guitars plays, you can do on bass. You just need to dedicate time to learning melodies, improvisation, and lead licks.

I find guitar frustratingly tiny under hand. Octave up, some fuzz, and I'm off to wank land in the guitar range. It's fun with a looper. Learning solos is the way to go.

 

[craigie]

Quoting the above two because it's just easier to do in one post.

I agree with both of you and I think that's exactly where I am now, it's feeling somewhat boring and pointless. I was in bands, a few that were somewhat successful in the local scene, in my twenties, but I don't feel like I have it in me any more for the drama that typically follows along. At this point in my life I have much less of a tolerance for attitudes - and it seems that in my area attitudes are not in short supply.

In that case just some buddies to jam with and have a few beers is the best thing. All the fun, less drama.
Playing a new instrument will challenge your mind and dexterity. It's good for your brain, and brains are goood.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I sing, play bass, rhythm guitar, and rhythm keyboards (any chords you want but solo's - not so much).

Learned some piano and learned how to read music at a young age (8 or 9) and had piano again as a college course much later. Picked up guitar in 1965 and learned the standard open chords and barre chords. Picked up my first bass that same year. Played bass pretty exclusively after that including spending three years touring with a nightclub group in the early 70's. Then, in 1976, all my bass gear was stolen.

Picked up a 12-string guitar then and got back to playing guitar (wedding ceremonies and such) until I replaced my bass in 1985. Didn't have an amp though so didn't really start playing it again until 1997 in a weekly jam where they provided the amp. After a while, I came up with a Yamaha B115 combo that worked OK for local gigs. Really started my slow build to decent gear again in 2006 when I started playing with groups in Virginia and started making money playing music again.

So, for me, I prefer playing bass and will continue to do so. However, it's not a very good instrument to just play by itself or as the only instrument with friends. I still have three acoustic and two electric guitars hanging around and will pull one of the acoustics out when friends are over and want some music. No one seems to be real interested in hearing me bring my bass out and start shaking the walls.

Learning other instruments can only help, and I doubt if you'll ever give up bass entirely. I've played guitar and keyboards on songs with groups where I was singing lead and couldn't play bass at the same time as sing it, or when I was able to play a keyboard piece (Light My Fire -lol) that no one else in the group could get. I find that playing guitar also helps when I am trying to explain a song that I've played on guitar to our guitarist because I can show it to him so he doesn't have to figure it out.

If you haven't played bass live with a group yet, you haven't experienced the best experience that bass has to offer. You and the drummer drive the songs! You are the one everybody dances to...you own it! Don't give it up with at least sitting in on a jam session first. It will change your opinion pretty quickly.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

One other quick thing, go spend $100 on a decent acoustic guitar with a nice low action if you're thinking about getting into guitar. You can buy an amp later if you stick with it and you can pull the acoustic out at parties if you like. Don't go buy all the electric guitar stuff first. Get a decent acoustic and see how learning guitar goes for you first.

 

[IconBasser]

dude, just buy a guitar, you won't regret it. I did for the first time about 6 months ago. Super fun to play, and helps with my understanding of how to arrange parts better.

 

[oswaldvon]

Picking up the guitar is a good idea.
I've been a bassplayer for 10+ years and i always kept a guitar around.
Mostly because it makes writing songs a lot easier, it also helps with improving your bass playing, it sort of puts things into a new perspective.
In the last couple of years i've transitioned into a guitar player, mostly because i consider myself more of a songwriter than a musician, but i still pick up the bass from time to time.

 

[Conductor 14]

I am 67 years old. I started playing Trumpet at 8.
Playing Trumpet allowed me the opportunity to earn enough degrees that I can now add a group of letters after my name(which I never do).

I played around with an acoustic guitar through high school and undergraduate school such that I could play basic chords to accompany some songs. In 1979, when accepting a new job, I was informed that I was going to teach class guitar, and during that time, was successful at improving my skill level just slightly above the classification of hack. Along came 1983, and I was really bored with the basketball band, so I jettisoned the tubas and all the percussionists for a bass guitar and kit drummer, and turned the band in to a rock and roll band with 24 horns. Everyone loved it, and because we didn't have a bass player available at the time(or so I rationalized to myself at the time) I volunteered to play the bass. It didn't take long to figure out the tuba parts.

