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Why did you choose the bass?


tarkus

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I play a many different instruments, but I consider myself a bass player first. I started playing bass in college. I had played guitar mostly and was quite good. I had began my music training at the age of 8 on piano and drums when I was 11. Guitar popped in when I was 13. I taugh myself guitar in order to communicate with the other musicians in the band. You can't translate notes or riffs on drums. It was easier grabbing a guitar and showing the guitarists what you meant.

 

In my freshamn year at college, I had to take electives. Group instramental music. My prof tricked me into playing bass. "This class is for music majors to experience other instruments." I bought the story. I realized that the oboe player was primarily an oboe player and the flute player was a flute player etccc....

 

The prof was also the band director and was in need of a bassist. I borrowed an unfretted (the frets were ripped out ala Jaco) Masada imitation P-bass (ugghh!). It was terribly s-bowed, but I learned bass clef. I realized the bass helped me as a guitar player. Much to the annoyance of my prof, I refused to play bass in the school band. I was a guitarist -- or so I thought.

 

I didn't pick up the bass again until 5 years later. A band I was in had lost it's bass player and we were auditioning different people. On the days when the auditionee could't get it right, I would have to stand in. "Why don't you play bass full time?" But I was better than the other guitarists. But it made sense.

 

I realised that the demand for bass players were exceeding guitarist almost 10 fold. Sure I still play a little guitar, but mostly bass and keys these days, and happy to be part of the community.

 

How about you?

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When I started off I wanted to play rhythm guitar and never really had a desire to play solos. The first time I played in a band situation I realized what I really wanted to play was bass becuase it has a lot more "omph" to it. I felt that the rhythm guitar initially did help my bass playing since you know what notes will usually work well within the cord. The only gripe I have about choosing bass is that that some people view the bass as an istrument for lesser musicians. I really hate when fellow band members believe this, but I have noticed that more experienced musicians apreciate it a lot more than inexperienced ones do.

 

GS

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I started out as the lead screamer in a punk band. Our bass player was terrible, So I decided to start playing bass after that band broke up, cause I never wanted to be in another band with a shitty bass player. About a year later I started actually "listening" to music, and I ain't been right since.

Together all sing their different songs in union - the Uni-verse.

My Current Project

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I started playing bass when I was seven because my older brother was tired of playing by himself. He bought me a VERY cheap bass and said: ''Play''. So I played. I haven't stopped yet.

 

About a year later he taught me my first chords on the guitar because I thought guitar was more cool. :D That was before I heard John Entwistle play..

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I started playing bass because I sucked at guitar - same as any other bass player.

 

er, just kidding...

 

Actually, kind of like Giant Slacker I really liked playing rhythm guitar, and wasn't much into soloing.Maybe that was because my guitar foundation was in acoustic guitar, not electric (I've always thought that guitarists should learn to play an acoustic first, anyway. Too many of them start with an electric guitar and immediately want to shred, and fail to learn their chords. I actually tried to play with a guy like that once. "Okay, the chord progression goes E, B, G#m..." and he had no idea what I was talking about. I couldn't communicate with him musically at all.

 

Anyway, my love for rhythm guitar just sort of led naturally to bass, and I've been there ever since.

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I'm a guitarist first. I felt somewhat played out on that instrument after two band situations ended on less than stellar notes.

 

I wanted to land another gig but didn't want to play guitar so I went down to the local music store and about fell over because they had exactly what I was looking for, a comfortably beat up early 70s P-Bass, rosewood neck, sunburst finish with a tortoise shell pick guard at exactly the price I was willing to pay ($200, this was around 1989 mind you).

 

Just so happened a guitar slinging buddy of mine was in the store at the time and he needed a bass player.

 

Problem solved. I played with him for about six months and it was a hoot.

