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For the +50 guys, when did you start playing

#21
I am 54. I started playing in 1971 at the age of 16.
I gigged for a living for about 5 years. When my first
wife was pregnant I had to get a day job for a while
until she could go back to work. I was builing trusses
and crushed my index and middle fingers on my left hand in a gangnail press
(I was rushing so I could get off and make it
to band practice) I had to stop playing for a year.
I got a day job and never went back to gigging full time.

After the year off, I slowly got back into playing bass.
I had to take a box of bandaids with me when I played.
(they had to sew my fingernails back on only to rip
them off about a month later once the new nails started
to grow back). They would bust open and bleed.:mad:
The first few years we very painfull. The fingers are still
missing some of the pad on the tip of each finger.
They still get a little numb and ache on cold days.:atoz:
But I'm still playing after all these years. :hyper:
I love playing music and I don't plan on quiting anytime soon.
Dan
 
#22
Similar story to most here. Started on piano and guitar at 12 or so then discovered the bass a couple years later. Played in a band for a few years doing Yardbirds, Mayall and Fleetwood Mac and some original material. Stopped in the late '70s except for the occasional jam. Back at it again with a new determination. Even got the old bandmates out of mothballs. We're in our late 50s now.
 
#23
I'm now 58. Highly encouraged (nearly forced) to take piano lessons at age 7. Did that for a few years. Started guitar at 11 and bass at 12. My cousin, who's now 60, and I would jam on guitars. Then one day, it occurred to us that we were missing something - the bottom. So I started playing some bass lines on the guitar until I could save enough money by mowing lawns, and other various child labor jobs, to buy that brand new Kent P-bass at Sears & Roebuck. :cool:
 
#24
I think this is a great thread. I am 53 and started playing when I was 18. Never had a lesson and bass is the only thing I play. I always have been drawn to the sound/feel of this instrument. After being away from playing for about 20 years,( married/house/kids etc) I have gotten back at it with a group of guys my age and am now playing again. Mind you I am alittle rusty but I just bought a Squire VMJ fretless and a Squire VM Percision TB from a fellow TB'r. I feel like a young man again!:hyper:
 
#25
I'm 50 and just started playing bass < 2 months ago (something I've wanted to do for a while so I put one on my Christmas list).

I played the guitar about 40+ years ago for a brief time. I hated to play the one I had (plus, it was a surprise gift when I really was expecting a go-kart!). Too young to know that the setup was terrible, and my instructor never said anything. The strings were so high & tight that I could barely fret them, and a bar chord was impossible. When it became apparent I wasn't the next Hendrix, my interests moved away from music.

Dabbled on the piano in the 80's, a few songs & melodies by ear.

Really diggin' the bass now and I try to squeeze in some practice time every day (usually works out to 5 days/wk, though). You're never too old to have fun! Plus, it's a great escape from the corporate world.
 
#27
Turning 52 in July. Took up bass when I was 15 or so....thought it might help me get laid. Didn't work.

Roll the clock forward 37 years: married, 24 year old son, looking forward to retirement, and (most importantly) still playing bass. Still can't get a piece of a** on a regular basis, though.

Riis
 
#28
57yo here - taught the dots in a brass band but never learnt to read for bass as that's never been what playing bass is all about for me.
Got the job in a school band 'cos I could play the 'Hey Joe' run and the bassist couldn't back in '66.
Was playing from 14yo until 30yo 3 nights a week when I left the UK for Oz - then never gigged again. Play just for myself as I just like basses.
Now the 17yo isn't a kid any more I'm looking at gigging again 'cos I keep hearing you're never too old!

PS Saw original Fleetwood Mac in '67 and I'm seeing Mick Fleetwood's Blues Band next week.
 
#29
Been playing electric and acoustic guitar since I was 14 or so. Dabbled on bass. Just got my own bass (a short-scale 6-string Schecter Hellcat VI) a few months ago. Loving it! Just play for the sheer enjoyment of it - every day I'm around. Using a Boss RC-2 Looper (highly recommended BTW for those not playing in bands or rehearsing/playing by themselves) as the other part of the rhythm section and band to accompany myself and enable me to overdub some other parts. Also, using GarageBand to compose and record. And gotta say...sounding pretty good! ;)

BTW, I'm almost 58. Age is just a number. You're never to old to rock!
 
#31
I'm 52, been playing bass since I was 13 (1971). I've tried my hand at other instruments along the way, but bass better suits my personality. And while I've never played full-time/professionally, I've been fortunate enough to have done several semi-pro gigs with pro-level players.

