Playing guitar in addition to bass...

[Lozz196]

I started on bass, then on guitar about a year later. I`m at a fairly good standard on rhythm guitar, and can play a bit of lead, but this needs to be carefully crafted, can`t do it off the cuff.

I find that having an idea of where the guitar will be prominent helps to make sure the bass isn`t trying to be up front as well. I`m a lock in with the drums, and create space bassist. If someone notices my playing - aside from another musician - it usually means I`ve done something wrong. So understanding a bit about the guitar really helps on this.

[Beer of the Bass]

I voted for the first option, but it should really be "I find that playing music helps me to be a better musician". I started playing guitar at about 8, with classical lessons, then got into electric and double bass in my teens. I've always played some guitar at home, but until recently have only played bass in bands, never guitar. Now that I have a "guitar" band on the go alongside my "bass" projects, I find I'm reasonably competent in various rhythm styles but struggle to come up with leads. This is not really a problem in my band, as we've got trumpet and fiddle players covering a lot of the melody lines, but it might be a by-product of thinking like a bassist. Playing guitar in a band still helps me to develop a feel for band arrangements, and it's interesting hearing what a different bassist does in a band context.

[Hobbayne]

I started on bass, but I found it easier to understand it when I learned a few guitar chords. I,m quiet a proficient guitarist, but I still prefer the bass.

[xgsjx]

I'll play anything that makes a noise. Whether that be bass, guitar, synth, drums or using the moog LPF as a sound source into the Bass Murf & farting about.

[Geek99]

I tried a six string electric on Friday - it was a lovely, but cheap copy of a 62 tele costing only £149. Didn't have a pick so picked a few blues riffs and some bends. Compared to a bass It was just sh1t.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Geek99

[martin8708]

Play both guitar and bass for about the same amount of time ( 30 years ) Much prefer acoustic to electric guitar , and prefer nylon classical guitar to steel string .
Big advantage to being a guitar playing bass player is being able to read the fret board of the other guys in the band , so playing unfamiliar songs or jamming is a whole lot easier ( providing your not standing behind the guitarist )

[Lfalex v1.1]

First, foremost and only a bassist...
However, my daughter is starting to learn guitar, and I'm finding some skills are quite transferable in both directions... Not to mention keyboards/ piano

[mart]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1344723575' post='1768545'].... Knowing something of a second (or third or more) instrument can only be beneficial.
[/quote]
+1

Tbh, the first thing that comes to mind is that when I'm playing an unfamiliar song, because I can play guitar, I can watch the rhythm guitarist's left hand and see what chord he's playing, and thus work out what notes to play. I'm sure it helps in other ways, but that's the one I'm most conscious of!

[dincz]

I'm less abominable on bass than on guitar but I aspire to mediocrity on both. Aging and the slow progress of medicine and technology force me to believe that the cranial midi interface is not going to happen in my lifetime. Pity, cos I'm brilliant in my head.

[Les]

[quote name='martin8708' timestamp='1344805051' post='1769431']
Big advantage to being a guitar playing bass player is being able to read the fret board of the other guys in the band , so playing unfamiliar songs or jamming is a whole lot easier ( providing your not standing behind the guitarist )
[/quote]

Wot he said.

[paul_5]

I've just had a year without a guitar and have found that I am reliant on it for songwriting. Composing instrumental music is easy without one, but I find that I'm knackered when it comes to writing songs without a guitar.

That's just me though. New guitar should arrive next week...

[tauzero]

I started on guitar. It's still what I use for songwriting, and Mrs Zero and I do the odd acoustic duo gig where I play guitar and she warbles. As others have said, it's handy being able to read chord shapes as the guitarist plays them. Rather than have disdain for other instruments, it's as well to have respect for them and the contribution that they make to the music[s], pathetic though it might be[/s].

[Wil]

Playing guitar helps make you a better all round musician, IMO. It's a different approach to bass playing.

[Paul S]

I played guitar in my yoof, stopped playing when I left uni in 1979 and remained instrumentless for a couple of decades. During my 'mid-life crisis' I returned to making music on bass as during the interim I started to listen to music differently. I still maintain a varying population of guitars, currently down to one, which I enjoy noodling around on. Quite on the cards that the rhythm guitarist and I in one band will swap roles periodically.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1344761309' post='1768749']
I play guitar and synth as well as bass. I don't know if playing the guitar makes me a better bass player but being able to play other instruments makes me a better overall musician and song writer.
[/quote]

this
personally i would add that learning early on about the basics of music theory and reading dots is a great help too

[seashell]

No interest in learning guitar.
But that's because I came to bass playing so late in life that I'm using all my spare time and still functioning brain cells just to get to grips with that!
So no spare capacity to learn another instrument, I'm afraid.

But if I did learn something else I think it would be mandolin, as I love the way it sounds mournful and cheerful all at the same time!
Although I could never cope with all those thin little strings!

[SpaceChick]

I played guitar when I was a lot younger, and have always kept an acoustic guitar around. However, I can honestly say that I haven't picked it up at all since becoming a bassist.

[crez5150]

I played guitar long before bass..... just put a new duo together with the keys player from the function band. We are doing laid back numbers for functions and weddings. Got 9 gigs in the diary to the end of the year and next year looks busy

[clauster]

I voted for the last option (I play guitar but find that it hinders my bass playing). Its not quite correct, but closest to my situation. I have carpal tunnel issues and the different left hand positions for guitar and bass mean that I'm better off sticking to one or the other. For the last few years it's been bass.

[tm486]

I'm interested in learning to play guitar and I'm not worried that it'll detract from my bass playing. I doubt that anything will ever take over bass as my main instrument.