Wondering about the values and drawbacks of trying to learn bass guitar.
 

From time to time I muse about trying to learn bass guitar. I don't know why, since I don't gig anywhere, and mostly confine my playing to my home. I've been playing regular guitar for over 50 years, and still have a lot to learn there. But somehow the idea of playing a short-scale acoustic bass seems like an appealing addition.

For those of you who took up playing bass after you had already been playing guitar, are there any drawbacks? Is it likely to affect my playing of standard guitar. I guess I'm kind of hoping that adding the bass will actually contribute positively to my playing of standard guitar.

What has been your experience?

Started with the bass, then guitar. Going the other way round shouldn't matter.

Drawbacks, I don't believe so. If anything it will help
you learn scales. I guess one drawback if you will is that
you won't spend as much time on your main guitar.
Other than that it's not a bad thing at all.

I did play bass after I started on guitar many years ago,
mainly out of need and I really liked it. Got in a few bands
as a bass player.

Good luck!!

Not sure about acoustic bass, but I picked up an electric bass long after I started playing guitar, mostly for multi-track recording purposes. I had played bass before, in a jazz band in school, so it wasn't totally foreign. I still play occasionally, and I think it helps me in a general musical sense, an awareness of what a bass line might sound like accompanying a guitar-oriented song. I'm not sure I see any drawbacks, other than it's more money and more time. And you might break a nail if you play bass with fingers (I use a thick flat pick) and you are a fingerstyle guitar player.

It kind of goes without saying that your wife will evict you so that she can take up with a musician...

(I've wanted a bass for eons. Which is guess speaks for the Baritone fetish...)

Back in my first band we had three guitars players. We flipped a coin, I lost and ended up running out and buying a used Hagstrom I bass. I no longer play but I bought my daughter a bass last X'mas. She loves the thing. If anything it has made her a better guitar and uke player. In turn, I think she inspired me because I went out and bought an old Kay upright bass.

I used to have an electric bass in the house. I would put on some drum loops and groove along for a while. How can that not help your time? I think it's a great idea

I love playing bass though I started on guitar first! Go for it, it is great fun and although bass demands different techniques it isn’t a great leap from guitar to bass. You may even find (as I did) that long scale suits you fine.

The world needs more bass players, especially GOOD bass players. RM, the biggest danger you’ll face is that you’ll play bass like a guitar player slumming on bass, not approaching it as the separate and distinct musical instrument that it is.

But that just takes thinking about what you’re doing, and listening to what makes an effective bass line in the playing of fine players on recordings. It’s a learn as you go kind of deal, so just be aware that there’s a difference and take it from there.


whm

I sure enjoy playing bass, so I'd endorse the idea on enjoyment reason's alone. It's a very expressive instrument in it's own register. Just like guitar, the way you strike and stop the strings can bring out all kinds of sounds.

As practical matter, playing bass unaccompanied is not the reason for my enjoyment, but it's the secret sauce to making all kinds of ensembles work. The sound of bass and acoustic guitar together sounds particularly wonderful to me. Of course you can't play both instruments simultaneously, so to get that combination you'll be playing with someone else or doing the overdub thing while recording.

While I know some enjoy flat top acoustic bass guitars, I've never been drawn to them. A short-scale electric bass (30 inch scale, not short by guitar standards) does require some adjustment, but it may be easier than going with a traditional 34 inch scale electric bass. As to really short-scale basses, I play both the Kala U-Bass and the older Ashbory model, which are shorter than guitar scale and are acoustic basses of a kind (piezo elements in the bridge). An inexpensive electric bass is a more flexible instrument in my use/opinion, though I love what those extra small basses can do.

For playing with someone else you need a bass amp or a PA system, though at lower volumes and bass played carefully you can make do with guitar amps. For recording you need nothing other than a modern interface box. A great many basses are recorded direct in the studio even by the pros, and most DAWs have helpful presets for bass plugged into a recording interface direct.

With a full bodied acoustic bass guitar in theory you don't need an amp, but in practice you may as the volume just isn't there for many (most?) situations.

I dabble in bass. I find it really enjoyable playing bass with other people. And it helps me with hearing and paying attention to bass lines on the guitar. I feel, the more instruments I play the merrier!

