A question for all professional bassists

[AudioDwebe]

How long had you been playing before you became a professional?

[elgecko]

You're gonna have to define "professional".

[AudioDwebe]

Making any amount of money whatsoever.

[ksandvik]

0.1 hours to 95.4 years. It depends.

[danomite64]

I started playing in '84, my first paying gig was in '86, but I didn't make money regularly until '96. I've made between 2k and 4k every year since, but I'm not a professional player at all.

[Ivan M]

Originally Posted by AudioDwebe

Making any amount of money whatsoever.

Your correct, but you must understand that professional means solely living off what you do. If you have a second 9x5 job then i doubt you are a "PROFESSIONAL" as you still depend on that 9x5 to pay the mortgage.

[AudioDwebe]

Okay...

How long had you been playing before your first paid gig?

[adammccandless]

Funny story. Went to a bar a long time ago to have some beers and check out this local band everybody had been talking about. Talked to them at their break, and turned out they were looking for a bass player. Intoxicated, I said, "yeah I play bass". So they asked me to come to practice the next week and they had a gig the following week. Had to rush out and buy a bass the next day, learn how to play it, and learn about 40 songs in 3 days. So from start to the first paying gig, 6 days. I wasn't totally blind going in, though it was pretty much root notes for 4 hours. I had played piano since I could walk, and messed around on guitar for years, so I knew notes, chord progressions, and was very familiar with all of the songs they played. Just a funny start for me.

[Brad Johnson]

Maybe a year. If punch and pie at the church rectory count as compensation... around 3 months.

[Ivan M]

Originally Posted by adammccandless

Funny story. Went to a bar a long time ago to have some beers and check out this local band everybody had been talking about. Talked to them at their break, and turned out they were looking for a bass player. Intoxicated, I said, "yeah I play bass". So they asked me to come to practice the next week and they had a gig the following week. Had to rush out and buy a bass the next day, learn how to play it, and learn about 40 songs in 3 days. So from start to the first paying gig, 6 days. I wasn't totally blind going in, though it was pretty much root notes for 4 hours. I had played piano since I could walk, and messed around on guitar for years, so I knew notes, chord progressions, and was very familiar with all of the songs they played. Just a funny start for me.

Awww man i love stories like this, funny this is how i came about playing Congas for an artist for 2 years, saw her perform, of course i had a few cocktails and she was looking for a conga player, i said "i play congas" which i did but had not played in like 3 years, 2 days later i rehearsed and i got to play for her for 2 years.

[adammccandless]

Originally Posted by Ivan M

Awww man i love stories like this, funny this is how i came about playing Congas for an artist for 2 years, saw her perform, of course i had a few cocktails and she was looking for a conga player, i said "i play congas" which i did but had not played in like 3 years, 2 days later i rehearsed and i got to play for her for 2 years.

Haha! Thats great! I am all about being bass player now. I love everything that has to do bass, listening to other bass players, reading about pickups and building basses, and what everybody else is playing and recording through. Its funny cuz I think back and wonder if I ever would have came this route and got to play so many live shows, record so much, and have music be such a big part of my life, if it wasn't for a few beers haha! Thank God for beer huh? lol

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by danomite64

I started playing in '84, my first paying gig was in '86, but I didn't make money regularly until '96. I've made between 2k and 4k every year since, but I'm not a professional player at all.

Pretty much the same for me. Played guitar since the late '70's as a kid, picked up bass in '84 because I couldn't play Malmsteen and EVH as good as the other guitarist in my band, and started gigging a year or two later.

I can't rely on gig $$$ to pay any real bills as most of the gigs I do pay $100 a man. I do a few gigs a year where I make $300-500 a night but they are hard to find these days. If I made $5k a year gigging, I would be surprised.... And I gig 2-3 times a month on average.

[Ivan M]

Originally Posted by adammccandless

Haha! Thats great! I am all about being bass player now. I love everything that has to do bass, listening to other bass players, reading about pickups and building basses, and what everybody else is playing and recording through. Its funny cuz I think back and wonder if I ever would have came this route and got to play so many live shows, record so much, and have music be such a big part of my life, if it wasn't for a few beers haha! Thank God for beer huh? lol

I agree completely, hahahhahah! Beer is THE BEST! After Bass playing of course. LOL! To think i went from playing SAXOPHONE for 7 years to CONGAS and then Bass, but to me BASS is where its at man! I am Home on a Bass.

[EagleMoon]

A couple of years before I got in my first band and paying gigs.

[electracoyote]

Almost immediately. At 17, I was fooling around with a friend's bass in his basement. Evidently he couldn't do much with it, but I started to get the hang of it right away. Friend's brother was a very competent drummer who instantly recruited me to begin paid gigging with his band (2 guitars, drums, bass). First performance was a local fair about two months later, and we got paid. From that point on well over 90% of my gigging history has been paid in cash money, with many intangible perks along the way.

HOWEVER, I did not turn full-time pro until about eight years ago. I now make a decent living wage in the entertainment industry. I wish I had the confidence to do it much sooner, one of my few regrets in life.

[adammccandless]

Good thing they didn't ask me if I played maracas

[bassgod0dmw]

I think I was playing for about 1 1/2 years before I got my first paying gig.

I'm only at the semi pro level now, as I do work a normal day job.

[poisonoakie]

About 17 years from first bass to making enough to live well enough without another source of income. + or -.

[sloppy_phil]

I'm not sure what level of 'professional' i qualify for; I do have paying gigs with my band/studio work, but the bulk of my income is from teaching guitar and bass. So all of my money is earned with an instrument, just not all of it is gigging/sessions. how do i fit in, then?

[Marty Forrer]

Took up bass at 15, in a working band at 16, in a fulltime pro band at 17.
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