Bassists "nerdier"?

[EdHunter]

Actually, come to think of it, all the guys in my band have been pigeonholed into the "Geek" group of our Grade. We're not doing much to dispel that though...

 

[ausf]

There are exceptions, but in general, the bass player needs to understand more than just his role.

Guitarists just find their sound and turn up.
Singers concentrate on pitch and key.
Drummers are beat and timing.

Bass needs to make all that sound good, so an understanding of timing, pitch, volume, frequencies, equipment, etc. is more necessary than the others.

 

[J-Building]

One of the reasons why my old band started getting annoyed with me was because of how obsessive I was with my craft. I discovered that they were all saying terrible things behind my back, so I left. However, the only thing that hasn't changed about me since I left is my devotion to my instrument. In fact, I'd say it's gotten even stronger. I think I've got problems when I check CL, eBay, and the TB classifieds everyday the moment I turn on my computer

 

[Late Boomer]

Just a thought that struck me a while ago- do you think bassists (on average), tend to be nerdier that guitarists?

Eschew all generalizations.



"Nerd" is a problematic word. I think you mean it here as a synonym for geek. I was a geek before it was cool. I like that the word "geek", like some other epithets, has been reclaimed and turned around into a badge of honor.

I've been called both a nerd and a geek. I long ago reached the age where I just embraced it. So my band members don't want to hear me extol the virtues of tapewound v. flatwound v. roundwounds, or the properties of different tone woods, or the tradeoffs involved in choosing scale length or string gauge, or the music theory behind the chord progressions in some of the more interesting songs we play? Their loss: let's jam. I'll come to talkbass to discuss that stuff.

 

[perogato02]

No. All musicians who take music serious enough, qulify to be called 'nerd' ...

and no one here knows a guitar player with a love for Gibson, who tries out different amp heads and tubes for that ultimate sound? Starts an on line search for that good sounding cab, maybe slanted...

They just have the same tendencies

 

[Sonicfrog]

I just got done Geochaching..... I may be the biggest nerd here!!!!