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Forsaking all other instruments for bass?

Muddslide

Muddslide

Feb 23, 2007
5,284
5,082
Mobile, Alabama
#1
Anyone got a story to share? I'm about on the verge of this myself.

I'm 42 now and while I will probably always have a guitar around for recording purposes, I realize that bass has always been the most natural instrument for me, and I believe I will dedicate myself pretty much solely to it.

I started playing guitar in 1978, but picked up bass almost immediately thereafter.

I ended up playing bass in at least 75% of the bands I have been in--recording and gigging, etc.

I realize I will never be any more than average at guitar, if that, and have tried my hand at many other instruments. I still have some keys, guitars, a banjo, a mandolin, ukuleles and a few harmonicas, but I am feeling the need to dedicate myself. Back when I WAS gigging (mostly from about 1980-1998) I was never in need of a band situation. I was one of the local "go-to" guys when a bass player was needed. I had a good rig setup and had as many gigs as I wanted.

I really feel the drive to move from being a guy who calls himself a generic musician--jack of all trades, master of none--to going back to being "the bass player."

As I say, I do some recording (and hope to do expand on this) so I will probably always have a guitar and other assorted instruments around for that, but bass has been good to me and I want to be more devoted to it.

Is there anyone else here who has pretty much always stuck to bass, or who has given up other instruments to focus on bass?
 
#3
Yep. I played saxophone for several years, was decent, but much preferred bass. I've dabbled with piano and guitar, and still occasionally think about getting better at one or the other, but as I'm not a professional musician, and have a job that keeps me busy, I know I have limited time for music, and that I'd rather be moderately good at one than suck at several.
 
#4
tooloudalex said:
I've done similar, not really by my "choice" (yes I chose it but read on) but because the other insterments are filled in the band my friends and u started, the one insterment I want to learn still is harmonica.. coolest thing on the planet, I want to play it ha ha
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Yeah, I may well keep up with learning the harmonica, but as more of a sideline/personal thing.

I have a few around and have made brief stabs at learning to play them.

The main thing I like about them is that they are cheap and so portable. Like if I had to be away from bass I could still make some music for the heck of it.

Harmonica is cool, but not something I'd be looking to gig on or use much for recording.

More like bass would be my mainstay and mouth harp an occasional hobby.
 
#5
I started on trombone as a kid. In Junior High I started to take guitar lessons, but the treble clef thing was like learning a new language to me so I never really learned to read (on guitar, that is). Our school jazz big band didn't have a bass player so the lines were played on an old Radio Shack analog synth or something! It didn't sound good to me, so I asked the band director if I could try playing the bass. My trombone reading skills plus my knowledge of the guitar came together to have me settle on bass. I have never regretted it!
 
#6
kreider204 said:
I...have a job that keeps me busy, I know I have limited time for music, and I'd rather be moderately good at one (instrument) than suck at several.
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This is pretty much where I'm at.

I really, really miss playing live and jamming/practicing with a band. Bass is the one instrument where I can really hold my own and nobody has to "dumb down" to play with me.

I also prefer not being in the spotlight but still holding an integral position in the mix.

My biggest fear is that at my age I will have trouble finding people who take me seriously. I'm grayer and chubbier than I used to be back in the day and (while it's cool for some people--I'm not hating) I don't want to end up in a band that plays Eagles and Jimmy Buffet covers.
 
#7
SwansonEricJohn said:
Our school jazz big band didn't have a bass player so the lines were played on an old Radio Shack analog synth or something!
Click to expand...

I used to have one of those! It was made with Moog parts but sold by Radio Shack. Can't remember the model number, but I bet it's the same beast.

See, this is what I mean. When I was playing bass in bands a lot, I practiced and woodshedded and learned many styles, etc., but when I stopped playing I ended up making these futile forays into all kinds of other instruments. I got into old time music for a while and picked up fiddle, banjo, mando, uke...I went through a phase of playing and collecting old analog synths...I also gave up bass for several years and concentrated on guitar because I was of the mindset that it was more fun and productive to play solo guitar when not playing with a band rather than sitting around playing bass. But I was fooling myself because bass has always been my favorite tool for composition and while I always felt I improved on bass when I really dug in, no amount of study and practice made me any better on guitar.

I feel like if I hadn't made so many forays off track I could be a much better bass player than I am. That irks me.
 
#8
While I started off and while bass is always my #1, I started to teach myself guitar in 1996. I wanted to expand my horizons because I wanted to write my own songs. As far as my abilty on guitar goes I've always admitted that I'm probably no better of a player than John Lennon was at his best and that's okay. By his own admission Lennon wasn't a great player but he proved you don't have to be a great player to write some great songs. So I'm writing my own songs on guitar and am having my own fun with it. Funny, but when I write a song the bass is the last thing I think about!

