Guitar players turned bass players

[StratRat]

Ive played guitar for the last 4 years and have just started playing bass. I find I like it more than guitar. I know alot of guitar players do turn to bass. So I'm curious why you turned to bass from playing guitar. And what do you like about the bass?Do you still play guitar?

[Bongolation]

I switched to bass for the following reasons, in order of importance:

1: I'm too old and ugly to front a band any more. Bassists can be ugly, overweight, uncharismatic and generally wretched and audiences don't get as offended. Just hide over on the side and nobody will notice you.

2: Bassists are harder to find, so getting a gig is a lot easier.

3: I thought it would be less work (in a way it is, in a way it's not).

4: Audiences and band members don't notice your mistakes as easily in the lower registers.

I was dead serious about all of these, BTW.

[CocoTone]

I switched to bass for the following reasons, in order of importance:

1: I'm too old and ugly to front a band any more. Bassists can be ugly, overweight, uncharismatic and generally wretched and audiences don't get as offended. Just hide over on the side and nobody will notice you.

2: Bassists are harder to find, so getting a gig is a lot easier.

3: I thought it would be less work (in a way it is, in a way it's not).

4: Audiences and band members don't notice your mistakes as easily in the lower registers.

I was dead serious about all of these, BTW.

But are you a better Bass Player than you were a guitar player? Or were you medeocre to begin with. Seriously.:ahem

CT.

[Bongolation]

But are you a better Bass Player than you were a guitar player?

I think I'm still a better guitarist, especially since my guitar playing seems to have found new ways of improving since taking up bass.

Everyone says this, and I think it really is true.

Or were you medeocre to begin with. Seriously.:ahem

Well, seriously...We're talking pop music here, and pop music defines mediocrity. I want to make sure you understand that I mean that in the most dismissive possible way, too. The real musicians are in classical. If you don't understand that, you don't understand music or what's really involved in true musical virtuosity. Once I understood that, everything changed for me as a player. It was very liberating. It was only Rock & Roll and therefore I was free from taking a whole lot of junk (and junky egotistical pop players) seriously any more. It was either profitable or fun, but it wasn't anything to get all concerned about as "music."

The virtuosi in pop are the producers, engineers and mastering techs.

So, a pop musician is merely a workman producing a low-grade (and hopefully profitable) mass-market product. You're either good enough for the job or you aren't. You either contribute to the success of a pop tune or you detract from it. I was good enough to make my living at it, but flashy guitarists are a dime a dozen and generally a clueless nuisance from a producer's or songwriter's standpoint anyway.

After being an influential wheel in the music industry for my fifteen minutes, I also began to see that trying to be a hotdog pop instrumentalist was a total dead end career-wise (the thousands of shredders working in convenience stores will confirm this). The money and influence was in songwriting and packaging the act, especially if you are over twenty-five.

In the true Nick Lowe school of thought on all this (Nick really got it), being a backline bassist seemed to be the most efficient way to do this and still be in the band at all.

[sinner]

Interesting topic StratRat--for another perspective I can add that I started as Bass and switched to Guitar: just a kid (12) and some friends wanted to start a band. Already had the drums, guitar, keyboard so there wasn't much choice. I loved it, full and heavy sounding, you could have fun, keeping the guys all together, the sound was huge. We started giging almost immediately after getting my first bass. But it got weird--later everyone always said I shouldn't play bass cause I did too much, sounded more like a lead guitar (today bass performance has grown, but back then they weren't ready for it). So came the Guitar...very difficult to change "my hands" though, I got bass-player hands jumping up all over the fretboard, making huge leaps. Finally, I think I got better guitar-playing chops and have to say bring something a little different to the guitar--some funky rhythm to the solo lines.

I believe that a guitarist going to the bass can also offer a unique sound and sytle to that instument, some linear, sinewy melody perhaps?

