• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Picked up guitar, too. Huge mistake

#81
ahadl2500 said:
I know the feeling. COVID related boredom (staying at home) and writing music more often caused me to take up guitar. I swore I would never play guitar for the first 20 years that I played bass. Enjoying it so far. The GAS was enjoyable while I had money left in the GAS fund. 2 guitars and 2 amps in the last 4 months. None of it for bass. The deep discounts popping up on Reverb from music stores trying to stay open during lockdown didn't help the GAS either. Probably done buying for now though. Keyword... Probably.
Click to expand...

I too have fallendown that rabbit hole, but I have the same mentality with the 5 string Bass , I have to become very proficient/master the 4 string bass first! I 've come to the conclusion being a bassist is like being a offensive line man on a football team, people will only notice you if you SUCK! and your duty is a mind set, I think john madden said You have to WANT to Block(do your job), hold down the groove & beat.I take pride in doing that in every band I play in. I was gonna switch to rhythm guitar at one time, because in my band got a new singer and he was a bass player & wanted play an instrument in the band, so naturally he was leaning to bass, the guitar player suggested he play rhythm, but he balked, So I felt I should get myself aquianted with the guitar, just in case. I was working heavily on enforcing my groove, so I thought learning rhythm guitar would help my bass playing if things didnt work out.I was comfortable on guitar, since I first started out on guitar & figured I would go back one day.But A week in, the whole thing got canned, the lead guitarist put his foot down at one rehearsal."You're the only bass player in this band! I guess he was fed up with the singer taking some songs away from me, I gladly stepped aside on some covers he brought in the set (i was not familar with, plus I was pushing for more heavier & modern songs to add,not the obscure deep cuts we were currently playing.) I guess the guitar player was getting frustrated with the new singer changing the band too much too.So That was that. Back to the bass. I was instructed to never stepped aside again! the big difference on guitar for me was remembering all the chords & beiing able to transition between them quickly. Love the bass, like guitar, but i think ill stick with the Bass!
 
  • Like
Reactions: ahbass2500
#84
Thinking about bass and guitar (my primary instruments are guitars), reminded me of this recent gem I found with one of my all-time favorite guitarists, Phil Upchurch, playing bass:



Here's Phil on guitar with, I think, Jerry Jemmott on bass (arranged by Phil), Rosanna:

 
#85
And, unlike many basses, there are huge and immediately obvious differences in tone and timbre between different brands and sometimes even the models within a given brand. :thumbsup:

Guitars tend to be more distinctively voiced than basses are. So in my experience it’s easier to justify owning more than one guitar to the unchurched. :laugh:[/QUOTE]

exactly this /\/\
 
#86
sonojono said:
P.S. Feels very sacrilege asking this question on a Bass forum
Click to expand...

Fortunately we bass player tend to be a little more eclectic in our tastes and therefore accepting of other musical instruments more than some guitar players you’ll run into.

We only grab our pitchforks and torches for the important things like: tort, relic finishes, and whether or not high mass bridges actually make a difference in tone. ;)
 
#87
40Hz said:
Fortunately we bass player tend to be a little more eclectic in our tastes and therefore accepting of other musical instruments more than some guitar players you’ll run into.

We only grab our pitchforks and torches for the important things like: tort, relic finishes, and whether or not high mass bridges actually make a difference in tone. ;)
Click to expand...
And don’t forget flats or rounds!
 
#89
I'm down to only two guitars and have no plans to buy any more.

upload_2020-7-14_4-49-42.png
 
#92
mstillman said:
Pianos are constantly looking for new homes. This surprised the heck out of me until a friend told me to look on Craigslist. Perhaps the pandemic has changed this, but there were tons for free or nearly so. YMMV
Click to expand...
When we were looking for one a few years ago we debated about whether to buy one or take one of the many uprights people give away. But there's a reason why, they're big, heavy, ugly and need to be tuned. I bet the pandemic hasn't changed this one iota.

We ended up buying a really nice Casio and don't regret it. My son loves to jam on it almost everyday. Honestly some of the best money I've ever spent.
 
#94
Pianos are not to be purchased lightly. I studied piano tuning and repair for about two years. I joined the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG):

Home - PTG Main Site

went to all of the meetings and read the journals. Here's why I would almost certainly never buy an acoustic piano. As a matter of fact, I would be reluctant to accept one as a gift. A grand piano has over 11,000 moving parts. These can be made of different sorts of wood, different sorts of plastic, brass, bronze, steel, leather, different sorts of felt, etc., etc. All of these parts wear out. And when they do wear out, there are a huge variety of opinions among the technicians as to what the best thing to do for each part is. So you may not only have worn parts; you may also have parts that have been repaired in a number of different ways over the years.

I was told that large concert venues do not buy pianos; they lease them. This is because, with regular use, a piano would last, at most, three years before it needed to be completely overhauled.

When I went to the PTG meetings, everyone's least favorite or latest, most amusing, call started, "Hi, I just got this old upright piano, built by XXXX in 18XX or 19XX. It just needs some tuning. How much?" Uprights are the worst, typically, in terms of overall condition.

I could go on for quite a few more paragraphs, but most would probably get bored after awhile. Unless you have money to burn, do yourself a favor and go digital.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gibson Victory, Guild B301 and Eli_Kyiv
#95
I've dabbled with guitar before but have purposely avoided buying one.

That was until last year when I saw a particular guitar for sale on local CL.

It was a custom electric made in '95 by the luthier I've been using since the 80s. His guitars are not just functionally the best available at any price, but are true objects of beauty. I've dreamed of having him build a bass for me for years but I just can't justify spending the money. His guitars aren't cheap.

I saw this guitar CL for a ridiculously low price and I jumped on it. I visited the luthier and showed him the ad and he pulled his records for the build and described all the details that went into it.

The seller was retiring from playing guitar for health reasons and liquidating everything he owned. He was pricing his gear to move fast, which explains the low price.

So, now I have an amazing custom built electric guitar and it seems like sacrilege to let it sit in its case unused. I've been playing about 4 or 5 hours a week and it's a new experience compared to the bass. Mostly learning fingerstyle instead of using a pick.

Studying videos of Jeff Beck to see how he plays, but found myself sidetracked by Tal Wilkenfeld.
 
#96
dadglasser said:
Unless you have money to burn, do yourself a favor and go digital.
Click to expand...

We had an upright piano in our home when I was growing up and my sister played for about ten years and took lessons until she graduated high school. When she moved out they got rid of the piano and they had to give it away because no one would pay anything for it.

So about 10 years ago, my mother wanted another piano. I don't understand why she wanted one so badly but she insisted that they have one in case anyone wanted to play it. My sister had moved back in with them but she hadn't played in 15 years and wasnt really interested anymore.

I strongly advised my folks to get an electronic keyboard with an amp and speakers instead of an acoustic piano but they insisted on getting a "real" piano. I suggested they get a used piano because people are pretty much giving them away.

They bought a brand new upright and spent a lot of money on it. It's been sitting unused in their living room for the past 12 years. They recently decided to get rid of it and were horrified to discover that it was worth basically nothing. I warned them this would happen but they just didn't believe me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eli_Kyiv
#97
I have come to the conclusion after being on Earth almost 70 years, if it has strings on it I want to know how to play it. Spent too many years being stuck in various “moulds “ that I totally regret. Would not sell any of my guitars.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back