To this I wanted to add that it’s much easier to get a good bass tone from a bass with a 34 inch scale than it is from a short scale instrument. I’ve been told that it has something to do with physics - whether that’s the case, I couldn’t tell you. All I know is that I spent a couple of hours at a well-equipped local music store, playing one short scale bass after another, but couldn’t find a good-sounding one. It didn’t seem to be a function of the price points of the instruments, either - the more expensive short scale basses didn’t sound any better than the cheap ones.

I finally gave up and bought an inexpensive long scale bass that still sounded quite a bit better than even the most expensive short scale bass. I had thought, like you, that a short scale bass would be better for me, but as Pieter mentioned, the long scale proved to be much easier to get used to than I had expected.

The one exception to the general rule about the tonal underachievement of short scale basses that I have encountered is the Hofner Beatle bass made famous by Paul McCartney. A friend of mine has an original from the 1960’s, and it’s a magnificent-sounding instrument.

But that’s the exception that proves the rule about short scale basses, at least in my experience.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

I play acoustic guitar and electric bass and find the two very different with very little technical overlap.

In between the two is this thing called an electric guitar. A thing I have never managed to get a satisfactory note out of.

I cant think of any. I am learning bass and drums right now. I want to be my own band. I am not taking formal bass lessons, but I am taking drum lessons.

I started on the double bass and still play it, as well as bass guitar. I definitely think of my self as a bass player first, although I spend more time practicing acoustic guitar these days... Solo bass guitar is a thing, but it doesn't really get me excited. I love playing bass as part of an ensemble and I'll nearly always opt for bass if I'm performing with others. But I prefer to play acoustic guitar when I'm the only one with an instrument (open mic or just at home).

As others have noted, other than the time away from guitar it won't hurt and in fact will expand your musical awareness and sensibilities. Bass is a wonderful instrument, but it does have a certain reputation because I think there are a lot of people who never bother to properly learn the instrument or its role in a band.

I started on Bass long time ago. I can't think of any drawbacks other than playing by oneself isn't as fun as playing guitar but something about playing with a drummer is really satisfying.

Can't hurt!

For your purposes, instead of the "acoustic bass guitars" some companies make, I would strongly recommend the Kala U-bass.

Info: https://kalabrand.com/collections/ac...lectric-u-bass

sound example from youtube (plenty more available): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfffmBWCry0

The biggest difference between bass and regular guitars is that bass doesn't work so well on its own. Without a band, a bass guitar player is just a lonely dude playing in his basement. That said, learning bass changed how I listen to music, and helped me get more out of my thumb when Travis picking.

It was nice to play bass for a few months, but I haven't touched one in decades. Don't miss it at all.

I began playing six-string in 1964. In 1973, I took up the bass, electric, Fender Precision. Since then, I have continued to play both. They are distinctly different, but both worthwhile. Music theory, chords and scales, work the same on both. I can’t imagine how learning bass could possibly interfere with your guitar playing.

i found that the acoustic basses that i tried just didn't cut it. really not a great acoustic sound and very difficult to record. they weren't loud enough with other acoustic instruments. so, i went with a electric fender precision and i'm glad i did. other than standup, there are a lot of acoustic acts that use an electric bass.

there are other threads on the AGF testifying to that point but please try it for yourself as everything on the AGF is subjective and you may love the sound.

p.s. as someone mentioned above, the kala ubass or similar short scale basses have a pretty good electric standup bass sound.

play music!

Yeah do it. Bass is cool.
 

Ok, I've played bass since '69. My brain is wired as a bass player. Started paid gigs at 16 years old and still play 75 to 125 paid gigs a year today, mostly on upright. When I heard Jack Casady play solo bass before Jefferson Airplane started live I loved it. Then taking upright lessons with a symphony pro at 16 my teacher got the same punch, growl and power on a 150 year old Italian bass with a bow as Casady did with a wall of speakers.

Forget acoustic bass guitar and u-bass, unless somebody will pay and insist you play 'em. Uprights and electrics are where it's at.
No acoustic bass, u-bass or electric really sounds like a good upright, they just don't.