Lately I've been wanting to learn keyboards as well. But I'll always be a bass player because I feel it most defines me.
 
#9
Had a drum set a LONG time ago. The day I went to a long since defunct music store to inquire about lessons, that oh-so-sweet 4 string caught my attention. My drums were traded that weekend, and I've been layin' the groove for the last 22 years.
 
#10
I started as a singer only. When the guitarist soloed, I needed something to do. Then I was offered a position in a band as long as I learned to play bass. Now I would rather play than sing, so I guess I did at least back off from my first "instrument" to concentrate on bass.
 
#11
I have also flirted with mandolin, banjo, slide guitar, drums, you name it... but at one point I just had to tell myself that the only instrument that really mattered to me was the bass. It's cool that I can mess around on a few instruments at a party, etc. but when I'm playing for real it's always bass. Rarely pick up any other instruments. Gave my mandolin and banjo to some girl I used to have a crush on. Probably never see them again (I'm happily married now! To a musician!)
 
#13
Muddslide said:
Yeah, I may well keep up with learning the harmonica, but as more of a sideline/personal thing.

I have a few around and have made brief stabs at learning to play them.

The main thing I like about them is that they are cheap and so portable. Like if I had to be away from bass I could still make some music for the heck of it.

Harmonica is cool, but not something I'd be looking to gig on or use much for recording.

More like bass would be my mainstay and mouth harp an occasional hobby.
Click to expand...

Yeah, just as a fun thing, a buddies has a mandolin and it would be fun to putz around haha
 
#14
I have a few guitars, including a nice one or 2, but those live in the closet 99% of the time. I take them out to noodle occasionally (like once every couple of years). But I'm 'the bass guy'. Love, love, love the bass. Zero interest in guitar or keyboards or anything else. When getting together with folks to jam, I always bill myself as a bassist with no interest playing anything else. If a guitar spot opens up, don't look at me (I scoff the term 'move up to guitar'), hire another guitarist! It's the only instrument that still fascinates me in it's flexibility and differences.
 
#15
I don't see me ever giving up guitar and I will admit it here I play my guitars (acoustic) way more than my basses. I feel I am a bassist at heart and it is my main instrument buy I don't feel as musical with it. I need a band to perform with a bass..I can't solo etc.

I play bass in my band and with a group .I play guitar to write songs and hope to soon record and perform them solo. Its a passion of mine to song write. I love bass playing and being a bassist but my goal is being a musician the best I can be at my abilities no matter what I play.
 
#16
SwansonEricJohn said:
(I'm happily married now! To a musician!)
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Same here. I feel so lucky that my wife also plays music (several instruments but mostly piano and guitar) and she is very supportive of my playing.

She used to play in some touring bands, but has sworn off the stage. She's just no longer interested, though we record together sometimes.

She is very encouraging to me and has noticed the same thing regarding bass. Many times the past year she has said "You know, you are a really good bass player and I know you miss playing with other people--you should really set yourself up with a good bass and amp and try to get back into a band soon."
Only trouble is money, but I'll work something out. 2011 will be the year I get back into the saddle I hope.
 
#17
Forsaking all other instruments for bass?
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No, wouldn't even consider it.

The goal is to be a better musician, not some overplaying, obnoxious, self-ordained bass god. :rollno: I mean who cares?

As an aside, I don't know any instrumentalist who doesn't improve after spending some time learning to drum.
 
#18
I understand where you're coming from, but let me say that this thinking is fallacious. There is no need to identify exclusively with one instrument, style, or genre. As Clint said, "a man's got to know his limitations," but if you make the most of what you've got, you don't need to feel hampered. Look at Pink Floyd. Great composers who worked within their limits to create great music that has lasted for a quarter of a century. Play what you like and like what you play. It's the only way to go.
 
#19
I started out on trombone in 6th grade. Still play it in concert band at school and a big band jazz thing outside of school. Back in the summer before sophomore year my mom was in a pretty bad accident and my outer family noticed me taking a hard emotional hit from the whole ordeal (mom spent about 3 weeks in ICU and almost died) and gave me my first guitar and that really helped a lot with handling the pain. Then about 6 months later (mom doing very well) i picked up my first bass and fell in love. Now i play guitar, bass, trombone and am working on piano and looking forward to picking up banjo sometime in the near future. And am in a total of 4 different bands at the moment.
 

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