Help! Am I becoming a Guitard?

[mellowgerman]

just cut off your thumb! hopefully you don't play slap at all... but removing your thumb would discourage you from picking up the guitar as you'd have a harder time using a plectrum. then just stay away from finger picks/finger picking and you should be cured

 

[MonetBass]

I've been playing guitar almost as long as I've been playing bass (25 vs 30 years, respectively). It's a great learning tool, if nothing else, regarding chord structures and voicings. You can then tranfer that knowledge over to the bass. Win-win IMO.

 

[pbass2]

I started on bass as a kid some 30 yrs ago, but I get by on guitar pretty well out of necessity as a composer/producer(but I play it "like a bass player" as I've been told, which is still better than playing bass "like a guitar player" I think
This has come in extremely handy in a couple ways.
Aside from the obvious that it just makes you more well-rounded, I play most of my own guitar for demos and composing work rather than having to get somebody else in to do it--saves a ton of time and money(but if it's really demanding/critical parts I will hire somebody).
And, one thing that has saved the day(or at least a bunch of time) more than a few times at sessions---we all know how effective a guitar doubling a killer bassline can be, right? Well, I can double the bass on guitar, and match the phrasing dead-on and it is TIGHT. I'm not so much talking about rock where the bass is doubling a heavy guitar riff, but reggae, soul, RnB, where the bassline is killin' and has all the cool little qualities of a happenin' bass performance. Since I'm very comfortable getting good clean phrasing on guitar, I can double my bass part usually in one take. Makes producers very happy.

I feel the same way about keys----I think any musician should have some kind of keyboard around too to get comfortable with--you won't regret it.

 

[svenbass]

1) I get by on guitar pretty well out of necessity as a composer/producer.

2) I think any musician should have some kind of keyboard around too to get comfortable with--you won't regret it.

To #1 - I've just begun to reap the benefits in this area as well

#2 - I couldn't feel stronger about this one - +1 !!!!


This started this thread mainly because the word Guitard makes me laugh. I love poking fun, and keeping things lighthearted as well - this business is pretty tough. In all seriousness though, I do deeply respect a good musician behind a six string (or any good musician for that matter) And while I am and always will be a bassist by trade, I am realizing that there are a multitude of benefits in adding this instrument to my bag, but most important, I'm having fun at it!.... I'll pass on the spandex to save us all from an uncomfortable, and most likely, gravely disturbing moment

 

[winstonthecat]

I played guitar, off-and-on, for over 25 years before switching to bass, and now consider myself a bassist. I always played rhythym stuff, from punk to folk. I never really liked playing lead. I have found that my years of guitar playing have helped me quickly identify chord changes and basic rock chord patterns. This enables me to quickly learn songs, which has been very valuable in getting cover band gigs.

I still play acoustic guitar for those sing-along type hootenannies. Travels better than the bass

 

[The Golden Boy]

Just frickin' play...

Take pride in it.

Enjoy it.

 

[FrizzleFry]

I think guitar is BA almost as much as bass, Just listening to Megadeth makes me want to pick up a flying V and rip it.. but I can't. I''ll noodle on my acoustic. But I'e honestly felt it's helped my with my bass.

Just enjoy..
it's not like you're coming out of the closet.

 

[Fine Cut]

if it werent for playing guitar, i'd never have picked up a bass out of curiousity, so i must say i love my acoustic. My band also does random acoustic sets during shows, so i love playing both...

 

[Pstewart]

I Feel the same sort of mild guilt, i've personally been getting into jazz guitar and arranged my first chord-melody arrangement today (the shaaaame)

 

[thehangingmist]

its completely alright to play some guitar man chill out.....

ps: it was a sorta funny strange feeling when i saw meev's posts right below the op's!

 

[dreadheadbass]

yeah nothing wrong with a bit of guitar playing be carefull though prolonged use has been known to cause:
swelling of the ego gland in the brain
a deep seated and almost sexual love for paul gilbert
shrinking of the penis
enlargment of the prostate causing you to swagger while you walk
and finally guitar pick dependance which can also spread to bass

nah just kiddin i dabble on a acoustic every once in a blue moon i suck at it though my hands are waaay to big for it so i usually wind up back on the bass after 3 min

 

[SwamiRob]

I love playing guitar, been playing about 6 years to my 8 years of bass playing cos of my brother being a guitar player. With a Standard SG, a Japanese '71 reissue Strat and a cool little Fender amp lying about the house, not to mention the Dano U2 Pro I picked up very cheaply a few years ago, it's hard not to wanna play guitar.

