Playing bass affects your guitar playing?

[danastas]

Can anyone speak from experience how messing around with a bass has affected their non-bass guitar playing?

I'll start: you have to extend your fingers on your fret hand wider, so you get more coverage when you return to the guitar. More coverage = speed.

Also, can it hurt your guitar playing?

I play my bass every now and then, and I was just wondering about the benefits.

[petedz]

At first it made my hands a bit stronger. Nothing negative.

[HoWheels]

I played bass for over 10 years before I even touched a guitar. I think that I've come decently far in the short time I've been playing guitar, and that I can attribute the quick learning to all the years on bass

-a

[Endrik]

it can help you groove more wich most of the guitar players lack IMO

[slayer32390]

i just started playing bass in one of my two school band periods this yaer and even in the last few weeks ive noticed i can play faster and with less effort on the guitar. i dont think any negatives can come of it. it might even help with fingerpicking on guitar as well.

[danastas]

So I leanred to play bass fingerpicking but my dirty secret is that when I pick up the bass every couple of weeks, I play with a pick.

I know exactly what I'm missing out on, buth...well, I prefer it this way.

Does anyone else use a pick most of the time when you play bass?

[slayer32390]

i do! but when im at school the band teacher is forcing me to use my fingers which causes problems for me because im a diabetic and i cant let my right hand get callused. im going to have to talk to him on wednesday about it since i have no school today

[danastas]

I'd be interested to hear what he says.

Picking gives you a more percussive attack, but you lose some of the tone IMO.

[Endrik]

fingers or pick or dick, play what fits to the specific song or the tone you are looking for.

Playing with fingers the tone is smoother, punshier, clearer, with pick it has a sharper attack and sounds more metallic and duller.

fingers and slapping is a must for jazz, fusion, funk, r'n'b, world music, prog etc. you need bell like clean tones and a lot of dynamics, with pick you don't have much dynamics.

If you want to play megadeth songs or Pink Floyd's "Money" then use a pick.

[slayer32390]

I'd be interested to hear what he says.

Picking gives you a more percussive attack, but you lose some of the tone IMO.

yeah he lets me slide with it on scales because i have to help the band tune because im the loudest (huge fucking amp ) but he wants me to use my fingers during the songs but i lose a lot of volume and have like no technique im much better with a pick.

[horns666]

No..

[Newc]

Well Bill, for some people there's just no help

It helps me because it makes the guitar neck seem slimmer, which makes fretting seem effortless. Plus the thicker strings means more downward pressure and it's easier for me to not press as hard on the guitar.

[tanpsi]

Well it makes the guitar neck feel smaller obviously, but I don't think there's any danger of getting clumsy musclebound fingers or anything. Actually Bass could be less effort in some ways, I have a low action, don't bend, make big leaps or fast runs on bass.

For me the only effect is because I play Bass with the 1st and 2nd fingers I have to cut 2nd fingernail at an angle so I can still use it for guitar picking.


Bass is a lot of fun!!!!!!!!!, plus the demand for bass players is high because everyone wants to be the showoff guitarist!!!! haha

[Inazone]

I started out on guitar, and after a year or two started playing bass. When I went back to guitar, I found that the lead techniques I had struggled with the first time around were easier to play. There's no reason a person can't get reasonably good at playing both instruments, and learning one is beneficial to playing the other.

[danastas]

Hey, thanks for all your answers.