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First post, old guy thinking about playing bass??

D

Dave615

Aug 24, 2024
8
40
#1
I’m an old guy (70) looking for things to keep my mind challenged. I have never played guitar. I thought I’d start with a four sting bass. I don’t have one yet, so I’m looking around to see what I need. (That’s how I found this forum.)

Looks to me like a Fender Player II Precision Bass might be a good place to start?? And maybe a headphone amp to get started. I’m not far from Nashville so I should have access to most anything.

I’m thinking I might give Josh Fossgreen’s lessons a try.
 
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#2
Welcome! Can't go wrong with a P bass. I'd recommend, though, just spending some time in a music shop and trying different things out. You may not know exactly what you're looking at yet, but there may be an instrument whose look and feel just calls to you.

As far as what to play through, you have lots of options these days. Headphone amps are fine. You can also look at small combo "bedroom" amps, which often have an aux in you can play mp3s through to play along to. My own home setup is to run the bass into a small mixer that my computer also runs to, and use headphones off of that.

Enjoy the ride! Oh, and speaking as a mod, if you haven't already, do scan through the "terms and rules" for the forum.
 
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#3
Another old guy here. 68 years old, played for a long time. Have 13 basses and multiple amps. Not bragging just giving a
Starting point.

I have an audition for a new band tomorrow. I’ll take the sunburst Precision cause with that, I can’t go wrong: at the least, the bass won’t get me fired before I start!!

I’ve played since 12 years old, and just started private lessons last year. THAT is the best money I’ve ever spent on bass. Get the knowledge before or at least, as you get the gear. My exotics are sort of one trick ponies, but if I had a “bass toolbox’, a P bass would be my hammer AND my screwdriver!

Have fun and welcome to the bottom end!
 
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#4
The bedroom anp @hrodbert talks about is a good idea. It also give you more options. You can play it live or you can use it with an external source to have music to play along with.
Another option is a DI (Direct Input / Direct Inject) pedal. I plug my bass into an Ampeg SCR-DI I send to my PC sound system (A Kliksch system), The Klipsch system sends to my DI aux in. I use headphones into the DI to hear the mixed sound. The DI has a volume and an aux input volume to mix the sound. It also has basic EQ (bass, treble, mid). I use only this setup at home for practicing and learning sounds. I live in an RV, so space and sound are issues. I have several amps to use depending on the size of the venue when not at home.
 
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#5
Welcome, and welcome to the ‘70’s (our seventies). Before you buy a bass, check out both long and short-scale. See which is more comfortable, as some older players appreciate a shorter scale. They make P-basses (many options including Fender) in scale lengths from 25.5” to 34”.
Headphone amps are great - I’m assuming they allow you to play along with recorded material. Some allow you to tweak the pitch of the recorded material - you’ll find YouTube recordings pretty spotty in re “concert” pitch, so that’s a valuable feature. Getting started on bass takes a while - hang in there. A couple or even more lessons is valuable advice. Enjoy!
 
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#7
Maybe consider guitar or piano if playing for/by yourself.
Nice to have chordal instruments.
Bass is basically a foundation instrument for a band
Unless you are going the Michael Manring direction :) ☮️

But yeah - pretty hard to beat a P bass!! LOVE mine!!
 
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#8
Go slow at first and be meticulous about your form. Not just so you learn right the first time but playing bass is a physical sport. It takes a little while for your body to adapt and transform into the shape it needs to play well. Us old guys injure easily and take forever to heal. I even do a little stretching before I even pick up a bass. Then while playing If it hurts, stop, shake it out, stretch a little and try again, slower maybe. In the coming months that'll all subside but initially it was rough on my old airframe.
 
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#11
Dave615 said:
I’m an old guy (70) looking for things to keep my mind challenged. I have never played guitar. I thought I’d start with a four sting bass. I don’t have one yet, so I’m looking around to see what I need. (That’s how I found this forum.)

Looks to me like a Fender Player II Precision Bass might be a good place to start?? And maybe a headphone amp to get started. I’m not far from Nashville so I should have access to most anything.

