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why did you choose the bass?
- Thread starter zacharyk88
- Start date
Flea... and a real nice looking royal blue/white peraloid/maple fretboard jazz copy in the local music shop, that and no other bugger played bass and I thought it'd be useful for people 
The bass choose me too.
I was a happy guitarist, completely in the rock thing with Jimmy Page as MAAAASTEEEER. one day i bought a cheapo bass to record some bass line under my guitar festival.
And that was the light. bass told me: "STE, I'M YOUR FATHER. COME WITH ME..."..
But when i think deeply about it, the very first thing i ever played on the old acoustic guitar from my father was a bassline. I always played by ears and it's the first thing i caught on this tune i loved (Scatterling of africa - Johnny Clegg) ...
I was a happy guitarist, completely in the rock thing with Jimmy Page as MAAAASTEEEER. one day i bought a cheapo bass to record some bass line under my guitar festival.
And that was the light. bass told me: "STE, I'M YOUR FATHER. COME WITH ME..."..
But when i think deeply about it, the very first thing i ever played on the old acoustic guitar from my father was a bassline. I always played by ears and it's the first thing i caught on this tune i loved (Scatterling of africa - Johnny Clegg) ...
Oh I like it better because of the tone. and the feel I dig the low powerful frequencys. I also the the percussiveness and groove over a guitar.
Well, when I was a wee lad, my church's Senior Adult Pastor had a Dixieland Jazz Banjo Band. They used to have an American celebration around Memorial Day weekend and it would be an amazing production. Well at this particular show, back in good ol' 97, our SA Pastor announced he was starting an all youth band that would pretty much do the same thing as the "Big Band"...entertain, entertain, entertain. Well I was enamored with the rythym section he had playing for them......as for the banjos....meh...not so much.
So after the show I went up to him and asked him if I could be in the band. He asked, what do you know how to play. I politely told him that I was talentless but I really want to be in a band. He asked what did I want to play..."Anything but the banjo!!!" So....Guitar...taken, Drums....first thing to go, Paino....parents weren't getting one, bass....yes!!!!
Now 13 years later.....I can't put it down!
So after the show I went up to him and asked him if I could be in the band. He asked, what do you know how to play. I politely told him that I was talentless but I really want to be in a band. He asked what did I want to play..."Anything but the banjo!!!" So....Guitar...taken, Drums....first thing to go, Paino....parents weren't getting one, bass....yes!!!!
Now 13 years later.....I can't put it down!
I actually bought a guitar (acoustic) first. I had recently changed churches and this new one had a worship team with guitars and (gasp) drums. I had always wanted one and decided to pull the trigger as I was sure that someone from the church would be able to teach me. I told the worship team leader that I had bought a guitar and asked if she knew anyone in the church who might want to give me lessons and her reply was, "Are you sure you don't want to learm bass?". They had been praying for a bass-player and since I did not know how to play a guitar or bass, I figured a bass was good for me.
I bought one and never looked back. It was divine intervention that brought me into the bass brotherhood!
You asked.....
I bought one and never looked back. It was divine intervention that brought me into the bass brotherhood!
You asked.....
Danny Partridge 
Seriously though it was probably the first time I heard "Bassically" (otherwise sometimes known as the intro to Black Sabbath's N.I.B.) I had never heard a bass solo before and it gave me goosebumps (still does everytime I hear it) 
From that point on I tended to listen to music were the bassist tended to play more "up front" than in the "pocket". Guys like Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce, Flea, Cliff Burton, etc. I enjoy all types of music but these are the guys whose music I like to PLAY
Seriously though it was probably the first time I heard "Bassically" (otherwise sometimes known as the intro to Black Sabbath's N.I.B.) I had never heard a bass solo before and it gave me goosebumps (still does everytime I hear it) From that point on I tended to listen to music were the bassist tended to play more "up front" than in the "pocket". Guys like Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce, Flea, Cliff Burton, etc. I enjoy all types of music but these are the guys whose music I like to PLAY
Played guitar but never really set out to be a guitarist. A friend talked me into playing bass with his band, and once I locked in with the drummer I knew I wanted to be a bass player.
My group of friends decided to start a band and all of the other positions were taken. I saved up some cash and picked a bass in the classified ads. I took the two guitarists with me to buy the bass so they could check to see it was ok. They knew about as much as i did - it was like a guitar but with only 4 strings. In the next 6 months i broke strings, two of the machine heads and the bridge. Wasn't until i went to a music shop to get parts did i realise that it was a 3/4 scale Precision copy. Must have looked pretty fun hung on a 6'2 220lb bloke.
