WhyAre WE So Proud

[Thunderthief]

I recently noticed that bass players are alot more 'proud' of playing bass than most other people on different instruments. have you seen a guitar player walk around with a treble clef on his shirt..

We have so many very high end luthiers that make basses only, yet almost all guitar building luthier will have bass models.

Dont get me wrong, im a very proud bass player. but why do we need to advertise that we play bass.. to get chicks? to not get chicks?

What do you think?

[Lowtonejoe]

Originally Posted by Thunderthief

I recently noticed that bass players are alot more 'proud' of playing bass than most other people on different instruments. have you seen a guitar player walk around with a treble clef on his shirt..

We have so many very high end luthiers that make basses only, yet almost all guitar building luthier will have bass models.

Dont get me wrong, im a very proud bass player. but why do we need to advertise that we play bass.. to get chicks? to not get chicks?

What do you think?

Need to advertise?

Not me.

I am proud that I play such a cool instrument. I love it. If there's anyone else out there who is curious about it I want to talk to them about it. If there are other bass players in a crowd I want to talk shop with them.

I think that it's about networking.

Bass is cool!



Joe.

[SoComSurfing]

Originally Posted by Thunderthief

...
We have so many very high end luthiers that make basses only, yet almost all guitar building luthier will have bass models.
...

I'd have to disagree here. I would venture to guess that guitar-only luthiers outnumber bass-only luthiers by a staggering proportion. When was the last time you saw a McInturff or Tom Anderson electric bass, or a Collings or McPherson acoustic? On the flip-side, Matt Schmill at FBB has done several guitars, I've owned a Benavente guitar, and played quite a few more of his guitars than basses. Mike Lull, Suhr, Sadowsky, and Conklin are some of the big names in high-end basses that are also guitar builders.

[thebassclef]

I agree with lowtonejoe, it's about networking. Guitar players are a dime a dozen, and it is rare to come across a fellow bass player and know it in the every day crowd. Being able to talk to a brother keeper of the low end is what the "Pride" is all about.

[Bassist4Life]

Originally Posted by Thunderthief

I recently noticed that bass players are alot more 'proud' of playing bass than most other people on different instruments. have you seen a guitar player walk around with a treble clef on his shirt..

We have so many very high end luthiers that make basses only, yet almost all guitar building luthier will have bass models.

Dont get me wrong, im a very proud bass player. but why do we need to advertise that we play bass.. to get chicks? to not get chicks?

What do you think?

I think that anyone who takes pride in their musicianship also takes pride in their instrument. This doesn't just go for bass and guitar. It also goes for oboe, tuba, viola, bagpipes... I know of oboe players that travel to double reed conventions to meet famous players, check out new music, play in small ensembles, and learn new techniques in reed making. Viola players also tend to have a tight bond.

I admire just about any instrument that is made well. I remember seeing a Stradivarius violin at the Smithsonian and being in awe. I believe it was made in the mid 1600's; simply amazing! I just happen to think that basses are the sexiest instrument made.

Bass and guitar are a very small section of the instrumental spectrum.

Joe

[Figjam]

I think bassists in general tend to appreciate the instrument a lot more and have more pride in playing it. Sure there are great guitarists who are cool cats to talk to, but I tihnk in general bassists tend to relate better.

[gwx014]

Originally Posted by SoComSurfing

Mike Lull, Suhr, Sadowsky, and Conklin are some of the big names in high-end basses that are also guitar builders.

Although Mike Lull, Sadowksy, Conklin etc. also make guitars you don't usually see many people playing their guitars. (At least I haven't).

Another thing I never see is exotic wood topped guitars.

[Bassist4Life]

Originally Posted by gwx014

Another thing I never see is exotic wood topped guitars.

How about this famous guitar?

[mrmoonjam]

For me, it starts with the LOW frequencies and how they make my body feel: the percussive impact together with the musicality: tone, rhythm, melody, pattern. That's a physical rush right there. Now, add that to a musical ensemble and "get the job done" in the low frequencies for the song: that's another rush-physical, emotional, spiritual. I've played guitar, sax, and keyboard in groups, and for me the bass playing experience is richer, deeper, stronger, and more transporting. I think its like that for other bass players: they "GET IT," we're onto something that most people, including musicians, don't get to experience. Comes from our unique role in the music and the physicality of the low frequencies. Bassclef nails how I feel about it when he calls us "keepers of the low end." It's like a calling I'm grateful to have.

