How Many Of You Play Bass?

[Hypercaffium]

If you like an old school slightly overdriven fat bass tone with a modern twist, I suggest to try the Orange Bass Butler preamp. I use it for everything from Motown to metal.

 

[drummer5359]

A little history. When I was ten years old a neighbor taught me the basics on bass and drums concurrently. I dabbled with both until I was sixteen, when I dove deep into drums and gave up the bass for over thirty years. I might pick up a band mate's bass every once in a while, and goof around a bit, but I considered myself a drummer. I was a busy drummer through the eighties and nineties, my career caused me to gig less in the first decade of this century.

In early January of 2008 I was in a DC pawn shop buying a snare drum. A red Jackson bass on the wall caught my eye. Just for the hell of it I asked to try it out and it felt good, really good. So, I bought it. I screwed around with it a bit and then at the end of the month I had a stroke. That ended my bassist aspirations for a bit, as well as a lot of life changes. My wife didn't bother to come to the hospital.

I ended up divorced, retired from my thirty-year career, and figuring out with a new love that I met six months later what the next chapter of my life had in store. We traveled a bit and eventually bought a house in Pittsburgh, about a mile and a half from my childhood home.

I joined a couple of bands as a hand percussionist as soon as we landed in Pittsburgh. I took bass lessons and got serious about being a "real" bassist. I sat in on bass at several jams and briefly played bass in a blues band. I upgraded my bass gear and had several American Fenders, three Rickenbackers, and a Music Man. My main amp is an Ampeg Classic tube head and various cabinets, including an Ampeg 810 Fridge. In 2013 I joined a band on drums that kept me busy gigging two or three nights a week for the next six years. I played drums in a second, less busy band, and still gigged occasionally as a hand percussionist. I was having a lot of fun. The bassist in the second band played drums as well, so for laughs we would switch roles for a song, or sometimes a set. In the fall of 2019 both bands petered out.

My thought was to take a couple of months off and dive back into heavy gigging with a new band in 2020. Covid hit and that screwed up those plans. Also, I smashed my left index finger. I was able to play drums okay after a month or two of healing, but I could only play bass for a few minutes at a time. I was so ed I sold off most of my basses.

Eventually I found a good band as a drummer (again), although we don't gig like I'm used to. It is sort of frustrating. I'm going to try to find another band. I'm not looking to quit this band, but I want to get busy again.

This past week I pulled my trusty P-bass out of it's case for the first time in a while to "noodle". I ended up playing for two hours and it felt good. Last night my bassist was showing me his new bass, a Jackson, and I asked if I could try it. I sat down and started to play. The bassist and lead guitarist looked at each other. "We didn't know that you played bass!" I explained that I hadn't played much bass in the past couple of years after smashing my finger, but it seems to have healed.

So maybe I'll see if anyone local needs a bassist. lol.

The two basses that I hung onto is my 1974 Telecaster bass.

And my 2013 American Honey-Burst Special Precision.

 

[Tubwompus]

A little history. When I was ten years old a neighbor taught me the basics on bass and drums concurrently. I dabbled with both until I was sixteen, when I dove deep into drums and gave up the bass for over thirty years. I might pick up a band mate's bass every once in a while, and goof around a bit, but I considered myself a drummer. I was a busy drummer through the eighties and nineties, my career caused me to gig less in the first decade of this century.

In early January of 2008 I was in a DC pawn shop buying a snare drum. A red Jackson bass on the wall caught my eye. Just for the hell of it I asked to try it out and it felt good, really good. So, I bought it. I screwed around with it a bit and then at the end of the month I had a stroke. That ended my bassist aspirations for a bit, as well as a lot of life changes. My wife didn't bother to come to the hospital.

I ended up divorced, retired from my thirty-year career, and figuring out with a new love that I met six months later what the next chapter of my life had in store. We traveled a bit and eventually bought a house in Pittsburgh, about a mile and a half from my childhood home.

