Guitar or Bass?

[DeathJohnson]

This isn't a topic of me asking which one to get or which one is "better", but I'm just curious to see opinions on which people prefer, and why? The explanation can have as much or as little detail as you want. Be sure to mention whether you've actually tried both or not.

I've tried both, and I have to say I prefer bass. Part of it is because so many songs have bass parts easy enough to learn just by watching the screen, where it feels like even the simplest guitar songs you would need to slow down and look at to figure out which chords you're switching between. I also like trying to challenge myself with more difficult songs occasionally, because there are definitely some really challenging bass songs.

I like the sound of bass more too, that's one of the things I can't really explain why, but it's a reason I prefer it, which is weird, because when I was young listening to music, I almost never even noticed that songs had bass in them.

From a technical standpoint, I also have found a lot less trouble with playing bass. I've had my bass for longer and played it a lot more than guitar and never had any issues. With guitar I don't use it a lot, but I've had multiple strings break, and the jack come loose causing an awful feedback noise in Rocksmith that doesn't seem to occur anywhere else, but because I only bought it for Rocksmith, it's a big issue to me.

[DElyMyth]

Never tried bass, I come from a piano/church organ background and restarted with music only a few months ago, but went straight to guitar.

Just more versatile, you can do solos and wild chords, depending on the mood you're in...

I don't know, I was always fascinated by guitar and guitar players, although I was told it wasn't for me (and if I could only get to tell that woman that I can nail barre chords now... She made me think I couldn't play a guitar for years before I decided that determination could get me there... :P)

[bundito]

I borrowed a friend's bass just to check it out. It's fun in a totally different way.

Some folks claim a song's entire melody comes from the bass line. If you're one of them, then play bass. I tend to think it's all a happy combination of lead/rhythm and bass - and drums.

I chose a six-string because it seemed more versatile and a more natural place for a raw beginner. Even now, bass seems a little like a specialty.

[-DarknightK-]

Well, I do play both but I prefer bass. Anything you can do with a standard guitar, you can do with a bass. When I started with Rocksmith 2014, I pulled my 20 year old Stratcaster out of the closet. I saw the bass emulator in Rocksmith and I liked it enough to go buy a couple of basses. I didn't realize that there were cords for the bass but there are. And, yes there is such a thing as a bass solo... They are both guitars. One's just lower pitched...

I play lead riffs on my bass and bass riffs on my acoustic. Why do prefer the bass... I am older and I have a hearing loss. I can feel my bass. I don't have to hear it. My hands are numb but I can feel the bigger strings of the bass. I have over three hundred hours in Rocksmith 2014 playing the bass. I must sound good... I have now been asked to join three bands.

If I were just starting out, I would learn both. It will make you a little bit more flexible and give you options. And, more options can mean more opportunities.

[-DarknightK-]

Hi bundito,

With just a little music theory... Yes, it all starts in the bass. But, the beauty can only be seen when you get the whole band running like well tuned motor.

[DElyMyth]

A bass makes one of the foundations of a song (can't explain really good, english is not my parimary language), but I personally prefer brighter notes and chords, not sure I'd like to play base (even if it's one piece of a band you really feel the need for).

That said, I always thought I'll never get into "lead" and riffs and solos and tonight I spent a couple of hours trying to learn solos on "lead" on my guitar and having almost more fun than playing the same song as rhythm :P

And... Guitar is brighter, bass is darker, and I want a brighter musical life :P

[Tang0wang0]

Play Both YOLO!

[paperboy2000]

Originally posted by -DarknightK-:

And, yes there is such a thing as a bass solo... They are both guitars. One's just lower pitched...

That reminds me of an old classic:

A scientific expedition disembarks from its plane at the final outpost of civilization in the deepest Amazon rain forest. They immediately notice the ceaseless thrumming of native drums. As they venture further into the bush, the drums never stop, day or night, for weeks.

The lead scientist asks one of the natives about this, and the native's only reply is "Drums good. Drums never stop. Very BAD if drums stop."

The drumming continues, night and day, until one night, six weeks into the trip, when the jungle is suddenly silent. Immediately the natives run screaming from their huts, covering their ears. The scientists grab one boy and demand "What is it? The drums have stopped!"

The terror-stricken youth replies "Yes! Drums stop! VERY BAD!"

The scientists ask "Why? Why? What will happen?"

Wild-eyed, the boy responds,

" . . . BASS SOLO!!!"


I primarily play guitar, but do enjoy the bass. One thing I find, for me anyway, is that a badly setup guitar (e.g. string height) is easier to play than a badly setup bass. A nice bass is a lot of fun, just a different groove. I took care of a friend's very nice P-Bass for a little over a year a long time back, wow that thing was a joy. And reggae on a bass, mmm mmm.

