I too, started playing guitar before discovering how amazingly cool the bass guitar is. I actually still play guitar and am also trying to learn to play mandolin.

I originally took up bass to help me learn to play guitar better, but fell in love with the instrument, so that now I actually prefer bass to guitar. Something about being part of creating a groove appeals to me. I like how the bass fills an important bridge role between the guitars and drums. Supporting the harmony while keeping the beat. Doesn't get much better than that. I do enjoy the low end as well.

Playing bass has also benefitted my guitar playing. I have found it easier to learn the notes on the fretboard of a 4-string bass than on a 6-string guitar. Knowledge of the fretboard notes has been a huge help for building grooves that effectively harmonize the song. And this bass fretboard knowledge has made it easier to learn the guitar fretboard too.

I play bass and guitar with my church's worship team about 3-4 Sundays a month. Since we have a bass player who "got there first", I'm kind of the backup bass player, so I get to play bass once or twice a month, and I play guitar when I'm not playing bass. Unfortunately, we don't often have a drummer. But just recently I got to play with a real solid drummer. That was a fantastic experience working together to set the groove.

For my next bass adventure I'd like to learn how to play fretless bass guitar. I'd also like to build another project bass (I built my 5-string from a Carvin kit), this time a fretless, and am considering buying a Jazz bass body (swamp ash) and neck (unlined fretless, maple with ebony fretboard) from Warmoth. I'm also looking around at pawn shops to see if I can find any good project basses.

I do really love my Ibanez BTB570FM 4-string as well. A great looking sweet playing bass.

That burst is really PRETTY!

I played guitar many years, never serious or in a band, just for fun. I cut my left index finger (fretting hand) pretty bad cutting the tendon on the main knuckle and cannot bend it too good to hit that F, C and other chords, so I bought a 2004 Pro-Line 4 string Warwick bass and fell in love with Bass. I wish I had started the bass from the start. This helped me get serious and now I play in a band and gig out and have alot of fun. I do play the bass with both my fingers and I use a pick happily and glad I use to play guitar so I know how to use a pick. I use a pick on the harder rock songs with the machine gun style bass lines Ex. Motley Crew Wild Side. I have read a lot about Bass players using a pick, playing it like a guitar, etc... The following gents use a pick on BASS: Paul McCartney (Beatles), Chris Squire (YES), Duff (GNR), and even John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin plays a pick on Whole Lotta Love. Some people have physical limitations so they have to use a pick. As long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters, I use my fingers and a pick, and I feel it’s a good thing to know how to do both. I have an Ibanez BTB 300BKF.

Started off on bass: Fender J-bass. Loved the bone-piercing POWER and RUMBLE. Still do. Shifted over to a 5-string fretless many years ago, but sold it about a dozen years after that. Just recently bought an SX Lake Placid blue 4-string fretless...it actually feels like my old Fender J-bass, obviously with the exception of frets. My main focus now is guitars, and I own a couple of Ibanez...jazz, composition, arranging.

But I still love that bass power.