I joined a couple of bands as a hand percussionist as soon as we landed in Pittsburgh. I took bass lessons and got serious about being a "real" bassist. I sat in on bass at several jams and briefly played bass in a blues band. I upgraded my bass gear and had several American Fenders, three Rickenbackers, and a Music Man. My main amp is an Ampeg Classic tube head and various cabinets, including an Ampeg 810 Fridge. In 2013 I joined a band on drums that kept me busy gigging two or three nights a week for the next six years. I played drums in a second, less busy band, and still gigged occasionally as a hand percussionist. I was having a lot of fun. The bassist in the second band played drums as well, so for laughs we would switch roles for a song, or sometimes a set. In the fall of 2019 both bands petered out.

My thought was to take a couple of months off and dive back into heavy gigging with a new band in 2020. Covid hit and that screwed up those plans. Also, I smashed my left index finger. I was able to play drums okay after a month or two of healing, but I could only play bass for a few minutes at a time. I was so ed I sold off most of my basses.

Eventually I found a good band as a drummer (again), although we don't gig like I'm used to. It is sort of frustrating. I'm going to try to find another band. I'm not looking to quit this band, but I want to get busy again.

This past week I pulled my trusty P-bass out of it's case for the first time in a while to "noodle". I ended up playing for two hours and it felt good. Last night my bassist was showing me his new bass, a Jackson, and I asked if I could try it. I sat down and started to play. The bassist and lead guitarist looked at each other. "We didn't know that you played bass!" I explained that I hadn't played much bass in the past couple of years after smashing my finger, but it seems to have healed.

So maybe I'll see if anyone local needs a bassist. lol.

The two basses that I hung onto is my 1974 Telecaster bass.

View attachment 589236

And my 2013 American Honey-Burst Special Precision.

View attachment 589237

Man, the life journeys of musicians can have such different faces compared to “normies”. Better in some ways, not so much in others.
Good on ya for making yours realign from being so turbulent previously.

Also good on ya for holding onto that Telecaster bass!!!!!
I’ve wanted one of those for decades. Never gonna happen now coz they get STOOPIT money for them these days.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

A little history. When I was ten years old a neighbor taught me the basics on bass and drums concurrently. I dabbled with both until I was sixteen, when I dove deep into drums and gave up the bass for over thirty years. I might pick up a band mate's bass every once in a while, and goof around a bit, but I considered myself a drummer. I was a busy drummer through the eighties and nineties, my career caused me to gig less in the first decade of this century.

In early January of 2008 I was in a DC pawn shop buying a snare drum. A red Jackson bass on the wall caught my eye. Just for the hell of it I asked to try it out and it felt good, really good. So, I bought it. I screwed around with it a bit and then at the end of the month I had a stroke. That ended my bassist aspirations for a bit, as well as a lot of life changes. My wife didn't bother to come to the hospital.

I ended up divorced, retired from my thirty-year career, and figuring out with a new love that I met six months later what the next chapter of my life had in store. We traveled a bit and eventually bought a house in Pittsburgh, about a mile and a half from my childhood home.

I joined a couple of bands as a hand percussionist as soon as we landed in Pittsburgh. I took bass lessons and got serious about being a "real" bassist. I sat in on bass at several jams and briefly played bass in a blues band. I upgraded my bass gear and had several American Fenders, three Rickenbackers, and a Music Man. My main amp is an Ampeg Classic tube head and various cabinets, including an Ampeg 810 Fridge. In 2013 I joined a band on drums that kept me busy gigging two or three nights a week for the next six years. I played drums in a second, less busy band, and still gigged occasionally as a hand percussionist. I was having a lot of fun. The bassist in the second band played drums as well, so for laughs we would switch roles for a song, or sometimes a set. In the fall of 2019 both bands petered out.

My thought was to take a couple of months off and dive back into heavy gigging with a new band in 2020. Covid hit and that screwed up those plans. Also, I smashed my left index finger. I was able to play drums okay after a month or two of healing, but I could only play bass for a few minutes at a time. I was so ed I sold off most of my basses.

