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Why did you start playing bass?

#61
Three people did it for me.

Cliff Burton,
Flea
Les Claypool.

They made it cool to be a bass player, and all 3 of them play different styles. Made me look deeper into different styles of playing (especially Flea since his main influence was Jazz-he was originally a trumpeter, but the Chili's needed a bass player).
 
#62
AerospaceGuy said:
This sounds like such stereotypical BS lol.. but I started playing bass because a friend of mine Played Jaco's self titled album for me. I bought a bass and amp 2 days later lol. And now own 17 Jaco albums! lol and working on his entire catalog
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No. You heard something that *inspired* you so much that you had to be a part of it. Nothing that is "stereotypical BS" about it - every single musician was inspired by something - just like you.

Skel
 
#63
CBBass123 said:
I told Santa I wanted a Sega Genesis...and Santa brought me a four string Yamaha w/ a 10" Peavey Amp (my father was a bass player ;))...though owner of bigger and better bass equipment, I'm still waiting for my Sega Genesis...
Click to expand...

Guys, can we all pitch in and get this guy a Sega Genesis? Ha Ha! Actually, Tom Bowlus probably has one built into one of his cabinets.

Skel
 
#64
Skel said:
No. You heard something that *inspired* you so much that you had to be a part of it. Nothing that is "stereotypical BS" about it - every single musician was inspired by something - just like you.

Skel
Click to expand...



Well it is stereotypical since you started playing bass like all of us.:D

but its most definitly NOT BS because its a great story:bassist:
 
#65
I was heavily influenced by my older brother (ten years older) who played and hung out with an area band.

I was only about eight years old or so, and my brother gave me his acoustic guitar that he made into an electric (added a strat pickguard and pickups to it). I plunked around on it and could play stuff by ear.

My brother had the original Beatles and Rolling Stones 45's lying around so I started playing to those. I liked Paul McCartney and played along...not even knowing he played bass (as I didn't even know what a bass was...I thought they were all guitars).

So, I started on the bass, by playing it on a guitar...playing along to a bass player's licks...thinking he played guitar.

Go figure!
 
#66
Sundogue said:
I was heavily influenced by my older brother (ten years older) who played and hung out with an area band.

I was only about eight years old or so, and my brother gave me his acoustic guitar that he made into an electric (added a strat pickguard and pickups to it). I plunked around on it and could play stuff by ear.

My brother had the original Beatles and Rolling Stones 45's lying around so I started playing to those. I liked Paul McCartney and played along...not even knowing he played bass (as I didn't even know what a bass was...I thought they were all guitars).

So, I started on the bass, by playing it on a guitar...playing along to a bass player's licks...thinking he played guitar.

Go figure!
Click to expand...

All I can say is; this story makes me smile and laugh. Great story! Thank you.

Skel
 
#68
I played guitar for 8 years, then I was offered a spot in my friends band. They already had guitarists, and asked if I wanted to be their bassist. At first (as a guitarist would) I said no. But then after a while I tried it out. I loved it. Immediately I sold my PRS and by Mesa Boogie Dual Recifier for a solid bass set up. I never looked back after that. Now I'm totally addicted to bass. I own only one guitar, and it's my Martin acoustic. The rest of my instruments are basses. :bassist:
 
#70
I was raised in a music family. I started piano very young and then learned guitar. I played organ in my first garage band and we needed a singer, so we recruited a guy with a good voice and I taught him to play bass, which meant I had to learn it first. Just at that time the Beatles released "Nowhere Man" and I was hooked! Then The Who arrived and I had my second (and best) role model. I've played in dozens of bands since then, and it kills me to be stuck behind the Hammond when the bass player is not as good as me! (But I also gladly sit there flipping the Leslie on and off when I can enjoy listening and learning from another bassist with some good, unique licks.) Right now I'm playing bass in 3 bands and my keyboard gear gathering dust as it becomes more "vintage".
 
