Guitarists picking up bass

[chille01]

I'm sure plenty of you have done it.  And I'm sure there are plenty of "real" bass players that roll their eyes at all of us six stringers that think we can just switch over no problem.  I'm considering it for a new project.  I have of course always mucked around with the bass, and kept a cheapo one around for songwriting purposes etc.  The new project I'm thinking of putting together has two guitar players that frankly... are better than me.  I'm not sure what I could add as a guitarist that they don't already have covered, and bassists are always the hardest part to find.  Plus I genuinely enjoy playing the instrument.  So I'm thinking of investing in some gear and making the switch.

Advise?  Experience? I know plenty about bass amps, not so much about the basses themselves.  What are the classic qualities of the classic basses? P Bass, Jazz, Stingray, Ricky etc. 

I'm just bored and feel like talking about the idea.

[mortlock]

bass is the easiest instrument to pick up and the hardest to master..

if youre not serious, don't do it. you have the mechanics down, all you really have to do is think like a bass player. you have to approach the music from a different angle. 

[mortlock]

[Danny G]

Let the kick and snare pattern dictate your basslines rather than the guitar riff. Bass is the liaison between the drums and guitar, between rhythm and melody.

Finger pick. Much better range of tones, much better dynamics. Pick on bass has its place, but fingers are superior.

As for gear and tone, who's bass tone do you like?

Fender P-bass plus Ampeg SVT is a good recipe. And low midrange is your friend. Tube amps sound better than solid state. I like 2x15 cabs but that's me.


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[bbottom]

I've been playing bass for 20+ years. I played guitar for about a year before I switched over. And while I'll still pick up a guitar now and then... I've found that I'm more of a bass player.

To be a good bass player you really do have to have a different mindset than a guitarist. The bass ties everything together, so you'll need to really "hear" the entire band more and not just focus on what the guitar is doing.

I think that one of the things that would help you not be in that mindset is to focus on playing with your fingers, at least for awhile. That will help you not approach the instrument like a guitar with thicker strings.


What kind of music would you be playing?

[Lumpy]

Let the kick and snare pattern dictate your basslines rather than the guitar riff. Bass is the liaison between the drums and guitar, between rhythm and melody.

Finger pick. Much better range of tones, much better dynamics. Pick on bass has its place, but fingers are superior.

As for gear and tone, who's bass tone do you like?

Fender P-bass plus Ampeg SVT is a good recipe. And low midrange is your friend. Tube amps sound better than solid state. I like 2x15 cabs but that's me.


Sent from a can on some string using Tapatalk

I agree with all this, and bbottom too, (except I like 8x10 better than 2x15).

A lot of the discussion might not matter, depending on what type of music you're playing. Slow doom? You're probably just playing root notes, mirroring what the guitars are playing, and a beginner can do it. Telling you to "learn how to groove" (etc) is going to be meaningless.

So, +1: what kind of music are you playing?

[chille01]

The idea would be some sort of mish mash of psych/alt-country/garage.  Basically big dynamics and interesting textures.  Definitely would want to focus more on locking in with the drums than doubling the guitar riffs.  I'd likely be the main songwriter (because I usually am, and have been when working with both of these guitarists in the past)... so I'd probably come up with the basic bones and chord progressions of the songs on guitar, let these guys take it in another direction, and then fit a simple but interesting bass line underneath.  I think part of what I like about the idea is that I've played with a lot of bass players, and truthfully a lot of them did spend too much time worrying about the guitars rather than the drums.  And most of them had crappy tone, or at least weren't overly worried about their tone.  So I've got the idea of what kind of bass player I think would fit the band, and if I don't know him then maybe I have to be him.

[spookstrickland]

Wow whats the background story on that picture?

[clockwork green]

I love playing bass after years of only playing guitar in bands. It's so freeing and it's helped my melodic guitar playing as well as my visualization of the neck.

[Lumpy]

The idea would be some sort of mish mash of psych/alt-country/garage.  Basically big dynamics and interesting textures.  Definitely would want to focus more on locking in with the drums than doubling the guitar riffs.  I'd likely be the main songwriter (because I usually am, and have been when working with both of these guitarists in the past)... so I'd probably come up with the basic bones and chord progressions of the songs on guitar, let these guys take it in another direction, and then fit a simple but interesting bass line underneath.  I think part of what I like about the idea is that I've played with a lot of bass players, and truthfully a lot of them did spend too much time worrying about the guitars rather than the drums.  And most of them had crappy tone, or at least weren't overly worried about their tone.  So I've got the idea of what kind of bass player I think would fit the band, and if I don't know him then maybe I have to be him.