Eventually I found a good band as a drummer (again), although we don't gig like I'm used to. It is sort of frustrating. I'm going to try to find another band. I'm not looking to quit this band, but I want to get busy again.

This past week I pulled my trusty P-bass out of it's case for the first time in a while to "noodle". I ended up playing for two hours and it felt good. Last night my bassist was showing me his new bass, a Jackson, and I asked if I could try it. I sat down and started to play. The bassist and lead guitarist looked at each other. "We didn't know that you played bass!" I explained that I hadn't played much bass in the past couple of years after smashing my finger, but it seems to have healed.

So maybe I'll see if anyone local needs a bassist. lol.

The two basses that I hung onto is my 1974 Telecaster bass.

View attachment 589236

And my 2013 American Honey-Burst Special Precision.

View attachment 589237

You and I spoke about tele basses at some point and I think I remember mentionning that my brother bought he exact same model/year in the same color. That 74 humbucker is da bomb!!! That bass is now on perma-loan to our band' bass player and it sees regular stage time. Do not. Let go of that one...

 

[Treviso1]

A little history. When I was ten years old a neighbor taught me the basics on bass and drums concurrently. I dabbled with both until I was sixteen, when I dove deep into drums and gave up the bass for over thirty years. I might pick up a band mate's bass every once in a while, and goof around a bit, but I considered myself a drummer. I was a busy drummer through the eighties and nineties, my career caused me to gig less in the first decade of this century.

In early January of 2008 I was in a DC pawn shop buying a snare drum. A red Jackson bass on the wall caught my eye. Just for the hell of it I asked to try it out and it felt good, really good. So, I bought it. I screwed around with it a bit and then at the end of the month I had a stroke. That ended my bassist aspirations for a bit, as well as a lot of life changes. My wife didn't bother to come to the hospital.

I ended up divorced, retired from my thirty-year career, and figuring out with a new love that I met six months later what the next chapter of my life had in store. We traveled a bit and eventually bought a house in Pittsburgh, about a mile and a half from my childhood home.

I joined a couple of bands as a hand percussionist as soon as we landed in Pittsburgh. I took bass lessons and got serious about being a "real" bassist. I sat in on bass at several jams and briefly played bass in a blues band. I upgraded my bass gear and had several American Fenders, three Rickenbackers, and a Music Man. My main amp is an Ampeg Classic tube head and various cabinets, including an Ampeg 810 Fridge. In 2013 I joined a band on drums that kept me busy gigging two or three nights a week for the next six years. I played drums in a second, less busy band, and still gigged occasionally as a hand percussionist. I was having a lot of fun. The bassist in the second band played drums as well, so for laughs we would switch roles for a song, or sometimes a set. In the fall of 2019 both bands petered out.

My thought was to take a couple of months off and dive back into heavy gigging with a new band in 2020. Covid hit and that screwed up those plans. Also, I smashed my left index finger. I was able to play drums okay after a month or two of healing, but I could only play bass for a few minutes at a time. I was so ed I sold off most of my basses.

Eventually I found a good band as a drummer (again), although we don't gig like I'm used to. It is sort of frustrating. I'm going to try to find another band. I'm not looking to quit this band, but I want to get busy again.

This past week I pulled my trusty P-bass out of it's case for the first time in a while to "noodle". I ended up playing for two hours and it felt good. Last night my bassist was showing me his new bass, a Jackson, and I asked if I could try it. I sat down and started to play. The bassist and lead guitarist looked at each other. "We didn't know that you played bass!" I explained that I hadn't played much bass in the past couple of years after smashing my finger, but it seems to have healed.

So maybe I'll see if anyone local needs a bassist. lol.

The two basses that I hung onto is my 1974 Telecaster bass.

View attachment 589236

And my 2013 American Honey-Burst Special Precision.