Mudcat's music on Soundclick

 

"Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo-

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I chose it because i used 2 play drums for my school band, 4 three years. Also because i was foruming a band with some friends and noone knew how 2 play bass. Since i wanted 2 learn for years, this was my chance and i took it. So happy i did (:

 

Fuego

The basses

-'04 MIM Jazz bass black

-'98 Fender American-Deluxe P-bass natural

-Peavey FuryII blue

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I chose bass because bigger is better ;)

(just kidding, but i'll agree with what tnb siad, this has been covered a lot before so you might not get very relevant answers from the older forum members)

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It seems like it chose me.. I played a bunch of instruments when I was younger, with deminishing interest. After I got a decent set of headphones I realized what parts of the music I was following inSTINKtivly since I was a child. I lusted after the idea of playing bass for about 2 years before I bought my first bass at age 21. I haven't been the same since, thank god. :thu:
If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing!
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Originally posted by bc:

With respect, Tarkus, this has been covered in detail in other threads, so you may not get a great response - you might want to try a search. ;)

bc,

 

With equal respect to you, I used to suggest that people try a search on subjects that have been covered a lot, but I finally decided:

 

a) New people come in all the time and want to talk about their experiences.

 

b) If we never repeated topics, we'd run out of things to talk about. :D

 

c) It never works, the same topics keep coming up anyhow! :freak:

 

I just skip all topics like "What kind of strings. . ." and What's the difference between a P and J?"

 

So, my story: I started playing bass because a friend invited me to sit in on guitar with his weekend jam buddies. He gave me a tape of them playing, and I liked what I heard, but they obviously needed some bottom end-- two guitars and no bass is not good. So before I played with them I picked up a bass and learned the songs on their tape. I have hardly picked up a guitar since-- I love being the bassman.

 

Bruiser

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i knew my answer to this when i read the title- and again, i am on the same wavelength as Jeremy- BASS chose ME - after playing drums, a little piano and tenor sax.. i fell in love and never looked back..

Praise ye the LORD.

....praise him with stringed instruments and organs...

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.

excerpt from- Psalm 150

visit me at:

www.adriangarcia.net

for His glory

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High school... back in '74. Our bass player joins the Navy. Me and the other guitar player say "now what?". He sucked less than me on the guitar so I agreed to play "it".

 

It was the best thing I ever did. The instrument fit like my favorite pair of jeans. I gigged 5 nights a week though the late 70's and all of the 80's.

 

I still play for fun. The guitarist I play with now, is the guy I mentioned above. We don't suck any more.

 

Life's a gas.

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Fair enough, Bruiser. I just feel, oh no, I've already posted at length on this and so have many others. But agreed, it's not doing me any harm personally if people want to revisit the topic.

 

I would suggest though that if people want to revisit a well-worn topic because there are new members the best answer is to revive the best of the previous threads.

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Because in 4th grade when they showed us the different stringed instruments and asked which one we would like to play if we could, I chose the bass because it was the biggest - never realizing that they were serious... 2 weeks later they called some names, said follow me, and led us to a room that had the instruments waiting for us to learn... Pretty cool! Never looked back or really even switched instruments except for URB to electric...

Thank God for a strong music program in the public school system in the early 70's!! :thu::cool:

http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/

Basses:

'73 Fender Telecaster Bass

'85 Modulus Quantum 6 Thruneck Custom Pre-Serial

'86 G&L L2000 Fretless

Opus 5 String "Frankenwood" Fretless

www.Ebassist.com

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My stepfather, a raging alcoholic but a great saxaphone player, had purchased a music store (which he was only able to hold onto for about a year).....and for one summer, when I 14, I worked there. I saw this Hofner bass, right hand stringing, and it looked GREAT! I had always heard the bass line in music more than any other and so tried to replicate that sound. When the store financially collapsed due to the horrid management, my guitar had to go back to inventory. I still miss that guitar nearly 35 years later and wonder what would have happened had I kept it. I have since replaced it with another beauty, but not an old Hofner.
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...all in search of the brown note. :freak:
http://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/blue.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/black.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/fuscia.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/grey.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/orange.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/purple.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/red.JPGhttp://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/dots/yellow.JPG
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I didn't choose the bass....it chose me...I started out on violin..hated it...tried cello for 1 yr...better but I hated lugging it everywhere.Then my music teacher suggested the upright.He told me there was no competition (YAH)and I could have a bass to take home and one to use at school....all I had to carry was my bow and music!..woohoo...electric followed soon after...that was about 25 yrs ago....my longest realationship to date.
Have you hugged your bass today?
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