To Bass, or not to bass. That is the question.

Well as some of you may have read in my intro thread, I am having issues playing the Hamer 6 string because of my shortened index finger. So my answer to that issue was to bring home a bass. I must say that after a week of playing with the bass I do find it easier for me to play, but I still cant keep my hands off the 6 string. So much so that for some reason, god knows why, I brought home another guitar. This one is a Fender strat. For some reason the fender seams easier to play for me than the hamer.

What I am currently doing is plucking at the bass for a hour or so and then picking up the fender for a hour or so. My question is, What are your opinions on trying to learn both at the same time? Am I hurting myself by doing this? Has anyone else done this? Should I put one down and concentrate on the other until I am further down the road?


Ok, gotta post a pic of the new toy.

I'm currently learning both at the same time. For me, some of the things taught to bass players has helped me extremely in understanding how to play guitar. They really are the same instrument only one doesn't have a B string. Learning the bass arpeggios has helped me learn my way around the fretboard in a way I wasn't able to comprehend before.

I wanted to learn more of how a song is put together by playing the bass but it turned into a better learning tool for guitar. I don't think you can go wrong learning more, it just may take a while to get further along than you may have anticipated. Good luck!!

Tim

Thanks for the response and reassurance Tim.


JB

Originally Posted by: 911JB This one is a Fender strat. For some reason the fender seams easier to play for me than the hamer.[/quote]
Awesome guitar! Congrats. Strats are my favorites. :)
[QUOTE=911JB]My question is, What are your opinions on trying to learn both at the same time? Am I hurting myself by doing this? Has anyone else done this? Should I put one down and concentrate on the other until I am further down the road?

As long as you are making progress & having fun, that's fine! I learned to play guitar first as a kid. Then when I was jamming with other people I noticed there was always a need for a bass player. Always too many guitarists! So I learned to play bass to have more opportunities to jam.

My first bass was just a piece of junk guitar I got at a yard sale for $10. :p I reamed out the headstock holes, put some leftover bass machine heads in it that a friend had lying around. Then I strung it with light bass strings. I wasn't much to look at, but it got the job done for a couple of formative years.

It helped a lot because I was able to play, jam & even gig with some guitarists that were better & more experienced players & performers than I was.

So, I got a lot of jamming, playing & performing experience, learned a lot about what the bass role is in the music & had a lot of fun along the way.

Once I started writing & recording my own music I had a clear idea of what I wanted the bass to do, or what it could do. For the last 10 years or so I've played the bass on all my own projects.

Over the years I've gotten picked up a lot of extra work being able to play bass. The more skills you have as a freelance musician, the better your chances of success.

I find it is fun sometimes to warm up on bass because the strings are so big that's it's like a workout! Kind of like a baseball player putting a metal donut on a bat & swinging it before actually going to bat. Then, when I pick up the guitar it seems really easy to play!

Have fun!

I actually used to play multiple instruments ten years ago, when I was in what equates to grade school, and even got pretty good at playing both Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar and Keyboard, to the point where I could've found a band and joined with ease, though I didn't really care about music back then. Then I got a depression and never touched an instrument again until a year and a half ago, where I picked up the guitar again and had to start all over... Now, I can play Rhythm Guitar somewhat well, and I've recently started learning to play piano as well (and I'm considering to pick up the bass as well), though it's going slowly. It's not hindering my progress, though. Just make sure you have the time to practice, and you'll be fine.

I must agree, though. I think Fenders are pretty easy to play. I don't own one, but the ones I've tried all have a curving fretboard, unlike the flat one I'm used to. I hate it for lead-playing, but it makes Barre Chords much easier to fret clearly (in my opinion, anyway).

Nice strat! Mine looks exactly the same. I love the look of the sunburst finish and maple fretboard. Sine I finally figured out a good setup for me on mine, I love playing it.

has any one heard of Ralph Paul on the infocommercial is this guy for real play guitar in 5 min

Thanks for all the comments everyone. Sorry about the slow response on my part but I was at my lake house yesterday. The bar near my place has live bands every saturday night so I try and spend every saturday night there watching.

I think that if this music equipment keeps multiplying at the current rate I may need to pick up a third job, hahaha. Saturday I decided that the little crate amp I have ben using for the guitars just wont work for the bass. So , long story short, I brought home a fender Bassman 150 for use with the bass.
Now I have a couple questions about this amp. Anyone have any experience with this amp? Good, bad, waste of money ? I tried it out in the shop and it rattled the windows of our shop when I had it hooked up to the bass. Then I tried a guitar and it sounded great also. So , last question, Anyone ever use the bassman as a guitar amp and if so what was your opinion?


Thanks for answering all my questions everyone.

Respects, JB.

Originally Posted by: 911JBThanks for all the comments everyone. Sorry about the slow response on my part but I was at my lake house yesterday. The bar near my place has live bands every saturday night so I try and spend every saturday night there watching.

I think that if this music equipment keeps multiplying at the current rate I may need to pick up a third job, hahaha. Saturday I decided that the little crate amp I have ben using for the guitars just wont work for the bass. So , long story short, I brought home a fender Bassman 150 for use with the bass.
Now I have a couple questions about this amp. Anyone have any experience with this amp? Good, bad, waste of money ? I tried it out in the shop and it rattled the windows of our shop when I had it hooked up to the bass. Then I tried a guitar and it sounded great also. So , last question, Anyone ever use the bassman as a guitar amp and if so what was your opinion?


Thanks for answering all my questions everyone.

Respects, JB.

The Bassman is an awesome amp used by many legendary guitarists. Rumor has it that Jim Marshall cloned the circuitry for the Marshal JTM amp.

I've ben messing with it for a couple days now and WOW ! I really don't think I needed 150 wats for use in my house, LOL. No really, I am impressed with this amp after just a couple days. Good clean sound and PLENTY loud.
I know its intended as a bass amp, but even my Fender Strat sounds great through it.

JB

I started out my bass playing (1969) with the wonderful Fender Bassman (mine had a blond head and the cab had the metal supports for angling). When I played my Tele, or my Les Paul, I found it delivered a unique clean tone for blues, R&B, and some of the early rock stuff. The tubes (6L6's if memory serves me correctly) made both, humbuckers and single-coils sound great. It ain't a Marshall, but the Fender Bassman was used in many recordings and live performances by countless guitarist of the era.