Bass Retirement

[William James Easton]

Dear fellow Basschatters,

From the Age of 12/13 I knew I wanted to mess about with loud rock music and play the bass guitar. I started well with this dream, and kept going at a steady pace. I knew I was never going to make money form it but as the years have dragged on, the family starting to take shape and work commitments taking over (rock n roll) I have decided to sell all my bass gear and stop attempting to get back into playing live music.

I have been thinking about this for some time now but the between the options of spending a damp Saturday travelling down to play a gig in some dive in Lincoln (no offence to the town) and being out of pocket for petrol, food and drink or seeing my daughters smile and hearing her laugh as she runs at me with her snotty nose. The snot wins hands down.

My life has changed immensely over the past 12-18 months. I now have a career, and I like it. A family and I love it. Lost 35 KGs got back into sport and never want to be unfit and fat again. But sadly I can’t spare the time, energy or money on bass playing so it's time to say goodbye to it all.

This is not a 'whoa ist me' pos far from it. I turn 30 next year but feel life is just begging but after 16 years of bass being in the forefront of my mind I have accepted I must now be at the back for me to move forward.

I just wanted BC to know how excellent it is and that bass chatters are one special bunch of internet nerds! I have never had a bad sell/buying experiences on here. The contacts I have made have all been decent people. And the thing that really stands out is you are all so passionate about bass and make little money from it. You do it because you love it, I no longer have this love, I’m envious, and you are a credit to amateur musicians. So thanks.....

I hope not to lose music completely. The main thing is I will still be the world’s greatest fan of good music and remind the pub of this fact every time I’ve had a few. I have a keyboard, accordion and ukulele I may no concentrate on in the little spare time I get, I hope I do.

Until next time....

William James Easton


P.S. to break the rule pains me but please check out all my gear for sale. If anyone has a van and wants to rock up to mine with £1000 cash they can take the lot.

[waynepunkdude]

Sad times mate, wish you all the luck in the world.

I have had the opposite this weekend, being at Reading made me realise how much I love it and how I want to play there in the next few years and that's what I'm going to focus my spare energy on, there is something about the punch of an Ampeg 8X10 hitting you in the chest when you are standing there that is just so contagious.

Seriously mate best of luck.

[Dood]

I too wish you the best of luck with the future. We'll still be here, so please pop in for a lurk every now and then! You'll be most welcome. We might even manage to sell you a Bass again!!!

All the best to ya,

D

[Clarky]

Life is all about priorities. I stayed away from music from my 20s until my early 40s and now I love it again (helps that my kids are pretty independent now and that my career is reasonably settled). You can always come back to it mate! Good luck in between times

[cycrowave]

if i was you, i'd keep at least one bass. i gave up for a few years and concentrated on electronic music, but when i was ready to play the bass again it was nice having it there. just my 2 cents good luck

[xilddx]

All respect mate, these decisions have to be made sometimes. They are always reversible if the time comes when it's practical to do so.

You sound like my bass hero Scott Thunes if that's any comfort

[chris_b]

You'll be back....

[Bassassin]

They say you're not done with music until music's done with you.

They're right about that - give it a while, you'll be back. Meanwhile, enjoy the downtime!

Jon.

[gary mac]

Wishing you all the best.

No doubt you will be back at some point, bass love never goes away for long.

[skankdelvar]

[i][b](Scene: A living room in the year 2027. As the curtain rises we see an armchair. In it sits a downcast man with thinning hair. He is idly flicking through channels on the Holo-TV. A teenage girl enters, blowing the dust off a bubble-wrapped package of indeterminate vintage)[/b][/i]

Girl: Hola, Pops! I just found this in the attic!
WJE (for it is he): Why, it's my old Fender bass!
Girl: What's a Fender bass, grey-haired father of mine?
WJE: When you were no more than a wee mite, I employed it to purvey quality low-end thump in popular dance-combos of the period.
Girl: Before we all moved here to the Martian Colonies?
WJE: Indeed. How fortunate I didn't sell it, given that a modern 2000w rig weighs only 4 old Earth ounces and fits in your back pocket. I shall take up my calling once more!
Both: Huzza!

[b][i](Much joy ensues. A chorus line of little green Martians high-kicks across the stage. Finis)[/i][/b]

Edited August 30, 2010 by skankdelvar

[fatback]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='940078' date='Aug 30 2010, 04:49 PM'][i][b](Scene: A living room in the year 2027. As the curtain rises we see an armchair. In it sits a downcast man with thinning hair. He is idly flicking through channels on the Holo-TV. A teenage girl enters, blowing the dust off a bubble-wrapped package of indeterminate vintage)[/b][/i]

Girl: Hola, Pops! I just found this in the attic!
WJE (for it is he): Why, it's my old Fender bass!
Girl: What's a Fender bass, grey-haired father of mine?
WJE: When you were no more than a wee mite, I used it to purvey quality low-end thump in popular dance-combos of the period.
Girl: Before we moved here to the Martian Colonies?
WJE: Indeed. How fortunate I didn't sell it, given that a modern 2000w rig weighs only 4 old Earth ounces and fits in your back pocket. I shall take up my calling once more!
Both: Huzza!

