Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Bass or Guitar?


AMD8806

Recommended Posts

Like others have said, try for both.  I was in my 50s before I bought a bass guitar, and now, in my 'music corner' I now also have an electronic drum kit, (drum kit was my first instrument, in the 1960s) strat-style guitar, and a budget 'home use' bass.  A keyboard amp to play each through, and a set of headphones completes the set up.  But then I am retired, so have the time.

Now for a slight tangent...

I was asked by our minister, "do you play guitar as well as bass, Malcolm?”

Like an idiot, trying to be funny, I replied that I played guitar better than I played bass.

"That can’t be very difficult, can it!"  was what I walked straight into....😁

Edited by Baxlin
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, burno70 said:

If you do decide to spend more time on the guitar I'd highly recommend you do pick up you bass regularly to keep the skills you have. You'll lose them otherwise.

This.

I remember doing some recording when I was mainly playing guitar. When it came to recording the bass, I was never happy with any of the takes I did.

It was after reviewing the umpteenth take that I realised I was playing bass like a guitarist. :D 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am a reasonably adept guitarist and bassist.

I joined a band as a guitarist  a few years back, but missed the bass, so went back to it.

The thing I enjoyed most about guitar, was the way major and minor chords worked together.

You can hear the way the bass complements them.

Edited by Hobbayne
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been playing guitar for 40 years but I'm pretty average at it and got into playing bass by accident.  I'm a good bass player in a band situation but to be honest I rarely pick it up and play it for pleasure at home (I'll learn stuff for the band but that's about it), whereas I'll happily play the guitar for the fun of it (I haven't been in a band playing guitar but have done open mic nights).  Playing bass in a band has improved my guitar playing, and my theory knowledge gained from learning guitar has helped my bass playing.  I don't have to learn chord tomes because I know how to play the chords and normally a few inversions so can always "see" the relevant bass notes on my fretboard.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I play bass and baritone Uke, reckon I've only got 4 fingers so that's plenty of strings for me to cope with. I do follow guitar video lessons but mentally adapt them to suit, what I learn for one helps the other, especially the theory stuff. I do lean towards bass though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I decided to teach myself guitar about 10 years ago and haven't looked back.  I'm still crap though.  

BTW: All of you guitarists...www.guitarchat.co.uk needs your wit, talent and unique brand of BS.  Don't be neglecting your sister forum now.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Six reasons to play guitar instead of bass:

  1. Lack of any sense of rhythm.
  2. Tab too complicated, prefers things like ' G - C -D'.
  3. Weak character, lacking moral fibre.
  4. Small hands.
  5. Thinks 'advanced musical knowledge' is memorising the blues scale.
  6. Small willy.
Edited by Stub Mandrel
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Kiwi said:

I decided to teach myself guitar about 10 years ago and haven't looked back.  I'm still crap though.  

BTW: All of you guitarists...www.guitarchat.co.uk needs your wit, talent and unique brand of BS.  Don't be neglecting your sister forum now.

just tried to sign in using my basschat password, says I'm using the wrong one, I'm not, I don't think

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/03/2020 at 15:44, Stub Mandrel said:

Six reasons to play guitar instead of bass:

  1. Lack of any sense of rhythm.
  2. Tab too complicated, prefers things like ' G - C -D'.
  3. Weak character, lacking moral fibre.
  4. Small hands.
  5. Thinks 'advanced musical knowledge' is memorising the blues scale.
  6. Small willy.

Oh well, One out six aint bad. 😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 03/03/2020 at 23:21, PaulWarning said:

I find Bass on it's own is fairly boring, great in a band, but I play acoustic guitar when I want to just play and sing on my own

Same here.

Also I always use acoustic guitar for writing and working out songs. 

Partly because I find playing bass and singing simultaneously pretty much impossible. 😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see myself as a bass player, but I currently own more guitars than basses, and I have played guitar in bands before.  Having some ability on the guitar can help with understanding the role of the bass and writing bass lines, and it definitely helps with writing songs as a whole.

I'm definitely a better bass player than I am a guitarist (my test for auditioning guitarists is that if they are no better than I am then they're not good enough to be in my band), but I do find that guitars are better as solo instruments, whereas bass is usually better in a band context (YMMV)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...