#71
Well at first I tried playing my friends guitar but concluded I couldn't possibly play one. I have very wide fingertips that make accidental muting a MAJOR issue on guitars-I could never get anything to ring or even play the simplest chords because of my fingertips :bawl:. Then one day he brought over a bass, ...and I found I could actually play this one. String spacing wasn't a problem and, best of all, it felt really natural. He let me borrow the bass for about a month and then he had to take it back to it's owner. Two months later I asked for one for christmas.

More reasons I choose bass over guitar:
-You see guitars and guitarists everywhere, and I am the kind of person whole likes being different.
-I was big into Black Sabbath at the time, and I thought Geezer's N.I.B. intro was just awsome.
-Eventually a buddy of mine got me into Metallica and I loved Cliff Burtons style.

I orignally wanted the same thing a lot of people getting into music want: lead guitar :hiding:.

But I ended up getting into something much better and less common: lead bass :bassist:.
 
#72
I played trumpet, baritone, and piano from about 10-15 years of age. I played trumpet/baritone in the school band and orchestra. I was like 13 and one day at orchestra practice our tuba player wasn't playing tuba - he'd brought in a bass/amp at the conductor's request. I don't think I'd ever seen a bass (or even knew what it was) but after hearing it, I fell in love with the sound. From that day on, I wanted a bass. I bugged my parents for two years for a bass before they finally broke down - been lovin' it ever since.
 
#75
back in the mid eighties, Arsenio Hall had Stanley Clarke playing bass with Gregory Hines tap dancing on his show. It was some selections off of ...If this bass could only talk.. After seeing that episode, I bought a Mako p-bass that I found used in the paper.
 
#76
j-raj said:
back in the mid eighties, Arsenio Hall had Stanley Clarke playing bass with Gregory Hines tap dancing on his show. It was some selections off of ...If this bass could only talk.. After seeing that episode, I bought a Mako p-bass that I found used in the paper.
Click to expand...

j-raj, thanks for telling us your story. I just wanted to say that I don't know what happened, but the moderators on TB are SO much cooler lately. Thanks for being so "open minded". I personally LOVE reading everybody's story, and just as I thought, the reasons are so unique and really, priceless.

Skel
 
#77
I played guitar originally, but not that well. Also some bass with a pick, just for fun.

Then some guys lost their guitar player, the bassist switched back to guitar (which is his main instrument). "I've got a bass", I said and got the job eventually. After that I realized that bass is a great instrument, more natural for me and started taking it seriously. Haven't looked back since. Switched to fingerplaying after the first gig.

(But I still play the guitar almost as much as the bass, because I still want to be James Hetfield :p)

That's it.
 
#78
Always wanted to play bass, never held any guitar aspirations at all.
The seeds were sown when I was about 4, watching the Bohemian Rhapsody vid - You know the 'Mama, just killed a man' bit, my Dad points out to me what is making that deep,warm throb behind the vocal and piano.

"That's the bass!", he says. No turning back.:bassist:

A few years later, I got the Who's 'Who's Better, Who's Best' vid for my 8th birthday,and Entwistle's My Generation solo just blew me away with it's virtuosity and growling distortion. Cue years of drawing crude P-bass shapes on anything I could find!

Of course, there have been many more since but these are my 'light-bulb' moments and made me the player I am.
 
#79
Well in the summer of '04, my friends were all getting into bands and virtually everyone of them played guitar. Some played drums and only one played Bass. To be honest, I wanted to play the guitar too but my friend said more Bassists in the area were needed.

So on his word, I asked for one on my birthday and I received a Westfield B1000 which I still use today. After that, I couldn't ever think why I'd want to play a guitar and I played it solidly for a year and now I'm the best in my whole school along with my sole Bassist friend.:)
 
#80
I played guitar in grammar school, and trumpet/baritone in high school.

My brother listened to alot of rock - my sister disco/soul. My bro would always point out the bass lines -and with groups such as Rush, Kansas, Cheap Trick. Heard great lines in my sis's music (Earth Wind and Fire, etc). So thru early teen years I always wanted to play bass - it looked and sounded cool.

Finally in my first year of college I saved up and bought a Fender MIJ P-bass (which I still have) and a Polytone amp. I was hooked - beyond hooked. Now play in a cover/party band having a blast. 16 years and counting. No other instrument I'd rather play.
 

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