How many started playing the bass without playing guitar first?

[Worldeeeter]

I did. My parents thought they could distract me with an acoustic guitar (if you do well with guitar, we'll look at a bass later on), but it didn't work. I took guitar lessons for one year, hated it, then played piano/keyboards for three years, until I could afford my own bass. Since I bought my first in 1988, I've been 100% bass, and by the time I bought it, I didn't remember a thing I learned from those stupid guitar lessons.

 

[sawzalot]

I started on piano when I was 7. Didn't pick up a bass till I was 19--but bass is my instrument. Within a year I was better on bass than I was on piano/keys. I suck at guitar--I'm only able to master the "thwup" chord.

Tom

 

[Sav'nBass]

I started on bass when I was 21.. I fiddle with guitar.. but I am a bass player.

 

[basslayer]

i started playing guitar in my sixth year of bass playing. i am still not very good at it.

 

[DChalo]

I don't play bass.

 

[Tom Howland]

Bass all the way. My older guitar playing brother, bought me my first bass so i would not mess with his guitars.
Best gift I ever got.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I did. I had played piano and baritone horn previously. It was actually kind of my dad's idea. He figured since I already could read bass clef, it made sense. Alas, my reading knowledge wasn't that useful and is pretty much gone now, but it did get me some theater gigs in my teens. I do own guitars now, but having come up on bass, I'm pretty bad at playing them.

 

[hotrodjohn]

started on piano when very young, picked up bass around age 13, got a guitar around 16 so i could teach guitarists to play the songs i wanted to play on bass !

 

[40Hz]

First up, welcome to TB and bass playing as well! ​

I started on upright and eventually migrated mostly (but not entirely) over to electric. I never was a guitarist.

I've since learned a little guitar, keyboard, drumming, and some other instruments, to help me when I'm composing. But all I am - and ever wanted to be - is a bass player.

 

[pbass2]

I started on drums, then bass. Didn't even attempt playing a guitar until I'd played bass for 10-12 years. 30+ years later, I actually play guitar a lot now, even pro, but I play it "like a bass player"

 

[bassestkkm]

Bass was a long time before guitar for me

 

[Sixgunn]

I am a dyed in the wool bass player. I started out playing heavy metal so it was mostly just doubling riffs. Once you learn some theory picking up chord changes gets easier.

C/S,
Rev J

You're not Rev Jones, are you?

 

[arbiterusa]

I played violin first, then bass. Finally picked up guitar in the mid 1990s, about fifteen years after I started playing bass. Have a few nice guitars, however, for the most part I find it boring.

 

[BassOverflow]

Trombone first and bass 1 year later in 7th grade.

 

[ThomThomKC]

Started with guitar when I was 12. Because of the "glory" of it and I was a dumb kid. Took lessons for a while till my instructor skipped town one day. It was and interesting moment when I showed up and the guy at the shop was like "Um...yeah...haven't seen him in a few days. Were not really sure where he is..." Haha. In any case, kinda gave up at that point but kept messing with the guitar here and there over the next few years. One day I realized in those mess around sessions I would end up playing my guitar more like a bass. Made the switch and never looked back. I will say I've recently taken my bass playing seriously and have subscribed to Scott's Bass Lessons due to lack of time/ability for face to face lessons and feel they are making a difference. I mainly throw that in there to say that I am taking the steps to become a quality bassist, but my barometer of if I am or not will be based on how well I can play guitar. Haha. What I mean is I want to be good enough at guitar that someone is like "Hey your're pretty good! How long you been playing?" to which I respond "Oh! haha. Yeah thanks for the compliment but I'm really a bassist and way better at it than guitar."

 

[Genomatic]

I played trombone and tuba before I picked up a bass. So it was bit of a switch from air power to finger power. I do feel like my brass experience helped develop my ear,which is even more important now playing bass.

 

[PluckyThump]

Played keyboards as a kid, got tired of it and quit. Tried the drums later, didn't like it. Sold the drums and bought a cheap bass. It just clicked immediately and I knew this was the instrument for me. Never looked back, never tried guitar, though I might someday.

 

[Robert Sperling]

I played clarinet from 3-6 grades, when I found a guitar and amp (and WHAT guitar and amp!'67Gibson ES335 and a '68 Fender Princeton Reverb) in my grandparents basement that belonged to an uncle who'd moved to California
years before. So I took some lessons and tried to play for about a year, but my 11-12 year old hands and brain
wouldn't cooperate in trying to form chords. I switched to bass at 13, and started playing guitar and keys about 5 years ago. I'll be 44 may 8, so now have 31 years of bass playing under my belt. My biggest suggestions are to learn what each note sounds like individually to develop your ear. If playing with a guitarist watch where their index finger is on the fretting hand (8/10 times that finger will be on the root note of the chord their playing). And last.... Think like a drummer! By playing percussive beats on your right hand you will start to form a more symbiotic relationship with the drummer thereby creating a strong backbone for a great rhythm section. Also thinking percussively has helped me to become a much better player over the last 2-3 years.

 

[red_rhino]

Started on bass at 14. Learned some guitar and keyboard along the way to broaden my understanding and because doing so made me a better bass player.

Tried to take a music theory class in high school, but the teacher haaaaaaaaaated the long-haired rockers and concentrated solely on the members of her precious choir. So another teacher (Chuck Dowd - if you're a drummer, you might know that name) spun up a class he subversively called "Music Appreciation" but was actually a 3 month intensive clinic in how to really listen to music, isolate parts and changes, understand arrangements, and write basic chord charts. In other words, practical music theory we were able to put into practice as players. (Oh, and later on we recruited that choir to perform on some recordings, cementing the theory teacher's hatred of us pretty much forever.)

 

[RyanKW]

Started trumpet in 5th grade. Switched to Euphonium 9th grade because of braces. Picked up bass about the age of 14. Started guitar at almost the same time, but bass was always the focus. Took lessons on bass and stuff. I think that learning a little guitar on my own alongside helped me understand band situations better, but no one ever called me a guitar player. Honestly, I chose to focus on bass because it seemed like there were fewer players, and that I'd always be able to find a band. Turns out it I was right...this has always served me well. Only now, 20 years later, am I taking the guitar very seriously at all. I've always just used it for strumming and singing.

People who are primarily guitar players do some funny stuff when they pick up a bass, often times.