Did you start out playing guitar

[PaulWarning]

prompted by the comment in the show "the worst guitarist finished up playing bass"

Edited May 26, 2010 by PaulWarning

[mcgraham]

I can relate to that statement though, but disagree that it's at all valid - it seems that bands that have one too many guitarists, the extra guitarist is demoted to bass duties. Whilst physically the bass is strikingly similar to a guitar tuned one octave lower, it serves a totally different function and is used in a totally different way, and I love it's versatility.

So in answer to your question, I actually started on bass, and I'm really glad I did.

[RussFM]

Yes, but only for the first few months, and only because I had access to a guitar but not a bass. I still learnt Flea and Timmy C's bass lines on my guitar!

I think learning guitar helps make a better bass player though, if you know the chord shapes your guitarist is playing, it helps you play along with them before your ear has developed.

[Mr Fudge]

still do ..

get coat ...

[PaulWarning]

I was going to do a poll but it somehow didn't work out, I started on guitar but swiched when I realised there was a much better chance of getting in a band, glad I did, wouldn't switch back but it's useful for songwriting

[oldslapper]

Yup.
But got told to play bass by the 6th form band when I was in 5th form coz no-one wanted to play bass, stuck with it ever since.
Watched guitarist in band last night at rehearsal and thought...."that could have been me....thank you God, thank you!!!!!"

[Adrenochrome]

Yes but I didn't play proper gigs on guitar. After I started on bass I then played a few songs on guitar at gigs.

[Doddy]

I've never really had any interest in playing guitar-It was a choice between bass and drums for me.
I've always prefered both of them to guitar. I started playing a bit of guitar about 3 years or so after
I took up bass,and despite having a few guitars now,I've never wanted to take it as seriously as I do
the bass.Even though I can play it well enough to gig,I don't feel the same passion for it.
For me it's always been about the bass and drums.

[RhysP]

Started off on bass, started playing guitar & keyboards a lot later.

I think the old "worst guitarist ends up playing the bass" thing was probably quite true in the early 60s
Now I would think there are enough bass "stars" in their own right to make kids decide they want to play bass from the outset.

[Musicman20]

Bass first, then guitar. Still prefer bass by a massive amount!

[Dubs]

Piano from about 6 years old, bass from about 15, guitar from about 18. I find that the worse bass players, in terms of feel and awareness, were guitar players that 'ended up' on bass.

[matski]

Nope - straight to the bass.

[El Bajo]

Me and my mate wante to start a band with out ever picking up and instrument. We went to sign up for lessons with the school music teacher, I was supposed to play guitar but at the last minute he changed his mind and asked for guitar lessons so I took up bass, but not in a grudgingly way, I actually didn't know to much about bass in those days. haven't looked back since.

Can strum some chords but I prefer bass. Guitars a bit easy

[ThomBassmonkey]

When I was 5 I had piano lessons for a couple of years, then at 11 I had keyboard lessons for a couple of years. Never really enjoyed them, it was the usual parents decided I should be able to play an instrument.

Started getting into music in my teens and the first instrument I picked up by choice was a bass. Over the next couple of years I got a guitar and a drum kit, but bass has always been my first instrument. Never been "a guitarist" in a band (though I have played guitar on occasion at gigs). It's something I want to do and know I'm capable of doing, but whenever I play guitar with intent, I just think "I'd be enjoying this so much more if I was on bass".

[Lfalex v1.1]

Bass. Never had the urge to play guitar. Plus, my hands are like shovels

[BigRedX]

I started on guitar because I wanted to play rock/pop and the guitar was the cheapest way of doing that. Back in the early 70s you could buy a perfectly playable new acoustic guitar for around £30, whereas if you wanted a bass the best you'd do at that price was a Woolies special or a second-hand Japcrap copy that only bore a passing resemblance to the instrument it was based on, and then you still had to find the money for an amp... Plus at the time I didn't know any other musicians and the bass was seen very much as a supporting instrument, while the guitar was acceptable as a solo instrument (you could play songs with just the guitar and they sounded like the important bits of the record).