When I retired(for the 1st time) in 2002, I put the bass away, continued to play around with the guitar, and also continued to play trumpet as a supplement to my income. In a weak moment, I ended up back at work 3 years later, and again teaching guitar, and made a point of growing my skills.

These days, I run away from the snow in the winter and take along a bass and a guitar to play in the many jam sessions that seem to happen at RV parks across the south. It is a source of great joy to me to be able to participate in the enjoyment of music with other like minded people. I play guitar if I am planning to sing something or if there is another bass player in the group, and play bass if the need arises. Also, I learned early on that if I go to a jam session with my Trumpet, where most everyone is of the folk/country/bluegrass state of mind, and say I would like to play Misty in Eb, it is bound to get very quiet in the room.

So, by all means, play all the instruments you wish! It is a wonderful thing to share the joy of music with others no matter your level of accomplishment.

 

[Wolfenstein666]

The new axe came today! Starting my journey down the guitar road this afternoon.

 

[zontar]

I play both--have since my early teens (Guitar started just before that)
I started with mostly used stuff.
I didn't take bass playing that serious at first, but gradually I started laying more--doing demos for my own song ideas & for friends who didn't play bass.
Nothing professional or anything like that--for fun.
Now I play as you--as a hobby.
I do write songs (Or rather work on song ideas) & do a bit of home recording.
I try to learn new stuff--which is part of why I took up fretless bass & about a year later mandolin as well)
I also sometimes play in church--and that is where my bass playign really improved--but playing all three with others really helps.

 

[AndreasR]

I play a bit of guitar as well. Though all I can do is a few basic chords.

It's more of a writing and maybe recording thing than performance though. That being said, however basic it is, it is an invaluable skill to me that only helps me be a better musician. I'm currently also starting to get more into keyboard.

 

[Biggbass]

nothing wrong with expanding your musical horizons.
get a Strat and get with it.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I started out with a cheap Samick Strat copy, after a year of mucking around with it, with no progress, I grabbed a bass.
Over the years I kept at least one guitar around, but focused on bass, & my original reason for trying bass was as a springboard to playing guitar better.

It worked, because now I feel better about playing guitar.
but now I'm in danger of slacking off at my bass practice

Some songs just have great angst on bass, like Sunday Bloody Sunday, and others are better on guitar.
Unfortunately that line between the two is blurring more towards guitar for me in the past month or so.

 

[mexicanyella]

Naaaah, man, not unfortunate...go where the inspiration leads you, I say. As long as you're interested, curious and learning. The whole array of musical instrument possibilities exists to occupy human creative energy, regardless of which instrument you're currently occupied with.

Although if asked, my lap steel might say that all I just wrote was a bunch of crap.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The new axe came today!

I hope you install the vibrato arm. It would be a shame to have the disadvantages of a Floyd Rose bridge if you're not going to use the vibrato arm.

 

[jaybones]

Early on, I was way more competent playing and improvising on bass than I was on guitar. Didn't need to be as fast or have the chops to bend and pull off like I do now.

I still enjoy the heck out of jamming on bass, setting up a groove and exploring while staying in the pocket.

 

[bunnykeeper]

I play both, and I go back and forth, depending on my performance opportunities (bass in a band, acoustic guitar solo, and so on). Sometimes I'm worried about mentioning that in my posts on TB!

One thing I'd recommend is finding a beater classical guitar. To me, the feeling of playing it seems like a nice middle ground between playing a bass with fingers and strumming a guitar. You can also maintain the your plucking calluses (calli?)

And I second the suggestion to find someone to play with, even if it's just a guy playing acoustic guitar. Playing bass for me is always a lot more interesting if I know there's going to be some kind of performance at some point in the future.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I play both, and I go back and forth, depending on my performance opportunities (bass in a band, acoustic guitar solo, and so on). Sometimes I'm worried about mentioning that in my posts on TB!

No need to shy away from mentioning this. They won't bite, for the most part.

One thing I'd recommend is finding a beater classical guitar. To me, the feeling of playing it seems like a nice middle ground between playing a bass with fingers and strumming a guitar. You can also maintain the your plucking calluses (calli?)...

A good suggestion, but it is a very different feel and sound compared to a steel string acoustic guitar, which is why I have both. For most bassists, a "cross-over" nylon string guitar would be a better choice than a true classical guitar, due to the very wide, and totally flat radius fingerboard of a real classical guitar. Cross-over nylon guitars have a radius to the fingerboard with narrower necks, making them more comfortable to play.