[Richard Hayes]

Peripheral neuropathy + too many stings in too little space = play the bass. ;)

[Vics]

I went the other way. I was a bass player playing full time for years. Started in bands in 1970 up until 1982. Took a break until 1994 thru 1996 and that's when I started to learn guitar. I'm not saying I was a great bass player but I feel I can say I was a pretty good player. I got into guitar for two reasons. 1) I wanted to expand my horizons, especially when it came to writing and it has helped a lot. 2) Believe it or not, in most of the bands I was with the weakest link in was the guitar player with the exception of one player who was a monster player in ever way. All of the others were for the most part very sloppy or had no idea how to get a good tone going. I thought, "oh come on. It can't be THAT hard!" Well, progress has been very slow due to the amount of hours I work but still, with practice and listening to yourself I'm surprised how I'm able to play some things better than some of these other fellows ever have. I know that sounds arrogant and I don't mean to be but I don't know how else to put it. I'm by no means a great guitar player, but it's amazing what a bit of practice will do. It's very seldom now that I pick up a bass these days and even though I'm a bit clumbsy at it I have notice how much differantley I play it now than I did in the past. It's a lot more "free" than it was before.

[Marcondo]

Started on guitar in 1965. When I learned how to play I learned the bass lines first. In 2000 I quit playing guitar for about 1 year and just played bass.

When I went back to guitar I was alot better it improved my timing and taste alot!

I think all guitar players should know how to play BASS and play it like a BASS not like a guitar.

[Rickenjangle]

I agree that Bass playing has improved my guitar playing...and vice-versa. I started out playing bass in high school jazz band, as well as marching band, then got a guitar 'cause I wanted to accompany myself singing. Well, just started playing bass again a little bit. There are pitfalls to avoid, like playing guitaristic things all the time on bass. I try to get into a different mindset on bass.

Some people think that bass is inherently easier than guitar, but I beg to differ. A bass player that is trying to progress beyond the 'hobbyist' level needs to be aware of keys, scales, and intervals perhaps more so than your average guitarist. I see the bass as the glue between the drums and the other instruments...AND the need to provide a solid foundation for the vocalists to 'hear' the key while grooving and trying to be interesting. It's a great challenge.

Just my :2c

[chuckocaster]

started out on guitar, but like the story goes for most i switched to bass cause a band needed a bass player. played guitar and bass seperately in college, guitar in a cover band, bass in the jazz band and theatre shows. i love playing both for different reasons. but it really boils down to that i'm a rhythm guitar player first and foremost, so playing bass isn't that much different. i'm glad i play both cause it opens up more possibilities for gigs and writing music.

right now i have a steady gig cause i can play bass. so i would say it's working out great for me.

[Bongolation]

I think all guitar players should know how to play BASS and play it like a BASS not like a guitar.

Absolutely!

There are so many clueless bass geeks these days who think that more notes and more strings (with no apparent limit on either) make them better bassists instead of worse.

Yeah, jeeze, just buy a harp and be done with it!

The part that these guys don't get is that eight hundred years of musical history and the laws of physics and acoustics say that bass (instrument or voice) isn't a solo device, but these knotheads think that if you jam enough strings on a bass and crank it up where the registers slightly overlap with a guitar's and then process the signal enough to hype the highs so that the end result sounds a little like a Stratocaster with a chest cold, they can play a whole bunch of nitnotes and someone might hear at least part of them. Or care.

It's preposterous. They think they're "redefining" something...only it can't be because of the inherent acoustic and physical limitations of bass frequencies. It's why it's Marcello's "Oboe Concerto in Dm" and not the bassoon concerto. It's why people go to Lincoln Center to hear "The Three Tenors," not "The Three Bassi." It's why the army rousts you with "reveille" on a bugle and not a sousaphone. It's why they play "post time" on a straight horn and not a freakin tuba.

The primary function of a bass solo is to demonstrate why bass isn't a solo instrument...unless you're Will Ferrel and Jack Black doing the immortal "Bass-Off" SNL skit! :rofl

[Richard Hayes]

Yeah, jeeze, just buy a harp and be done with it!