In my first band, in true DIY style everyone played everything, and the distribution of instruments was based on who could play each instrument best for each particular song. Some songs featured no bass, while on others the bass guitar was the most important instrument, and pretty much every combination in between. It was only after about 5 years of playing that we started gravitating towards each concentrating on one instrument, and I found myself playing more and more bass mostly because I owned the band's bass guitar and therefore had the most time to practice on it, and because the music I was listening to at the time - post punk - was very much bass guitar led. I had found my musical voice and expressing on the bass gave me the most satisfaction.

Since then I've also played synth and guitar in bands that I've been in. Twice I've joined a band as the bassist only to end up playing another instrument. These days I see myself as a composer musician who happens to play the bass as his main instrument. I'm happy to play simple stuff or complex as the song requires - the bass is the glue that holds the rhythm and melody together and in many ways is the most important part of the arrangement after the vocals. You might not immediately notice what I'm playing, but you'll know when I'm not there!

[harvey1-8]

I started on bass, but when I was very young I wanted to play drums. I leant to play the guitar about 4 years after starting bass. I still fancy myself as a bit of a drummer; actually, I just fancy myself.

Edited May 26, 2010 by alexharvay

[Bassassin]

I was asked the same question last week by our potential new drummer, after I opined that I thought bass was a rubbish instrument for writing on! I almost always write with guitar - when doing so I find it easy to "hear" the bass & drum parts - which just doesn't work for me the other way round.

Me & some school mates decided to form a band after a night of underage drinking & watching local pub bands. None of us could play anything so roles were pretty randomly allocated - I would have happily been a drummer but just had no particular interest in the guitar. It's odd - I really had no grasp of the seemingly popular notion of the bass being a sort of second-class instrument for crap guitarists, and funnily enough it still makes no sense to me...

I played bass for 2 years before picking up a guitar, I think I can play guitar to a reasonable standard but have never felt motivated to do it live. Plus I'm a horribly sloppy guitar player because I don't practice.

Jon.

[Shaggy]

Violin. 4 strings and no frets - more in common with bass than you'd think. Seeing JJ Burnel in '77 helped decide me too.

Many of the most "musical" bassists are multi-instumentalists anyway - Macca, Mick Karn, John Deacon, John Paul Jones, Geddy Lee - and some of the most "rythmic" guitarists started on bass (Paul Weller....er..can't think of another)

[firmo]

Aye I started out on bass but then a friend's band needed a guitarist so I quickly taught myself the basics on that.

[xgsjx]

Started off with keys at about aged 5. My wee bro got a cheap acoustic guitar when I was 12 & i started playing basslines on it to go along with sequences that I programmed & then bought myself a bass when I was almost 14 (Vox Standard, that I am in the process of turning into a fretless) & decided it was the instrument for me.

I then decided to learn some guitar & I is fairly competent on it, but I don't enjoy playing more than 2 songs in a row in front of folk.

[geoffbyrne]

I started off on guitar & have been (and still am ) playing it for 53 years, mostly rhythm/lead. I do not perceive myself as being a 'failed' or the 'worst' gutarist. I'm certainly better than some I've seen/heard playing professionally.

I took up bass about 7 years ago as there were guitarists oozing out from under every rock & I really wanted to get playing & gigging.

Since then my focus has moved from the guitar to the bass & though I still play, I really see myself as a bassist these days.

G.

[Golchen]

piano > guitar > bass > chapman stick > drums

I swap between them all now. Most competent on guitar. If I was in a band I think I'd prefer to be bass player.

Note: I'm not claiming to be any good at all on any instrument!

[Dave Vader]

I started on guitar back when I was 11 (after a few years of piano lessons that I quickly gave up as I didn't want to do anything musically, doh!) and I'm a better guitar player than most of the guitarists I have to work with now. I don't let on though, don't want to discourage them...
I just like bass more, so I turned to the deep side about 3 or 4 years ago, after a lot of years whacking guitars and banjos and mandolins, guitars bore me now, especially if I get in a band that WANT the 9 minute solos, after 4 bars I've lost interest and I can't be arsed to work out where to go with it next.

[Master blaster]

i started of on the bass. and from that over the years ive picked up how to play the guitar from watching other people in bands. so i guess im not a failed guitarist