Switching between Bass and Guitar-who does it?

[Space Pickle]

All the time. I'm really a guitar player, and only started gigging on bass 3 years ago.

I am constantly torn between wanting fingernails for guitar and no fingernails for bass.

 

[MasonMinor]

I started off playing guitar, but before and during that time I always secretly wished I was a bass player. I always went back and forth, but I always go back to bass, and likely always will. I play guitar in my recorded stuff too. Not very well though.

 

[LowDownHawkeye]

I always have the problem of adjusting my touch from one to the other. After bassing for a while, it takes me a week or so to be able to do anything on guitar that doesn't sound like I'm strangling a chicken.

For me it's the tuning. If I'm trying to play leads on guitar I almost have to tune it to perfect fourths.

 

[40Hz]

I started on an upright and never was a guitarist. I do own two guitars (a Squier CV Tele and a lovely old cherryburst Gibson ES-125-TC) - but I only play enough guitar to compose or road test a guitar part in an arrangement when I'm working on one. I never perform on guitar. There are people out there that actually prefer to play guitar, if you can believe it. And they're much better at it than I am. So I just leave it all to them. (Having a GF who is an excellent blues guitarist helps. And she's already claimed that ES-125 as her own, so I won't have to feel guilty about owning it. Or so she's 'explained' it to me.)

If I were to walk away from playing bass, about the only other instruments I might be tempted to learn would either be a cello or the tenor saxophone.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I play guitar in a couple other groups, but they don't gig out much. I'm a closet guitar player at best... prefer to just play bass.

 

[jmetcher]

You do know that tenor guitars are more related to banjo, right? Not that there is anything wrong with great banjo playing.

http://www.tenorguitar.com/glance.html

I take your point, tenor guitars are pretty teeny. I might have been thinking of the bigger plectrum guitars (although I seem to recall seeing tenor guitars around 26-27" scale length).

 

[Jeff Sarsippius]

I play both every week and take lessons for both; I started bass over a year n change ago because there WAS no bassist to be found, so I started up for my band.

I am a singer mainly but have played guitar for 28 years. Both are TEACHING ME A LOT: my guitar teacher makes me do sight reading of rhythmic patterns which made me see how I have to really woodshed on both instruments to stay afloat (literally)! Bass is an unforgiving instrument and really makes me be aware of subtle nuances. It's unlike guitar in that I HAVE to play with others to understand it and if it's wrong it's WRONG lol

 

[ThaCoast]

I started out on guitar, then went to bass, then got myself some more guitars cause i wanted to play guitar again & i've now got 10 instruments (& counting) in my possession. I used to play in a Blink-182 tribute band where me & the rhythm guitarist would switch during our set. Was fun, i still play with him in my own band where i play bass, rhythm guitar & some leads, & vocals since im the lead singer/bassist of my band.

 

[hsech]

I did it for years, but my right thumb got mushed and I had to have a bone graft done on my right thumb joint. I can't hold a pick securely anymore. I thump bass with tree fingers.

 

[cromag31]

been doing it for 30 years.....

 

[infrared72]

I play Bass, Guitar, and Baritone guitar in my band. I enjoy playing all of them and do my best to compliment the song.

 

[rogerbmiller]

I have done it here and there for gigs. At home I try to play geeetar as much as possible because it makes me a better bass player.

 

[bottomed!]

I play alot of double neck "bitar" so I switch from verse to chours ect....multiple times in a single song. It took a a bit of time to get used to it but overall not hard at all. The biggest challenge is not accidentally hitting that dog gone pickup/neck selector switch in mid-flight
!

 

[el_cody_loco]

I always go back in forth in my mind... then I go to Guitar Center and, when I finally plug in an instrument, I can only think of a few chords, and a few songs. Nothing creative. When I plug in the basses, I can flow around the fretboard and really feel the music. As much as I love guitar, I don't have time to practice two instruments. I'll stick to sucking at guitar and being a decent bassist.

 

[Blue Moose]

Yep. My Tele sits right next to my Jazz, both get plenty of luv.

 

[arbiterusa]

I do. Bassist first (by a long time) guitar second. The order matters. Haven't run into a lot of guitar players who could play bass properly. They have the notes but not the feel.

My "main" second instrument is drums. Better at those than I am at guitar, better at bass by a lot than my drumming or my guitar playing. If you can play drums, well...there's a lot of work out there.

 

[Mechayoshi]

I had a guitar for a while (years) before I got my first bass. I tried practicing with both everyday but I soon found that I lost the desire to play guitar. (Because I always wanted to be a bassist anyway) Now my guitar sits around. I can still strum some cowboy chords though.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

I switch when the song calls for it. Examples: Wish you were here, by Pink Floyd. I start out on the 12, then switch to the bass when the drums kick in. The same for Bon Jovis' Dead or Alive. I have about 30 or 40 songs that I switch (multiple times) during songs. I also have a Godin 12 string to learn the song on, without breaking my back. I've played both guitar and bass for 40 years, but those thin strings kill my fingers, so I always come home.

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[Herrick]

Been going back and forth for years and it's ended up stagnating my playing overall. I'm a bass player at heart and that's what I try to focus on...but sometimes I end up playing guitar for months or nothing at all.

 

[spaz21387]

All the time i play a stingray and a 335...