How'd You Get Started on Bass?

Jewbass · #1 05-26-2009, 06:03 PM

Hey guys, I'm actually a bit interested about how other people got started on bass (upright or electric). I personally loved a few of the bass lines in the songs that I listened to, I thought they were the coolest things. My dad had an old bass, so I just went for it. What about you guys?

Matt Dean · #2 05-26-2009, 06:13 PM

I'll bite... I was in high school; had taken about 2 years of guitar lessons when I was 10, so I had a basic understanding of the fretboard. When I was a sophomore, I decided to form a rock band with a friend, who played guitar... so I thought I'd play bass. It was love at first pluck!

Now, I'm 52... still play: am in a roots/punk band, a reggae band and am starting a trip hop band with some new mates (note to self: buy wife flowers).

The Ripper · #3 05-26-2009, 06:16 PM

Well i play A little guitar... and i never really cut it as a guitarist even though i love guitar... And i thought i'd try bass. and well it was over all funner.. So i play bass 80% of the time now. its crazy

Tropic · #4 05-26-2009, 06:30 PM

Don't laugh.....

Guitar Hero... and yes I decided I wanted to play BASS from GUITAR hero... sad I know...

Red Rover · #5 05-26-2009, 06:38 PM

I entered a local music store to look at some guitars. After a little while I found myself at the back of the store where they had all the basses. I told myself "why not try one" not thinking much of it. I took one off the wall (Squier Jazz) and plugged it in a nearby combo. When I hit that first note and I could feel it going through me, I knew that the bass was for me. I fell in love with it that day, I asked the nice gentleman if he could pack it up for me and I left with it... that was about 8 and half years ago.

Illbay · #6 05-26-2009, 06:46 PM

Wow, here's a unique thread!

NOT REALLY, HERE"S ONE JUST LIKE IT FROM A FEW DAYS AGO.

I just figured you might want to browse the responses from that one. I'm too lazy to repost what I did there.

JTE · #7 05-26-2009, 06:55 PM

I got an acoustic guitar for Christmas when I was in 9th grade (Mom didn't have a clue what I'd like at that age and heard "under the blue light in our music department..."). I messed around with that for a year or so, then one day I heard "Completely Well" by B. B. King, "The Best of Cream", "Second Time Around" by Buffalo Springfield, and the Blind Faith album, all in one day. I went to my next guitar lesson and told my teacher I'd heard this song called "Crossroads" and wanted to learn how to make those noises...

A few years later my best friend was a bass player. Another buddy of ours and he used to rotate gigging on bass for a local country band. The band wasn't all that good, but they worked steady and I saw them a couple of times, and knew most of the guys in the band. I had also developed an interest in electronics. My friend Roger gave me his Mustang bass to rewire it after he had refinished it. He called me on day to ask if it was ready and I asked if he needed it the next night. He said "no, you do! I told Dave you could do tomorrow's gig for them." I pointed out that I'd never played bass, and that I'd only played guitar with other people about two or three times. There was no way I was going to play a gig on bass with no rehearsals and no idea of what country music was about. He told me the gig paid $50.

I showed up at the gig scared $417#$&*. I kinda knew what the bass was supposed to do, but had no idea how to do it. I could figure out the root by listening and watching the guitar player's hands. I knew enough to play the root on one, and another chord note on two. And I knew a basic 1 3 5 b7 1 b7 5 3 boogie pattern. I figured out after the first set that the others in the band didn't even really know why they had a bass player...

At the end of the gig, they told me I did pretty good and asked if I wanted to play next week. The next gig was a four-night gig at a local bowling alley, and it paid $50/night! Now I was working for Dad's construction company making $200/week putting in 40 hours of sweat and dirt. So, $200 for playing bass? Sign me up!

I gigged with them for about seven months. There were a lot of changes in people. The original guitarist contacted me and asked if I'd like to hook up with the band he was starting- we'd be doing Linda Rondstadt, Emmylou Harris, Little Feat, Merle Haggard, Waylon & Willie, some Neil Young, etc. He had a better business sense than the other guys, and so I said I'd check it out. He also had a great drummer. The first time I played with Mr. Schmidgall, I was hooked on playing bass. There's nothing like the feel of the bass and drums driving the train! Been doin' it ever since, and that was 1977.

jte

twdavis13 · #8 05-26-2009, 06:59 PM

I'll probably get bashed to hell and back for this, but I actually got started by listening to KISS ith my uncle about 5 years back!! I put o some headphones, and I kept listening to the bassline to Detroit Rock City over an over,a nd thought it had a cool groove with that triplet flurry. So, I went on to learn really fun songs like Strutter, Room Service, Let Me Know, Ladies Room, 100,000 Years, Goin' Blind(My FAVORITE!!), and so on. Then, I started to listen to other bands like Rush, a few newer bands, Metallica, and I've really studied John Entwistle's technique. I LOVE walking basslines, and that's why I think Gene Simmons is one of my favorites, he is the KING of walking basslines. Now, Geddy Lee is just insane.

