blackandwhite
10-16-2008, 01:06 AM
Hey, I've been lurking here for some time and procrastinating with this intro.
OK. I've been into music many years. I played the drums from about age 15 until about age 30, then when the family thing came along the drums fell out of the picture. But as a drummer I was mainly into Rush and spent many many hours listening to Rush records and trying the hardest songs.
I started using my mom's classical guitar after a while, and actually learned a bunch of metal, Rush, and other stuff. Notable songs I learned (at least partially) were Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, Seek and Destroy, all on the classical. Metallica is interesting on a classical. Also learned a bunch of La Villa for bass, on the classical.
FF a few years, some friends and I joined forces in a band in Hamilton, ON, playing mostly original stuff that most people had to describe as "Like Primus". We weren't like Primus but didn't really sound much more like any other band. It was while we were together as this band that I got more interested in bass. My highlight with this band was that one night we opened for DOA. I thought that was cool. And I still have that night's concert poster. That band ended when we all moved on from university.
FF again, I'm older, and find myself drawn to the bass. There's some kind of cool that I can't just put my finger on. A couple years ago it was Christmas shopping season, we were looking for guitar stuff for my son and I discovered the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass. WOW. I'd seen the album sleeve for Moving Pictures a thousand times but never really clued in to that bass. There it is, right there, all jazzy in that cool multiple exposure photo. Anyway the specimen in the store was awesome. Great feel, sustain, AMAZING neck (you know it), and wow was it gorgeous. I was not shopping for myself so I pushed it out of my mind. A couple months later, it's my birthday, wow, my wife got me a Geddy for my birthday! Perhaps you can understand the way that feels. For me it felt like something, probably shock.
This is about when I started to see talkbass.com online, when I started looking into more basses, perusing the Fender guitar catalog from the guitar shop, cover to cover, and learning about which bassist played which bass. Of course talkbass comes up in every search, and Google being the only real search out there, that's where I see it. Then I learned about usedvictoria.com, the victoria-specific site for used stuff, part of usedeverywhere.com. Lots of cool stuff comes through there, and that's where I first learned about the Aria Pro II SB-1000. I found one online but couldn't justify spending any money on it, so I forgot about it. Well one day it (the same one - I had already been given the serial number) shows up in the guitar shop, used, and I had to have it. It was beautiful, and had the sustain of a piano. I've recently been learning about amps and might be interested in some GK gear, but have acquired myself a real nice Yorkville XM100C bass amp for a steal. The scoop knob is great, it gives me most of what I want of the sound.
What am I working on these days? Sight reading, a bit of theory, and Rush material. And I don't play often enough, admittedly. This forum is mostly to blame, as there are so many new posts every day it's hard to even keep up! There you have it.
OK. I've been into music many years. I played the drums from about age 15 until about age 30, then when the family thing came along the drums fell out of the picture. But as a drummer I was mainly into Rush and spent many many hours listening to Rush records and trying the hardest songs.
I started using my mom's classical guitar after a while, and actually learned a bunch of metal, Rush, and other stuff. Notable songs I learned (at least partially) were Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, Seek and Destroy, all on the classical. Metallica is interesting on a classical. Also learned a bunch of La Villa for bass, on the classical.
FF a few years, some friends and I joined forces in a band in Hamilton, ON, playing mostly original stuff that most people had to describe as "Like Primus". We weren't like Primus but didn't really sound much more like any other band. It was while we were together as this band that I got more interested in bass. My highlight with this band was that one night we opened for DOA. I thought that was cool. And I still have that night's concert poster. That band ended when we all moved on from university.
FF again, I'm older, and find myself drawn to the bass. There's some kind of cool that I can't just put my finger on. A couple years ago it was Christmas shopping season, we were looking for guitar stuff for my son and I discovered the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass. WOW. I'd seen the album sleeve for Moving Pictures a thousand times but never really clued in to that bass. There it is, right there, all jazzy in that cool multiple exposure photo. Anyway the specimen in the store was awesome. Great feel, sustain, AMAZING neck (you know it), and wow was it gorgeous. I was not shopping for myself so I pushed it out of my mind. A couple months later, it's my birthday, wow, my wife got me a Geddy for my birthday! Perhaps you can understand the way that feels. For me it felt like something, probably shock.
This is about when I started to see talkbass.com online, when I started looking into more basses, perusing the Fender guitar catalog from the guitar shop, cover to cover, and learning about which bassist played which bass. Of course talkbass comes up in every search, and Google being the only real search out there, that's where I see it. Then I learned about usedvictoria.com, the victoria-specific site for used stuff, part of usedeverywhere.com. Lots of cool stuff comes through there, and that's where I first learned about the Aria Pro II SB-1000. I found one online but couldn't justify spending any money on it, so I forgot about it. Well one day it (the same one - I had already been given the serial number) shows up in the guitar shop, used, and I had to have it. It was beautiful, and had the sustain of a piano. I've recently been learning about amps and might be interested in some GK gear, but have acquired myself a real nice Yorkville XM100C bass amp for a steal. The scoop knob is great, it gives me most of what I want of the sound.
What am I working on these days? Sight reading, a bit of theory, and Rush material. And I don't play often enough, admittedly. This forum is mostly to blame, as there are so many new posts every day it's hard to even keep up! There you have it.