Guitar Players who have switched to Bass

[spookstrickland]

I'm thinking of Switching to bass to broaden my horizons.  At 37 it seems guitar players are a dime a dozen or any age for that matter but bass players always seem to be in demand.  I do enjoy playing bass from time to time but do you think it's worth pursuing and buying a good bass amp and bass or am I just not thinking this through.

Thanks

[HeavyEar]

VERY TRICKY! Certainly can be done given a level of talent or interest. I'm a guitar player and also love the bass, and own one, but the whole thing is like different because the bass player - don;t they come from a different mindset and place than the guitar player? But go for it! I would seriously either woodshed for real and\or take some lessons. I guess you got a drummer you can play with? see how that goes....The bass is so critical (in my mind) to a fun or good band. But really, its a lifelong pursuit - some of these cats that play the awesome bass - it's a real wonder. Why not explore it if you're so inclined? Come up to BAss NW sometime in Seattle and shoot the shit there - great folks and insights and the gear too. (not affiliated but it's a cool basscentric place)

[bitter]

I started off with bass in '01 but within a couple of years made the switch to guitar. There is a demand for bass players, and for me it is becoming increasingly tempting to get back into bass.

*** This next portion is merely opinion, so hopefully the hardcore bass guys don't tear me a new one... ***

The nice thing about bass is you can generally get a lot of bang for your buck in regards to gear. Just depends on how picky you are about tone. A cheap SX bass > your current pedals > A decent powered SS bass amp > and a used cab is a good way to start out. The deals are out there, look at what Sunn0)) payed for that 8x10 peavey. A behringer/tech21 preamp into a cheap power amp is another great way to save cash while adding power.

[VOLVO)))]

UH, look at what I paid for my Peavey, AND my 370? 275 bucks total?

I am a guitar player, but I'd happily fill bass positions, I play a lot like Scott Reeder in terms of everything sounding kind of slapped, because I don't pluck, I hit straight down onto the strings when I play normally, and depending on the bass, I play at the neck, or above it for crazy flicked harmonics.

That being said, I also play drums... and I'd happily take a position doing that. Shortly here, I'll be playing pedal steel when I can force myself to save a grand, and then I'll be happy taking a position doing that...

[hashbrowns]

I play both myself. I would just pick up a cheap bass and fuck around with it and see if you like it. I personally doesn't think it's that different from guitar. I had to learn how to move up and down the neck more with the blues scale cause theres only four strings. Thats actually helped me a lot cause I was able to apply my increased knowledge of the neck back onto guitar. Honestly though I wouldn't switch altogether. It wouldn't be too much of an investment to get a cheap bass and a cheap rig and you would be able to take either position in a band. Do you plan on playing with your fingers or a pick? If you play with a pick there will be next to no learning curve. If you want to play with your fingers than there's gonna be a pretty decent learning curve but it's doable.

[liquidsmoke]

Bass is fun, just buy a cheap used one that plays okay and see where it takes you. Play it through your guitar amp at low levels until you want to crank and then buy a cheap used combo that is just loud enough to play with a drummer. I suck at it but I'd never sell mine. I suck at guitar too but I write songs anyway. You only live once. Do it if you have the money. Why not?

[bass sic]

I spent most of my bass "career" thinking I should just stick to one instrument and perfect that. As I got older I realized I was never going to be a great bass player, just maybe good and I was missing a whole bunch of opportunitys by not playing other instruments. A couple years ago I picked up a drum kit and a couple crappy guitars and started fucking around with them. The big problem I have is now Im very limited on free time so I can't practice, and being older now I don't learn as fast as when I was a teenager.

[bass sic]

Hey Sunno that's a pretty unique finger style, you pull it off well. I would never guess by seeing you play that your a guitarist posing as a bass player.

[RAGER]

I'm thinking of Switching to bass to broaden my horizons.  At 37 it seems guitar players are a dime a dozen or any age for that matter but bass players always seem to be in demand.  I do enjoy playing bass from time to time but do you think it's worth pursuing and buying a good bass amp and bass or am I just not thinking this through.

