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How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

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  • How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

    From 2009 Premier Guitar. Click here.
    Evan Skopp, Inside Track International
    Sales and marketing reps for Musopia, Reunion Blues, and Q-Parts.

  • #2
    Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

    A guitar player might have trouble with bass for one reason in particular: string gauges. Electric bass strings are about 10 times thicker than the most popular gauges.

    After the first minute of a song, the hands will cramp up. Then they reach for a pick, and they can't fret properly. They start sounding like a 5-year-old trying to play a toy ukelele.
    (This also happens to out-of-practice bass players.)
    sigpic
    "Add about a half-a-teacup o' bass...."
    --'King' Curtis Ousley

    Visit me on Facebook
    Originally posted by Lewguitar
    In our heart of hearts we're love. That's who we really are.

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    • #3
      Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

      I play guitar like a bass player playing guitar.

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      • #4
        Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

        Originally posted by ginormous View Post
        A guitar player might have trouble with bass for one reason in particular: string gauges. Electric bass strings are about 10 times thicker than the most popular gauges.
        Interesting thought about that; I have never played with a guitarist that also played bass make mention of string gauges/thickness as a learning curve.

        For myself, it's easy to spot a guitarist-turned-bassist because they're not filling the primary role of the bass; to act as the musical liaison between the harmonic and rhythmic foundations. Much like when two people are dancing and can't figure out who is supposed to lead, if you don't know your primary role, anything else you add to that just won't fit. That's where I find many guitarists fail as bassists.

        And conversely, I know a number of guitarists in the area that are SMOKIN' bassists as well, and they all cite that it's due to knowing the mindset and role of the bassist as opposed to the guitarist.
        I write Articles for Seymour Duncan
        I write Articles for Bass Musician Magazine

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        • #5
          Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

          I disagree. I know several bass players who use a pick and can fit into the role of a bass player well. It might not be traditional, but it's what works for the player.

          A similar look is that there are guitar playing bassists who use the right techniques, but don't fill in the traditional role. Michael Todd from Coheed and Cambria is well known for the fact that he played bass with his fingers and didn't stay in the root position of the chord, instead playing thirds, fifths, and octaves.

          Lastly, I felt David Ellefson answered very hypocritically in this article. I don't know any Megadeth song that the bass player goes outside of the guitar pattern, except Hangar 18. If you can provide me a list of then, then I will retract my statement, but to my knowledge, none come to mind. He is the definition of a bass playing guitar player.
          Schecter ATX Blackjack C7 BKP Painkiller (B) and Abraxas (N)
          Hagstrom Hj800 Jazzbox stock pickups
          Fender Jazz Bass EMG MJ Set
          Music Man SUB Ray5 stock pickups
          Line 6 Helix
          Dunlop Strings and Picks

          The opinions expressed above are my own and do not reflect normal levels of sanity.

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          • #6
            Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

            I can and have played bass, guitar, 7 string, baritone...

            Whatever...

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            • #7
              Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

              I'm a guitarist that play bass. I have incorporate many guitar knowledge into my bass playing but never thinking the bass as a longer guitar version. The role of the bass player is clear... keeping the groove, and when you can (experience will tell you that) add some tastiness.

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              • #8
                Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                The easy answer is: play like a drummer.

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                • #9
                  Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                  Originally posted by vinta9e View Post
                  The easy answer is: play like a drummer.
                  That's what Jaco and Mark King did/do. Both of them started as drummers. Larry Graham and Louis Johnson as well; they were compensating for not having a drummer in their respective worship bands.
                  sigpic
                  "Add about a half-a-teacup o' bass...."
                  --'King' Curtis Ousley

