Naetharu Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Hi folks, I was just reading another thread which got me to thinking about why I took up playing bass in the first place. It's funny really, since its not an obvious instrument to go for. I guess for me it arose as an interested after seeing lots of live music and being really impressed by a few of the players. Also, I think bass seemed a little more 'exotic' than guitar, which was played by everyone and their mother. So, if you feel like sharing I'd be really interested to hear what reasons you had for taking up bass in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 cause I wasn't good enough to play guitar.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I honestly can't remember. I think it had something to do with impressing girls. That part never really worked out for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Listening to music was a big part of my adolescence and many of my friends took up playing guitar. I always preferred the Bass parts in music so rather than take up guitar (and leave it in the corner of a room like many of my friends) I decided to actually take up playing bass and learn to play properly. Needless to say most of my guitarist friends have given up playing or still have their instruments sitting in the corner of their bedrooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Combination of many things, which started with hearing the bass in Seasons In The Sun by Terry Jacks. From then on I always used to listen out for that low sound, without really knowing what it was. Then when punk exploded there were many great players, great basslines, and the bassists - even those that couldn`t play that well, like Sid Vicious - all looked cooler than the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Macca, Squire, Lee, Kilminster. Rickenbacker basses owned...Zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Same situation as Naetharu,everybody was taking up guitar. Bass fitted my level of commitment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) I took it up because the death metal band I wanted to be in with some mates at school when I was 12 already had two guitarists and my parents wouldn't let me have a drum kit. At the time I hated it and regarded it as a poor relation to guitar (to be honest in the music we were playing at the time it was). As I got better I grew into it, started to write my basslines as a bassist rather than just doubling riffs an octave lower. I play a bit of guitar these days but in truth I'm pretty rubbish at it. Bass has become my instrument. I know more about playing bass that anything else in my life and can't ever see myself playing anything else seriously Edited December 17, 2015 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 At the time, back then, we all played whatever instruments that came to hand, or that we felt were required for the music. Bass, yes; sometimes, but also guitar (electric, folk or nylon...) ukulele, mandoline, ocarina, tambourine, violin, drums, keys... You get the picture..? Since then, I've tried to keep a bit of my hand in on any and all of these, very modestly. Bass..? Yes, but not only. The world is a very wide place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colgraff Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I was keenly feeling my lack of musicality. I had tried piano lessons but felt too inhibited to practice where others could hear me. A friend at school had a bass for sale and I bought it off him and I never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Forgot to add my 1st bass cost me £1,that might have helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 It sort of grew on me. As a guitarist I was never into the whole limelight game, played rhythm guitar in an 18 piece big band for years, then when that was over I picked up a bass and it just grew from there. I had previously dabbled at the age of 12 with double bass lessons at school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I played guitar for a good while from about 11 years old, but always loved the bass lines in tunes. I decided to jump ship to the low side in the early 80s just when bass was becoming front and centre, coincidentally. I did it in an effort to get more work - it didn't work, not a sniff of a gig. Then I got a call for a rhythm guitarist post and so back I went. I then went onto to play in a few bands over the years, took an MI course and got pretty good I think, but nothing special (my rhythm work was always better than my lead). Then, listening to Eric Johnson (one of my favourite guitarists) in the late 90s, I was listening to the bass and thinking how happy I would be to play such nice lines behind a really good player and that stuck with me for a good while. Then, finally, in a combined effort to be happier with my playing and hopefully get more work, I went full on bass at the turn of the century; I haven't looked back, although I still play the skinny strings at home, a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randythoades Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) I always thought that the bass players of the bands I liked looked cooler than everyone else... Lemmy, Gene Simmons, Duff McKagen. I always found myself gravitating towards those sounds and harmonies, vocal and instrumentation. I did do the guitar thing though and played lead guitar in heavy rock bands for years but still played bass on and off in bands.Then at one jam night with a load of muso friends, was the only half decent bass player in amongst 20 or so guitarists so managed to play all night instead of taking turns. Really enjoyed it an realised there could be mileage in doing it again. Quit my band and went back to bass properly after a 15 year break and not looked back. Using my guitar knowledge too helps me pre-empt what the guitarist will play and adjust accordingly which is always appreciated by other band members. Edited December 17, 2015 by randythoades Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agwin Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 You know that awesome feeling you get in your chest when a live rock band has the bass at trouser flapping volume AND audible in the mix? Well, [b][i]I[/i][/b] wanted to be responsible for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Converted from playing 6 string when I offered to dep for a band. I was living in a portacabin with nothing much else to do on my day off, or for that matter any other evening of the week. I realised I was a far more competent as a bass player than I am a guitarist and it kinda stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicko Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 [quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1450371083' post='2932151'] I always thought that the bass players of the bands I liked looked cooler than everyone else... Lemmy, Gene Simmons, Duff McKagen. I always found myself gravitating towards those sounds and harmonies, vocal and instrumentation. I did do the guitar thing though and played lead guitar in heavy rock bands for years but still played bass on and off in bands.Then at one jam night with a load of muso friends, was the only half decent bass player in amongst 20 or so guitarists so managed to play all night instead of taking turns. Really enjoyed it an realised there could be mileage in doing it again. Quit my band and went back to bass properly after a 15 year break and not looked back. Using my guitar knowledge too helps me pre-empt what the guitarist will play and adjust accordingly which is always appreciated by other band members. [/quote] Have you already got one? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dicky-Ticker-Guitar-Cooler-T-shirt/dp/B015L5RI6M"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dicky-Ticker-Guitar-Cooler-T-shirt/dp/B015L5RI6M[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I never learnt to play guitar and bass was what was left when my mates were forming a band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Pink Floyd's Animals album. That's it. The sound of the bass just caught my ear and I bought one that summer. Still my favourite Floyd album Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamPodmore Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 Told my dad i wanted a guitar. 3 weeks later he comes home with an old tatty '95 Squier Jazz (Wish i'd kept it now) and a 40w Peavey Keyboard app that was about to be binned from the youth club he was working in at the time. 8 years later and here i am. Liam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilp Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 The Lemon Song Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) i started off as a vocalist doing rock covers in a band but then wanted to make music and write songs, and being a bass player was my easiest route into a band at the time (everyone i knew was a guitarist or drummer) so i took it up. it was only after i started playing that i developed a passion for it. Edited December 17, 2015 by RockfordStone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyguts Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 A friend from school sold me his K bass (looked like an SG) for £5 - that was it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naetharu Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 [quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1450370882' post='2932148'] Forgot to add my 1st bass cost me £1,that might have helped. [/quote] Hehe, wow! Mind if I ask what it was? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 McCartney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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