Bass Or Guitar?

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

Short 'n' sweet . . .Should I get guitar or bass lessons?

 

[Total Refected Power]

Guitar. Play those hot licks.

 

[toph99]

if you have fast fingers, guitar. strong yet slow, bass

 

[BigKev]

Definitely the guitar.

 

[RSI]

Learn to play both. I think you'll like to play guitar more though.

-RSI

 

[Cosmo]

depends on who you are. Guitar and bass players are different breeds
If you want to play in a band do you want the more individual guitar role where you can shine. Or do you rather be part of the bass/drum section that provides the backbone for the music.

Most people I have seen can be as fast playing as they want it's just training. (although I have seen some cases of really slow fingers).

 

[AudioBitch]

well...caseo...since i already play the guitar around these parts...you should take up the bass

a band is sucky without a good bass player...and besides...you have to be fast for bass too....

bass might be a lil quicker of a pickup

plus...remember...there are only like 3 other kids that play bass around here

AB

 

<<strong yet slow, bass>>

*nails a spike into toph's head*

Give us a break, man. Bass is a good instrument that totally makes or breaks the band, more so than guitar. But if you're just starting out, I'd say take guitar, guitarists have the ability to at least have an inkling of an idea what to do on bass. Doesn't usually work the other way.

I love bass, though. Playing for 5 years, LOVE it. Bought a new 5-string a few weeks ago, *drools*. Lots of technique, that cool low sound, people gawking when you do anything fast on a bass, yeah baby. That's why bass rocks

 

[kranky]

AudioBitch stole my thunder.

Lots of people want to be the front man, but there's a heck of a lot more bands that need a bass player. And a good one adds a lot to a band.

 

[StickHead]

From the mouth of a drummer I say go BASS. Listen to Gene Simmons, Nikki Sixx, that guy from Queensryche. They are all good bass players and when you listin to them, they play some cool bass riffs that you don't here in many other bands and it makes the song that much better.

 

[DirkBelig]

I would have to go with guitar cuz I'm a guitarist AND if your around a campfire with some honeys, doing a sing-along with BASS would just be a mood killer!

My bassist is sooooooo good. He's been playing forever and he's super-versatile. We're doing a gig this weekend and I had to change the key of a tune to allow easier singing. I capoed up and he was RIGHT THERE with the new key. Schweet!

 

[duragezic]

Guitar. I chose guitar over bass a couple years ago. Also, now that I can play guitar okay, I can pick up a bass and play DECENT. I'm definately not a good bassist but can play it, which I don't think could be as easily done as normally playing bass and then trying guitar.

p.s. Lessons huh? I didn't learn hardly anything from lessons. I took them for a couple months though with an acoustic guitar and that sucked. After I quit I just downloaded tabs and played riffs. Most cool punk riffs are pretty easy. I never learned power chords in the time I was in guitar lessons, just reading notes.

 

[snow patrol]

Guitar. You'll find that if you start playing the guitar, you'll be able to play basic bass with no trouble at all, but it's not really the same visa versa The guitar is more challenging, but is also more rewarding in that it has more scope and potentiol.

 

Yeah, guitar is more versatile. It's good as a stand-alone instrument, which makes practicing more enjoyable. Also, if you're out trying to impress people (girls), learn guitar and pick up a few easy riffs. That way you can play &quot;Tears in Heaven&quot; or some Dave and all the sudden you'll be the best thing since sliced bread.

However, bass has just as much &quot;depth, scope, and potential&quot; as guitar.

Being able to make clean notes on a bass guitar is something that takes a while to master in itself. Knowing your chord structure and scales on bass is a zillion times more important than knowing your scales with guitar (exception: soloing). Being able to fill notes outta' nowhere into a song makes the song (those silly guitars just stay on one cheesy chord, bassists are beyond that). Slap/pop is about the coolest thing in the world, a completely alternate dimension to the bass. I focus in that a lot, funk is good. Bass is much more intimately involved in the music, which I like. Lots more, but I'm boring people now...

 

[Napalm381]

If you have rhythm, bass. If not, guitar. Everyone knows those fancy schmancy guitarists lose the tempo real fast without the bass and drums backing them up

 

[YamahaGPR]

I took guitar first, and it wasn't too hard to learn bass after that... I think guitar is def. a good starting point...

 

[VisionsUCI]

guitar... bass is pretty easy after you learn basic guitar

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

Thanks for all your commments guys. Despite the seemingly higher bass player demand (take that AB), I think im giong to give guitar a try.

That leads me to my next question for you folks. . . Which guitar for a beginner? If it matters, I plan on playing mostly punk or ska.

 

[convex]

it depends on how far you want to go, if just just want to play root notes all day long on bass, that's onething... there's another level of playing bass that lots of people never explore or become proficient at...just blah blah...this is becomming way too long and i'm biased towards the bass... btw, i've played bass for as long as i can remember and about a year ago picked up guitar, about two months in was playing some satch, vai, buckethead... it all depends on how good of a listener you are, technique isn't that difficult to pick up...

 

[RSI]

&quot;Most cool punk riffs are pretty easy. I never learned power chords in the time I was in guitar lessons, just reading notes.&quot;

You can learn power chords really easily. Just place one finger on a string, and place another finger on the next string two frets higher. There ya go.

-RSI

 

[Bling Bling]

if you want a good beginner's guitar, i suggest an Ibanez, cuz they have double humbuckers, instead of the Fender Squiers that everyone has (3 single coil pickups). humbuckers = better, more heavy sound.

word

 

[Hulk]

Bass.

Especially if you've got good time. The bassist and drummer must have good time!

 

[DanC]

Why not? sounds good.

 

[WilsonCat]

I've played Bass for 12 years and there are a lot of just ok bass players. You must first ask yourself this: Can you keep a steady beat, and do you have a good understaning of rhythm? If you said yes to both then you are a good candidate for bass. From playing all these years my ears are trained to hear the bass stand out on recordings. Most people just dont &quot;hear&quot; the bass on recordings, but if it were missing they would say &quot;something does not sound right&quot;. Listen to your favorite band and try to pick out just the bass if you can. Most likely, the bass is carrying a large chunk of the melody as the guitars &quot;ring&quot; out chords. Someone above said Bass was a background instrument, he obviously does not play bass. Good luck with your decision.

 

[AudioBitch]

GO WITH AN IBANEZ DAMMIT....YOU WON'T TAKE MY ADVICE ON BASS...U BETTER TAKE THIS ADVICE...HAHAHA

AB