[TRex Bassist]

Reason to be a Male Bassist:

Women watch the Singer
Listen To The Guitarist
Dance To The Drummer
And take thier clothes off for the Bassist

[mikedavies]

Play both as well as drums but I prefare the bass for the simplr reason I feel more attatched to it.

A lot of that is down to the resonance and vibrations through your own body. My best guitar has a wonderful resonance in that way but no where near as much as my bass which I can easily close my eyes and get lost playing bass lines for long periods.

[Got2bjokin]

I don't really have a preference, guitar or bass. I like the sound of each and enjoy playing both. However, I do find I am a better bass player than a lead or rhythm guitarist. I don't use a pick when playing bass and find you can really feel the instrument. The only thing holding me back at the moment is speed in my plucking fingers when playing, but this will improve with time and practice.
One thing I do find... Play a session on bass then play a session on your guitar. All of a sudden, playing your guitar seems easier and I don't know why...

[Bluetac]

I pretty much got hooked on the bass, the first guitar i bought was an ESP LTP AX-360 in black, bought it because it was an end of line and the reviews were all good. Got it and rocksmith 2014 the end of january this year and loved it, but found as i had never played a guitar before i was getting dishartened by the fact i missed to many notes due to spending all my time looking at either my hand position or ensure i was aiming at the right string that by the time i got lined up i had ,missed it.
So then i had the thoght that if i bought a bass i would have less strings to worry about so i could concerntrate on the fretboard mastery then increase the string count so i bought an ESp LTP F-54 bassalso in black
I am now hooked on the bass to the point i now have 3 including my 5 string Yamaha (too good an a e-bay deal to overlook) and a Stagg also a 2nd hand e-bay purchase.
I still struggle to master all the strings on the 4 strings on some of the mad cdlc's but i am enjoying the learning curve more with the bass as i feel i am progressing faster and recognising the patterns and repetitions that make up songs, Chorus/verse/Chorus/verse and outro .

So thats me and reasoning behind going the Bass. Plus when you get good at it it looks cooler than lead. i also concur with what others have said regarding you feel the bass more than a lead role.

[mhsmith76]

Chalk up another one for bass, here. Years ago I had started with the guitar - taking lessons and playing on my own - but have kinda fallen out of it since then. I'd pick it up about one a year or so to see if I still remembered it or not, but I've been dabbling with the guitar more than actually playing it for a long time now. Getting frustrated at myself was probably a big reason why I started on the bass - having 2 less strings helped a lot as well.

At this point I'm definitely enjoying the bass more - I can play more songs more easily than if I was playing the guitar, which helps improve the overall experience for me (I can get easily frustrated at times). Now, I'm really not sure if that's due to retaining more information because I enjoy it more, or because bass can be easier than guitar (with exemptions depending on artist/song composition. Bass can still be surprisingly complex in its own way).

[TRex Bassist]

obviously, I lean toward the bass. Rhythmatically, I love the challenge of holding down the bottom end and lifting the band up so the guitars can do thier thing. We each have our role, but the bass seems to be the glue that holds everything together.

[Absinth Minded]

I prefer the guitar because it's the instrument that I listend to prior to learning any instrument. Making out lyrics is kinda hard for me but guitar was instantly recognizable. So I got myself a guitar.
The problem is that the bass is often the instrument played by the guy who is in a band just because he wanted to be in a band instead of actually persuing anything artistic. When you look at some bass lines you see what I mean.
Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing the Instrument but the person that's playing it. I love to listen to Jacquot Pastorius, Flea and other really great bass musicians and I love to play the bass myself but the guitar is still the Instrument for me.

When I look at a song I try to think of an ice cream cone. The Drums are the Waffle because they keep the rhythm and the whole song in it's place. The Rhythm Guitar/Singer is the Ice Cream because the actual melody is the thing that we want. Lead Guitar is the Cream on top, and Bass is edible decoration like strawberries or sprinkles, really cool, adds flavour but rarely recognized.

[TRex Bassist]

That is commonly thought about bass. What folks do not realize is the human ear hears the lowest sound first. That is usually the bass. The kick drum and lowest string on the bass are usually tuned to the same note. The thing I find difficult about bass is that some players/groups like the bassist to play in a minimalist mode so it does not distract from what they are doing but others like you to play all over the place or even slap and pop. The "money zone" on the bass is the first four frets according to most musicians and it is rare I play with folks that are cool with me going up in the 17-21 fret range and doing battle with the guitars. In Rock music the timekeeping is 75% drums 25% bass but in Reggae it is 75% bass 25% drums. Girls, they watch the front man/vocalist, they listen to the guitar, they dance to the drums, but they take thier cothes off for the bass. rofl.