Quirky Things You Do As A Bassist

[hopwheels]

I have a couple of weird OCD quirks in prepping for shows. Cord from my bass to my pedal board has to be coiled in a specific way (loose coils that unfurl from the top). 3 picks on top of my amp (no matter how many I have stuck in the holder on my mic stand). A printed set list for all band members plus an extra (never needed it) despite having the set list on my phone. I probably have more. Show prep is one of my last OCD playgrounds. I’ve let a lot of others go.

 

[skygzr]

While on stage, I'm generally wearing a nice button down shirt, usually pearl snaps with the sleeves rolled up.

I'm ALWAYS wearing a t-shirt under it with some sort of Luchador print. It started by accident, but now I'm scared to change it.

I looked up “Luchador”. Thank you for the new word.

 

[SlimBaixo]

I score all the horn parts for my band...

(confession - I used to play trumpet)

Guilty of this as well. I do wish that the brass section at church heard the songs and made an attempt of learning the pieces before arriving to rehearsal. That way, we can have a more productive rehearsal.

 

[Magthegrate]

I looked up “Luchador”. Thank you for the new word.

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You're welcome! And that shirt is definitely in my wheel house for undershirt apparel. Here's my very favorite:

 

[Rogatien]

Non stop yawning until I hit the stage. Yawning like I'm insanely tired. Never understood why.

 

[John Swartz]

I bring a 10" Godzilla figure to all my gigs and he sits on top of my rig.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

I'm on time, get very unhappy when others aren't.

When setting up my side of the stage ALL cords must be "outside" of my walking area. I use wireless for a reason and don't want other cable to trip on. I'm clumsy enough without tempting fate.

 

[GTx2]

I simply cannot stand fingerprints on my tuning keys....

 

[DJ Bebop]

Quirky Things You Do As A Bassist
I play this...

Through this...

 

[Ronzo]

I looked up “Luchador”. Thank you for the new word.

View attachment 3491509

“Sancho... when you are a man... sometimes you must wear... stretchy pants...”

 

[mrjim123]

I simply cannot stand fingerprints on my tuning keys....

What a dilemma! You tune up, wipe your tuning keys clean, and now you're out of tune again. Do you use gloves?

 

[Flashback Bass]

I always wash my hands right before hitting the stage.

 

[skygzr]

I always wash my hands right before hitting the stage.

That’s not quirky. NOT washing your hands is quirky.

 

[Selios]

I’m a lefty, but play right-handed.

I like to set up my 4 strings for lower tunings, but hate actually downtuning, so I run BEAD, or CFA#D# using the lower strings of a fiver set.

Been playing CFA#D# in church lately, too. It’s fun. The other guys in the bass player rotation definitely think it’s quirky.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

I like to put matching colored gaff tape on every piece of gear when I go on tour or do a festival.
that way there is no mistaking my stuff for anyone else's stuff.

 

[mrcbass]

I like to put matching colored gaff tape on every piece of gear when I go on tour or do a festival.
that way there is no mistaking my stuff for anyone else's stuff.

Yep. I have a paint ring on all of my cables so I can easily distinguish them from other bandmates. Don't do festivals or tours, so not really concerned that a bandmate is going to mistake my pedalboard or other gear for his....

 

[DJ Bebop]

I like to put matching colored gaff tape on every piece of gear when I go on tour or do a festival.
that way there is no mistaking my stuff for anyone else's stuff.

That worked for me...until I showed up to a gig where the sound guy was using the same colored
gaffer's tape as mine.

We had a good laugh. I put an overhand knot in the few cords I needed to use.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

When I place my bass back on it’s stand, I make sure it’s perfectly straight!

 

[sears]

Non stop yawning until I hit the stage. Yawning like I'm insanely tired. Never understood why.

Science says it's a way of getting your brain the extra O2 it needs. Nervous or just preparation?

 

[Volker Kirstein]

I kick-shove all the cables away from where I'm at (I'm wireless), double check my tuning (as if I'm gonna go outta tune between the green room and the stage), then thump "Peter Gunn" softly and pace my area until the guitar players figure out what we're gonna play... sometimes the drummer joins in for a few measures... never has it ballooned into a full blown cover.