But you can't iron on a harp. :lol

[Bongolation]

Yeah, I think that look of quiet desperation in the picture is the wordless cry, "Will ya please hurry up and take the dang picture so I can get this eighty-pound abortion up off my crotch?!?!" :rofl

[Motojunkie]

I'm a guitar player turned bassist. I'm still in the beginner stages for bass, but feel that I am picking it up really quick. The major struggle that I have is the adjustment from a 25.5" scale to 34" scale, but it comes with time.

For me, the bass was an enlightenment. One that carried on to my guitar playing - although 99% of the time I play bass now. The enlightenment for me was in realizing how important not playing is. What I mean by that is that the space that you leave between notes is often more critical than the notes that you play. This is something that most guitarists don't get. For guitarists, it's often about how fast you can play, and how many notes and scales you can throw into a song. I got caught up in that crap just like most guys/gals do. When I started playing bass, it dawned on me how wrong I was about music, and how screwed up my approach was. Bass let's me focus on the song, and play only the notes that enhance it - no more, no less. This new approach (for me) made music much more fun and rewarding to me. I play with newly found conviction, and purpose, and believe that I have finally found an appropriate outlet for myself.

If I had time, I'd start a band tomorrow, and play bass, not guitar - even though I have played guitar for many years, and have only played bass for a few months.

[Kap'n]

I started on bass. I sucked, so I switched to guitar.

[CocoTone]

I'm a guitar player turned bassist. I'm still in the beginner stages for bass, but feel that I am picking it up really quick. The major struggle that I have is the adjustment from a 25.5" scale to 34" scale, but it comes with time.

For me, the bass was an enlightenment. One that carried on to my guitar playing - although 99% of the time I play bass now. The enlightenment for me was in realizing how important not playing is. What I mean by that is that the space that you leave between notes is often more critical than the notes that you play. This is something that most guitarists don't get. For guitarists, it's often about how fast you can play, and how many notes and scales you can throw into a song. I got caught up in that crap just like most guys/gals do. When I started playing bass, it dawned on me how wrong I was about music, and how screwed up my approach was. Bass let's me focus on the song, and play only the notes that enhance it - no more, no less. This new approach (for me) made music much more fun and rewarding to me. I play with newly found conviction, and purpose, and believe that I have finally found an appropriate outlet for myself.

If I had time, I'd start a band tomorrow, and play bass, not guitar - even though I have played guitar for many years, and have only played bass for a few months.

Well said my friend!! You must have a great appreciation for the Blues then, right? I learned long ago the importance of breathing space in a song. Sparseness is cool.

CT.:ahem

[Sparrow]

Those skinny little guitar strings keep putting grooves in my fingers. I like big fat bass strings a lot better. Those tiny little guitar necks give me cramps. I like drummers, and nothing makes me feel better than watching women dance to my bass line.

[CocoTone]

Those skinny little guitar strings keep putting grooves in my fingers. I like big fat bass strings a lot better. Those tiny little guitar necks give me cramps. I like drummers, and nothing makes me feel better than watching women dance to my bass line.

I`ll bet you like fat bottomed gals too huh??

CT.:ahem

[Sparrow]

If they can shake it. The deeper the cushion, the better the pushin'.

[CocoTone]

If it aint tight,,it aint right!!!



CT.:ahem

[Sparrow]

I like them tight ones, too. I often dream I'm in the hall of the mountain king, naked to the world, surrounded by every kind of girl. Yes, I am an overfed long-haired leaping gnome, you wormed it out of me.

[stonetone]

I don't know any thumpers who started with the bass. I started with piano as a wee tot, picked up guitar, then bass in high school. The school jazz band opened my eyes to the lowdown. My teammates gave me hell about it, buncha slackjawed troglodytes... :lol

[doc540]

I started on bass and have never switched to guitar. Oh, I know about five or six chords on guitar, but I really suck at bass.

[cre2403]

and then there's Ron Wood, who first came to my attention in Jeff Beck's band playing bass. Of course he went back to the guitar in the Faces and the Stones, but he played bass just fine on Beck's Truth album. It may be old (1967), but has some fine material on it. Blues Deluxe, with Nicky Hopkins playing piano is a great live track................

[Sparrow]

Hey Doc540, anybody dancing with Berry can't suck too bad.

