how guitar players turn into bass players

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Is this how you became a bass player?!

[jeffhebert]

Once you figure out that a bass line is basically a guitar solo that lasts the entire song and you don’t have to worry about the B string things go swimmingly

[benmontey]

I have the luxury of being both. And yes, once the shirt comes off, you are officially in the Flea phase

[BlommaBaumbart]

I thought: "He's not a bass player, he's just another guitarist with a bass who will give us bad rap", until at day 4 he did that bass face. A true convert. You go, brother.

[marcblum]

After 20+ years as a guitar player I turned to bass. Never went back.
Two things:
- bass is lots more physical. Longer distances, thicker strings, thicker neck. Muscels have to adopt. Take few weeks.
- the role of the bass is most often to provide a fundament, carrying the whole band on your shoulders. The effect is, that even playing the simplest bass line, it asks for total mental awareness and consistency in execution. This is the demanding part. Takes quite a while to build this mental and physical strength and endurance.

[yamuda]

"Can't use a pick"
Punk bassists might have a thing or two to say about that.

[andrewpappas]

I started playing bass in high school after my music teacher asked if I’d want to join the school band as a bassist and I’ve still been playing it alongside guitar throughout my current college music program (about to enter my third year next month), it’s definitely really fun to play

[Spiderwolfer]

I love how you slap as far away from the fretboard as possible lol

[laynefuller]

How most bassists come to exist:

"Well we already have two guitarists man, can you learn to play bass?"

[stratoplayer]

LOL This is exactly what happened to me in high school. My three friends and I were all learning guitar and starting a small worship band for our youth group. However, we realized that 4 acoustic guitarists was not efficient; so our de facto leader stayed with acoustic, one got an electric guitar, and I ended up with bass. I'm not complaining. It's helped me expand my music horizons.

PS: If you are wondering what happened to the fourth guy, well he didn't take up drums or percussion like we wanted him to. He instead got a girlfriend and hardly ever payed with us.

[DKdyl]

McCartney figured it out pretty well. Even kept the pick

[basicoptimalmouse]

I play both and bass is definitely the fun one. Can't describe why but it just feels therapeutic. The lower frequencies resonating through the wood, and the warmth of the sound. It's peaceful, even when it's at 200 bpm.

[JohnSmith-mjqx]

The Flea thing got me laughing.
As an incredibly average metalhead guitar player in the 90s I joined a band as a bass player. Other than the occasional out of key doodly doo I pretty much did nothing but play second guitar on bass. With a pick. And a distortion pedal. Loudly. Recorded a bunch of stuff and toured the country 4 times based on that.
Edit: One more 'like' for the magic number.🤘👹🔥

[marceloyoshida]

We guitar players need to appreciate bassist players more

[vbguy]

I really wanted to be a guitar player until I played a bass through a full stack and it shook the entire room. Fell in love with it right away.

[JonnyCrackers]

I didn't get into bass until after I played guitar for two decades. I just kinda found myself paying more attention to the basslines in songs and I really enjoyed them. Now I play bass about as much as I play guitar.

[antiquatedideas]

My guitar teacher was a bassist himself and I loved Joy Division. Hearing those unique bass lines got me into playing bass and while I typically write on guitar, I'm much prouder of my bass playing. It's so much more fun and it just clicks with certain people. I was one of those people

[sairamr]

This is exactly what happened to me. OG guitar player and I've never felt more powerful with a bass

[alecrisser]

I started playing guitar and bass 3 years ago. I still play my guitar occasionally, but mainly play bass as a solo instrument. And when playing with people, I find bass to be better at playing along with other instruments than guitar. It also sounds sexy.

[Tenguforest]

Many people famous for playing the bass started as guitarists: Paul McCartney, Carole Kaye, Geddy Lee etc. They came into the role because there was no one else available. Same thing happened to me. I was playing guitar in a church band, and there was no one to play bass, and I was "voted" to that position. At first I felt I had been demoted, but must admit that now I really enjoy it. Also, you get more work as a bassist. There are so many guitarists around, and not half as many bassists.

[BenAstridge]

I had a bass for over a year now, maybe even two. Been a guitarist for 10 but i’m now starting to feel more and more like a bassist predominantly