As a guitar and bass player one thing that is rarely talked about is that every individual instrument with its particular sweetspots creates a feedback cycle with the player.
That means even if two instruments are capable of theoretically producing the same sounds, it can feel fundamentally different to get there as an instrumentalist, thus each instrument has a character that goes beyond just sound. This is an especially critical point if you are improvising.
This is btw. also why many electrical guitarists insist on loudly cranked amps: the feedback that developes between speaker and guitar allows you to play the guitar differently as each note will sustain longer (or even grow in volume as you let go).
That means even if two instruments are capable of theoretically producing the same sounds, it can feel fundamentally different to get there as an instrumentalist, thus each instrument has a character that goes beyond just sound. This is an especially critical point if you are improvising.
This is btw. also why many electrical guitarists insist on loudly cranked amps: the feedback that developes between speaker and guitar allows you to play the guitar differently as each note will sustain longer (or even grow in volume as you let go).