So I've been playing the bass guitar for a long time now; ever since I was about 15, and I'm now 20. I'm also pretty familiar with the guitar, having started out on it before moving on to the bass.

But I'm wondering if the skills you pick up on these instruments are transferable to the violin. I'm not very musically accomplished; I can basically read music, but not to a particularly advanced level. However I am quite technically accomplished on the bass. In other words, I'm really good at playing other people's stuff...

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a violin. Really starting from scratch, like with a £10 piece of junk, and then maybe moving on from that. So my question is whether my abilities on the bass transfer to violin particularly well. How well will I be able to listen to a violin piece, find the sheet music for it somewhere, and figure out how to play it?

I understand that the violin's a whole other instrument, and that it will be difficult to master. I just want to know how big a headstart I have, if any.