Old Guitar player switching to bass

[Smith357]

Howdy folks, I have been playing the guitar for some 45+ years. I always had a slight disadvantage due having short fingers and to losing half of my pinky finger when I was a wee lad, got it crushed in a door, so they tell me. I never really let it get in my way and figured out workarounds for a lot of stuff. Now in my mid 50s arthritis is starting to set in and it's getting painfully hard for me to do what was once pretty easy. I have always had a bass around for fun.

About a year ago I decided to make the change over to the Bass and have been getting rid of a lot of guitar stuff and getting bass stuff in its place. I will probably keep my acoustic and the 72 Tele Deluxe, but everything else guitar will go. I am going with short scales to help with my physical shortcomings, I have had full length basses in the past and never had the reach to play them. I am currently using a Ibanez Talman and a Squire Jag, I seem to reach for the Talman more often than the Squire

Just the other day I sold off my tube amp and bought a half decent bass amp. Fender Blues Jr. for a Hartke KB12, actually the Telecaster sounds pretty sweet through the Hartke.

I'm just gonna hang out and learn for now, this bass thing is nowhere near as easy as I thought is was going to be. Like many guitar players I assumed and got slapped with reality once I started taking it seriously, there is a lot more music theory involved in the Bass, and music theory makes rocket science look easy, but I'm working on it.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

First, welcome. Lot of us came to the bass from guitar. Now some specific comments on what you had to say.

Howdy folks, I have been playing the guitar for some 45+ years. I always had a slight disadvantage due having short fingers and to losing half of my pinky finger when I was a wee lad, got it crushed in a door, so they tell me. I never really let it get in my way and figured out workarounds for a lot of stuff. Now in my mid 50s arthritis is starting to set in and it's getting painfully hard for me to do what was once pretty easy. I have always had a bass around for fun.

I two have had to give up rhythm guitar, however, not until my 80's. But arthritis does creap into our lives. With the bass I found that if I keep my wrists straight I do not develop the same pain I had on the guitar. Fretting with the pad of the finger seems to pull everything in line and eliminates most of the problem. As we sound just one string at a time we no longer need to be using the tip of the finger. I mention this as it did change everything for me.

About a year ago I decided to make the change over to the Bass and have been getting rid of a lot of guitar stuff and getting bass stuff in its place.......

Yep we gotta have our stuff....

I'm just gonna hang out and learn for now, this bass thing is nowhere near as easy as I thought is was going to be. Like many guitar players I assumed and got slapped with reality once I started taking it seriously, there is a lot more music theory involved in the Bass, and music theory makes rocket science look easy, but I'm working on it.

True, one note at a time opens up all kind of doors that we did not need to go into with the guitar. Theory and scale degree numbers, i.e. the spelling of a chord will take some study, however, it's all on the Getting Started Sticky in the General Instruction section. When you get past how to hold it, tune it and things like that where are all those scale degree numbers on the fretboard would be where I would point you.

Welcome back to the bottom end. The bass is a little less taxing on our old fingers and should be something you can play for the rest of your life. That's what I'm counting on.....