Originally Posted by charaznable

I'm coming into my senior year of college with a lot of time on my hands, and have decided to pick up guitar as a hobby. The instrument (and its variations) seem practical in both price and accessibility for beginners, and it seems like something I could sink some time into and get a sense of achievement out of as well. However here is my fundamental problem(s): I've played Tuba back in my high school days so I know how to read music, but beyond that my musical theory and other knowledge is pretty much shot. I also have what I would consider terrible hand and eye coordination, but I don't want that to be the stopping point for me just yet. I don't mind putting in the time since lord knows I have plenty of it, but I was wondering between bass and electric which one would be the most viable for me? I don't know much about either of the two, but I'm (probably making a mistake) assuming that bass would be more relaxed in terms of hitting the right notes and easier in terms of getting to the right strings. I've done a small amount of talking to some players between both instruments that I know, and have generally been told that bass is easier in the beginning stretches, but comes out to just the same difficulty as electric in the intermediate to advance techniques and practices.

My main concern is being able to make any ground on either of the two instruments though. The biggest thing in the back of my head is just thinking about how slow my fingers move compared to how fast my brain wants them to. To give a little perspective I've taken multiple piano classes before, and it was almost like hardcore forcing myself to move one finger in relation to another to hit a specific key. When the time comes for one hand to be doing one thing, and multiple fingers on the other to all be doing something different I don't have the strongest performance. I hear that electric once theory is refined becomes easier because most pieces can be broken down into fundamental chords that become second nature with enough practice. Regardless though for a hobby that can eat up a lot of time I want to pick up the guitar, I'm just not sure which would be good to start on, or should my doubt in my "quick hands" and coordination be enough to make me think twice? Would anyone mind sharing their thoughts/experiences?