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So how old are we....


Staggering on
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I joined Basschat a year ago and have learned a lot and have got loads of help from you folks.That said,I have noticed an increase in posts that deal with-
-vanishing from Basschat
-gigging less and playing only where and when you want,getting a bit picky sometimes
-queries and comments about lighter basses,smaller lighter rigs,short scale basses,less lighting to set up
-not playing in places with stairs that you have to deal with,only playing close to home
-why gig,when you can sit and diddle at home and you don't have to deal with audiences
-venues are closing
-nobody wants to pay what we're worth
With topics like this I wonder who is posting this stuff.I'll be 70 in May and practice daily(well almost) and my band rehearses weekly.We play jazz standards and get 15 to 20 gigs a year,mostly paying gigs.I am still working and obviously we don't make a living from playing.I drive an hour to rehearse and at least that for gigs(this is Canada remember)so it basically costs me money to play in this band.I intend to play as long as I can,I love it,especially gigging.I did my first paying gig when I was about 16 and have been going since then,although I always had a "real" job to pay the bills.I will have a hard time when I can't play anymore-aha,another topic seen recently.Thankfully I'm still in good shape,but of course that can change very quickly.
So how old are the people on this site?Sometimes it seems like a lot of stuff is posted by old geezers like me who want to whine about something or dream about the "good old days".There is another group who are trying to figure out how to keep playing(good for them!).There is also a younger bunch too,let's hear from you.I love the variety of topics in this forum and the EUB and DB forum.
I am not being critical here,just curious.
So can we get a little poll going and see just who we are?

Bob....not quite 70.......yet.....

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... or 2014 figures

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/226298-what-is-the-average-age-of-bcers"]http://basschat.co.u...ge-age-of-bcers[/url]



[b] How old are you[/b][list=1]
[*]between 10-20 (9 votes [5.39%])
[*]between 20-30 (23 votes [13.77%])
[*]between 30-40 (31 votes [18.56%])
[*]between 40-50 (43 votes [25.75%])
[*]between 50-60 (47 votes [28.14%])
[*]older than Methsahla (14 votes [8.38%])
[/list]

Notice that if you are 20, or 30, or 40. or 50 you have two goes at it.

Edited by EssentialTension
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scrub this...

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1453913179' post='2964170']
You could put an actual poll in your post :)
[/quote]

Look at this instead :)

[quote name='gapiro' timestamp='1453913073' post='2964167']
Easy Answer from the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/225622-section-1-questions-about-you/"]2013 Basschat survey[/url]


[/quote]

Edited by CamdenRob
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Thanks for the info,I didn't know about the surveys-guess I should have checked before I posted.Interesting stuff,kind of confirms my thoughts.
How many actually replied to the survey compared to the number of users on the site?Maybe certain age groups have more time to spend on stuff like this-that includes me by the way.

Edited by Staggering on
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[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1453913169' post='2964169']
... or 2014 figures

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/226298-what-is-the-average-age-of-bcers"]http://basschat.co.u...ge-age-of-bcers[/url]



[b] How old are you[/b][list=1]
[*]between 10-20 (9 votes [5.39%])
[*]between 20-30 (23 votes [13.77%])
[*]between 30-40 (31 votes [18.56%])
[*]between 40-50 (43 votes [25.75%])
[*]between 50-60 (47 votes [28.14%])
[*]older than Methsahla (14 votes [8.38%])
[/list]

Notice that if you are 20, or 30, or 40. or 50 you have two goes at it.
[/quote]

Actually, if you are 20, 30, 40 or 50 you don't get a go at all because the options specify 'between'.
Having said that, for those more pedantic than me, and there are some (maybe), a person who is 30 and one day would go in the 30 - 40 category because they are older than 30.

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[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1453913953' post='2964181']
Actually, if you are 20, 30, 40 or 50 you don't get a go at all because the options specify 'between'.
Having said that, for those more pedantic than me, and there are some (maybe), a person who is 30 and one day would go in the 30 - 40 category because they are older than 30.
[/quote]

Correct, so it's even worse than I thought.

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[quote name='Staggering on' timestamp='1453913535' post='2964175']
Thanks for the info,I didn't know about the surveys-guess I should have checked before I posted.Interesting stuff,kind of confirms my thoughts.
How many actually replied to the survey compared to the number of users on the site?Maybe certain age groups have more time to spend on stuff like this-that includes me by the way.
[/quote]

By the looks of it, around 160 out of a total membership of 34,000!! Even if you take the most online figure, that's still 8,400, and there are twice as many people currently online as responded to the poll.

If you think that's bad, go over and visit the Composition of the Month thread :o

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We are bass players, it is our lot to have a moan!

On a serious note I am sure a lot of us still love gigging and intend to keep doing it as long as possible....I intend one day to be able to declare myself as a professional musician (as I put as my occupation on my son's birth certificate some 27 years ago) for that to happen I am going to have to still be gigging when (if) I ever get to pension age so I can justifiably argue that most of my income is earned through music hence I am a professional musician.

I am firmly in the 45-54 age group and do worry about things like venues closing, light weight gear etc but I am still young / fit enough to manage stairs within reason!

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Just turned 50, happy to gig anywhere so long as the gig has no political leanings, either left or right, no religious leanings, and nothing to do with paedophiles. No good old days for me, these days are the best I`ve had so far, band-wise. Only thing I have to be careful with is weight of gear as my back injury is permanent. Nothing to moan about for me, playing bass is a wonderful hobby, and at present I`m having such a blast with my current band.

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[quote name='Staggering on' timestamp='1453913535' post='2964175']
How many actually replied to the survey compared to the number of users on the site?
[/quote]

There is only a relatively small group of regulars compared to the overall membership figure. If you look at the members list you'll see that a hell of a lot of people have only made a couple of posts, and they were probably trying to flog something.

I'm 51, but age doesn't necessarily have anything to do with anyone's current attitudes - I hated gigging when I was doing it in my 20's.

Edited by RhysP
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63 next month, started gigging at age 12.

If anything, I've learned that I'm very different from the younger generations of bass players. In terms of why I started to play, my influences and what continues to drive me to gig.

Blue

Edited by blue
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