Bassists

[Rob L]

It seems to me that his rant was really about guitarists playing bass. He seemed to be preaching for viewing bass as "not" a guitar and therefore worthy of an independent technique. I have not problem with this. There are similarities between electric guitar, acoustic guitar and bass guitar. But they are all very different, requiring the development of different playing techniques and a different approach to rhythm. I can play bass, but I play it like a guitarist. I'd rather have someone who understands bass to be playing any time.

Worn is right. His first 3+ minutes of his rant wasn't about bassists. It was about bad guitarists trying to be a bassist and how they shouldn't.
I don't like playing bass at all. I do it on all of my own recordings but I play it like a 6-string guitarist. I would make a terrible choice as a bassist in a band.
The bass player and drummer are 2 of the most important parts to a band. Problem is, they know this and many of the bassists and drummers I have played with tended to be arrogant jerks especially my last bassist who never did understand that every song doesn't require a complicated bassline.
I started out as a strictly rhythm guitarist because I was also the singer. That changed when we lost our lead player the night of a gig. I had to play 3 roles then and have been ever since.
A good bassist knows when to back off and play something simple. So does a good guitarist and drummer.

BUT, having said all that, two of the guitarists I have played with in the past have made fantastic bassists. In fact one is playing in a working band as bassist only and the other does double duty in his band and he wants to play bass on my new recordings. I think a lot of it is mindset. If I took the time to learn bass I'd be good at it cause I know how important the bass is in a band/song. Not being a shredder helps me with that.