[b][i](Scenes of joy ensue. Finis)[/i][/b][/quote]


LOL

+ 1000 on keeping one bass (your fave). Like lots of folks here I quit for years, and my biggest regret was getting rid of my 68 Jazz. My second biggest regret was the Wal Don't go there!

Look on your basses as an investment. if you don't go back to playing (but you will!), you still have an excuse to keep em.

[waynepunkdude]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='940078' date='Aug 30 2010, 04:49 PM'][i][b](Scene: A living room in the year 2027. As the curtain rises we see an armchair. In it sits a downcast man with thinning hair. He is idly flicking through channels on the Holo-TV. A teenage girl enters, blowing the dust off a bubble-wrapped package of indeterminate vintage)[/b][/i]

Girl: Hola, Pops! I just found this in the attic!
WJE (for it is he): Why, it's my old Fender bass!
Girl: What's a Fender bass, grey-haired father of mine?
WJE: When you were no more than a wee mite, I employed it to purvey quality low-end thump in popular dance-combos of the period.
Girl: Before we all moved here to the Martian Colonies?
WJE: Indeed. How fortunate I didn't sell it, given that a modern 2000w rig weighs only 4 old Earth ounces and fits in your back pocket. I shall take up my calling once more!
Both: Huzza!

[b][i](Much joy ensues. A chorus line of little green Martians high-kicks across the stage. Finis)[/i][/b][/quote]


Or

2068

Girl: Look what I found in the loft, what is it?
Dad: Why that is your uncles Fender Bass.
Girl: What shall we do with it?
Dad: Well it is in mint condition we should put it on eBay.

[gafbass02]

Best wishes mate. Tbh I've started to feel that myself lately with the whole snotty child vs pointless gigs thing. Hope it works out for you mate :-)

[megallica]

Good luck to you mate - take some time out and you might come back having missed it.
Spending time with your family is important, they do grow up very fast

[Machines]

I've decided too that bands aren't for me anymore - the disappointment and hassle of other people became too much.

Now, I just want to better myself as a player and am content jamming to tracks through headphones at home. There was a point last year where I got bored of playing for months - then picked up my electric guitar and reignited everything again. Since then i've been giving myself lots to do (guitar and bass) and I don't envisage it falling away again.

I don't think you need to give up on bass just because you've had enough of bands.

[clauster]

Best of luck WJE!

I did the same myself for slightly different reasons in my late twenties and took up again 9 1/2 years later.

My one regret when I started up again was that I hadn't kept "my" bass - only a mex Fender P but it was nicer than either of my previous US Ps.

[Spike Vincent]

Never say never. I just started again after a 13 year lay off. (Although I got into Electronic music but that's another story....)

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Good luck in whatever your doin'. Best to keep one bass,and take it from there.
As you can see, a lot of us have given it a break for various amounts of time.

I think alot of us are disillusioned with playing in small pubs etc. So many of 'em are closing,
or you have to play the waiting game,bombarding them with phone calls waiting for cancellations etc.

Not sure what I'm doin' myself. My band practices are fewer,and gigs are harder to come by.
May sell most of my stuff and take a course on logic for home.

You may be back . Keep 1 bass just incase

[Fat Rich]

I stopped playing for 12 years when I went self employed and lost all my free time. With the recession things have calmed down and I'm really glad I kept my basses, still love 'em and I'm playing again more than ever.

I'd say hang on to any basses that you're really attached to, but consider selling your amps and effects as things are moving on with lightweight cabs and tiny bass heads, most of them seem to be getting cheaper too.

I kept my rig and it really got in the way, when I fired it up the amp had packed up. When I got that fixed I used the rig for half an hour and my Bassfex caught fire!

I should have sold it when I stopped and bought a newer one when I started playing again.

Edited August 30, 2010 by Fat Rich

[gjones]

[quote name='chris_b' post='939999' date='Aug 30 2010, 02:49 PM']You'll be back....[/quote]

+1

Edited August 30, 2010 by gjones

[Telebass]

Good luck and take care! Do keep that one bass stashed. i never kept a thing, and without a fat redundancy cheque, it would have been difficult to restart...

[farmer61]

[quote name='chris_b' post='939999' date='Aug 30 2010, 02:49 PM']You'll be back....[/quote]

[b]Snot [/b]then [b]cute[/b] then [b]challenging[/b] then [b]tantrums[/b] then [b]school woes [/b]then [b]nightmare freinds[/b] then [b]boy/girl friends[/b] then [b]clock watching at 11pm[/b] then[b] pissed up kids throwing up[/b] then [b]near fisticuffs [/b]then [b]friendship[/b] then [b]what the feck do I do now [/b]then [b]midlife crisis[/b] then [b]bass[/b]!!!!!

[Adrenochrome]

William, all the best with the family, you are rightly making them the main priority.
Is there no chance that you could keep just 1 bass, hidden away in the attic, or in a relative's attic?

If you do get rid of the lot, then I'll always have a spare bass kicking around that you can borrow if you ever need, just give me a shout.

Jon

[William James Easton]

you people are too nice, have a word!

[Bilbo]

I get how this happens (I am not a family man) and everything does get in the way as you get older but that is one of the things I always say about reading the dots. It cuts down the need for rehearsals to a minimum whcih means better gigs with less time spent preparing. Keep a bass and use the time off to develop your reading to the point where you are ready to gig again when your kids no longer need you around so much (because that day will come ).