Immediate disclaimer: not complaining, just curious.

I'm curious what the appeal is for women to the bass over the guitar. For the last two decades or so, if there is a female member of a band who is not the singer, she is playing bass, not guitar or drums.

* D'Arcy - Smashing Pumpkins
* Paz - A Perfect Circle
* Kim Gordon - Sonic Youth
* Sheryl Crow shifted from guitar to bass
* Kim Deal - Pixies
* Tina Weymouth - Talking Heads
* Jeanie Sagan - All That Remains
* Doris Yeh - Cthonic
* Emma Anzai - Sick Puppies

Those are the ones that come to mind immediately. Female guitarists? Hardly any come to mind.

So I'm curious as to the appeal. Something about the instrument speaks to them.

Meg White drums, kinda Maybe Jack gave her the choice of bass or drums.

Skillet has a female guitarist and drummer.

The mysterious, cool, alluring-in-an-offbeat-way female bassist has been a rock trope for years. Even "School of Rock" played up on the cliche.

The White Zombie chick too.

Some of them are gorgeous, too. Emma from SP was my favorite until I saw Doris from Cthonic.

Disclaimer: I have no musical ability and cannot play bass or guitar. I have no knowledge of playing either instrument. My appologies to all you hard working bass players out there. But...

I always assumed it was the easiest instrument to play and bands that wanted to throw some hot chick eye candy into their act grabbed a chick and gave her the easiest job.

This.

Any dipshit can play a bass guitar with little training or musical ability.

See Sid Vicious and Nikki Sixx.

You confirmed the no musical ability with that comment. THe bass is not an easy instrument to play properly, especially in a band with a single guitarist. Or perhaps you never heard of Geddy Lee?

The bass has a wider and longer neck than the guitar. Women have smaller hands than men.

Furthermore anyone who thinks the bass is "easy" is full of hooey. It's easier to get off the ground with the bass if all you want to do is pound a root note as your entire musical repertoire. And there are a zillion shitcock "shredders" out there who wouldn't know the first thing about how music is supposed to feel and sound. Drop a bass in their hand and have them hold a groove down with impeccable timing and a tasteful walking bassline, and they're clueless.

But a fine bassist? Worth twice her weight in blow.

I dated a hot bassist chick back in the mid 90's, and she rocked bad ass! She loved Metallica and played For Whom the Bell Tolls flawlessly, especially the part in the beginning where she would use the foot pedals and then she would swing around her long hair ah la Jason Newstead. I thought it was cool at first but then I had to break up as I like my women a lot more feminine.

Interesting fact: Billy Corgan came up with all the bass lines for Pumpkins songs, and played the bass for studio tracks....he just taught D'Arcy after he came up with the chords.

^EVH used to play bass on a LOT of Van Halen tunes. Listen close enough. You can tell when it's him.

Not to slight Michael Anthony or his contributions, mind you. Whatever they were.

Easier to master, no. But starting out its not quite as intimidating as a guitar. Its easier to pick up the basics. In an afternoon you could probably teach a beginner some simple baselines to a couple of songs. People get frustrated and overwhelmed learning to play guitar. Bass is more rewarding to beginners. They are both equally tough to master though.

They like the vibrations.

It is easy. I've played bass myself; mostly because I wanted to play in bands and it is the easiest instrument to play. I'm tone deaf, can't read music, and don't have any feel for writing music or music theory. Its fairly easy to "get by" on bass, just giving a steady bass line to fill out the low end. Since I can't really read music, I learned bass by tab, and got by that way. I was no Geddy Lee or Cliff Burton.

Which is why I eventually gave it up for other things since I would never able to master it. A lot of good times, though...

Playing bass is not that hard. But playing it good is.
A bad bass player just plays the same as the rhythm guitarist.

Great bass players are pretty much the much sought after musicians.

Bass Guitar = The instrument the girlfriend of the lead singer plays.


jk

Nohana from Stereopony:

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Thread title makes me think of two words, Auf der Maur.

A bass is also the easiest instrument to fake on stage. Never plug it in, have the chick just flail her fingers around like she is tickling something and have the real bassist playing behind a curtain like the wizard of oz.

You left out one of the best most creative female bass players out there Meshell Ndegeocello.

I've played guitar and bass for close to 30 years. Is it easy to pick up? Surely -- I said as much before. Is it easy to be good at? Fuck no. Becoming a great bass player takes just as much talent and perspiration as any other instrument.

Like I said before, any fucktard can pound a root note and play along. That's not playing bass.