[Dave TV]

Where would Roger Waters rate as a Bass player?

I like his playing, especially on DSOTM.

On the other hand, I also like Jerry Scheff. :wail2

[cre2403]

Waters didn't seem to have a unique style or sound, but I liked his playing. I'm sure I've heard Jerry Scheff in one or another of his many incarnations, but didn't realize he played with the Doors on LA Woman. Any recommendations for a signature recording to listen to?

[Dave TV]

That Doors album is the one I was referring to.

I know he played for a lot of acts, including Elvis, but his Doors work is some of my favorite Bass playing.

[cre2403]

OK, well I need to go back and listen to that - I haven't pulled out LA Woman in a long time.

BTW - I remember the Lordship roller rink........

[Kap'n]

Where would Roger Waters rate as a Bass player?

I like his playing, especially on DSOTM.

I think he pretty much stopped playing bass full time for the band after Wish You Were Here. Some of Animals sounds like him, but some of it doesn't, either. Not a flashy sound, but a sound that worked well in the context of the band. Animals is the last "band" album of theirs, and one of my favorites.

[Rickenjangle]

Roger seemed to acquit himself just fine on bass on the live DVD I have of him. They did a lot of Floyd material and some of his solo material and he played bass on much of it. True, it's not like he'd be recognized as a virtuoso anyway, but much of Pink Floyd's middle-to-later recorded output was all about the songs and about "parts" playing, more so than virtuosic displays. (IMHO, of course).

Speaking of guitarists turned bassists, I always found Mike Rutherford to be interesting. He played guitars and basses throughout Genesis' career, and I never knew whether he considered himself a bassist who played guitar or a guitarist who played bass...still don't know, but I sure like his bass playing.

Gotta praise my boy Paul McCartney, who, as we all know by now started on guitar but took the bass in very interesting directions in the context of pop songs. Back in high school, the band played a medley of beatles tunes, for which I put down my trusty trumpet and grabbed my Musicmaster Bass (through a SF bassman ten with 3 speakers in the cab) and played on that medley...and it was a hell of a lot of fun playing Macca licks. Come to think of it, we did a Police medley one year, too, and those Sting bass lines were fun too.

[Kap'n]

but much of Pink Floyd's middle-to-later recorded output was all about the songs and about "parts" playing, more so than virtuosic displays. (IMHO, of course).

Absolutely. I didn't mean to infer he was a slouch, but after WYWH, I think he started thinking of himself less as a bass player, and more of a songwriter/vocalist.

[Sparrow]

Yeah, Jerry Scheff on Riders on the Storm, keeping that riff going, driving and sighing. Great bass playing.

[davey]

I took piano lessons when I was in 3rd grade and I hated them. When I was in 5th grade I wanted to take violin, but my folks vetoed that, then I "found" rock and roll. I wanted to be Paul McCartney, (it must have been "Coming Up" that got me- why would a 10 year old start grooving on a band that had been defunct for 10 years?- it wasn't my folks!). In any case, I took a few bass lessons and started farting around on records and the radio- and I thouroughly sucked. I wasn't playing with anyone- no one had any bands. I started playing guitar somewhere around 8th grade/Freshman year. That's also about the time I got my first real bass that was mine. (ironically enough, after I got a guitar I joined my first band, as a bass player) I was pretty much the bass player who also played guitar. After I got out of the Army, I got involved with a band playing guitar. For the next 7 years or so, I was a guitarist that also played bass. The whole time I was always a better bass player, but at the time was more comfortable playing guitar.

I've been primarily a bass player for the past 8 years or so, every once in a while I'll join a part time band playing guitar. I'm not great, I'm 'vaguely competent' and less so on guitar... But I've got kickass gear!

I'm sure I've heard Jerry Scheff in one or another of his many incarnations, but didn't realize he played with the Doors on LA Woman.

What Doors stuff did Doug Lubahn play on?

[Motojunkie]

I'm not great, I've 'vaguely competent' and less so on guitar... But I got kickass gear!

Holy crap, you just described me too!! :)