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Why be a bassist?
- Thread starter CrawDad
- Start date
I`ve never ever had the desire to learn or play the guitar.Always been fascinated with the electric bass;the appearence,the size,the sound,the coolness of using your fingers 
Decided to do something about it 2 years ago and it has changed my whole musical outlook.Love it....be it a simple root note bassline or a blistering riff.
At this stage in my journey I really don`t do the instrument the justice but...some day....some day.
Decided to do something about it 2 years ago and it has changed my whole musical outlook.Love it....be it a simple root note bassline or a blistering riff.
At this stage in my journey I really don`t do the instrument the justice but...some day....some day.
I'm a bassist, because bass was my first instrument, still my primary instrument, and I'll probably always play the bass. I tried guitar. Too small for me. It just wasn't any fun.
Besides, saying "bassist" is easier than "Didgeridooist."
Besides, saying "bassist" is easier than "Didgeridooist."
I played guitar first, but after a year or so my friend/bandmate convinced me to get a bass because our 2-man guitar+guitar+drum machine lineup wasn't sounding too good 
Four years later, I'm hooked. I still play guitar for fun sometimes and I use it to write songs, but I enjoy bass a helluva lot more and I'm much better at it. It just seems more comfortable; guitar strings are too close together and those damn .009"s that most people use hurt...
I do wish sometimes that bass wasn't so naturally laid-back though; I often develop a bit of a "guitarist" mentality onstage, in that I want to take the spotlight every so often, and being the one without all the flashy solos means I have to be a little more creative to get noticed. Ah well, at least I still sound way cooler regardless
Four years later, I'm hooked. I still play guitar for fun sometimes and I use it to write songs, but I enjoy bass a helluva lot more and I'm much better at it. It just seems more comfortable; guitar strings are too close together and those damn .009"s that most people use hurt...I do wish sometimes that bass wasn't so naturally laid-back though; I often develop a bit of a "guitarist" mentality onstage, in that I want to take the spotlight every so often, and being the one without all the flashy solos means I have to be a little more creative to get noticed. Ah well, at least I still sound way cooler regardless
I actually started out playing the bass rather than the guitar. My cousin got a Series 10 bass & Rock Town practice amp for his birthday one year... I ended up playing it way more than he did! I used his Mel Bay beginner book to learn the notes & I figured out the rest on my own. That was about 14 years ago & I'm still going strong & lovin' it today.
There's just something really special about bass. Besides, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a guitarist or drummer... I think there are way fewer bassists in the world. Someone's ALWAYS looking for a bassist, so there's a kind of "job security" that goes along with bass...even if you don't do it for a living.
On another note, I also have played the trombone for roughly 16 years...I have noticed that there is some kind of weird connection between bass guitar and trombone. There seem to be a ton of people that play both bass and trombone... someone should fund a study on the link between the two instruments!
There's just something really special about bass. Besides, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a guitarist or drummer... I think there are way fewer bassists in the world. Someone's ALWAYS looking for a bassist, so there's a kind of "job security" that goes along with bass...even if you don't do it for a living.
On another note, I also have played the trombone for roughly 16 years...I have noticed that there is some kind of weird connection between bass guitar and trombone. There seem to be a ton of people that play both bass and trombone... someone should fund a study on the link between the two instruments!
I play guitar and bass and I don't understand why people would expect someone who plays both to choose one or the other. If the instruments were piano and drums, or sax and violin, no one would ask others to "choose".
I'm pretty decent on guitar, but I only gig as a bass player. Guitaring is reserved for songwriting and the odd late night drunken party. I like the bass because I like the idea of boiling down all the melodic/harmonic and rhythmic ideas into a single melodic line.
I'm pretty decent on guitar, but I only gig as a bass player. Guitaring is reserved for songwriting and the odd late night drunken party. I like the bass because I like the idea of boiling down all the melodic/harmonic and rhythmic ideas into a single melodic line.
