First post, old guy thinking about playing bass??

[Old gold]

I started playing several years ago at age 70 with no musical background. Been through a few basses, and only have one long scale left and four short scale basses. For noodling around, I have a Fender Kingman acoustic. I can also plug it in if I want. My electric short scales are a SBMM (stingray), a Hofner Club Ignition, and a heavily modded Glarry P bass. I use two amps; a 25 watt Fender and 40 watt Fender rumble studio. The rumble studio lets me play with a bunch of tones. I’ve learned to stay away from heavy basses. I find bass playing a very positive time sink. I’ve also learned to read music (bass clef) and do a bit of work on my basses. Probably the best thing I’ve done since retiring. Enjoy!

 

[DaDo625]

I started eight years ago, just shy of my 61st. Plan was to try it out, I did get help with a loaner bass, guidance to take lessons.
Three months in and the instructor tells me to get out and open mic or find a guitar player to jam with or join a church band as a backup.
Jam partner's old band gets back together and they ask me to be the bass player...

Take some lessons to help you with form, find someone to jam with sooner rather than later.
Practice amps with mp3 in (backing track) headphone out (quiet practice) and line/DI out (recording, PA support) (I think the Rumble 40 does all of this) And you can't go wrong with a P Bass.

Playing out in Biker/Dive Bars was not on my list of things that might happen when it started...

 

[SunByrne]

I started 5 1/2 years ago at the tender age of 49. Never too old to start.

I'm going to buck the trend and say don't necessarily start with a P bass. I never would have kept it if I had started with a P bass—I don't like thick necks like that. Or at least I didn't. I can handle thicker necks now, though they still aren't my preference—StingRay neck is about as thick as I am happy with.

So definitely go to a store—living near Nashville will make this easy—and try a bunch of basses with different necks, and find one that's comfortable for you.

 

[mrjim123]

Go to music stores and play at last a few basses in each store. I'd suggest a Precision, a Jazz, maybe a Stingray, and an Ibanez SR series (for a really different neck feel). Maybe one bass will speak to you more than the others.

 

[Diminishedfilth]

Never too late to start getting old (like myself), so why should it be for anything else? I vote go for it!

 

[Thunderthumbs73]

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.

You're in luck. When I started about 30 years ago, there was perhaps ONE percent of all the great and affordable basses as there are now. Also, for lessons and forums, there are so many great resources for learning and tips- things I never could have dreamed of back then. You picked a great time to learn!

That Precision bass you mentioned seems like a solid, unimpeachable instrument. A headphone amp will get you started. Just to give your ears a break from headphones (like breaks from running mixes, narrated iBooks or anything else through headphones, you'll probably want to get (or perhaps in a pinch) borrow a bass amp- even a small practice one of 20-40 watts, but again... to get started...

 

[DJBass59]

I'm 65 and starting out again on Bass, basically a beginner. I opted for a lightweight full scale bass because I want to learn slap too and I've read and been told short scale basses are not good for slap. I bought a Schecter C-4 Plus that weighs 7 pounds 10 ounces....
It's never too late!

 

[Luther]

I think it's safe to say that most (not all) players have a P-Bass in their arsenal. Having said that I think the most determinate factor, at least for me, is the shape/feel of the neck. As others have stated, you should visit a couple of music stores and at least hold/feel a few basses.

Headphone amp is good for starting out and for quiet practice but I prefer the feel/feedback of a amp/cab.