BTW: I went back for lessons when I was in my 40's!

As to why I still play...sometimes I wonder! But there's just something about playing a great gig that defies explanation.
 
#32
I started playing drums in 1973 and played hundreds of shows through my teens to my 30's. Had 5 kids and got too busy to do much else.
Last year at 49 I had an epiphany of sorts that I really wanted to play bass. I don't know where that came from. Seemed like out of the blue.
Now it seems all I think and dream about are bass guitars. Buying bass guitars. Selling bass guitars. Fixing bass guitars. Taking bass guitar lessons. Jamming and even the odd live show.
Life seems complete now ..... as soon as I get my dream Precision to add to the collection.
 
#33
Bought my first bass guitar at age 15 in '73. Played in a few local rock bands on and off until '81, when I sold everything (things were getting too electronic / keyboard-y for us). Regretted the decision to sell my stuff pretty quickly, but didn't re-buy a bass until '96, when I began playing for our church's worship team. Also played in a Contemporary Christian band for a few years in the mid-2000's (my favorite band memories - especially prison ministry), and was involved in recording one CD with them. Still playing part-time on a worship team, and don't know how I could live without a bass again!
 
#34
I didn't start 'late', but started on double bass at age 17. At 38 I started electric bass and have been playing both since then depending on the gig. I bought a '78 Precision first, then built a custom fretless in 1985. For a five-string, I settled in on an Ibanez BTB455QM since it had the string spacing I liked. I've looked at Warwicks, but haven't yet bought one. Before all that, I studied piano for 5 years, voice for almost 4 and then drums for 4 years. Once I picked up bass, I never looked back, although I wish I'd kept up piano so I could at least play functional piano decently. I'm starting to work on it so I can improve.

At 62, I been playing an average of around 123 gigs a year over the last 10 years, although 2009 saw a big dip (82) due to economic conditions in a hundred mile radius from my location. Two places closed (one due to fire, the other taxes) and others have cut back. Hopefully this year will be better. I intend to play for a few more years.

Anyone who wants to start playing bass after 50 I think will find it rewarding. Its a very short list of things I'd rather do than play.

Lloyd Howard
 
#35
Started in 1974 in the dorm at college; some of the guys were recording music on a reel-to-reel and they needed a bass player. So I borrowed one (a Kent) and went from there. I'm 55 now, and I pretty much play in the basement to music, although I do jam with about three different groups of guys and once in awhile get a clambake or similar low-pressure (same as non-paying)! gig. I have never played and can't play guitar, I prefer to stick with bass. I am totally self-taught with loads of bad habits, but what the heck. I love playing and play almost every day. For guys in our age bracket just starting out, I say rock on! :)
 
#36
49 years old and new to the bass (less than a month) and this forum. Kinda a midlife crisis thing. My wife prefers the bass to a leggy blond. Played piano since third grade but haven't been playing much for the last 25 years. Also played trumpet and tuba in high school and a bit in college but that was also 30 years ago.

Started to build some tube amps for friends that played guitar and thought that I should learn something for myself. And I like the bass more than guitar.

I have borrowed a Fender Mustang bass while I figure out what to buy for myself. I will be looking for opinions.
 
#37
I'm 60 and have been playing since the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan show the first time. I whined and begged until my folks gave me a Silvertone (Danelectro) guitar & amp-in-the-case. I detuned the guitar and played with some buddies; we did parties and youth center dances which funded my first bass, a Hofner imitation and a Silvertone 1 X 15" bass amp. I play in a blues band these days with guys in their 50's. It is fun and I have no intention of quitting anytime soon. Why should I? I like it, my bandmates like it and audiences like it.
 
#38
Started playing guitar and bass at 12, now 58. Played sporadically from my 20s up until about 5 years ago when the band I was in during Jr. High and High school decided to get together where we all lived as kids and stage a reunion "tour" (and which has continued on since then as an annual event). The first reunion was such a good reminder of just how great it feels to play music with a group that I decided to get back into serious playing. I'm now in a group where I live, with a bunch of guys more or less my age, gigging between 4 and 8 times every month.
 
#40
I was always playing something or other... whatever was around the house. Glommed onto bass at age 13, never really looked back. I've played everything from touring pro to a couple times a year while the kids where little along the way, and have now settled into a nice 5 - 10 gigs/month schedule. Why would I stop now... or later... or ever?
 

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