                  Visit me on Facebook
                  Originally posted by Lewguitar
                  In our heart of hearts we're love. That's who we really are.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                    You have to bridge the drummer and guitarist. Your picking hand needs to support the rhythym of the drums and your fretting hand needs to support the melody of the guitar. It's your job to seamlessly fill the void between them with your playing while at the same time doing your own thing that makes you unique, which isn't very hard. You shouldn't lean too far one way or the other though, unless your role in the band calls for it. For example: depending on the music you play, a bass player will occasionally need to take the roll of a rhythm guitar player to fill in the sound more. This could be appropriate if there happens to be only 1 guitarist in the band that likes to solo a lot. Other way around, the band has 2 or 3 guitarists and the bass player doesn't need to work as hard to fill the melody so he fits his playing more into the drums and rhythm section to strengthen the band's fundamental sound. Good examples are Rush and Judas Priest respectively, but there are always exceptions. This is because it's whatever you believe the music creatively demands from you. The song type, the members of the band, the genre played, the song structure, etc... All must be taken into account as well as one's own ear to make sure that you aren't playing too much or too little, and WHAT you're playing is appropriate. But that's just me.
                    Last edited by Falloffthebonetone; 09-03-2013, 02:22 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                      As long as I don't attempt to play anything out of my comfort zone I think I can play bass pretty well, but my comfort zone is"Blues shuffles"
                      "So you will never have to listen to Surf music again" James Marshall Hendrix
                      "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will know peace."-Jimi Hendrix

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                      • #12
                        Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                        Bass guitar was the first stringed instrument I learned to play. I took lessons for about 6 months until I knew enough where I could learn things on my own, and I've now been playing for about 15 years. I sort of taught my self guitar based on chord charts plus my existing knowledge of the fingerboard, so my chord fingering is probably not very traditional. Anyway, I've been reading a lot of TalkBass forums lately and have seen discussions about guitar players playing bass coinciding with many people having an aversion to playing bass with a pick. For most rock influenced music I play, I like to use a pick, so I've started to wonder if my playing style would be what some consider to be playing like a guitar playing bass even though I would never consider myself a guitar player. However, I have been told by probably the best guitar I know that I am "the most solid bass player" that he's ever played with, so I guess that should count for something.

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                        • #13
                          Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                          Originally posted by poit57 View Post
                          Bass guitar was the first stringed instrument I learned to play. I took lessons for about 6 months until I knew enough where I could learn things on my own, and I've now been playing for about 15 years. I sort of taught my self guitar based on chord charts plus my existing knowledge of the fingerboard, so my chord fingering is probably not very traditional. Anyway, I've been reading a lot of TalkBass forums lately and have seen discussions about guitar players playing bass coinciding with many people having an aversion to playing bass with a pick. For most rock influenced music I play, I like to use a pick, so I've started to wonder if my playing style would be what some consider to be playing like a guitar playing bass even though I would never consider myself a guitar player. However, I have been told by probably the best guitar I know that I am "the most solid bass player" that he's ever played with, so I guess that should count for something.
                          In all actuality, it's however you feel comfortable. I know guys who can use both effectively, while my bass player prefers to finger pick (he uses plastic banjo picks to get the same tone as a pick with the dexterity of plucking). If you find that using a fine toothed comb for playing is your most effective way of playing, then go for it.
                          Schecter ATX Blackjack C7 BKP Painkiller (B) and Abraxas (N)
                          Hagstrom Hj800 Jazzbox stock pickups
                          Fender Jazz Bass EMG MJ Set
                          Music Man SUB Ray5 stock pickups
                          Line 6 Helix
                          Dunlop Strings and Picks

                          The opinions expressed above are my own and do not reflect normal levels of sanity.

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                          • #14
                            Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                            Originally posted by poit57 View Post
                            However, I have been told by probably the best guitar I know that I am "the most solid bass player" that he's ever played with, so I guess that should count for something.
                            That means you have great timing. I'm a "solid bass player" that keeps time extremely well even in weird time signatures, but not so flashy like other bassists. I feel the groove and fill in between guitar and drums, but don't go for solos or that extravagant stuff. Each band has different requirements, but I will say keeping time and the groove are the first and foremost role of a bass player. And consequently, that's what a lot of guitarists lack when they play bass.

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                            • #15
                              Re: How NOT to Play Bass like a Guitar Player Playing Bass

                              Originally posted by speed2dirt View Post
                              That means you have great timing. I'm a "solid bass player" that keeps time extremely well even in weird time signatures, but not so flashy like other bassists. I feel the groove and fill in between guitar and drums, but don't go for solos or that extravagant stuff. Each band has different requirements, but I will say keeping time and the groove are the first and foremost role of a bass player. And consequently, that's what a lot of guitarists lack when they play bass.
                              That was what the bassist in my old band lacked. He was way too flashy, especially considering we were a folk rock band. You don't need funky bass lines in folk music. You need 1 - 5 and not much else.
                              Go Packers!

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