Sartori · #9 05-26-2009, 07:02 PM

Some friends of mine, one of which played guitar, and the other of which played drums, wanted to form a band. They knew I had experience playing Trombone, and so wondered if I'd join as a bass player. The fact that I was just picking up the instrument didn't seem to matter, as none of us were very good at the time. That band lasted about a year.

Ric5 · #10 05-26-2009, 07:06 PM

I was 13 and my older brother and his friend were starting a band ... My brother was going to play drums and has friend played guitar ... So they asked me to play bass ... I said yes, but what is a bass?

My first bass wasn't even a bass ... it was an electric guitar strung with 4 strings.

Well bass was a good fit for me ... I always loved low notes ...

Illbay · #11 05-26-2009, 07:12 PM

I was 14. My best bud and I decided to "make a band." This was about 1971 or so.

I said 'we need to get guitars.' He (being the alpha male), replied "no, I get a regular guitar, you gotta get a bass guitar."

"What's a bass guitar?"

"It's kinda like a regular guitar, but it's got four strings and it goes lower."

"You mean, you wear it like below your belt?"

"No, I mean it sounds lower."

I was still confused, but I had my orders. And the rest, as they say, is history.

wysiwyg248 · #12 05-26-2009, 08:55 PM

I moved to Michigan from South America in 1987.
Being an engineer, but working for $9/hour made me really hungry for another job to supplement my income. At work, a bunch of Englishmen asked if I'd like to join them in a band since I knew how to play guitar.
I said yeah right on the spot and we started practicing the following week.
It didn't take them long to realize that I didn't know any of the tunes they wanted to play (Cream, Hendrix, etc.) and on top of that, being left handed didn't help (it was hard to find a left handed instrument), so they suggested me to try the bass.
At first it felt weird, but since I've always loved to "drive from the back seat", pretty soon I started to enjoy the instrument.
Of course, living in Suburban Detroit helped a lot. I must say thank you to Dan Pliskow (teacher) and Rufus Reid and Franz Simandl for their great books that helped me a lot.

bassist4dalord · #13 05-26-2009, 09:09 PM

I (like many) started on the guitar because I wanted to get some chicks. This was in 7th grade, about 5 years ago. I saw The Newsboys in concert and asked my guitard friend what that long guitar missing two strings was. He didn't know, but I just kept watching and trying to discern it's sound from others. Eventually, I got a bass and joined the Youth worship team at church, and I've been playing ever since. Thus the name, Bassist4dalord. Rock on!

B Sus · #14 05-26-2009, 09:17 PM

I started out playing guitar when I was 12 because my cousin played and I basically worshiped him as a kid. Did that for a while, then met this guy at a show who hooked me up with some recordings of his band. I thought they were amazing, and jammed them all the time (I was 14 at the time). We got to talking, and he mentioned that they needed a bassist. A few days later I went out, bought a bass from the pawn shop, tried out, and made it. Then I moved up to guitar when one of the other guys quit, and didnt pick it up again up again until college, when I joined the jazz band. Now bass is my main thing, although I'll still hobby around with some classical guitar.

Iv@N · #15 05-26-2009, 09:29 PM

Went to see my cousin's band playing at a local bar.
They were setting everything when I arrived, but then BOOM! The 1st note was mind blowing, the bass player's bass was beaten to death, i looked like it had been exposed to direct sunlight for a month but the sound was amazing. I turned around and told my parents(I was 14) I was gonna play bass. 2 1/2 years later and I'm still rocking the low end

5StringBlues · #16 05-26-2009, 09:30 PM

Me and my bud were putting a band together back when we were sophmores in highschool.He was the guitard,we had a great drummer,I was going to just sing,and we had a bassist.

Problem was,the bass player,no matter what the song was,would just play root and five power chords off of what the guitard was doing.Guitard eventually got fed up and said,"Hey,you play a bass clef instrument in band(tuba),just get a bass,you'll learn it easy." He was right and we were playing gigs before junior year was over.

Bass_masta16 · #17 05-26-2009, 09:40 PM

Quite simply, I was forced into it.

The band at my highschool needed a bassist.

"Josh, buy a bass"

"Why?"

"We need a bassist"

"Ugh, I guess.."

blues_bassist · #18 05-26-2009, 10:32 PM

When I was 14 I started to play guitar and then when I turned 15 I joined a band that needed a bassist and they asked if I would. I said I would try it but I didn't think I would stay with it, until I played it for a while. I haven't picked up a six-string since. Bass rocks!!!

jojobean39 · #19 05-27-2009, 08:25 AM

I was 13 and played guitar. I was at church in the youth group and someone said, "We need a bass player. You play guitar, hence, you can play bass." Poor assumption, but it got me playing bass.

iamthebassman · #20 05-27-2009, 12:31 PM

I was in first grade, my older brother made us watch this band on TV, The Beatles, on Ed Sullivan, I thought that violin-shaped "guitar" looked cool. Flash forward to the mid 70s, and I'm a big fan of the Elton John Band, Dee Murray the bassist had a cool tone and played great parts, he was my big inspiration to pick up the bass, so, senior year of high school, 1976, I bought my first bass.
PS: I now own one of the late Dee Murray's basses.