From Guitar To Bass

[jdh3000]

Started guitar and bass around 78. My uncle had both and I was wanting to play guitar but he needed me to play bass in his band, so I learned both.

In my later teens and 20s I played more guitar, then started filling in on bass here and there.

I got irritated that there weren't enough good bass players around, usually the bands I played guitar in just had guitar players playing bass who weren't content doing it. They weren't playing it as well as I thought they should. I knew what the bass parts were.
I thought that if I were playing bass all the time I would do it much better, so I decided to get better bass gear than what I had and really haven't played guitar in years, except for picjing around a bit at home.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

No guitar for me. Just bass. If I took up a second instrument it would likely be drums.

 

[Samatza]

I started on accordion, then piano and keys but once I picked up the bass I just couldn't put it down.

I'd like to think the bass chose me but that wouldn't make any sense, I mean of all the people in the world why me?

 

[MichelD]

No need to add more, but yes, I spent years trying to get good on acoustic guitar and later electric when really deep down, I'm a bassist.

But when you're alone with no band in sight, poopie I lived for years in a one room cabin with no electricity - what do you want to play and write on, a slab or an acoustic guitar? I learned a lot about scales and chords on guitar that contributed to my bass playing in the end.

 

[Avigdor]

I started on Classical Guitar in my teens, played fingerstyle guitar for 30 years. Folk, acoustic rhythm, fingerpicking, classical.

15 years ago I added electric guitars to my arsenal, but I kept playing them like classical guitars, and I hated the narrow string spacing. A friend built an electric guitar with a classical guitar neck, which I loved (but couldn't replicate, and he wouldn't sell it ).

Then I tried playing in a friendly jam/office band type situation, where a much better guitarist played bass for a while. One day we swapped, and I went from playing guitar badly to bass reasonably well in a flash. The swap stuck and I realised that all this time I had been playing with a bass mindset.

I still play my classical guitar, but I love playing rock/pop/blues/prog in a role where I can fully contribute, on bass. The office jam went to a gigging band very quickly, and I'm loving every minute!