You picked up the bass out of what? need or want?

I picked up the bass to be different. I was going to learn the guitar until I realized there were 20+ guitar players at school but only 1 or 2 bass players... so I figured if I played bass it'd be easier to get gigs.

 

I wanted to start a school band with a friend who already played keyboards.
It was either guitar or bass for me, because I played classical violin at the time and thought I could transfer some skills from there.
We found a really good drummer, who's still my best friend and the best drummer I know personally.
Since we had to have a teacher aboard to get the band approved by the headmaster, we asked a teacher who played guitar. He also brought in another guitarist and a vocalist.
So what was left was the bass.
I picked it up and fell in love. Haven't looked back since.

 

I wanted to play the bass.. when i was a young, clueless punk-kiddy, i always crancked the bass in my radio up so the bassguitar would be more audible

besides.. i don't like small instruments.. big boys should play with big toys.

 

I originally wanted to play guitar and was taking lessons on an acoustic....Then "Powerslave" by Iron Maiden came out. I heard Steve Harris and have had no desire to play guitar since. That was in 1984.

 

A couple of friends started a band, and invited me. We only had 2 guitars, no drums, no bass. I thought, "Ya know, I think that it would be easier to play a bass. It only has 4 strings."

Man, could I have been more wrong? Oh well, it didn't matter. The band folded after about 10 practices and 1 gig.

Rock on
Eric

 

I picked up bass in order to be more like a whiny voiced guitar player half the world away - Billy Corgan.

Well, I've grown up - a bit - since those troubled times. Now I play bass because I want to be Jack Bruce.

 

I WANTED to play it. It is the instrument that I feel most at "home" with.

 

I started playing bass because my best friend has been playing guitar for 7 or 8 years. We were having a few brewskis one night and we came across this "crazy" idea of creating a band with our drummer friend. I was designated as the bass player. So I borrowed a bass and a little amp from this guy I knew, learned how to play bass, and then bought my own bass, which I love. My friends and me only jammed a bunch of times in my home town of Baltimore, MD, until I moved to the sunny state of Florida with my girlfriend. I love the bass and I play it for at least an hour or two every day. I have also transferred my skills as a bassist to the guitar (hey I wanna be as versatile as possible). I'll never stop playin Bass. It's way too cool.

 

I originally played sax in my first band, but the bass player taught me the basics of guitar and had me play two songs so he could front the band on his tunes. After playing the bass for the first time I knew it was my instrument of choice. I traded my bari sax and cash for a used '63 Fender Jazz (did the dealer see me comin' huh?) and after a couple of months I was playing bass in a lounge act. That was 38 years ago.

 

one word: FLEA. but then i discovered Jaco, Stanly Clarke, Victor Wooten. and i was hooked

 

I picked up a bass when a mate left his at my house after a party. I quickly realised that I could make a vaguely musical sound, which I could never do on my dad's guitar as a kid, after that I didn't stop. I now play guitar as well, but I'm not that great, and I will always prefer bass.

 

kinda both ....

i HAD to play some instrument for school band ( i didnt have a choice, everyone had to be in band )

but... i always wanted to cuz my dad played and i would watch people play guitars and want to do it myself. so a little of both. bass hooked me, i will be a bass player until my fingers fall off

 

Both..I wanted to play bass, I loved it and everything..And me and my friends wanted to start a band, and we already had drummer and guitarist

 

I picked up the bass mainly because I liked to play instruments, and the guitar sounded really whiny and screachy to me. I picked up the bass and played some notes and was just in awe.

 

Out of need, but not the kind in the poll.

When I was 12, my dad's church split, and all of the musicians left. I had tried guitar at 9 or 10, and couldn't play barre chords very well. My brother told me that my fingers were too short and stubby.

Now the church had no music, so I could pick whatever I wanted. I started on drums, because we needed a drummer, and my brother played drums, so I looked up to him.

Later on, my best friend, who started on bass when I started on drums, quit coming to church.

I switched to bass, out of need, and discovered that I was meant to be a bass player.

Been over 20 years, and I've never looked back.

 

I picked up the bass after battling it out between guitar and bass. I chose the bass for various reasons. One reason was because in my grade alone, there are many many guitar players. Another reason is the my brother had me listen to Victor Wooten, and I thought, if I can get an instrument to sound like that, then that's what I want. I look back everyday and I'm real happy with the choice I made. Bass players are of a different breed. I'm proud to be a bassist.

Then again, that's just me...

 

I saw all of these people around me playing instruments, and I chose bass because there was too many guitar players around. I think I made the right choice.

jtbp

 

I chose bass because I have always loved the sound and the feel of it. Now that I have one I can't be happier....now I just need to learn to play better.