21 years later and there's nothing i like better than throwing Rage Against the Machine in the CD player, cranking the Amp and scaring the hell out of the neighbours.
I reckon that most guys my age have been guilty of giving it a bit of Steve Harris when on stage with a band - not so much the spandex and long white socks but the foot on the fold back, pouding away making the room throb...
21 years later and there's nothing i like better than throwing Rage Against the Machine in the CD player, cranking the Amp and scaring the hell out of the neighbours.
I reckon that most guys my age have been guilty of giving it a bit of Steve Harris when on stage with a band - not so much the spandex and long white socks but the foot on the fold back, pouding away making the room throb...
One word: POWER. The bass is such a powerful instrument, I love the rumble when it is cranked. And I wholeheartedly agree with the post quoting John Entwistle. It chose me. Plus, it gets you chicks. Maybe not the last part. I met a hot girl at a gig once, and I married her.
I remember my parents getting me a cheapy acoustic guitar when I was like 10 because I really wanted to learn an instrument. Well, I took lessons for a while but just couldn't get into the guitar. I never really bonded with the way it felt or sounded. So I sat it down and it stayed right there collecting dust for a couple of years until we sold it to a neighborhood kid. I was listening to Earth, Wind, & Fire back then and didn't know why but I was always deep into their sound. Then my dad told me the groove I was getting into was Verdine White playing bass. Fast forward a few more years and I discovered Primus. That was it for me, between Verdine and Les Claypool I knew that I wanted to learn bass. Sadly, it was another 10 years before I actually got the chance to buy a bass and start learning. But I'm glad that I finally did it as I can't put the thing down!
There were a few reasons why I chose bass..
1) it chose me
2) loved the low end sound
3) loved the groove that only a bass can produce
4) Stu Cook of CCR
Mind you, I was probably about 8 when I started (32 years ago). I haven't limited my musical learning to bass, I went on to learn keyboards, guitar, classical guitar, but I always play bass in most bands I form or get hired to play for.
1) it chose me
2) loved the low end sound
3) loved the groove that only a bass can produce
4) Stu Cook of CCR
Mind you, I was probably about 8 when I started (32 years ago). I haven't limited my musical learning to bass, I went on to learn keyboards, guitar, classical guitar, but I always play bass in most bands I form or get hired to play for.
Can't play the guitar. I tried and failed for a year or two, just couldn't figure it out and only foul noises came out of it when I tried it.
I still have a guitar (a G&L legacy special) which is the voice of the devil himself in a real guitarists hands, but I can still only play a few chords and some slow scales, that's about it.
The bass, tho, I can actually play. Just seemed like I could always get my hands around it literally and can on rare occasions actually make music with it.
LS
I still have a guitar (a G&L legacy special) which is the voice of the devil himself in a real guitarists hands, but I can still only play a few chords and some slow scales, that's about it.
The bass, tho, I can actually play. Just seemed like I could always get my hands around it literally and can on rare occasions actually make music with it.
LS
Tried guitar for a year, then tried a bass and knew it was for me the second i plucked the first string.
For me, it boils down to my personality.
Being a bass player allows me to:
1. Be in a more supportive role, which I prefer, as opposed to being the main character - something I'm not good at.
2. Be important by being the backbone of the band without the pressure of being in the spotlight.
3. Focus more on "making music" (quietly laying back grooving) than just "playing a bunch of notes" (showing off) - a big difference in my mind.
Besides, I'm getting a little too old (52) to be re-learning what I used to do on the guitar after a 20-yr musical hiatus! Playing the bass helps me relax and enjoy the journey without the frustrations that often come from the "pangs of perfectionism".
Being a bass player allows me to:
1. Be in a more supportive role, which I prefer, as opposed to being the main character - something I'm not good at.
2. Be important by being the backbone of the band without the pressure of being in the spotlight.
3. Focus more on "making music" (quietly laying back grooving) than just "playing a bunch of notes" (showing off) - a big difference in my mind.
Besides, I'm getting a little too old (52) to be re-learning what I used to do on the guitar after a 20-yr musical hiatus! Playing the bass helps me relax and enjoy the journey without the frustrations that often come from the "pangs of perfectionism".
