How does a Guitarist play Bass?

stratman3142

Rocker said:

I may have said so in the past but if what you play suits and supports the song, does it really matter if you play the bass as you would a guitar?

I always thought Phil Lynott played bass in a rhythm guitar type style, and it was certainly highly effective for Thin Lizzy.

And then there's Bernard Edwards' killer bassline for Everybody Dance.

guitarjack66

There cant be a 'one size fits all' approach to any music,surely? This is Rock n Roll,baby.

fretmeister

wellsyboy said:

mart said:

Open_G said:

...

One of the bassiest bass lines I can think of is also one of the simplest. It’s the verse of black velvet. I have no idea but genuinely cannot see this as being come up with by a guitarist playing bass. I’m not sure a guitarist would ever say, “I’ll just groove on the low E.” yet this song is all about that bass groove. 

...

That's one song that really inspired me to get into bass playing. But it's not actually a bass, is it - it's a synth if I'm not mistaken. Still, it's a good lesson in what to play, and what not to play.

Surely not!???? Sounds convincingly bass like to me - what synth is that then?

Deffo a synth.

The bass forums have been chasing that tone for years. It's a lovely sound.

fretmeister

stratman3142 said:

Rocker said:

I may have said so in the past but if what you play suits and supports the song, does it really matter if you play the bass as you would a guitar?

I always thought Phil Lynott played bass in a rhythm guitar type style, and it was certainly highly effective for Thin Lizzy.

And then there's Bernard Edwards' killer bassline for Everybody Dance.

dUg from Kings X plays like a rhythm guitarist sometimes too - but like all the best trio bass players he can swap to suit the song.

Lemmy, on the other had, was a guitarist who liked lower notes. And Motorhead would not have been perfect without that.

PAL

To me the most important things about playing bass are timing and feel !

jpfamps

I think the only morally and intellectually defensible position as a guitarist playing bass, is to play bass as you would like the bass to be played when you are playing guitar.

guitarjack66

jpfamps said:

I think the only morally and intellectually defensible position as a guitarist playing bass, is to play bass as you would like the bass to be played when you are playing guitar.

The simple answer to that is 'better than I play guitar' which would be easy for any person who knows one end of the bass from another!

bobblehat

PAL said:

To me the most important things about playing bass are timing and feel !

This is why so many guitarists make crap bass players!   

TommyS

guitarjack66 said:

Apart from answering 'very badly' what are the pitfalls and advantages to a guitarist trying to play Bass? Technique,habits,playing style,scale length of instrument,etc? I've never even picked up a Bass but some say Guitar and Bass are interchangeable and others say it's totally different.
Thoughts please?

One pitfall I encountered when switching from guitar to bass was thinking I had to buy a short scale bass. Everyone is different of course but after a while I traded my fender mustang for a japanese fender precision lyte and that's when I really started enjoying playing bass.
Aston Barrett said in a band the drums are the heartbeat and the bass is the backbone - I can't think of a better way to put the way I understand the roles than the great man himself! 

TommyS

I should have said I still have that Precision Lyte bass by the way and will always keep it - it's so easy to play that it has even encouraged my 11 year old daughter to pick it up and noodle around on it (although she is continuing to study guitar).

simonhpieman

Funkfingers said:

Stewart Copeland grumbled about this on The Police's 2007/8 reunion tour. Stingo had gone totally fingerstyle. Copeland argued that many of the more energetic songs required plectrum for both speed and the attack transient on the notes - especially where the original recording was fretless bass.

The Police, arguing? I refuse to believe it...!

Cranky

I actually play guitar with a bass player mindset most often.  Rhythm and groove.  Melody and soloing anre afterthoughts for me usually.

So when I do play bass, I feel at home.  Except that, like guitar, my dexterity and technique are shit and so I cannot pull of anything beyond basic lines with any consistency.  Just basic alt, punk and ambient stuff.  Or I can do a hiphop type thing.

fretmeister

Cranky said:

I actually play guitar with a bass player mindset most often.  Rhythm and groove.  Melody and soloing anre afterthoughts for me usually.

So when I do play bass, I feel at home.  Except that, like guitar, my dexterity and technique are shit and so I cannot pull of anything beyond basic lines with any consistency.  Just basic alt, punk and ambient stuff.  Or I can do a hiphop type thing.

It's easy to get lost in basic lines - creating a trance type response.

If done right - it can be the very best thing in music. The players and the punters just experiencing something freeing. Even the mighty Vic Wooten is a fan.

Nowt wrong with that at all.

RocknRollDave

RocknRollDave said:

I, apparently, play bass ‘like a guitarist playing bass’, so …don’t do whatever it is that I do.

Eek…I have a wedding gig on bass tonight!

Wish me luck…

mudslide73

I've just picked up my first ever bass so this thread's appearance is perfect timing for me. I'm currently going through the absolute rudiments on Truefire with Stu Hamm - very much a learning curve with the right hand fingers. I seem to find clawhammer easier for some reason but I'm going to persevere with doing it properly. Enjoying it massively though.

fretmeister

RocknRollDave said:

RocknRollDave said:

I, apparently, play bass ‘like a guitarist playing bass’, so …don’t do whatever it is that I do.

Eek…I have a wedding gig on bass tonight!

Wish me luck…

Good luck! 

Just remember that if you have to make a mistake do it on the note, not the timing.
Nobody will notice a wrong note. Everybody will notice a rhythm fuck up.

If in doubt, just don’t play for a bar and then come back in.

Don’t worry, You’ll smash it! 

RocknRollDave

fretmeister said:

RocknRollDave said:

RocknRollDave said:

I, apparently, play bass ‘like a guitarist playing bass’, so …don’t do whatever it is that I do.

Eek…I have a wedding gig on bass tonight!

Wish me luck…

Good luck! 

Just remember that if you have to make a mistake do it on the note, not the timing.
Nobody will notice a wrong note. Everybody will notice a rhythm fuck up.

If in doubt, just don’t play for a bar and then come back in.

Don’t worry, You’ll smash it! 

Great advice! Thank you.

Dave_Mc

fretmeister said:

RocknRollDave said:

RocknRollDave said:

I, apparently, play bass ‘like a guitarist playing bass’, so …don’t do whatever it is that I do.

Eek…I have a wedding gig on bass tonight!

Wish me luck…

Good luck! 

Just remember that if you have to make a mistake do it on the note, not the timing.
Nobody will notice a wrong note. Everybody will notice a rhythm fuck up.

If in doubt, just don’t play for a bar and then come back in.

Don’t worry, You’ll smash it! 

I pretty much do that with guitar as well. I agree with you, I think it sounds better and more musical. I feel like a lot of players (of any instrument) would sound a lot better if they worried less about hitting the right notes and worried more about getting the timing right.

Granted, I'm biased as I can't seem to stop hitting wrong notes!

Paul_C

fretmeister said:

RocknRollDave said:

RocknRollDave said:

I, apparently, play bass ‘like a guitarist playing bass’, so …don’t do whatever it is that I do.

Eek…I have a wedding gig on bass tonight!

Wish me luck…

Good luck! 

Just remember that if you have to make a mistake do it on the note, not the timing.
Nobody will notice a wrong note. Everybody will notice a rhythm fuck up.

If in doubt, just don’t play for a bar and then come back in.

Don’t worry, You’ll smash it! 

My approach playing bass with my mate Jon (and later with his band) has always been to go "aargh!" really loudly, so people are in no doubt.

fretmeister

My problem is that I can’t hide the look on my face if I get it wrong.