Thanks

You look more like a bass player anyways.  Praise Him

[VOLVO)))]

I love playin' bass. Ill record another video where I actually play something interesting. Ill even try to play with a pick

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[Chovie D]

why dont you wait and see if your idea works out first before buying new gear?
You have a bass and something you can use as a bass amp to try out for bands right? use that til you get the gig and THEN you can ask yourself if you NEED new gear.

[Hemisaurus]

First you have to buy a recorder, and practice it for a year.

then you can buy a clarinet,

after a couple of years of that, you can move on to a cornet

then, if you are still interested in another instrument, get back to us

Why is it so many school boards think this way, I mean wtf? My niece was really into playing the drums, whenever she visited here she would sit and play drums all the time, but her parents wanted her to learn this shit at school, and by the time she got the clarinet, she was thoroughly sick of the whole thing, now she does cheerleading. Way to go school board.

[fallen]

Playing bass is awesome. I just basically play roots and 5ths and blues solos through every song.

And for dirty/fuzzy bass sounds I think playing with a pick sounds better. If you end up trying to play with your fingers it does help with lap steel a little bit.

[VOLVO)))]

I love the dirty/fingers sound. If I want the picked sound, I superglue my index/middle/ring finger in my right hand. THREE picks. Sounds awesome.

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[bass sic]

You forgot trombone. Most bass players I know played trombone in grade school, including myself.

[hashbrowns]

Yeah dude I think that playing with your fingers will always give you the optimal tone for the sort of tones and music we discuss on this board. That said however, I'll pick the hell out of my bass when I'm playing thrash, death or any of that speed freak nonsense. Just gives you the attack you need to cut. Think the bassist from megadeth.

[spookstrickland]

I had a bass for years that I would just noodle on from time to time and got pretty good at finger style.  Not into anything really technical but I can move around on it with no problems to most any classic rock sort of riff. 

My bass however is not doing so well.  It was just a cheapy BC rich platinum series bass.  I was going to refinish it and when I took it apart I found out it had:  A broken nut, the electronics were completely screwed up by some a-hole with a megawatt soldering iron and a mile of black tape and on top of that the body was plywood.  Not sure if it is worth the time and money or I should just get another one.  I was thinking of picking up an old peavey t 40 bass.

really I enjoy myself most singing and writing songs but I really like to have something in my hands while doing so so I think I may be just as happy in a band playing bass as guitar and seems like bass players get an easier pass when it comes to age and body type where as around here in Portland all guitar players are required to be no older than 25 have pretty hair and ripped abs and a nice pair of skinny jeans at all times

[jibberish]

i like playing with the bass now.  i just keep in mind it is a solo instrument. that right there keeps all the differentiation between it and the guitar i need. like i have no guitar feelings when i mess with the keyboard. i have no guitar feelings with the bass.  the differnet fret size/spacing actually helps with keeping it different too.

knowing all the notes WAS a bonus from the guitar, but...that's where it ends.

ya chovie, i have my buddy's yamaha silent horn pickup system for his trombone over here. we are going to try bass lines with a subharmonic synth next time we get together.

i'm pretty stoked at even the slightest chance of having some bass to help me out.
i'm burnt on being bass/rhythm and countermelody all the time for solo wankery like singing or tbone playing.
(granted, trying to do it all has made for some rich campfire appropois(fuck that frinchy spelling shit) arrangements, but enough is enough)

[bloodofkings]

Not completely true, I know a bunch of bass players that started on cello, myself included. Spook man, pick it up. Being able to play both bass and guitar gives me a ton of opportunity to jam.

You forgot trombone. Most bass players I know played trombone in grade school, including myself.

[Lumpy]

You forgot trombone. Most bass players I know played trombone in grade school, including myself.

Me too.

