How many of you all play bass?

[Rock Salad]

Electric bass guitar was the first instrument I was able to get my grubby hands on as a teen. I still play it but prefer drumming.

 

[bassanddrum84]

Guitar, bass and keys

 

[LRod1707]

I played a bit years ago and decided during my current (Pandemic) home time to relearn it. I bought a Yamaha Bass guitar and a Peavey amp last month and I'm slowly getting back into it.

 

[Ian S]

I played bass in a band once, it was nice being up front on stage

Oooh I hated it, everybody staring.. if I wasn't so worried about the next note I had to play, I could've puked from stagefright. At least that's how I felt during the show, afterward there was always a strange rush of endorphins. Probably dehydration from sweating bullets for an hour.

 

[JDA]

Bass? why would I want to move down..
Don't they have people to do that work?

; )

 

[ARGuy]

I started playing bass shortly after high school. At that time, electric bass players seemed to fall into one of two categories - they played well but couldn't read music, or they were string bass players who could read notes but couldn't deal with chord charts. I could read music and had a decent knowledge of chord structure so I picked up a used bass and started figuring it out. That was about 40 years ago and I'm still playing. Drums and percussion are still my main thing, but I feel pretty comfortable and competent playing bass depending on the situation. Ironically, my only regular gig right now is playing bass in church.

 

[daveplaydrum]

I play out of necessity...but it can be pretty fun. I play guitar more than drums just because it’s more accessible. I write a lot and gotta play some bass if I’m going to do any recording. I find coming up with the bass parts is the hardest part...really interesting balance between playing to keep the rhythm and melody glued together and getting creative and making your own individual contribution to the song.

 

[equipmentdork]

Always messed around with it, played on a friend's track in the studio once, but that's about it. I have my brother's '82 Ric 4003 and a 90s Music Man Stingray.
They're both tons of fun to play.

Dan

 

[Dan K]

I played drums for 30 years and gradually became less and less satisfied musically with them. I switched over to bass about 20 years ago and still play far more bass than drums (way more drummers than bassists at churches, apparently). When I moved out of So Cal we got a house with a man cave/music room and I could set up my old kit (Hoshino era Camco) and I was enjoying drums again! I have always flipped a lot of stuff and, at that point, was about $5k to the good in my music account. I had been drooling over DW kits since the early 1990's and stumbled upon a used kit locally that I decided to buy and get back into drumming.

The pic of the Camco kit is about half of it - another bass drum (18") and a 9x13 and 16x16 tom and 4 concert toms not shown. On the DW kit, I am using a N&C 7x14 maple and all K's.

I still practice a bit more bass than drums but I'm getting there. THe only problem is, with the long layoff, my hands are not back to where they were and that is frustrating.

Dan

 

[FlowTom]

My brother had a MIJ stencil drum set when we were younger. We had a ton of fun with it.
I got back into drums to become a better bass player.
Playing both bass and drums provides solid insights on getting locked in from both perspectives. You get a better sense of what's needed.

 

[Core Creek]

How about bass and drums at the same time?

 

[drums1225]

I play bass (and guitar) pretty convincingly, and my piano/keys playing is on the upswing.

I have a MIM Fender Jazz and an Ibanez SDGR 5 string.

 

[T.Thorn]

Even though I've played the drums all my life, I've always had a P Bass in the house 'cause I loves me some bass.

 

[m.clover]

I've played around on my bandmates' basses over the years. Always loved how the other half of the rhythm section lived. A couple of years back I picked up a Hofner Club bass and it's a nice way to relax. I put on some Beatles and try to figure out those classic McCartney melodic bass lines.

 

[Squirrel Man]

Back in my garage band days I could play a few bass lines. Used to be able to do half the Metallica bass solo Pulling Teeth.

I think I'll pick up a starter bass at some point but I have too many fish to fry right now.

 

[Tom Holder]

I’ve decided I needed a bass to be able to fix parts on some of my mixes. I picked up this...
A Squier Jazz bass which happens to match my surf green RC’s.
I don’t play but think I’ll pick it up on the side .

Maybe I’ll play like Chris...
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That's a pretty Daphne Blue bass! I also play bass a little, and I've even been paid to do it a few times! Just "I IV V" stuff, y'know... I'm not very good. I also have a Squier, but it's a Jazz neck & Precision body. Small hands. It's a very nice instrument.

I have Yamaha bass guitar and a Peavey TNT 115 S amp that I poke around on . First thing I learned was Papa was a Rolling Stone .

I had a Yamaha bass (BB400?) for a while, but it gave me a terrible pain in the middle of my left hand, like a nail was being shoved into it. I sold that thing and since then I've had a few basses with skinny necks (Mosrite, Guild, Fender "J").

 

[Tom Holder]

I've played around on my bandmates' basses over the years. Always loved how the other half of the rhythm section lived. A couple of years back I picked up a Hofner Club bass and it's a nice way to relax. I put on some Beatles and try to figure out those classic McCartney melodic bass lines.


View attachment 472147

Those are nice. Easy to play!

 

[RettaW75]

Its funny you post this. A lot of my drummer friends play bass and I've always wanted to try it, so since it was Black Friday, I decided to indulge and got myself this Yamaha TRBX174. It sounds pretty good And I got a little Fender amp cuz it was cheap too. I found an online bass course called Beginner to Badass at Bassbuzz.com and I'm really enjoying it.

 

[drums1225]

I first picked up the bass (and guitar) at age 15, when my first (metal) band began switching instruments after rehearsals. I eventually bought my own guitar and bass and started taking lessons for a while, around age 20. I actually got pretty decent and learned a bit of theory, but drums were by FAR my main focus and I was trying to get a full time drumming career started, so bass and guitar were very distant 2nd/3rd instruments for me.

At one point in the late 90's, I was teaching drums at a local music school that a former band mate had opened, and he asked if I would fill in for an absent guitar teacher. At first I was hesitant, but he had heard me play and knew I had some theory background. He stressed that the students were beginners, so I gave in. I've been teaching guitar and bass students in some capacity ever since.

Oh, I have a MIM Fender Jazz and an Ibanez SDGR 5 string and just recently sold my old Fernandes Revolver.

 

[highmileage]

I've been a bass player for a lot of years. First 'real' bass was a 70's Jazz that I wish I would have kept, but then 25+ basses later, the only one I kept when I sold a bunch off was a parts Jazz bass that came out surprisingly good.

Yeah, the Squiers are a great deal - just make sure they're set up fairly well. Like someone else said, Jazz is great for smaller hands but if that's not the case (and it's not for me), then whichever you like better. No wrong answers with Jazz or P Bass.