I have a room full of basses, uprights, fretless electrics, old fretted electrics, big dollar boutique basses, 5 strings, hand made uprights I got 'em all. All you need is any decent electric bass. I prefer long scale for a punchy sound.

You have to get into the instrument as a bassist. Don't be a guitarist who plays bass 'cause a band needs a bass. That sucks.

There is nothing more satisfying than playing great bass with a great band. There are no drawbacks to playing bass guitar.

I started out on a double bass, then took up acoustic guitar, then electric guitar, and then electric bass. In my opinion, there are no drawbacks with playing any instrument. I've been playing guitar for 50 some odd years now, but I still think like a bass player. Best of luck, just play and don't over-analyze it.

Try one more...
 

Recently I discovered the Ibanez Mikro electric bass. It's a classic solid body cutaway with a pair of pickups and a 28 inch scale. It takes regular bass strings, so you just trim off 1/4 of each. It plays effortlessly, intonates well, stays in tunes and bends notes ably. The three electric guitarists I jam with thought it sounds just fine. It's my first electric bass, so who am I to say? The lowest notes seem a little mushy and less defined, but that could be my basic Fender Rumble 25 amp, or my lack of signal processing. I'm happy with it, and at $180 new, much more than happy!

The side effect of this experiment is a renewed interest in finger picking. I haven't learned proper bass technique, but with thumb and index finger I can keep the notes coming at medium tempo. Taking that right hand technique back to guitar, I'm trending into country blues directions now. Before this, I almost always used a pick.

Exactly! Dabble by all means and if you find you like it then take it seriously. I have played guitar and bass more or less equally since I was a teenager and have worked professionally with both throughout the years: my next gig (paid of course) is playing bass!

I played an acoustic before I was invited to borrow my bestfriend's bass rig to be the bass player in the garage band he was forming with his just out of high school neighbor.

I'd already gotten pretty acquainted with the notes on the fretboard, but bass made me really think about it more. Made me see it in terms of root notes, thirds and fifths. And made me more creative in crafting bass lines around chord progressions.

Now I own ~15 guitars, 20% of which are basses.

It makes me a more complete player, and I write my own songs and record them on this laptop (Reaper or SoundLab) and I can record all the parts I need to make a song- using the drum plugin on Reaper to create a drum section, or use acoustic percussion and a mic to record parts.

I say go for it, but realize that even the best acoustic bass guitar won't be heard over an acoustic. You'll still need some sort of amp.

Totally agree. Bass was the fourth instrument I learned to play, but I think primarily like a bass player. I’d recommend that you spend a fair amount of time really listening to a lot of different styles and songs and players....and really listen to the bass line, how a good bassist lays out a rhythm line and builds it. Also pay close attention to what the bassist does not play, because the space between notes is just as important. But definitely don’t assume you can play a bass just because you can play a guitar. They are two very different instruments that deserve respect individually.

I can’t think of any drawbacks to learning another instrument.

Same here...being a bass player made me more "marketable" to bands 'cause everybody wanted to be a guitar hero...

Can't imagine any drawbacks to learning ANYthing new...

And, 'woof, I have always wanted a big ol' upright bass...

I can't think of any drawbacks. If you get a 4 string bass they will be the same as the lower strings on your guitar - so nothing to learn there. The space between frets will seem ridiculous for a little while, but you'll obviously get use to that. If you don't read bass clef that will be a learning curve - unless you never read bass music (in which case it won't matter at all).

The only big obstacle is thinking like a bass player. Listen to a lot of music you like with the bass cranked and concentrate on bass lines. Try not to play a gazillion notes.

Personally I would skip the acoustic bass and go straight to electric. I bought an inexpensive Squire Jaguar bass and love it. For my needs, ( and my friends) to record and fill in the bottom end its great. You will need a dedicated bass amp, used would be fine for home use,other wise it does not sound too good. If you play already just getting used to the larger strings is the most trouble you should have.

I have a couple of basses and use them for adding a little depth to the songs I record. I'm not very good, but I have fun! Ibanez makes a Mikro bass that's basically guitar scale. You can get one for under $200 and they are quite a lot of fun.