To be honest I think it's made me a better bass player, in terms of learning how and when to play cool simple stuff AND how to fit in mega technical fast bits and big rocky basslines. Not to mention helping out with chord style stuff on bass (I mostly play rhythm guitar but not in a lame G-C-D kinda way).

It definitely eats into bass time alot, infact I almost play more guitar then bass nowadays, but it's helping me get through a pretty naff rut in bass playing at the moment. My pick dependence has been with me after two years of playing bass so it's not had an effect there can still blast out some cheesy funk and a bit of dub and reggae when I need to though, play alot with my fingers on my acoustic too so I can still play bass "properly".

 

[All_¥our_Bass]

It's okay I loves me some guitfiddling too.

 

[Linkert]

As long as you don't do pointless shredding with 3 million notes per minute on a arpeggio scale, you are all good!
I need to get a telecaster so i can do some JB myself.

 

[GeneralElectric]

I started out on bass, then moved to the rhythm guitar as a side thing. Ended up playing 6 strings for 3 years but I was always a hack. I think its useful for writing songs and also for showing other people your ideas if they don't know how to read.

 

[anthowl]

i find it hard to believe that theres virtualy nobody else on here who is first and foremost a guitarist (like myself) but loves bass also.

and yeah, i am technically proffiviant at both.

all these people are defending thier honour as a bassist who 'happens to muck around on guitar every now and again' but DID'NT INHALE!!!

whats the big deal with playing and enjoying both?
it's just an octive up with two extra strings in essence.

 

[Liko]

I play guitar as well as bass, and I have always considered it a side. Problem is what I play (praise groups) generally call for my acoustic guitar far more often than bass. I can play my bass, but my guitar skills for the most part beat out most of the other guitarists in my congregation, so am I to hinder the final product by playing the instrument I like better? Do i really like the bass better if I like the final product better when I play guitar? Scary questions considering I've always identified myself as a bassist.

You're a musician. If you limit yourself totally to bass, you are a bassist. Doesn't mean you're not still a musician, but you are unecessarily limiting yourself if you consider bass the only instrument worthy of your personal attention. Knowing guitar, even if you don't play it much, gives you a new understanding of the chorded world we weave through; that's why you took up guitar in the first place, to give your students that understanding.

 

[uprightben]

You are a guitarded guitard! Put on your spandex and don't forget to wrap the cucumber in foil, you guitard! Tap and shred with your over powered amp turned to 11 while the audience runs away, ears bleeding!

Just kidding, lol. I dabble in guitar, too, even did a gig on one once. That doesn't make either of us guitards, we are still basstarded.

 

[Bard2dbone]

I started on bass as a kid some 30 yrs ago, but I get by on guitar pretty well out of necessity as a composer/producer(but I play it "like a bass player" as I've been told, which is still better than playing bass "like a guitar player" I think
This has come in extremely handy in a couple ways.
Aside from the obvious that it just makes you more well-rounded, I play most of my own guitar for demos and composing work rather than having to get somebody else in to do it--saves a ton of time and money(but if it's really demanding/critical parts I will hire somebody).
And, one thing that has saved the day(or at least a bunch of time) more than a few times at sessions---we all know how effective a guitar doubling a killer bassline can be, right? Well, I can double the bass on guitar, and match the phrasing dead-on and it is TIGHT. I'm not so much talking about rock where the bass is doubling a heavy guitar riff, but reggae, soul, RnB, where the bassline is killin' and has all the cool little qualities of a happenin' bass performance. Since I'm very comfortable getting good clean phrasing on guitar, I can double my bass part usually in one take. Makes producers very happy.

I feel the same way about keys----I think any musician should have some kind of keyboard around too to get comfortable with--you won't regret it.

A lot of this post is me. I started on guitar back around '76, and then bass around '79. I still play guitar nowadays, mostly to write. I also play a little bit of keyboards to write. I think both have expanded my bass world a bit. But I have been told I approach both "like a bass player".