how did you end up as a bass player?

[lojo]

Whatever your level and whatever other instruments you play also, how did you end up as a "bass player", not the obvious choice for most you'd have to say



For me, since a young age I was attracted to the electric bass sound on the radio and on records, by mid teens I knew I wanted to play bass

I regret not learning reading, and hope to rectify that starting soon, but I continue to love playing, listening to and watching bass players

Edited November 4, 2010 by lojo

[johnny_frog]

2 words... steve harris
iron maiden was about the first band I really took to when I was a kid
The bass was so prominant and sounded soooo good

Got my first bass (an Axe bass from an ad in Kerrang) a week later

[bartelby]

[quote name='lojo' post='1011601' date='Nov 4 2010, 07:17 AM']For me, since a young age I was attracted to the electric bass sound on the radio and on records, by mid teens I knew I wanted to play bass[/quote]

That and this:


[quote name='johnny_frog' post='1011606' date='Nov 4 2010, 07:31 AM']2 words... steve harris
iron maiden was about the first band I really took to when I was a kid[/quote]


Plus my dad played bass in the 60s and always talked about it.

[Lozz196]

Same as:

For me, since a young age I was attracted to the electric bass sound on the radio and on records, by mid teens I knew I wanted to play bass

Plus, hearing Bruce Foxton in The Jam, and JJ Burnell in The Stranglers bringing the bass up front in the music inspired me even more.

[Happy Jack]

I was the ugly, boring one so the others told me to stand at the back and forget about pulling birds.

[paul h]

My mate already played guitar.

[Noisyjon]

I was a young Guitard perusing the Loot newspaper for a gig. There was 4 tiny Guitarist Wanted ad's and about 2 whole columns of Bass Player Wanted ad's. I thought it was a better move to change to bass and get gigging that way. That was 13 years ago!

[elephantstone]

my 2 pals played guitar and another drums, so bass was the only position left if we wanted to form a group!! thankfully!!!!

[wateroftyne]

When I was a bairn, I lived in an upstairs flat. I used to go to sleep every night listening to the bass of whatever LP the couple downstairs were playing on their 'music centre' (that dates me), 'cos that's all I could hear.

I'm sure that had something to do with it...

[ogrimark]

I got badgered into learning to play at the back end of 2005 as the lads bassplayer at the time was an 'all the gear and no idea' kinda player. Can teach old dog new tricks

[cocco]

I played classical guitar for 2 years or so as a kid, then I learned the bass line for I want you back by the Jackson 5 and tadaaaaa, instant bass player. I didn't get a bass until I realised that the 2 bands in my year group at school both needed bass players though. Never since or again will I ever be in 2 bands at the same time.

[Doctor J]

This

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=109236&view=findpost&p=1010545"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...t&p=1010545[/url]

[floFC]

4 strings, 4 fingers, I thought I could manage that.
And the likes of The Cure and Joy Division.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1011659' date='Nov 4 2010, 08:38 AM']I was the ugly, boring one so the others told me to stand at the back and forget about pulling birds.[/quote]

Lol.

I always got told the bass player was the cool mysterious one!

Anyway, I digress!

One band for me: Nirvana. Nope, the basslines arent stunning or that fun to play (some of them are mind) but the sound, and the fact it was different, totally attracted me. Then with every band I found out about, I started listening and pulling out the basslines.

My parents bought me an Precision copy Encore Bass (Black/White/Rosewood), and I had professional lessons. I still think these DEFINITELY helped me gain the edge I have over the other people I grew up with who took the same path. Technique, speed, and patience were all part and parcel of the lessons and I managed to play some lines I never thought I could.

I wish I listened to my tutor a little more back then though. He was pushing me to try both pick and fingerstyle, but I stuck it out with the pick as my main technique until Summer 2009, when I decided I was way too experienced to not have a good fingerstyle technique.

Ffwd to now, and its going well...although I should practice more!

[JakeBrownBass]

I wasn't allowed a drum kit, and my brother was getting a guitar so my uncle suggested bass.

And i've never looked back

[Dr.Dave]

I'm sure you were just using a fairly common expression - but I haven't 'ended up' playing bass at all.

It was a deliberate and considered choice based on two things. I heard an amazing sound listening to Slade records , it turned out to be Jim Lea's 'lead' bass playing and I wanted some of it. Secondly I had several friends learning guitar who were more advanced than I , I figured I could make my own niche by learning a different instrument. That turned out to be a good move as I was making music in bands long before any of them.

I set out to make music. Playing bass was , and is , just a part of that and , for me , will always remain a tactic in an overall strategy.

[bassatnight]

Derek Forbes and Mick Karn, loved early eighties late 70's Synth based pop and they always seemed to have LEAD instruments that were the Bass as opposed to the 6 string instruments.

[Low End Bee]

I wanted the biggest guitar.

[Bidd]

I'm 15 - my mates all start playing guitar because its suddenly cool to do so.

There's a guitar and a bass in my house.

I pick up guitar - I can't play along to songs because I can't play chords.

I pick up bass - I can play along to songs with simple basslines.

9 years later... I can play along to songs with slightly more advanced bass lines, and I still can't play guitar (or rather don't want to)

[blind pilot]

I was mesmerised watching Simon Gallup of The Cure, and I loved the sound, his tone I thought at the time was excellent, and I wanted to do it to!

Went to Monkey business down in Romford, picked up the cheapest bass and got on with it- that was 20 odd years ago! stopped after a few years, then Start of last year fell into a Band by chance, and have been on the steepest learning curve ever!

But I love it!

[flyfisher]

I learned basic guitar during my schooldays and was always messing around with music and recording (anyone remember Akai 4000DS 1/4-inch reel-to-reels with sound-on-sound for multitracking? I remember being drawn to the basslines in songs from a very early age and would generally pick out the bassline rather than the melody on my guitar.

My first bass & amp (USA P-bass and Laney rig) was borrowed from my brother-in-law (for 5 years!) and was a complete revelation. I immediately felt at home with a real bass instead of messing around with the bottom four strings of a strat.

I later decided to learn drums and spent a couple of years playing at home before discovering that a bunch of workmates had similar musical leanings, so we decided to get together and see what happened. It turned out that the keys player was a better drummer than I was, and I was a better bass player than he was, so we swapped and the rest is history.

[Bigwan]

My mates in school wanted to put a band together and they didn't have a bass player. Now I'm the only one of the original crew still playing an instrument...

[Marvin]

Mates and I wanted to start a band only bass or drums left. Didn't have anywhere to put drums. Never played anything else.

[tony_m]

Same as various other folk, I always picked up on and followed the bassline of tunes I heard on the radio or wherever. After a fruitless dabble with acoustic guitar at night-school, I eventually decided to take the plunge and bought my first bass (a Tanglewood P-copy) about 16 years ago. Used to jam with a mate from work who played guitar, but then other stuff got in the way and although I've never actually been without a bass, they just sat around in their gigbags gathering dust for a few years.

Then a couple of years ago, a combination of redundancy / early retirement and a change in family circumstances flicked the switch again, I acquired a couple of Squiers (which TBH I didn't [i]really [/i]need, already having a couple of Jap Fenders, but hey... ) and a couple of decent amps, and am now playing more than ever before. It's never going to be more than a hobby for me, but I do enjoy losing myself for a couple of hours in my (admittedly quite small, but slowly increasing) repertoire of basslines.

[thunderbird13]

simple I wanted to be in a band at school , everyone who played guitar was a knob, singers were just up themselves and drummers were too scary - only one option then