From guitar to bass

[Frizzle Fry]

Hello there, just joined. I figured I might as well try to meet other bassists and work on BEING a bassist considering my current situation. I'm mainly a guitar player, but I've been going through some rough financial times and have been trading around and ended up with a bass...that no one seems to want (at least for a fair price/trade). For awhile, I was kinda bummed, but recently, I decided to turn my lemons into lemonade and work on being a bassist. I've always had an interest in all kinds of different instruments and sounds, but going from 6 strings to 4 made me a little unhappy, but I decided I can just buy another guitar one day and just play both. My style seems to fit bass playing quite well, anyway. I have a lot of influences from a lot of different plays, but in the mean time, I'm trying to work on rock/metal and funk (slap). I've always wanted to play slap, but never could on guitar (can't really do it on bass yet, either, but I hope to change that, maybe with a little help from the forums)

My musical tastes range from bluegrass, swing, jazz, "gypsy" jazz, blues, classical, rockabilly, rock, funk, metal, retro video game soundtracks and Primus. Other than music...I'm fairly boring.

 

[chungweishan]

I, along with probably many other bassists here, started on guitar also. For me, learning to play bass makes me a better overall musician. I have a better understanding why and how certain techniques mesh with other instruments. As a guitarist (and understand some musical theory concepts), I certainly had a head start on playing bass, but there are plenty of things that I'm still learning.

From this forum I learn about which gear people prefer for different situations (amps/cabs for venues). Different methods bassists achieve their tone and style (strings, pickups, technique, effects).

For me, I enjoy playing guitar and bass equally. Each instrument has their advantages and disadvantages, and I approach each instrument differently depending on what style of music I play.

So welcome to the Forum. Just remember, as per any forum, advice can be contradicted and opinions argued... but in the end we're all just bassists trying to help each other become better one way or another.

 

[Jbassrockboy]

Hey man, welcome and good to read the post

I started out on classical guitar as a youngster, played drums at school, went back to guitar on and off and took a big step onto bass 18 years ago

Whilst bass is my performance instrument I also keep my study and practice going on guitar

As I get older I gain appreciation for how much my bass playing is influenced by guitar and vice versa

Sometimes I go for months only playing bass but I then get the guitar bug and it helps me to stay fresh with my bass

They are two very different instruments but I figure that its good to have both...

Good luck and hopefully you can capture that sense of harmonic power that only a bass can bring into your life

Taking nothing away from the power of guitars but bass has its unique form and the art for harmony in bass clef is a very challenging but rewarding space to hang out in

Rossa

 

[Frizzle Fry]

I do take a lot from all instruments when I play, but there are just somethings that don't transfer, slap on guitar and chords on bass for instance. Chords just always sound icky to me on a bass and real slap and pop is just unspossible. I do try to mix it up though, I've had experience with steel string guitars, 12 strings, classicals, basses, electrics and even mandolin. I try to play some banjo licks because I ADORE banjo playing. My love of video game music also comes in handy, I love the soundtracks from the older pokemon games and a lot of final fantasy stuff. I'd really like a bass 6 so that I could merge them even more, though I'd lose that slapping I'm trying to learn...

One reason bass doesn't inspire me quite as much as guitar is my love of melody and just lead type playing, the range of the guitar is perfect for me and I've never cared too much for holding down a beat or anything, probably why I love slapping so much, percussion, bass and melody all at the same time? Indeed.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

I also play 6 string rhythm guitar and 4 string bass. It's an easy switch, but, each beast is played differently. Your liking for the lead and melody is going to get in your way on the bass, i.e. I'm assuming you will, like a lot of others that come over from 6 string - want to fill the bass lines with too many notes. That's fine when we are given the lead, but otherwise we step on a lot of toes.

Less is usually more. The beat is the thing. I'm not trying to yank your chain, just a heads up that I hope will save you a lot of time.
Invalid Link Removed

Good luck.

 

[chungweishan]

The guitarist in my band is relatively new, he can learn songs note-for-note but isn't particularly good at improvising or re-arranging parts to fill-out the sound. So I rearrange my parts for a fuller sound using different bass techniques.

I do use chords sometimes, but I make sure the chord notes are usually an octave above the bass line (which might involve two hand tapping). Or I pick up the second guitar part. I don't rely on slapping, unless the song actually calls for it, as it does add unnecessary percussive attack if done incorrectly. I personally enjoy slap-bass, but I use it sparingly as emphasis depending on the song.

Admittedly, it's just showing off, but there's a good reason. The challenge playing bass, to me, is making sure the overall sound is full and dynamic whatever way possible. I can add all these goofy techniques, but I must maintain the groove and tempo. I must make sure that I'm integrating with the rest of the musicians, not acting like a soloist and taking the focus away. I don't see it as a limitation of the bass, but understanding the limitations of me as a musician in a band.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

I actually fully plan to play it as a lead instrument, the Primus formula has always been something I've really enjoyed, the main melody and stuff being performed by Claypool while the guitar plays this amazing soundscape, it fills up the sound in a better way in my opinion. I'm actually the complete opposite as your guitarist, I'm terrible at learning songs, improvisation and my own stuff is where I exceed and my playing style is somewhat derived from people like David Gilmour, Brendan Small, Steve Vai and so on, I love legato, smooth flowing lines, this is part of why I REALLY want to try fretless, Steve Bailey does an amazing job of that style on bass, yet still sounding like a bass instead of just guitar parts played on a bass. Roger Glover, Geezer Butler, Roger Waters and Jack Bruce are big influences as far as my taste in straight bass playing goes, but I also really dig slapping. To me, the bass deserves more than just holding down the bottom with the drums, it should definitely be part since the bass is controls the lower register, but bassists can juggle both. I like doing this with a lot of drone strings.

I've always played by myself or with just a drummer though, so I like to play multiple parts on one instrument.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Have fun.