[superbassman2000]

i don't know what the OP meant by us being a proud bunch...have you ever EVER met a guitar player? or worse yet, a saxophone player? or even worse yet, a violinist, or even worse yet, a singer????

just because we wear a shirt doesn't mean we are overly proud...or at least anymore proud of supporting nike by wearing their shirts.

as for luthiers, i don't think you've done enough research...most high end guitar makers don't make bass versions...and you want to talk about bass players being obsessed about tonewoods, look in the acoustic guitar range of luthiers...or any acoustic instrument for that matter....look at classical instruments...the only reason you are seeing this is because at talkbass you see 1000 people talk about it every day...however, talk to a violinist or an acoustic guitarist...you will find that bassists aren't the only ones like that

[The_Ryst]

NOt too many people are proud of us, so we have to be proud of ourselves I guess to compensate for it hahaha

[mrmoonjam]

I've never met a bass player who was "proud" of it in a bad way. I DO think our role in the music is unique , and that if you love playing bass you GET what that experience feels like, and we all know we share that experience.

[Rattman]

Originally Posted by The_Ryst

Not too many people are proud of us, so we have to be proud of ourselves I guess to compensate for it hahaha

Yeaaaaaaha! Outstanding take on the whole "LowEnd Pride" thing! I'm on that same page!

[Bassist4Life]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

i don't know what the OP meant by us being a proud bunch...have you ever EVER met a guitar player? or worse yet, a saxophone player? or even worse yet, a violinist, or even worse yet, a singer????

Exactly! I forgot all about vocalists!

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

as for luthiers, i don't think you've done enough research...

I thought this also.

Joe

[scourge]

No one else can really get away with wearing a bass clef shirt. A treble clef shirt just doesn't mean as much.

I think there may be a little over compensation for the fact that most people couldn't tell the bassist apart from any other guitarist, or pick out the bass part of a song. So we feel a little slighted.

[SnakeAnthony]

Well. I think its just about being one of the few. You go to any town, no matter what the size, and there will be at least 10-20 guitar players there, or atleast those that advertise as guitar players. In Nashville alone there are close to 3,000 guitarists. I live in a town of 50,000+ people, and in my highschool (the most populated in town, some two thousand students or something like that) I know of less than 10 bass players, and I constantly get asked to jam by dozens of guitarists. I at least feel proud to be part of this small, yet ever importnant, and ever cool, group of musicians.

And SuperBassMan is very right, guitarists are very proud, but I find that in a different light. Guitarists tend to be kind of egotistical about it, and most of them aren't doing it for the right reason (girls, not for the music itself). All of the players I know personally just want to play. They (myself included) could get girlfriends without an instrument if we wanted to, so that just was never an issue. And honestly, for me, I could care less about getting chicks and girlfriends. I'll have plenty of oppourtunities with that throughout my life, I'd rather spend my hard earned money and time on playing bass and then having a girl there to fool around with every now and again . And watch it, I'm a singer AND a bassist ....

SBM also presents a great point with the luthurie. Your probably thinking more along the lines of Alembic, or a large scale (yet still handbuilt) company that does both. Most pro luthiers pick one and stick with it.

[DiG]

probably for the same reasons that this is such an excellent forum community

[Against Will]

There isn't much glamor in playing bass, so if you're going to play it and take the time to get good at it you've got to take pride in it, because people are going to give you crap for it most of your career. I don't know if we're uniquely more proud than other musicians (though perhaps we are if you differentiate between the pride we take in ourselves, and the compliments lavished on us.)

But, if it is uniquely so, I think it's a trait that low-frequency instruments share. I've noticed Tuba guys seem to be a pretty tightly knit bunch. My friend's a bass trombonists and according to him bass trombonists will stick up for each other no matter what, even if they don't like each other--this unspoken rule saved him his job one time.

[CrUiSeR]

Originally Posted by scourge

No one else can really get away with wearing a bass clef shirt. A treble clef shirt just doesn't mean as much.

Ha, what's even funnier(IMO) is try wearing a
baritone c / tenor / alto / mezzo soprano / soprano
clef shirt; the rednecks would be comin' up to you
sayin' "hey man you a earnhardt fan tooooooo"?