Spook, I wouldn't abandon the guitar if I were you, it's going to take a while to get really good on the bass. Take that energy and apply it to your guitar playing. But since you already have some bass experience, have fun dabbling with the bass too, especially if you think it might lead to a band situation. I think bass players should all experiment with guitar, because it can help your bass playing (it did for me). No idea if it works the other way too. If playing bass seems like a fun thing to do, go for it, but you've already put in a lot of time on guitar -- so keep working on that side, too.

[Hemisaurus]

My bass however is not doing so well.  It was just a cheapy BC rich platinum series bass.  I was going to refinish it and when I took it apart I found out it had:  A broken nut, the electronics were completely screwed up by some a-hole with a megawatt soldering iron and a mile of black tape and on top of that the body was plywood.  Not sure if it is worth the time and money or I should just get another one.  I was thinking of picking up an old peavey t 40 bass.

C'mon you know you want to. A new nut and and wire the pickup straight to the jack with some shielded cable, good to go

It's the player not the instrument, and a bastard bass is the best bass, because you don't care what you do with it.

I actually had a buddy here (he moved back to Canada) who subtracted 10 years from his age on his myspace and FB profiles, because he got kicked out of bands for being too old, despite being the liveliest guy on stage, it just freaked the other band members out. He was too damn nice about it, he even showed the new bassplayer how to play bass, I'd have told them to go &*!@# it.

PS send it to me if you don't want it, take the neck off and stick it in a brown paper bag

[bitter]

That's lame about the age deal. I almost responded to an ad for some guys in town who had a full bass setup and needed a bass player. All they said in the original ad was that they sounded like a mix between British blues and southern rock. I was like cool, electric wizard and weedeater  . I guess by British blues, they meant ac/dc and southern rock, skynyrd. After they re-did the ad w/ more details I moved on. I ain't that desperate to play covers, even for the sake of practicing.

[Hemisaurus]

Covers are fine for fun between friends, but you lower than a karaoke DJ if thats all you play live

[spookstrickland]

My bass however is not doing so well.  It was just a cheapy BC rich platinum series bass.  I was going to refinish it and when I took it apart I found out it had:  A broken nut, the electronics were completely screwed up by some a-hole with a megawatt soldering iron and a mile of black tape and on top of that the body was plywood.  Not sure if it is worth the time and money or I should just get another one.  I was thinking of picking up an old peavey t 40 bass.

C'mon you know you want to. A new nut and and wire the pickup straight to the jack with some shielded cable, good to go

It's the player not the instrument, and a bastard bass is the best bass, because you don't care what you do with it.

I actually had a buddy here (he moved back to Canada) who subtracted 10 years from his age on his myspace and FB profiles, because he got kicked out of bands for being too old, despite being the liveliest guy on stage, it just freaked the other band members out. He was too damn nice about it, he even showed the new bassplayer how to play bass, I'd have told them to go &*!@# it.

PS send it to me if you don't want it, take the neck off and stick it in a brown paper bag

I think I'll give it a go.  Do you think a Fender P Bass nut would be a good fit for the BC Rich which is kind of a P bass clone or should I just super glue the nut back together?  its crack right in the middle of the low E nut slot.

I'm going to see if I can snag some used pickups on ebay or something and go to town.



I'm going to wire the Neck and Bride in Series to I love that sound!

[spookstrickland]

You forgot trombone. Most bass players I know played trombone in grade school, including myself.

Me too.

Spook, I wouldn't abandon the guitar if I were you, it's going to take a while to get really good on the bass. Take that energy and apply it to your guitar playing. But since you already have some bass experience, have fun dabbling with the bass too, especially if you think it might lead to a band situation. I think bass players should all experiment with guitar, because it can help your bass playing (it did for me). No idea if it works the other way too. If playing bass seems like a fun thing to do, go for it, but you've already put in a lot of time on guitar -- so keep working on that side, too.

I'm not giving up on guitar I'm just looking to get out there and play more.  I'm actually working on a new pedal board for my guitar; hopefully this will be the last and most perfect on I need to build.