The PURITY Poll: Bassists vs Multi-Instrumentalists

[eyvindwa]

Are we petitioning to change the site to Talk Instrument?

I wish there was a TalkCello somewhere out there!


I'm a bassist first and foremost, but due to the wording of the question, I chose multi-instrumentalist, even though this is not a label I would generally be comfortable with. I'm trying (struggling!) to learn the cello properly these days, it is a lot of fun, and also a lot of sweat and tears

 

[pfschim]

When I saw Paul McCartney I was hooked. 56 years as a bassist and never even considered another instrument.

nice ... except McCartney plays guitar and keys like a pro, so ......

 

[pfschim]

Like some others already replied, I voted Multi-instrumentalist because I can and do gig on keys and mandolin, and I sing, but I am first and foremost a bass player (50+ years) as far as instruments. Really, I think of myself as a musician who's primary instrument is bass, with other useful skills into the mix.

 

[smeet]

Pura vida for me.

I was a violinist for years, then started playing guitar as a second instrument. Another few years passed and some friends needed a bassist for a pop band they were starting. After that I was a multi-instrumentalist for about 10 years, and then I switched to all bass for the next 30 years. I still play other instruments for my home studio projects, but I’m a bassist through and through now.

But also, we all are (or should be) musicians first and the instruments we play come after that.

 

[ViperTim]

I can answer because I’m neither a bassist nor a multi instrumentalist.
I’m worthless at both guitar and bass.

 

[MrWolf14]

Tough question, like most of us (I assume), I play other instruments as well.
But honestly, in my heart, I consider myself a bass player, as pure as it gets

Deciding factor for me: if I had to pick only one for the rest of my life, the BASS is the instrument I would choose in a heartbeat.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Bass only.
I've met several band leaders that will not employ multi instrumentalists.. odd but there it is..

 

[funkinbottom]

I'm a bass player. In my studio I play guitar and keys but I could never pull it off live. So, I'm a bass player.

Pretty much same. Bassist in the real world . Keys and very little bit of guitar for recording at home. And a bit of programming, midi painting and what not when I can't play it. Gotta love digital recording.

 

[Dabndug]

I play bass for 99% of the live playing projects I am involved with, but I can play guitar, sing, and program virtual instruments for studio work.

I have been known to play a little percussion on occasion.

 

[brianrost]

I made the mistake of buying other instruments, notably guitars and keyboards but never taking the time to practicing enough, let alone taking lessons, to get competent on them.

 

[Naigewron]

Bass is actually my most recent instrument; I've only played bass for about five of my 44 years on earth

Been a drummer most of my life, and a guitar noodler since my teens. Also played in marching bands for ten years (trumpet and euphonium), and took piano lessons for a few years in primary school. So I can find my way around a keyboard, although I'm definitely not a pianist.

 

[MtManiac]

Ostensibly, I play bass and only bass, but the reality is that I suck at all of them.

I’ve been coasting on two years of a failed jazz degree ever since 1990. Due to that experience, it’s amazing how little I need to practice to get by and even get some respect in a rock cover band.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Bass only.

Guitare is nice but too many strings and notes for me.

Bass is WAY cooler and punches in the chess and guts like nothing else.

Signed : P bass dinosaur

 

[scuzzy]

bass and drums. mediocre at both, but I keep getting asked to play both live, so I do.

I'm hoping to learn dobro in the next few years, and start playing that live as well.

 

[Iristone]

My main instrument is drums, and I only started playing bass guitar in order to try out basslines for writing songs. I also dabble with keyboard synth, guitar, trombone, and mandolin, though I cannot play them as well as bass or drums. My newest instrument is a madal, the Nepali equivalent to tabla or pakhawaj drums.

 

[MCS4]

I only gig on bass these days, but I play other instruments for fun and songwriting purposes and have done some recording on guitar. I do not have the slightest interest in trying to parse out what that means in terms of a label.

 

[SuperTheBass]

I can play instruments other than bass.

I just don't want to.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Started on Saxophone actually, then 4 years of piano, then tuba, then bass.
Self taught guitar, and ukelele, and harmonica.
Gigged a little on guitar, but other than that its been ALL BASS all the time for 50 years.
I'm pretty much only regarded as a bass player and its the only instrument I'm even remotely proficient at.

 

[Medicine Man]

I play a ton of instruments, but 99% of my paying gigs have been as a bassist, so I voted bassist.

 

[Michedelic]

I am a musician. My main focus/role/skill/task is to play bass, but I don’t self limit when it comes to other instruments. While my skill level varies with each of the others, it is self-sabotaging to ignore knowledge of those instruments, and that knowledge can enhance the main objective, let alone the fact that those other instruments all bring something or perform a function that bass can’t. Purity is a myth, purity is stagnation.