What Did You Start With?

[ZedLepp]

I started in middle school on trombone and was trying to learn guitar at the same time (Peavey T-15 that my Dad bought for me, but I think he really liked it). Wasn't doing well with chords at the time so my Dad had a Kalamazoo KB-2 (which I still have to this day) sitting in the corner. He taught me a few things (12 bar blues in E and Peter Gunn) and the rest is history.
I also still have the T-15.

 

[TheReceder]

Summer school classes
2nd grade... Recorder
3rd Grade... Ukulele
5th, & 6th grade... Guitar
School music programs
5th-12th grade... Upright bass in Orchestra

7th Grade... Band teacher asked me to Learn Bass guitar for jazz band.... Girls noticed... I made sure I stuck with Bass guitar for some reason.

 

[ThudThudThud]

Recorder, violin, guitar, electric bass, cello, guitar, electric bass & guitar in that order.
Hopefully one day I'll make it back to recorder.

 

[Mastermold]

Piano at age 10. Then bass guitar at 14. First bass was a Gibson Grabber. Didn't like it. Got a Ric 4001 next. Liked that one!

 

[ThudThudThud]

7th Grade... Band teacher asked me to Learn Bass guitar for jazz band.... Girls noticed... I made sure I stuck with Bass guitar for some reason.

Pffffttttt.......

 

[BSGBass]

I started on trombone which taught me to read bass clef (not something I have had a lot of practice with in the 25 years since high school). I started bass guitar and played in a lot of pit orchestras and the like in school. The first bass my parents got me was a Yamaha Attitude (Billy Sheehan model). I didn't realize how much they dropped on that thing. The sales rep was very convincing, I guess. Good thing I stuck with playing, even if I don't have that bass anymore.

 

[TheReceder]

Pffffttttt.......

Ever see Bass Violin Groupies? I was the kid playing rock bars and even better... ballrooms where the High school kids hung out. I was in the 9th grade with these old dudes... I think they were like 25 years old. If that band teacher was alive today... I'd have to buy him a beer.

 

[dkelley]

I started with piano, then violin, then added uke, messed with nylon string guitar, then bass guitar and marimba (yes, really) finally at age 13.

Messed with upright a bit but not much back then because I was a violinist primarily and was steered away from upright for the high action and left fingertip callouses.... which I think honestly isn't a big deal, in reality, as you get callouses from violin. Later on (young 20s) I played upright a few times with some training from a serious classical bassist, but never took upright very seriously - it's not practical for me.


At 16 I added electric guitar, then synth, drums (25 ish before I got serious with it)... then added Viola a couple years later.... and that encompasses all of my working arsenal as a pro.

More recently I added mandolin (since I'm a violinist and guitarist/bassist, not a huge stretch to learn), 5 string banjo (well, I mess with it and make music on it but don't play it like a banjo player who knows what they're doing), and Cello.

 

[burgerdj]

Junior year of high school. Heard “Mountain Song” by Janes Addiction, picked you the jazz band electric bass (Guild Pilot) and didn’t leave the practice room until I figured it out. Started my first band the next week. Good times!

 

[Davethebassguy]

1992. I was 16. Ibanez EXB300 4-string. I still have it today.

Had seen Metallica in January of that year and Jason's bass solo made me wanna give it a go. Come Christmas, after constantly hijacking my buddy's Ric, parents got me a bass of my own.

Had started playing guitar exactly four years prior. Still have that guitar, too.

 

[IamGroot]

Classical guitar 5 yrs old
Electric guitar 8 yrs old
Electric bass around 35, recording session and the bass player didnt show up.
Upright around 40
Piano around 45
Medicare at 65

And I am still learning something new everyday

 

[2112]

Try playing Roundabout with your fingers!

That's how I play it.

Got my start on sax when I was 11 years old, my first horn was a Selmer Bundy II alto, a pretty standard student horn. Before you other saxxy sumbees start poking fun... my dad, who was probably the best sax player in our area when he was playing, gigged that sax a couple times when his Selmer Mark VI was laid up and made that horn sing. I gigged extensively on sax in my younger years, and while I haven't done so in quite a long time, I still have my Yamaha purple-label 62's in soprano, alto, and tenor. Love those horns.

I started on bass when I was 21... my first setup was a Jackson Concert EX (a PJ) into a Crate BX-100 combo. It was like playing in the swamp: just mud everywhere. Lol. I sold that amp and gave that bass to a friend that was interested in learning to play. I've gigged on bass extensively, and still do. My first real project was a Rush tribute, then I did an originals project, and now I gig in a poverty covers dadband. Das it mane.

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

mine is a common story... started out on electric treble guitar in a 2 guitar rock band, bassist quit, I took up the bass reigns

 

[Phalex]

A filthy mouth and a bad attitude.

 

[fdeck]

Piano at age 6, then recorder, flute, cello. I played cello through high school, and got into a community orchestra. There were no string programs in the schools, so I played flute in middle school band, but the band teacher recruited me to play bass in the jazz band. Over the summer, I got a used Fender Mustang Bass, learned to play it, and became a bassist!

 

[Axtman]

Tuba

 

[dramatwist]

That's how I play it.

Got my start on sax when I was 11 years old, my first horn was a Selmer Bundy II alto, a pretty standard student horn. Before you other saxxy sumbees start poking fun... my dad, who was probably the best sax player in our area when he was playing, gigged that sax a couple times when his Selmer Mark VI was laid up and made that horn sing. I gigged extensively on sax in my younger years, and while I haven't done so in quite a long time, I still have my Yamaha purple-label 62's in soprano, alto, and tenor. Love those horns.

I started on bass when I was 21... my first setup was a Jackson Concert EX (a PJ) into a Crate BX-100 combo. It was like playing in the swamp: just mud everywhere. Lol. I sold that amp and gave that bass to a friend that was interested in learning to play. I've gigged on bass extensively, and still do. My first real project was a Rush tribute, then I did an originals project, and now I gig in a poverty covers dadband. Das it mane.

...I do as well, but had to practice a bit... understand why it's a bit intimidating...

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

Hammond Organ-Upright Bass(4th Grade)-Tuba/Trombone/Drums-Electic Bass(School Loaner)-Acoustic Guitar/Electric Guitar-landed back at Electric Bass for last 35yrs.

 

[BEADG63]

Bought a guitar freshman year H.S. Hated it...sold the guitar and bought a used Guild Madeira that looked exactly like this one:
Never looked back from that point on...used that bass in several bands for a bunch of years til I bought a Peavey Dynabass, which I sold here a couple years ago . I was meant to be a bassist, and still am 44 years later!

 

[stringthrough]

Acoustic guitar -> bass guitar -> string bass (in my high school jazz big band while still playing the bass guitar) -> bass guitar

I continue to play guitar, mostly when composing or just for a change of pace.