View attachment 589237

OMG! I love those two Fender basses that you have! My story is pretty similar too, but now I have a daughter who is quite the bassist and just has "it" on the four string beast! I am glad you kept those to axes! Smart man!

 

[strormyd]

Been playing for 6 months. I play about 1-2 hours a day. I just find songs I like and try to learn them. If the song is hard I go for an easier one and later come back when I am feeling confident.

 

[Stephen.DeBoard]

I’ve wanted to learn for years. My percussionist daughter wants to learn as well. I’m buying her one over the holidays, and may try to learn on it myself as well. Was thinking Squier also, or Used Fender player series. Is there a strong argument for precision vs jazz bass for beginners?

These days if a bass player shows up to a gig with anything other than a Fender Precision I get bummed out.

 

[Stephen.DeBoard]

I played bass in band once and play on my own recordings and some for others. I love it!

I also play some guitar and love to sing.

I bought this MIJ 1980s E Series Fender Precision in a Beverly Hills pawn shop back in the 1990s. For an amp I have a GK MB 115.

 

[JimmyM]

These days if a bass player shows up to a gig with anything other than a Fender Precision I get bummed out.

Lol…Hard to blame you though I can’t handle Fender anymore and had to get one lighter than theirs. Plus I hate those V Mod pickups. And mine have J pickups in the bridge position though they hardly ever get used.

 

[Kcmcc]

y’all might enjoy this, our bass player trying out a vintage Vox Cougar he is thinking of buying at our last rehearsal

 

[Rock Salad]

I had an Aria version of that design that was awesome

 

[mebeatee]

I don’t play bass or guitar per se, but I do plomp around on them quite often.
I will accompany on bass when teaching drums from time to time, but the guitar is just for me....and I play it Fred Frith style...
bt

An Epiphone Rivoli (with a DiMarzio pu) and a Univox....

 

[Skins_in_the_game]

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

My wife plays bass. I just got her a nice Hofner Contemporary violin base. She is loving it. It is nice pro level bass but costs under 1000

 

[g-dude]

Bassist checking in.

Upright and bass guitar…and my least favorite bass I own is a Precision.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Bass is my primary instrument, although I must say that I have discovered that playing drums is amazingly fun.

Here are the latest "Family" photos:

 

[gitch]

Bass is actually a lot of fun to play I think they get a bad rap.

 

[No.15]

Picked up the family christmas present today. My son and I play Bass (sideways) and my wife wants to learn so we purchased an upright to learn on. It's been a long time since I played and my fingers hurt right now, but in a good way

 

[Georgia Phil]

I picked up a Hofner Violin bass (Beatle Bass) back in '82 while stationed in Germany in the Army. Loved the sound and the neck, I do have rather small hands so the narrow neck was a godsend. But it's not much good for slapping, so I also got a cheap univox bass for that. I'm not that great at it but I did develop a trick. Since I'm first and foremost a drummer, I started slapping with my right thumb and then tapping with my left hand rythmically to get a rapid fire effect, unfortunately I didn't practice it enough and never got to the point where I could easily move it around across the strings, pretty much just stuck to the E string.

 

[JimmyM]

I picked up a Hofner Violin bass (Beatle Bass) back in '82 while stationed in Germany in the Army. Loved the sound and the neck, I do have rather small hands so the narrow neck was a godsend. But it's not much good for slapping, so I also got a cheap univox bass for that. I'm not that great at it but I did develop a trick. Since I'm first and foremost a drummer, I started slapping with my right thumb and then tapping with my left hand rythmically to get a rapid fire effect, unfortunately I didn't practice it enough and never got to the point where I could easily move it around across the strings, pretty much just stuck to the E string.

Ya, it takes a little practice to get your left hand taps to sound like slaps. I find they work best in conjunction with popping the strings with your right fingers, and not like a thumb/tap thing.

 

[moonking]

I play both guitar and bass. I enjoy bass more but I absolutely love the funky rhythm guitar like how Tomo Fujita and Cory Wong plays so I definitely enjoy playing guitar too