Why do YOU play bass?

DEbassist · #1 12-13-2008, 05:56 AM

I want to hear your stories. What started you on your yellow brick road to the bass guitar?

savit260 · #2 12-13-2008, 05:58 AM

An overabundance of guitar players.

DEbassist · #3 12-13-2008, 05:58 AM

I myself used to pluck around on my grandpa's old acoustic guitar from the 20s that was falling apart and only had 1 string.

For my 13th b day, he had it fixed up and restrung and there hasn't been a day since that I haven't had a stringed instrument of some sort in my hands.

THANKS GRAMPS!

gmstudio99 · #4 12-13-2008, 05:58 AM

My big Fred Flinstone fingers couldn't sleaze their way around a 6 string.

DEbassist · #5 12-13-2008, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savit260

An overabundance of guitar players.

Haha Good one. Zing!

Lizooki · #6 12-13-2008, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savit260

An overabundance of guitar players.

I play praise and worship..... and with all the music in our church.
6 guitar players, 4 piano players, 1 mando player and 1 bass ( me).

I gets plenty-o-work!

Matt

lamonica78 · #7 12-13-2008, 06:04 AM

I started playing the saxophone when I was in the 5th grade (around 10 or 11 years old I guess?). As I got older and started listening to more and more classic rock, I always just seemed to tune into the bass. I dated a girl for a period of time in college and her younger brother was a bassist. He let me mess around on his and shortly after that I decided to buy a Squier....12 years later, I have since put down the sax and bass is now my primary instrument. I never tried a guitar in my life. Never wanted to. So there's my story, nothing too exciting

BassBob185 · #8 12-13-2008, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by savit260

An overabundance of guitar players.

+1.......fewer bass players = easier to get into a band

kevteop · #9 12-13-2008, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmstudio99

My big Fred Flinstone fingers couldn't sleaze their way around a 6 string.

Yeah I have weird pads on my finger tips, big and squashed like frog fingers - they don't work on guitar. They cause issues up the dusty end of a fretless too.

savit260 · #10 12-13-2008, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEbassist

Haha Good one. Zing!

It's the truth though.

When I started playing bass, back before electricity was invented

, there were a bunch of guitar players around (myself included) and only one or two bass players. Even though I had no problems finding bands to play with on guitar, I thought it would be fun to play bass, as bass players seemed to be at a sever shortage.

25 + years later, I still gig some on guitar (accoustic type gigs mostly), but my primary work has been as a bass player for a long time now.

Webtroll · #11 12-13-2008, 06:15 AM

I learned guitar and while I enjoyed it I wasn't emotionally invested in it. Started playing bass at the request of a friend and it all came together.

Muusers · #12 12-13-2008, 06:28 AM

Ever put your crotch up against your cab and played an open E to this rhythm? (E EEEEEEE E EEEEEEE E EEEEEEE E EEEEEEE E EEEEEEE E EEEEEEE) That's why I play bass

tonynoriega · #13 12-13-2008, 06:31 AM

I had always talked with friends and my wife about how much fun it would be to play bass (not having played any instrument in the past). On my 40th birthday she and a friend went in and bought for me a starter bass......I got hooked immediately and today I play in two bands and keep busy doing what I enjoy most.

SKATE RAT · #14 12-13-2008, 06:31 AM

because DEE DEE was the coolest RAMONE!

Ampeg SVT · #15 12-13-2008, 07:00 AM

because it was big and cool looking.

Also it made a cool deep sound.

israbassman · #16 12-13-2008, 07:04 AM

"it complete me" xD

LCMBassist · #17 12-13-2008, 07:09 AM

Wanting to be different, then as I got older, hearing how amazingly beefy a bass sounded compared to a guitar.

Gplayer · #18 12-13-2008, 07:15 AM

True story..

I used to play drums. I played with this group in the late 70's early 80's and during breaks the bass player would show me some stuff, and I would show him some stuff on drums. So we would swap spots in rehearsals and jam.

The group disbanded and we went our seperate ways for a year or so. During that time I picked up a Ibanez Roadstar bass and practiced constantly while playing drums for another group. I heard through the grapevine that a guitarist I knew was looking for a bass player so I went down to jam. Lo and behold, the drummer was the bass player I used to play with. I dropped the drums altogether and stuck with bass.

Mid to late 80's I fell away from playing to concentrate on college and my family. I picked up an acoustic guitar and just found I enjoyed the bass more. Just returned to it about 2 years ago. Not playing in any groups, just enjoying playing to CD's, and learning sight reading.

Some people play golf, I play bass.

bluedyna · #19 12-13-2008, 07:44 AM

When I went to see bands in clubs, the bass player always had a different attitude than the rest. He was usually the laid back, cool guy.
Seldom could I remember what the guitar player did but, I could tell you about the bass player! He usually was not trying to attract attention, just rock solid funky rythym.
It was like the guitar player was trying to beg people to think he was cool. The bass player was already cool.
The guitar looks cooler with the long neck and keeping the down low requires some soul. In my opinion music is about soul.

That90'sGuy · #20 12-13-2008, 07:52 AM

I've now picked up the bass because I'm a songwriter who lost his band a few months ago and decided "falk it - I'm going to do everything myself!". I was a lead guitar player (and that's really what I do best - far more than any other instrument), but now I'm less about performing live and more about just making music for people to hear (and I'm going to be tackling bass, drums, vocals, guitars and keys).

I gotta give you guys cred - it's definitely a far cry from guitar and amazingly more complex (I don't think a lot of guitar players realize it)!