• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Do you play other instruments? Let's see them!

I am a bit of a cheater here as I am not the real bass player in the family (that's my wife), anyway...

How many of you play other instruments? I'd like to see some stuff here.

I'll start off of course. I play drums. Here's my setup (updated today!):

IMG_20200701_111235.jpg
IMG_20200611_104428.jpg


Mapex M Birch drum kit, custom white ash finish and satin grey hoops, 12" Tom, 14" + 16" floor toms (although there's a 13" in the pics), 22" bass drum
Snare: Mapex Black Panther Nomad 13 x 6
Cymbals: all UFIP. 14" brilliant hats, 17" + 18" brilliant crashes, 22" Vibra ride, 18" Natural Chinese, 12" brilliant splash, 15" Experience Real China + 10" Natural splash (reversed underneath) stack.

I looooove the hammering on the ride and chinese cymbals. They're not just a joy to hear, but to stare at, too!

IMG_20200516_221829.jpg

(Note: the cymbal is not broken, that's the sheet on the couch)
IMG_20200516_222303.jpg


I play in a southern rock cover band in north-western Italy. Still waiting to start again.
 
This was my first musical instrument. Started lessons as a kid.
View attachment 4179877

My parents started me on accordion in 1961 when I was 9 years old. My mother wanted me to be like Myron Floren. She would call me to the living room to watch him on TV whenever he was featured on the Lawrence Welk Show. I got decent on it but it didn't really take and I haven't played it since the late 60's. I also played piano, guitar but mostly bass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kesslari
I am a bit of a cheater here as I am not the real bass player in the family (that's my wife), anyway...

How many of you play other instruments? I'd like to see some stuff here.

I'll start off of course. I play drums. Here's my setup (updated today!):

View attachment 3939430 View attachment 3939431

Mapex M Birch drum kit, custom white ash finish and satin grey hoops, 12" Tom, 14" + 16" floor toms (although there's a 13" in the pics), 22" bass drum
Snare: Mapex Black Panther Nomad 13 x 6
Cymbals: all UFIP. 14" brilliant hats, 17" + 18" brilliant crashes, 22" Vibra ride, 18" Natural Chinese, 12" brilliant splash, 15" Experience Real China + 10" Natural splash (reversed underneath) stack.

I looooove the hammering on the ride and chinese cymbals. They're not just a joy to hear, but to stare at, too!

View attachment 3939432
(Note: the cymbal is not broken, that's the sheet on the couch)
View attachment 3939434

I play in a southern rock cover band in north-western Italy. Still waiting to start again.
Illegal
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killing Floor
Tele Deluxe in Daphne with pearloid. Big brother is a baritone 27” Olympic white with black glitter and chicken heads.
I also still play violin. I love creating with a guitar. I’ve played bass much longer and made a living with it for a while but I find it more natural to write with a guitar. Is that so wrong?

View attachment 4265395
The fbi is after you
 
  • Like
Reactions: Killing Floor
3D67A11D-6921-4607-A1E5-A19715289E18.jpeg

A081EE72-71C9-45E9-8B72-D8BC43427922.jpeg

15ECB8A9-714C-41F9-AAA1-34881F601F7F.jpeg

DA4EE5B7-4AC8-4C06-86BA-E8A9D348B1F3.jpeg

Context:
When I was 8 years old I had a vivid dream. In the dream I saw from the street the house we lived in, but there were all sorts of guitars hanging from the roof gutters, every shape and color and variety. In the dream, I went into our house and there were more guitars, hanging from every wall. I don't know what prompted this dream.

A couple of years later I somehow got my hands on a Fender musical instrument company catalog. Each page had a beautiful color photo of a Fender instrument, along with details about that model. I gazed lovingly and longingly at those pages so often that those images are still burned into my brain.

These were objects of wonder and mystery. I needed a guitar or a bass, even though I had never played one. It took a couple of years of cajoling, but eventually my parents gave in and bought me a bass. I remember setting it on a stand right next to my bed so it would be the first thing I saw when I awoke. It made me so happy.

One of my first jobs—I must have been 15—was as a janitor for a music store at a shopping mall. One of my duties was to go into the guitar room and dust off all of the guitars hanging there. That was, of course, my favorite part of the gig. I don’t think I lasted very long at that job, as my work ethic when it came to other janitorial tasks was somewhat lacking.

My love of guitars and basses has never abated (that and books). I love going into guitar stores and browsing around. I can spend hours online looking at guitars and basses on sites like reverb.com, with no intention to buy--just for the joy of looking (though occasionally a purchase does result).

Over the years, bandmates—including my wife, who is a keyboardist—have teased me about my proclivity for buying, selling, and trading instruments. I’ve owned a lot of guitars and basses—they come and go. Generally, they haven't been particularly rare or valuable, that’s not the point. It’s not about acquisition or investment or covetousness. It’s about love and joy and wonder and fun.

And, yes, now that I’m an adult with a modicum of disposable income I do have various guitars, basses and other stringed instruments hanging from the interior walls of our home, though in deference to my wife, I limit them to certain rooms such as my office and our rehearsal space. I try to keep to a sane quantity—my general rule of thumb is if something comes in, something must go out. If left to my own devices however, the collection would probably explode like an untended garden or the brood of a crazy cat lady.
 
Last edited:
I still play some doumbek (Arab goblet shaped drum). Played it exclusively for several years.
I realize that I don't have any photos of any of my drums, but you can see one in this video. It's my newest.