I’m thinking I might give Josh Fossgreen’s lessons a try.
Click to expand...
Never too late my friend. Lessons are a great idea to learn the basics and to make sure you don't develop some nasty habits, like plucking strings like you are drawing a bow..

If I could make a suggestion here. A bass by itself is a very lonely instrument.It can be very to boring learn The real value of a bass is when it coupled with other instruments, like a band, playing with a recording, or even with someone strumming some chords. The job of a bass is to make music sound logical, and that is hard to do without other instruments. Your lessons should have some practical playing assignments playing along with songs with simple bass parts. Like Love Me Do by the Beatles and working up from there.

Hope this helps and best wishes. Welcome to the board. We are here for you. Questions are always welcome.
 
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#12
Yes, a p bass is a good standard. I started on a jazz bass because my music teacher in high school suggested it. It was good with my hand size at the time too. But feel them both and see what you.

I’m here to tell you to take into account how the bass looks. If you think it looks cool and you feel cool playing it, you are likely to play it more than just picking a sensible instrument. As a beginner, they are all fine with a decent set up. But, 70% of playing bass is looking and feeling cool.
 
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#13
Dave615 said:
I’m an old guy (70) looking for things to keep my mind challenged. I have never played guitar. I thought I’d start with a four sting bass. I don’t have one yet, so I’m looking around to see what I need. (That’s how I found this forum.)

Looks to me like a Fender Player II Precision Bass might be a good place to start?? And maybe a headphone amp to get started. I’m not far from Nashville so I should have access to most anything.

I’m thinking I might give Josh Fossgreen’s lessons a try.
Click to expand...
Headphone amps are great. I just bought a JDS Labs Atom 2 DAC/Amp stack. Great entry set and great customer service from John. I run my AKG K371 closed back phones and Sennheiser HD 560 open backs. I use an Ampeg RB115 amp ftw.

Welcome to TB.
djb
 
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#15
Dave615 said:
I’m an old guy (70) looking for things to keep my mind challenged. I have never played guitar. I thought I’d start with a four sting bass. I don’t have one yet, so I’m looking around to see what I need. (That’s how I found this forum.)

Looks to me like a Fender Player II Precision Bass might be a good place to start?? And maybe a headphone amp to get started. I’m not far from Nashville so I should have access to most anything.

I’m thinking I might give Josh Fossgreen’s lessons a try.
Click to expand...
Welcome! A precision or jazz would be a good start. But there's quite a few that are good. So, as already mentioned, go in and try out as many basses as you can and see which one feel feels the best.

And I recommend Josh Fossgreens Beginner to Bada$$ course for a beginner. A great start!

All the best! 👍🏽
 
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#16
Welcome !!! This world needs more bass players !!!

yes , a p bass would do , however , do you have a favorite band or bass player ?

It was my 65 YO uncle’s dream to play bass , and rush is one of his favorite bands. So naturally, I gifted him the signature “geddy lee jazz bass .” This has been great motivation for him.

Also , a lot of the “senior “ players on this forum prefer short scale basses because of weight or ergonomics. The epiphone viola bass is a fantastic lightweight and short-scale option.
 
#17
Here's my 2 cents. Dont skimp on getting a decent versatile amp - I have my big rig, but I also have an Ampeg RB-210 combo amp that I use in the bedroom, band practice and even small gigs. you can plug a aux in to play along - although i just play along to jam tracks on the computer ( you tube) which i plugged some decent speakers into.

as for a P-bass - I found the standard P bass neck too big - the jazz neck is more comfortable for me - so A P-bass with a jazz neck is perfect for me.
 
#19
Welcome. As a fellow old guy (74) I would suggest looking at a Squier CV60s P bass and have it setup with flatwound strings. Next, get a teacher who actually plays bass. There are a lot of guitar teachers who also teach bass but they are not bass players. It is very important to learn proper technique and ergonomics when playing. A nice 3" wide soft leather strap will help and for an amp, a good starter would be a 100 watt combo with aux input to connect to a music source, plus headphone output so you can practice and not bother anyone. It will also have enough power to play along with a friend on guitar. Good luck and enjoy. :thumbsup:
 

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