Sounds like you have your head together. A lot of bass playing is just physical ability... your brain might know what to do, but you have to be physically able to pull it off. Just play as much as possible, including short bursts (you don't have to practice a long duration if you don't have lots of available time). All that time adds up in the end. Also, this might sound weird, but if you already know what your intervals sound like, you can even practice playing unplugged while watching TV etc. I wouldn't recommend that to a musical beginner but since you're already seasoned it's probably fine. That's just to build up your physical skills. Monster riffs on the bass are just a bunch of easy riffs combined together and played fast, if you know what I mean. Try to ingrain the fingerings into your subconscious so they are automatic. Once you can play stuff slow off the cuff, then you can start playing it fast(er).

Metronomes are really helpful too. Start out with a click on every beat, and work on getting locked in with that. Once you're really good at that, try playing ahead, on and behind the beat (uh, syncopation) to become more expressive. Then put the metronome on every other beat, and go through the process again (learn to lock in with the beat, then practice syncopation). Once you're good at that, then metronome once per measure. Play arpeggios and basic stuff that way. Some people say practicing scales is a waste of time, and you should think in terms of chords instead (because you would never actually play a scale in a band situation, because it obviously sounds like a scale). But scales can be good for building up strength and warming up, learning to switch strings, changing hand position on the neck/learning to incorporate open strings/whatever else you can imagine. So why not play a few scales. Anyway, metronomes are super useful.

[Danny G]

As for basses, go try em all out and see what sounds/feels good.


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[chille01]

For sure Danny. I'm leaning to the J-Bass right now, but will try some stuff out.

[mortlock]

Wow whats the background story on that picture?

I wish I had a bootleg of that jam session..

[Metal and Beer]

I know sketchy deets: I think Jimi was in the crowd at______(I forget the club name but I wanna say it's in Greenwich Village in NYC) and I think Johnny Winter just kinda invited Jimi up to jam; it might have been after hours?

[Ayek]

Didn't Jimi play bass on several tracks on Electricladyland?

[eoin_not_ian]

Didn't Jimi play bass on several tracks on Electricladyland?

I know that he did All Along the Watchtower. One of my favourite bass tracks of all time.

On the topic at hand, I read a quote once from Marcus Miller that basically said 'there is not a right and a wrong way of playing the bass guitar because it is such a relatively new instrument still compared to the violin etc'. Aside from the fact the Mr Miller had obviously clearly never listened to Pete Wentz, I kind of like that idea.

For every Scott Reeder who is very much a 'bassist's bassist' there is a guy who plays bass essentially like a guitar and follows root notes of whatever chord the guitarist is playing, but does it well. Pick, fingers, root notes, expansive chordal patterns. Do whatever you want. Just actually make sure that what you are doing suits the song. A bit of basic knowledge of theory and harmony helps as well as it can allow you to build interesting bass patterns that are really easy to play.

[Lumpy]

Definitely nothing wrong with just playing basic stuff and keeping it simple. Rock bass is definitely a supporting instrument, mainly. You don't have to revolutionize the instrument in order to play it, sound good, and make everybody happy. I sorta hate the bass players who try to make bass a lead instrument (you wind up with 10 strings and lite fusion). Know your role.

[chille01]

That's one of the things that appeals to me most about it.  I've played with players that were just boring in their approach to the instrument, and I've played with guys who were genius but couldn't sit back and ride an eight note because it was somehow damaging to their ego.  I have no ego when it comes to my parts.  Whatever instrument, I always try to serve the song.  If the song sounds better if I sit out entire verses... that's what I'll do.

[eddiefive10]

What about a bassist that wants to play guitar, but doesn't want to play a guitar? Yes I know sounds odd, bought a short scale Brice AL lespaul bass last night, been curious about short scale for a long time

[chille01]

Let me know what you think of the short scale. I've been staying away from them because I was kinda looking at it like cheating.

[eddiefive10]

So far I love it, needs new strings and a setup but exactly what I wanted

[Lumpy]

What about a Fender Bass VI?



http://www.fender.com/series/pawn-shop/pawn-shop-bass-vi/

http://bassvi.org

[jibberish]

Paul McCartney

Victor Wooten


Paul's basslines and VW's book. those 2 things may help. I am in awe of both those guys.

[Dunedin]

This has been a good thread for me so far. I've just picked up playing the bass again after a long lay-off. This time round I want to do something different with my playing style. As a youngster I just rote learned thrash and hardcore punk stuff, fast and mostly easy.

Now I definitely want to do something with a bit more "feel" to it so I'm actually going to learn my shit.

[MichaelZodiac]

I learned a lot more from listening and especially watching other bassists when I picked the instrument up. You know how Geezer on the older Sabbath stuff noodles with his right hand just above the neck and not above the body? Al Cisneros does the same thing, noodling a bit higher up on the neck. The sound is better for that kinda stuff and it sits easy. In a very "duh"-moment I tried it as well and holy smokes, noodling and just playing with a groove all of the sudden made much more sense to me.