bass or guitar?
Posted: Fri Apr 1, 2005 5:41 pm

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i kinda have to choose whether to play the bass or electric guitar but which is better?

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Fri Apr 1, 2005 9:19 pm

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i started out on bass but quickly switched to guitar. If you can play guitar, you can play bass.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Fri Apr 1, 2005 9:28 pm

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Yeah, if you can play Guitar badly, you can certainly Play Bass Guitar equally badly.

Mrs Delonge, they are most definetly two different instruments and need to be approached as such.

Pick the one you think you can best state your "musicality" on, that would hopefully be the prime motive for the decision you take.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Fri Apr 1, 2005 10:01 pm

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yeah but which do you prefere playing (just out of interest)

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Fri Apr 1, 2005 10:18 pm

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bass is definitely easier to begin with as its got fewer strings to deal with. bass is real easy to master unless you want to get to doing real hard out stuff like slapping and tapping and all....

guitar isnt that hard to learn either. the easiest thing to do if youre learning on your own is to get a guitar and learn to read chord charts and tab and youd be kicking ass in no time

well, to answer your question, if you'd rather be in the background more as a rythmist or something, play bass, and you gotta like the sound of the bass if youre playing on your own, cuz it does sound kinda dull(but i like it) so its best to jam around with drums if you wanna sound good. and if you wanna be able to play on your own and not sound empty (or in a band, of course), play guitar. or best of all, do both.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 2:08 am

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And if you play guitar well, you will play bass equally well...

They may be different instruments but they are very much related. The bass might be a little rougher on your fingers though. I agree that you should choose whichever one you feel you can be creative on.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 10:49 am

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bass, there's too many guitarist's around & not enough bassists.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 3:10 pm

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Guitar ...allows you more options and versatility.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 4:44 pm

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oh no not this arguement again.

i play the bass. frankly i think starting on guitar is better kus then you know the bassics of playing bass. and yea for most popular music bass is easy to play.

but remember this: chicks that play bass are way better than chicks that play guitar. generally more styly and awesome.

although i have noithing to bass that on and am talking out my ass.

and look at the classifieds on this site, the guitarist world is saturated with competent players, and there is a scarce lack of bass players around.

p.s. listen to victor wooten, then tell me bass sounds dull by itself

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 4:46 pm

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go guitar and then when your sick of it change to bass... easy peasy

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 9:44 pm

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//Easy to Master?

This is nonsensical poistion to take.
If you wish to play competently, then the Bass Guitar in a Rock or Pop format would rank comparitivly as "easier".
If you wish to "Master" if such a concept is even pheasable or even worthy of persuit then it is as difficult as any other instrument.
If the idea of Mastering is to be able to play everything you want, then even that fails to hold water, as the next challange must always be looked at. If theirs nothing left for you too play, then you cant be listening, if your not listening, then regardless of your "skill" you are not a musician.

The idea that the techniques of Slapping, Popping, and Tapping indicate any greater level of musicanship or individuality borders on the farcical.
"I slap therefore I am Funky" is shortsighted to say the least.
The idea that your "chops" are the prime reason for your playing also begs the question Do I have any Music in me?

Mrs Delonge, I prefer Bass Guitar, not that I had a choice, it was the instrument that I could hear myself on, and 15 years later im still trying to form a "voice" on it.
I base this somewhat pretensious statement on the fact that with the benefit of hindsight, the tunes that I remember most fondly from Childhood and Adolesence always are "bottom driven" , and as I branched into my own compositions I found that as my "theory" caught up to my "writing" common indicators showed the "ground up" way ive developed of writing is inherant in the people i'd consider serious influences.
Another way to look at is I often use 4ths, later I found Miles Davis based a lot of his stuff on this idea. I have formed the opinion that my listening to his "Modal Period" seriously influenced what I am doing/trying to do.

Long may this continue, I hope you make a decision on your chosen instrument and work diligently through the obstacles presented and find the means to communicate as you see fit.

Shortcuts like todays latest fashion, tabulature, hand grips, and buying your idols rig will do you no good, its gotta come from within.

Also finally, just because you can play one instrument well, is no indication that you can play another one good to.

A lot of Guitarists think that can play Bass well, truth is, they cant, they are "functionarys" as opposed to "voices".

Mind you a lotta Bassists think they can play Drums...

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sat Apr 2, 2005 10:01 pm

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yeah, i heard him. the dude's a legend! others may have different opinions though, like the scumbags who cant stand guitar solos...


well, id say, try guitar, and if it seems too hard to begin with, go play bass.

bass players have it harder financially...well, when youre just starting out anyway

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2005 10:50 am

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Bass has to lock with drums and it's more of a feeling thing, with your string-plucking hand having to know when to play whatever string or something...

Guitar works more melodically so it kinda depends whether you want to fill out a song and groove along or whether you want to play the lead melody and chop it up in solo's or something.

I play bass coz I think it's harder to play right. Physically it's less daunting with bigger strings and spaces but making it work between beat and melody to get that thing...it can be a bit of a mish sometimes.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2005 12:05 pm

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Completely non-scientifically based analagy: The bassline of a song is like vacuuming a room. No, not from the point of view that they both suck! If you compare tidying a room to creating a song with a band.

With a song, you can shuffle bits around, take bits out, put bits in and generally rearrange it until the cows come home as you can when tidying a room. But it's not until you add a bassline, or, vacuum the floor, that the song is complete, or, the room has "really" been tidied properly.

Another point of view but not as surreal: If you are a control freak then definitly bass. It is usually the loudest instrument, "good" bass players are thin on the ground so the "good" ones stand out, you can act as stupid as you like because it's expected of you and then suprise everyone but coming up with intelligent thoughts every now and then!

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2005 4:28 pm

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Bass, it gives you a longer reach when you have to hit someone with it.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2005 4:32 pm

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But seriously I started playing bass as I had a couple of friends playing guitar, but I'm glad I took it up. I've played around on guitar a bit since, but mainly as an aid to writing songs. Plus you get to play slap on a bass

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Mon Apr 4, 2005 7:48 pm

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lmao, so true
and it looks way cooler if you could play and do cartwheels at the same time. its much harder (or stuff that flea does, dude's a legend)

slapping's good, and tapping sounds so much better on a bass than a guitar.

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Fri Apr 8, 2005 6:31 pm

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haha yeah cool i might do that. (go with guitar then learn bass) thanks guys!

RE: bass or guitar?
Posted: Sun Apr 9, 2006 11:40 pm

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