Greetings from the Great White North

Amateur guitar player for almost 30 years, mostly playing alone. A rhythm player with a reasonably good ear, I can usually figure out the chord progressions to most songs. If not, there's always online tabs, right? Never got the hang of lead guitar - it always sounded like a bass line. So a few months ago, I decided to give the bass a try.

Bought an entry-level instrument to see if I would even like to play bass. It's a Squire Matt Freeman PB. Online reviews were pretty good. I liked the weight and balance and the feel of the neck. Also think it looks pretty cool - black body and pick guard, maple neck with vintage finish. Bought a Fender Rumble 40 combo amp for practice. Picked up a couple of books on fretboard exercises, and got a monthly subscription on JamPlay. Have been working on scales and modes a lot. Still getting used to the longer neck, plucking with fingers instead of a pick, and the heavier strings.

A friend of mine plays drums in a weekend warrior band, and they were in need of a bass player. He sent me a set list and and I downloaded the dozen or so songs on iTunes and the bass tabs online. Mostly classic rock kinds of stuff. Could play about half of the songs the first time we jammed, have since learned them all. Have to say it is a lot of fun playing in an ensemble, although I doubt we will ever play in public. But at my current beginner level, it seems like good practice playing with actual people rather than just a backing track.

Looking forward to learning more about playing bass and improving my technique. Suggestions welcome.