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Stupid things you've done as a bass player?

#63
Tried to compete against the keyboardist's leslie speaker with an SWR 210.

Bought a gig bag with the zipper that goes directly under the strap button on the bottom of the bass.

Learned the hard way why every bass should have strap locks.

Had sex with the singer.
 
#64
1) Not learning to sight read.
2) Practicing for 8 hours a day in my teens and early twenties, and giving myself tendonitis.
3) Not buying a USA Peavey Cirrus 5 string I came across for $600...argh!
4) Spending so much time playing in my teens when I should have spent more time on school work.
 
#67
1) More recently than I'd care to admit, I had just finished setting up for a gig. For reasons I don't entirely remember, I decided to switch cabs (top and bottom). I unplugged the cabs, moved the head, re-stacked the cabs, and (thought I) plugged the cabs in again (two cords from the head). Turned on the head, walked away with my wireless, and couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting any sound. Tried playing some more across the room when I got a couple of nasty pops. The singer said he saw sparks, and I thought he was kidding. Nope -- one of the cables had contacted the G string on my second base, which was on its stand next to the amp. Burned completely through the string, and scared the crap out of me. Fortunately both amp and bass were fine; string did not survive.

2) Testing out my new Sennheiser wireless at home a few years ago, I made the mistake of turning off the transmitter first. Now there's a piece of yellow tape across it saying "FIRST ON, LAST OFF!"

Trust me when I say neither of those is a mistake you make twice.

-jb
 
#68
1. Not willing to try anything challenging and using that opportunity to grow as a musician and a bassist. (Thankfully, have grown out of that habit/attitude)

2. Wasting time with punks that knew nothing about music and wasting time with guitarists who could not play and instead wanted me to cover my parts and their parts at the same time on my bass. (Rookie mistake, and one well learned; never repeated)

3.Waiting until I was 24 years old to start playing bass. I have grown tremendously in over ten years but wished I had played longer.

4.Unnecessarily fearing extended range basses because of a lot of odd reasons/excuses. (Cured a few weeks ago when I bought my first six string bass. Love the thing to death.)

That about covers it. There have been a plethora of minor flubs through out the years but the above list covers my biggest regrets. But all were lessons learned in the bassist's school of hard knocks and those experiences, whether good or bad, were vital to the growth I have been blessed with in my journey as a musician.
 
#69
I will also add not doing my homework and dropping 500+ bucks CDN on a Baby Blue II combo amp expecting i could play medium shows with it. Its a nice amp but i dont need it!

but also not playing bass earlier. Ive only been playing a year and cannot even imagine what i would be like had i taken bass seriously when i first gave it a thought 5 years ago
 
#71
-Waiting too late to pickup music (been playing 12 months, gigging 5 now)

-Drinking too much before going on (hey that was last weekend :rollno:)

-Not practicing the songs enough (um.. last weekend again..)

-Not standing up for myself often enough. No putting the PA 2 ft behind my head IS NOT acceptable, yes I do need more than 6 inches of space to play, no I cannot play with my bass headstock out the door.. :rolleyes:, yes I do actually need to hear myself

-Playing very very badly at gigs because of all of the above and not sticking up for myself
 
#74
1. Not starting bass until I was 17.. I started on trumpet when i was around 10-11, switched to baritone trumpet around 15 which introduced me to lower-register instruments.

2. Being afraid to start gigging when I had a couple of chances in my early 20's. I should've at least gone to the auditions!

3. Finally getting into my first band at age 45, only to end up with a singer with control issues!
 
#75
Sold my 64 Jazz
Sold my 66 P-Bass
(I was young and needed rent money)

Played so loud that my GK vibrated off my top cab and hit the floor. Never had any issues with it though and it still works to this day.

Not banging my Drummers girlfriend when she showed up at my place drunk and got in bed with me. Hey, he was my friend and Bros before Hoes :D
 
#76
Left my bass in its cordura case out in the rain by accident. It was a dark, rainy night. The practice shed/space had inadequate lighting outside. It was late. I was in a hurry to load up my gear and get back home to study. My bass made it out the door, but only my amp made it in the car. My buddy calls me to let me know it had been sitting in its case, but just outside the door.

Long story short, when I got the bass, even later that evening, it had sat outside for a number of hours. The case was reasonably wet but not waterlogged. The bass was a little damp from the moisture (or condensation on the bass) but not soaked.

I worried the bass was ruined. I took it home and immediately dried it off, and was very apprehensive about it being ruined. Ended up no problems at all. I was lucky. Very lucky.

But...
Stupid, stupid, stupid!!!!

It was the first and only time I left my bass anywhere by accident, or otherwise.
 
#77
slyderhodge said:
I didn't sound check my back up bass for a CD release. It was a flat top acoustic Dean (POS) that was run direct to the house. Bad venue and kicked a breaker on my side of the stage and lost my power to my amp.

So me being the consumate professional. I just walked over and picked up the Dean and started playing. Too loud in the monitor, instant feedback.. sound man killed the monitor feed so I continued to play as best as I could with no idea how it sounded. Forgot that we changed key of a song to make it easier to sing live..... played the entire song a full step sharp.
Click to expand...

:eek: This actually made me grimace--and reminisce... :D
 
#79
TMBTC said:
I did 2 hits of "Acid" just about an hour or so before going on stage...... Needless to say I was peaking half way through my set. That was MANY years ago...Back when I was young.
Click to expand...

I was once that 'young' too. :scowl:

--------

Most folks have heard this televised question put to one public figure or another:

Q: If you had to do it over again, would you do anything different?

A: "Not a thing."

Liars! :eyebrow:
 

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