The lonely bassists

[Calvan]

first of all, my bad if this is the wrong forum, but i didn't know where else to put it.

so a friends band that is in need of a bassist recently asked me if i knew of anyone who might be interested. after thinking about it for a little bit, i pretty much came to the conclusion that i don't think i know any bass players on a personal level. i definitely don't have any close friends that play bass. and i only maybe have a few acquaintances, but no one that i talk to on a regular basis. and i'm still only kinda new to talk bass, so although i recognize a few of you, i still dont have a clue who anyone is. my life is surrounded by guitards, drummers, and those cocky vocalists that still don't seem to do anything for the band (haha).

so am i the only loner bassist or are there others like me?

i just feel like i'm missing out on a big part of being a bassist. the community.

[MysticMichael]

You came to the right place, Calvan. But the proper forum for this is the "Bassists" forum. Check out the main menu...

MM

[Michael Case]

I don't think you're really missing out. It's tough getting to know other bassists because you'll never be in a band with another bassist (not commonly at least). Most "showcase" gigs that feature 4 or 5 bands don't foster a communal sense. Each band is either breaking down or setting up and everybody is a little to distracted to be friendly. The only bassists I'm friendly with are guys from music school, we were in a community of fellow musicians, we shared info, and even competed with each other. That's why I like this forum, because it helps foster community.

[Benjamin Strange]

I was the same way until I started playing professionally. Now I know about 3-4 bassists personally. Unfortunately, most of them just want to talk about gear, which gets boring pretty fast...

[Qvist]

I only have one bassist friend, and all we do is talk about gear and tone. I'm glad I have him, 'cause the guitarist from my band hates it when I talk about tone and gear =P he's really just a "shut up and play" type of guy, and I love him for it, but I appreciate having one to talk about gear with

[CDuff]

It's not so surprising though when you think of how it's not exactly established as a solo instrument. The people who choose to take up the bass are rarely the same kind of person who wants to be the singer/songwriter type, the lone person on the stage.
Add to this the amount of times you hear of a guitarist or whatever who was forced to play bass because he was in a band with better guitarists and no bassist.
Which is sad, but it almost always transpires that that kind of person is converted and falls in love with the instrument.... how could you not?
I agree that you rarely meet someone who plays bass but it doesn't really bother me. I don't particularly feel an overpowering need to "talkbass" but I really like this site so I don't need any more when I'm offline There's also the possibilty that you have met people who play bass but don't realyl talk about it. If I talk to someone I don't know about music, I generally focus on the software I use for the music I make... because I'm not in a band, I tend to to refer to myself as a 'bassist' any more.
...but I do love talking about music. I just don't need bass-players I like talking to guitarists and drummers and I respect anybody who plays an instrument.
To go one further, I immediately (and secretly) fall in love with anybody who reveals themselves to be multi-instrumentalists

[Audiophage]

I didn't really know any other bassists until I went to college. My first teacher was even technically a guitar player.

Also, there is usually nothing wrong with having two bands, I'm in 2 and most of the people in my bands are in other bands as well.

[Mr. Lovejoy]

Originally Posted by CiaranDuffy

It's not so surprising though when you think of how it's not exactly established as a solo instrument. The people who choose to take up the bass are rarely the same kind of person who wants to be the singer/songwriter type, the lone person on the stage.
Add to this the amount of times you hear of a guitarist or whatever who was forced to play bass because he was in a band with better guitarists and no bassist.
Which is sad, but it almost always transpires that that kind of person is converted and falls in love with the instrument.... how could you not?
I agree that you rarely meet someone who plays bass but it doesn't really bother me. I don't particularly feel an overpowering need to "talkbass" but I really like this site so I don't need any more when I'm offline There's also the possibilty that you have met people who play bass but don't realyl talk about it. If I talk to someone I don't know about music, I generally focus on the software I use for the music I make... because I'm not in a band, I tend to to refer to myself as a 'bassist' any more.
...but I do love talking about music. I just don't need bass-players I like talking to guitarists and drummers and I respect anybody who plays an instrument.
To go one further, I immediately (and secretly) fall in love with anybody who reveals themselves to be multi-instrumentalists

We do need more solo Bassists.

Originally Posted by Audiophage

I didn't really know any other bassists until I went to college. My first teacher was even technically a guitar player.

Also, there is usually nothing wrong with having two bands, I'm in 2 and most of the people in my bands are in other bands as well.

I have 3