Nope, no guitar. I guess that I would be classified as a rythm guy these days. Started on piano and clarinet as a kid, and have always been a singer. But these days it's drums, mandolin (rythm in Bluegrass) and now learning the bass (and loving it!)
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
Who plays guitar as well?
- Thread starter The Bass Abides
- Start date
Started with the guitar in 1989. Felt in love with bass in 1996. Sold all electric guitars and amp to buy a good bass and bass amp. Only kept acoustic ones, and continue to play it for fire camps type evenings; recently took part of a band on guitar to play African music; next to the afro-ska band i'm bassplayer in. 
I play bass and acoustic guitar mostly. Depends on the date and the band. Probably 50/50. I play electric guitar some, but not nearly as much. I started as a drummer, then played guitar. I found bass a sweet spot between the rhythm orientation of drums and the harmonic and melodic note orientation of guitar. I think playing guitar and singing has made my bass playing more melodic than some. I don't really do funk, and try to get away from roots or root-5th that is so prevalent today.
I've played guitar all my life (and still do for fun). I started playing bass 4 years ago because my friend's band's bass player moved away. Now I love it. I still love guitar as well. I also like being able to watch the guitar players and know what they are doing. Understanding the chords helps me come up with interesting bass lines.
I played guitar in bands during high school but when I got to college I realized that guitar players were a dime a dozen and bassists and drummers got to pick and choose who to play with. The summer after my freshman year (1983!) I bought a Rick 4001 (I still have it) and a Fender Bassman and began a career as a bass player. It took me a few years to feel like I was actually a bassist but I have been playing in bands ever since on the low end. I love the challenge of playing bass and driving the band with the drummer. I still play a pretty good guitar but only for fun.
I play right-handed guitars left-handed (upside down), so some chords are easy, some harder, and some unachievable in their proper/full sense, causing me to lean towards partial/fractured/improvised chords. This tends to give my playing a slightly unique tone/sound. I started fooling around on friends' guitars and then ended up staying this way lol.
Not a I play guitar related question, but I figured y’all might be able to give insight on a recent Martin I purchased.
What do you all make of this gap? Normal for a non bonded, minimal finish...or bad cut?
What do you all make of this gap? Normal for a non bonded, minimal finish...or bad cut?
I was first very interested in how to read and write music notation. Early on I wrote charts for big bands and arrangements for touring musicians. I played drums but quickly got tired of lugging them around. So I bought a Maton Vampyr 6 string bass in Australia (one of 54 they made back then) and stayed with bass primarily. I taught myself guitar, and keyboards too.
Knowing how to play guitar really helps one to "read" the chords of another musician, same with watching a keyboard players left hand (lots of gigs for bass players with a pianist at weddings in the old days). I am usually the one shouting out the chords to the rest of the band by watching one player introduce a song they know. I now have many basses from the small fat sound of the Kala U-Bass to a variety of 4 and 6 string basses. I found the 5 string bass made it hard for guitarists to read my fingering, so dropped that. Cheers mates
Knowing how to play guitar really helps one to "read" the chords of another musician, same with watching a keyboard players left hand (lots of gigs for bass players with a pianist at weddings in the old days). I am usually the one shouting out the chords to the rest of the band by watching one player introduce a song they know. I now have many basses from the small fat sound of the Kala U-Bass to a variety of 4 and 6 string basses. I found the 5 string bass made it hard for guitarists to read my fingering, so dropped that. Cheers mates
I have the same experience, and pretty nearly the same guitar!
I auditioned as lead singer in the first rock band I tried out for and was told I could make a great bass player. Played bass with them for years, picked up guitar to play around the campfires. Ended up learning things on guitar that helped my bass playing. Years later (including as vocalist/bassist in that first band) I have 3 guitars and 7 basses.
I'm a mediocre bass player and a shabby guitar player.
I'm a mediocre bass player and a shabby guitar player.
I’ve always had a thing for seagull guitars, since my buddy got one in college. I saw this for sale, and I had to get it. Coincidentally I took those nylon strings off just last night and restrung it with steel strings. Love that guitar!
Yep, mine seduced me away from a different guitar just by how well it sounded and played. I had to go look at your photo again - I didn't know you had nylon strings on it. How do you lock the bridge end? Did you find nylon strings with ball ends?
Yup ball end nylon strings. I don’t remember the brand, but I’ve had several sets over the years, they’re not terrible hard to find
So it seems like many folks here play the 6 string. I've been focusing on bass over the last year or so, but lately I've been mixing in some guitar. I'm hoping by becoming at least decent on the guitar, it will help with my bass playing and overall understanding of music.
If that’s the goal, I found learning some piano to be more helpful. It really unlocked some things in my brain. Don’t get me wrong, there are many benefits to learning the guitar. I like guitar for singing, portability (acoustic) and leading jams with beginners. But there’s something about seeing all the notes laid out on a keyboard, playing any combination and voicing of notes you can imagine. Producing a tone on a piano is so easy, the focus shifts to music theory. My 2 cents, IMO, YMMV, etc
I have always taught guitar students at the piano from time to time. When you can visualize all the relationships between all the notes, it really makes it easier to see what's happening on the guitar. We'll walk to the piano, I'll show them something, then back to put it under their hands on the guitar.
I've also found that playing bass has helped me a lot. You're a lot more aware of the fretboard and you learn the fretboard better with bass than chording or occasionally soloing on guitar. And knowing the fretboard is very important for bass or guitar, just as knowing the keyboard is for piano players.
I've also found that playing bass has helped me a lot. You're a lot more aware of the fretboard and you learn the fretboard better with bass than chording or occasionally soloing on guitar. And knowing the fretboard is very important for bass or guitar, just as knowing the keyboard is for piano players.
I started on bass but I really enjoy playing guitar at home!
2016 Orpheus Valley Kremona Rondo R65S Classical Guitar A.K.A. Sophie
Invalid Link Removed
2018 Yamaha - LS TA (Vintage Natural) A.K.A. Coco
Invalid Link Removed
2000 Fender® American Series Stratocaster (3-Color Sunburst, Pearloid Pickguard, Rosewood) + Fender Custom Shop™ Texas Special Pickups A.K.A. Sunny
Invalid Link Removed
2019 Fender® American Performer Stratocaster HSS (Black, Black Piguard, Maple)
Invalid Link Removed
2016 Orpheus Valley Kremona Rondo R65S Classical Guitar A.K.A. Sophie
Invalid Link Removed
2018 Yamaha - LS TA (Vintage Natural) A.K.A. Coco
Invalid Link Removed
2000 Fender® American Series Stratocaster (3-Color Sunburst, Pearloid Pickguard, Rosewood) + Fender Custom Shop™ Texas Special Pickups A.K.A. Sunny
Invalid Link Removed
2019 Fender® American Performer Stratocaster HSS (Black, Black Piguard, Maple)
Invalid Link Removed
I play enough guitar to be competent, I can write songs and lead lines on guitar but I'm nowhere as proficient as bass, which is (not surprisingly) what I love more.
