When did you get into bass playing and why?

[Ajapses]

I was in the eight grade. Mel Schacher of Grand Funk was the trigger. I couldn't stop listening to him and never paid much attention to guitars or drums. Seemed to want to zone in on bass lines only. There was a flood of groups in that era where bass playing had suddenly gone from roots & fifths to counter-point harmonies and interesting rhythms. Oh, and the chicks...except I didn't realize that bass attracts a very small group of chicks and acts as a repellent to most...or it might just be me!

 

[Duder]

I was 15 and had been playing guitar for a year. I decided to join my high school jazz band and one of the other guitarists needed a bass player for his band. I used their equipment and we recorded two cassettes before they decided to upgrade the bassist. Luckily I had zero invested, but it would have been worth it for the experience either way.

 

[Smit_Dogg]

Started off with guitar at a young age. Never really got that far with it as I wasn't that dedicated to practising it. I enquired about joining a local band I wanted to be part of around 15yrs ago. They told me they only need a bass player to finish the line up. So the following weekend I bought a bass (tanglewood p-copy) and a cheap amp, practised every day for a month and became the bands bass player. I found the bass was my natural instrument and within n 6 months I was more advanced on a bass than I was on a guitar in a decade. Never looked back and have all the dedication in the world to playing it to the best of my ability.

 

[gully_jones]

Teens played guitar not very well by the way, 20's simple minded logic kicked in, Bass = 4 strings + left hand = 4 fingers duh no-brainer. 20 or so years later only play 6 string bass D'oh. Circle of life I guess.

 

[static0verdrive]

Not the first thread of it's kind, but somehow there's a great flow to the responses!

I was about 16 (around '97), playing drums occasionally. A friend was going to throw this ol' Mako away:

mako P bass

• static0verdrive
• Feb 18, 2015
• 1

My beat up ol' first bass

I figured I shouldn't let it go to waste so he gave it to me... I continued as a drummer for a few years, once in a while busting the bass out to more or less play drums on it without a clue. Bassists would say I was awesome "like Claypool man!" but I knew inside that I knew nothing. I loved it anyway... Learned a tiny bit of guitar and tried to apply it, then about 3 years ago playing Rocksmith one night I just couldn't stop playing. Got lessons and play for at least an hour a day now!

 

[Deleted member 269102]

I grew up listening to classic rock and blues, and always loved the songs with distinctive bass lines best.

I had seven years of piano lessons and music theory, and wasn't half bad on keys, but the bass just spoke to me. I got my first precision at 17 (still have her!), and never looked back.

 

[theduke1]

The first time I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Paul McCartney was standing alone on stage left George was in the middle and John was on the right and I said that's who I want to be

 

[ryry14]

Started when I was 14 after playing guitar hero and watching the film School of rock. My parents bought me the Squier package with a jazz and amp and I haven't stopped learning since. Been playing for around 6 years now and bought all my own equipment from then on by working weekends and doing gigs.

 

[Facu.DSR]

At the age of 14, I just couldn't stop listening to two of my all-time favourite bands: Green Day and The Police. Those bass lines, most of them I found out ( later on ) were quite easy indeed, but at the same time ... just perfect, and really grooving. I used to hear those albums, and see them videos and just wouldn't feel attracted by the drums or the guitar, all I could think of was: I want to be a bass player !

 

[SteveCS]

I guess my story will chime with others of a certain age...

I sang in the choir as a kid (up to about 10 yrs) and picked up some piano and quite a good ear on the way. Following that, one of my dad's work colleagues was into anything non-pop from the 60's and 70s, so for the next 5 years or so I got 'exposed' to the likes of Yes, The Who, Kraftwerk, Deep Purple, Motorhead, King Crimson, Hendrix, Thin Lizzy, etc. Then I saw 'Tommy' - 'Entwhistle with frankenbass' really left an impression. After that came the '80s with great players like Norman Watt-Roy, Pino, Danny Thompson (with John Martyn) and countless other great bands appearing on TV (thankfully in the UK music on TV was never limited to MTV). In the '80s, bassists and 'cool' basses were 'in vogue' and always at the fore of things. At school my art teacher was a real music fan, and he had a cassette player in his room, so from '77 to '84 I got twice weekly doses of anything you care to mention provided it wasn't mainstream pop. Honourable mentions to King Crimson (again), Mahavishnu Orchestra, Brand X, Sparks, The Undertones, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel. I started learning guitar then borrowed a Westone Thunder 1 to 'try out'. After a week I pulled the frets (shhh) but I was hooked...

 

[OrganicRobot]

Cheap Trick "Live at Budokan". Tom Petersson and his 12 string.

 

[fishdreams]

I got inyerested in "doing" something with music at the age of 15, 1980. I put together a tea chest/washtub bass (washing line+tall piece of 1x2 + tea shipping case), because a friend had one and I had some fun fora while plonking along my favourite cassette tapes (Symphonic rock and Django Reinhardt, at the time). Then that same friend started a jazz band (or our idea of whatthat meant) and asked me to join. It was decided that the tea chest bass wasn't working for our deeply serious rendition of Take 5. So the first bass guitar was acquired.

 

[heynorm]

Early 1965, 14 years old in the 9th grade. I was walking to basketball practice at the local "Y" with a friend who was headed to his "combo" practice. Instead of continuing straight ahead I veered left with him to listen to his group in the Jr. High band practice room. There was a Kay bass and amp there that belonged to the band teacher. They had no bass player and since I had a very basic understanding of I-IV-V, sat in (pretty much without a clue) with their all-instrumental surf band. 50 years later I'm still learning and faking my way through country, blues and rock bands!

 

[Doner Designs]

My son took up guitar and I wanted to be able jam with him.

 

[Deleted member 269102]

My son took up guitar and I wanted to be able jam with him.

Now THAT is an awesome reason

 

[rufus.K]

A buddy who is a bass player was ALWAYS telling me (in reference to my guitar playing) that I was a bass player and didn't know it. I usually told him to f'off when he said it, but one day.... I found an 80s "E" series jazz lefty in a music store for $350 and took the plunge.
He was right.

 

[srxplayer]

I was playing drums in a worship team at my old church and our bass players were moving . We needed someone to fill the role and nobody really wanted to play / invest in a bass or rig. I could play guitar so I stepped up. I never looked back.

 

[lfmn16]

I was standing in Playtogs (1960's Walmart) looking at a Precision knock off and couldn't get it out of my 12 year old head. Then I heard Led Zeppelin's first album and it all came together. I bought a bass and never looked back. I've played keys, guitar and sung in bands, but I always come back to the bass.

 

[orange joe]

When I was 16 my dad bought me a little squier strat and I kept putting heavier and heavier strings on it until one of my friends said I sub consciously wanted to slap it and handed me a bass.Became a big Jonas Hellborg fan pretty young so that helped.thankfully I had plenty of time to practice growing up in the hilltowns with nothing else to do.my folks were pretty supportive and let us hold small shows out in the field.playing bass has either kept me sane or driven me further into madness depending on how you look at it.

 

[Farseer]

I'd always been attracted to the low end since my youth ... after hearing guys like Geezer & Bruce kill it

I got a super late start at the age of 43 when the wife went back to college, & I had some free time on my hands to learn something. People have always asked me if I was in a band, based on the way I look ... so I finally thought I ought to be.

Fast forward a few years, and I'm (now divorced, &) making beautiful music with a band called StarMeetsSea

I just turned 43 this year and started playing. I've always wanted to play bass and thought why not now. How long did it take you to be comfortable to play in a band setting?