Don't you ever wish you played flute?

[theshadow2001]

If someone gives a stupid remark like "thats a big guitar" or "how do you fit that thing under your neck?" You could stop and tell them its a double bass then launch straight into a 10 minute overly enthusiastuc presentation on the double bass it's origins, its purpose, its place in music history and todays world of music. Including hand outs and diagrams. That would shut them up nicely

(They would probably then go home and tell their friends about how some guy wouldn't shut up about his giant guitar )

[PaulCannon]

I like the pamphlet idea. Have a stack of them on hand for the different standard questions/comments, such as:

"No, I don't wish I played flute. Unlike you, I still have my testicles."

"Yes, it is annoying to carry around, but not as annoying as you."

"For the love of God, this isn't a Guitar. Stop pretending to be clever and keep your f***ing retarded comments to yourself."

You wouldn't even have to say anything. As soon as they open their mouths, just select the appropriate card and walk away.

[mcnaire2004]

Great idea, I'm actualy going to do the pamplet thing. Sad you'll tell them what it is and they'll still think it's something else. It's worse for viola's lol every thing is worse for them.

We discussed this in a sectional last year (CSO principal does CYSO sectionals) and one of our basses (a girl) said she loves to lift it up with one hand to wow people.

[Three33]

Originally Posted by PaulCannon

I like the pamphlet idea. Have a stack of them on hand for the different standard questions/comments, such as:

"No, I don't wish I played flute. Unlike you, I still have my testicles."

"Yes, it is annoying to carry around, but not as annoying as you."

"For the love of God, this isn't a Guitar. Stop pretending to be clever and keep your f***ing retarded comments to yourself."

You wouldn't even have to say anything. As soon as they open their mouths, just select the appropriate card and walk away.

that is an awesome idea, that would be priceless.

i keep getting, "danm that's a big fiddle"

[thebasswizard]

Not a bad idea with the pamphlets.

What I used to get is, "Why do they give the smallest person the biggest instrument?" Nowadays, it's mostly the generic, "Why didn't you pick violin?"

[pklima]

Saturday on the way to a gig one drunk bum recoginized what I was carrying but his friend asked "where do they make such big guitars?" I came back with "they don't make them anymore, the guy who made it killed himself". Which is true - I have an Otto Rubner bass. And it makes people a lot less interested in continuing the conversation.

[Holly Wright]

Originally Posted by Three33

that is an awesome idea, that would be priceless.

i keep getting, "danm that's a big fiddle"

Tell them they can continue to call it a fiddle if they can stick between their neck and play Paganini.

[tbassist4]

For our school's spring choir concert (It's the "pop" concert equivalent) I was asked to play upright for some of the songs. Haha, I'm in the choir and I end up playing bass more when its needed...haha anways, afterwards I was packing up my bass and waiting by the elevator, and an elderly lady walked up to me, in a pink grandma dress and walker and all, and said "It adds so much to have a bass fiddle."

That was my favorite comment ever. It wasn't even the compliment that I liked, it was the fact that this old grandma knew exactly what it was. I just imagined her stomping her foot to some bluegrass music. The rest of the comments of the night were all along the lines of the others. I will always remember that bluegrass grandma.

[Dave Whitla]

Years ago I was walking with two other bassists to a rehearsal, all of us carrying basses. We passed a guitarist walking the other way and one of us said to him, "That's a pretty small double bass you've got there!" He looked at us like we were from Mars, but we thought it was hysterical.

[Aaron Saunders]

[sixbelow]

i was asked once:

"what the hell is that thing? a coffin on wheels? you could have a dead body in there."

so i said:

"you wanna find out?"

"no"



i laughed

[Louielou]

Originally Posted by jgbass

I always get the comment "you should have played picollo."

I get that allllll the time too, like "In Heaven we all just play piccolo" or something like that. Honestly though I have four basses in my house right now, because I am trying out 2 and I might be buying one of them, and my gosh, they take up sooo much space. That room is now officially for basses only.
Louie

[GriffithLea]

I think the thing that always made me think "what idiots" the most was when other kids in school would, upon seeing me carrying my bass, strike an over-the-top bass playing pose complete with goofy expression and bulging eyes, and go "a-boom-boom-boom-boom..." .

That was decades ago, but even so I was carrying my bass yesterday in the downtown tunnel in Houston, and I swear there were a couple of dolts who almost did this, but restrained themselves at the last minute.

On the bright side, a little later there was a lady who asked if it was a cello, but in a nice way, like she actually cared to know whether or not her hunch was correct.

[barebones]

Originally Posted by Mike Goodbar

Harvey Phillips told me he carried his sousaphone on a bike when he was a kid; he said it acted as a sail and if he caught a good wind he'd make it home in record time. So I guess sousaphone players have got that going for them. Which is good.

Well... record time for a sousaphone player maybe. Remember, those guys are typically about three times the size of the average band geek.

(I was a band geek myself, by the way. Trumpet player. Much smaller than the sousaphone players.)

Matt

[Zachmozach]

I've only had one person say "that's a big guitar" and I just said, yeah but it's not how big it is it's how you use it.

[MonetBass]

[quote]"No, I don't wish I played flute. Unlike you, I still have my testicles."[\QUOTE]

I couldn't stop laughing for almost 10 minutes after reading that one. Hilarious!

[vier-personen]

It´s nice to read that people on subways are all the same, everywhere in the world, when they see a double bass.

Once I heard the conversation between a kid and her mother behind my back. the kid said: "that´s a big guitar!" the mother wanted to educate her child and replied: "that´s no guitar, it´s a cello!"

[mcnaire2004]

Originally Posted by Zachmozach

I've only had one person say "that's a big guitar" and I just said, yeah but it's not how big it is it's how you use it.

I think Lemur sells a T shirt that sais that.

[woodsgirl]

Originally Posted by Bethelbass1

I always get this comment. People think they are extremely clever for saying and I have to just nod and say "sure".

Does anyone have witty comments they have heard so often that they just make you want to laugh or say,
"I've never heard that one before"

ANother question I get a lot is about my "cello". Hello, I am not Paul Bunyon...................

[woodsgirl]

I can't imagine why all these people think a bass is a cello...................reminds me of an old joke about size of things..............