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Who influenced you to pick up and start playing Bass.


thebigyin

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Here is a video of 2 of the first Brits to play electric bass.

Jet Harris was the only bass player I could name until Paul McCartney and Bill Wyman came along.

By chance I once met Jet and we chatted for several minutes. He was pleasantly affable.

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On 12/11/2019 at 20:27, davie said:

I wanted to be a guitar player until I heard Duck playing on the Blues Brothers soundtrack. I bought a bass the next day and haven't looked back.

Great call. I can remember being stuck in a traffic jam with my dad aged about 11, and hearing Everybody Needs Somebody on the car radio. The bassline at the end had to be good because I could hear it and we were in a Lada.

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On 11/11/2019 at 20:39, grandad said:

Here is a video of 2 of the first Brits to play electric bass.

Jet Harris was the only bass player I could name until Paul McCartney and Bill Wyman came along.

By chance I once met Jet and we chatted for several minutes. He was pleasantly affable.

Here is Jet playing Nivram on a Musicman Stingray.

 

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As a 12 year old, I was given a guitar by an older cousin who I looked up to but who, with hindsight, I now realise had no idea what he was talking about (he cannot play anything). It was a piece of crap (strung with nylon AND steel strings). He lived a long way away and I rarely saw him or his brothers so I was on my own and had to figure the thing out myself. As a had no-one to help me, I found could not figure out guitar chords but could figure out bass parts. The earliest bassline I can recall playing (on the low strings on the nasty guitar I had) is a children's tv theme that I cannot name (although I can still play it). By the time I had control of my own destiny, I wanted a bass guitar and, when I started work in September 1980, bought a Hondo II Precision copy from my Mum's catalogue (I remember it being £125) and the rest is history. I was playing in a NWOBHM band and recording a Friday Rock Show session for Radio One in March 1981 so I must have taken to it reasonably quickly!

 

After that, my first bass heroes were Squire and Steve Harris and then, in quick succession and as I became more 'woke', Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Jimmy Johnson and Percy Jones. The double bass players came later and their influence was less all-consuming. I do remember early efforts at transcribing lines by Roger Glover, Geezer Butler, Phil Lynott, Geddy Lee and others I cannot recall. I miss that period of discovery, when our lack of experience means that everything is new and exciting.

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Weird as it will sound.

Nicky Wire of the manics. Loved them around the time of everything must go. And his playing was so simple I could play along easily.

Then I saw Stefan Olsdal from Placebo. And the. I realised bass players were so cool.

After that. I got into RHCP and Flea made me want to take the lead 😂

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20 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

There was a time when I wasn't sure which band I had seen most often - Hawkwind or the Stranglers 🙂

Still with Berxit I suppose it will be Euroman Go-eth...

Strangely I’ve never seen The Stranglers. I missed the classic line up and kind of feel about them like I feel about the classic Motörhead lineup; anything else just isn’t the same. Maybe one day. 

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Hawkwind far more times than anyone else, although I haven’t seen them since Brixton Hawkfest several years ago when Lemmy played. 

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On 11/11/2019 at 15:39, grandad said:

Here is a video of 2 of the first Brits to play electric bass.

Jet Harris was the only bass player I could name until Paul McCartney and Bill Wyman came along.

By chance I once met Jet and we chatted for several minutes. He was pleasantly affable.

Jet was quite creative back in he day. But my favourite Shadows bass player was Alan Jones. He was solid with great timing and taste. Always had perfect note selection. He played the original Shadows stuff very well and excelled on the more complicated stuff that Hank did back in the 80's. The ShadowsXXV from 1983 is a great showcase for Alan's bass work.

I did not discover Alan's bass playing until about 10 years ago. I live in Canada and the Shadows have not exactly been household words here. 

My main influence on bass (upright at first) was the great Bob Moore from Nashville who logged 18 thousand  recording sessions from the 50's to the 80's. I'm a part time player but if it wasn't for him I would have given up on the bass years ago. Having a mentor is a great help when starting off on any instrument. 

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On 29/10/2019 at 10:48, dudewheresmybass said:

Originally a classically trained cellist until I watched live after death too many times and heard saints and sinners by whitesnake. 

Steve Harris initially, then Neil Murray, Geezer and McCartney 

Neil Murray.....Class.

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Forme it was Dave Goode . A frightingly able musician who somehow ended up slumming it with me and some mates when I was a kid failing at guitar. 

I would stand open mouthed at what he did on the bass. I loved the instrument but actually fell into playing it accidentally when auditioning as a rhythm guitarist. 

The bass player had stormed out before I arrived, would I stand in on bass? The rest is history. 

As far as pro bass players go JJB made me listen to the bass shoved it right in my face. Phil Lynott was the coolest guy alive, Bruce Foxton I adored but Bruce Thomas showed me what could be done. 

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