Quirky Things You Do As A Bassist

[SgtHulka]

Mine is to never have a tuner pedal and to annoy the guitarist to tune me up.

 

[Ostie]

I don’t use any pedals. I believe if you cant get the tone with your fingers, pedals aren’t going to help.

 

[Nev375]

I practice at home in my underwear at 2AM and my youngest cat will often sit on the arm of my couch and watch me. When she does, i'll stop and say things like "Thank you all for coming out.", "I wanna dedicate this next one to all the short girls with facial hair"...

 

[mrjim123]

I practice at home in my underwear at 2AM and my youngest cat will often sit on the arm of my couch and watch me. When she does, i'll stop and say things like "Thank you all for coming out.", "I wanna dedicate this next one to all the short girls with facial hair"...

I sometimes play a song then look at my dog and ask, "Did you like that one?" I'm always met with the same blank stare so I must be TOTALLY in the wrong genre.

 

[onestring]

I heavily favor the A string. Everything I do builds from that string. It's the basis of how I conceptualize the fretboard. Everything else is either higher than or lower than that A. I play it more than any other string. t's just the right size and feel, it resonates with me completely. It's the one note that is stuck in my head that I can tune from without a tuner. It's my favorite key, major or minor. It's why I chose my user name. Even fretted, it's the very best string--man, I love the F on the A string so much. Liking the A string way too much, I guess that's my quirk.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Here's my quirk: I play 4-string basses tuned E-A-D-G. When tuning I tune in this order: A-D-G-E. I don't know why, but I've always tuned the E string last.

What is your quirk?

I show up on time and prepared....lol!

Seriously, I am probably the most unquirkey musician on the planet.

Good thread!

 

[NOVAX]

I eat my cereal from a drinking glass.

 

[SgtHulka]

I heavily favor the A string. Everything I do builds from that string. It's the basis of how I conceptualize the fretboard. Everything else is either higher than or lower than that A. I play it more than any other string. t's just the right size and feel, it resonates with me completely. It's the one note that is stuck in my head that I can tune from without a tuner. It's my favorite key, major or minor. It's why I chose my user name. Even fretted, it's the very best string--man, I love the F on the A string so much. Liking the A string way too much, I guess that's my quirk.

Duff McKagen and Michael Anthony made a career out of that!

 

[GTx2]

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

I keep a soft cloth on top of my amp.....

 

[IamGroot]

My quirk is that I'm clinically dead during a show. Did I just move or are you imagining things? No, you must be mistaking me for that pantomime again.

If they paid you more, could you act like you enjoyed it?.

 

[BwanaDust]

I get laid a lot. Must be the singer part.

 

[IamGroot]

I keep a bass in my bed* . If I wake up in the middle of the night, I practice in the dark until I get sleepy.

I memorize jazz solos and classical pieces that are not intended for bass.

When working out pieces, I memorize the hand positions. For example, Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" uses positions I, III, and V.

I think scale degree, not fret location, when I play.



* Does not apply to periods of dual occupancy

 

[LowDownHawkeye]

I sometimes play a song then look at my dog and ask, "Did you like that one?" I'm always met with the same blank stare so I must be TOTALLY in the wrong genre.

We got this when my kids were young. I still pull it out again every now and then. Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, the Phenomenauts, Hootie, Weird Al, Allison Krauss. It’s a fun album.

 

[aldaa]

I only play one note.

Must play bass for Sunn O)))

 

[jchrisk1]

I pretend to believe my GF when she tells me how great I'm playing...even though i know she can't tell the difference between bass or saxophone.

 

[superheavyfunk]

I almost never use my middle finger on my fretting hand. One finger per fret is for suckers!

 

[zubrycky]

Here's my quirk: I play 4-string basses tuned E-A-D-G. When tuning I tune in this order: A-D-G-E. I don't know why, but I've always tuned the E string last.

What is your quirk?

Me too.

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.

I do that as well since the beginning of my playing days. That's a great advice. I never lost anything.

 

[Holdsg]

I try to smile while I'm playing on stage.
I know, I'm kinda ruining it for the rest of you, but I try to look like I'm enjoying my play time.

 

[Beej]

Mine is to never have a tuner pedal and to annoy the guitarist to tune me up.

A guitarist I used to play with always did that to me, but for some reason never noticed that I always fretted the fifth on E for his "A" and bent it just a little sharp every time. Keys did notice though...

Oh, so my quirk is that I'm a dick...

 

[Winslow]

A guitarist I used to play with always did that to me, but for some reason never noticed that I always fretted the fifth on E for his "A" and bent it just a little sharp every time. Keys did notice though...

Oh, I'm stealing the Hades out of that trick! That's great!