It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 7:54 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 53 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
Author Message
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 7:52 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2007 9:10 am
Posts: 210
Both but I find bass more soul satisfying. However, friends and family have yet in nearly 50 years of playing to ask me if I could play some bass for them. There's the whole problem: I keep up guitar because that's what anyone ever wants to hear me play in an informal setting (and I also sometimes play in small Jazz and blues combos). For me though, the big personal challenge will always be to find that perfectly in the groove bass line. As I tell friends, being a master of the bass is nowhere near as easy as you might think.

I mostly play 4 string (fretted and fretless) but I do have an Ibanez SR 506 6 string that I pull out once in a while. I'm not a hard core traditionalist at all, but in my case I find that 4 strings almost always get me where I want to go. Then too, I play with mostly people around my age (62) and they often still have that mindset where the bassist is the lowest rank in the band and should be almost seen and more felt than heard. So yes, I'll get to emulate Jack Bruce for 12 bars in one song in a 3 hour gig ... but the rest of the time I'm devoting a lot of my thought to not overplaying.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 3:59 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:20 pm
Posts: 496
WildintheStreets wrote:
Bass only for me. I can play my friend's drums, but only for a short while. It's a stamina thing. If I could play guitar, I'd um, be playing guitar.


Guitar players get the girls and bass players get to um,
play bass! :wink:


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 6:26 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:18 pm
Posts: 86
Location: SE Virginia
I started on Uke when I was around 3 and piddled around with guitar, never owning one. Wanted to be a drummer at 13 after seeing Alice Cooper on MTV, got very discouraged when I saw the price of drums and nowhere to practice. A friend suggested bass since I liked playing guitar and the bass was the combination of guitar and drums. That was 32 years ago. I've been a professional bassist for 20 years now. I also still play guitar quite alot, both for writing and recording as well as just to relax and do something different. I do, however, make it a point to try and NOT write songs on guitar too much, as a friend once made the comment about bassists not knowing how to write songs. Guess he never heard of Paul McCartney, Nikki Sixx, Gene Simmons, Sting, John Paul Jones, Geddy Lee, Bob Daisley, etc etc..... I own 4 Precisions, a Heartfield DR-4, a Squier 70s Strat, and an Epiphone Gold Top LP, as well as a Fender Mustang 3. I honestly consider myself a bassist first and foremost, but I enjoy playing guitar, keys, drums, etc...

_________________
Fender 70's Precision (White)
Fender STD Precision (Mid Wine)
Fender STD Precision Fretless (SB)
Squier 20th Anniversary Precision (BLK)
Fender Heartfield DR4 (White)
Ampeg SVT 3 PRO
Ampeg SVT 8x10
BOSS ME-50 Multi-pedal
MXR M-80 Bass DI


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 12:49 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 9:50 am
Posts: 89
Location: Cassini Probe
Guitar player first, although when I first started taking lessons as a teenager my friend and I alternated between bass and guitar during our shared lesson. I bought a bass in '04 because my daughter said she wanted to learn to play it, and when she never again expressed interest it became my second guitar. I was getting back into playing guitar then, and bought an Alvarez Master Series acoustic, then a Gibson ES137 Classic, then an SG, then a Casino, and pretty much every guitar I had always lusted after as a teenager. Got too much gear to list now, but there really isn't anything I don't have that I want. Started going to open jams, playing guitar and bass, got in with the host band and when the opportunity presented to join a working band I jumped on the bass and became a bass player. I never got my shred on with the 6-string, seems like a requirement these days. So the 4-string machine is my focus now, and I'm loving every minute. I really think I was supposed to be a bass player from the beginning, ever since I heard Mel Schacher in GFRR. His bass playing was the first I had heard that really grabbed me and couldn't be ignored.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:01 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 5:05 pm
Posts: 77
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Bass has been my love for 30 years. I do have a couple of guitars - Ibanez 540S, Variax JTV-59, Takemine Travelin' Bone A/E (Mike Aiken sig, given to my dad from him, and my dad gave it to me), and an old Maier Jaguar clone with push button pickup selectors. I almost never plug in, but when I do, it's either my Fender Bassman, Peavey 400B, or Rockman.

_________________
#EndMonsanto


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:16 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:16 pm
Posts: 18659
Location: In this country town, where the laughter sounds...
I started out playing guitar in 1967, and was ok, but not that great with a 6 string. In 1968, a friend had a band that needed a bass player. I Try the bass, and liked it. From 1968 a bass has been my instrument of choice. I really look forward to playing my basses, it relaxes my mind.Image

_________________
"Electric Lady"
Image


Last edited by Mr. Nylon on Wed Oct 14, 2015 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:46 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 12:09 am
Posts: 358
Location: San Diego, California
Bassist.
What I like about it is that it does both rhythm AND melody.

And I prefer the tone of a bass.

_________________
Shirley Has The Blues
Image
Blacktop P Bass
mim Deluxe P Bass Special
mim P Bass
Ibanez BTB405


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Question for Bass Players
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:01 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:29 pm
Posts: 238
Location: London, UK
stroker vance wrote:
Do you consider yourself a bass player first and foremost ? Do you play 6 string guitar?

What kind of regular 6 string guitars do you own and play? Why that kind and model?
Do you have a guitar amp? :)


Yes, first and foremost, I consider myself a bass player.

I also play guitar. I have a Squire HSS Strat, and a 12- String acoustic Fender.

Ampwise I play guitar via sound card and computer (NOT ON BASSES)

_________________
AVRI 62 J Bass, AVRI 62 P Bass, USA Std. FSR Hand stained P Bass, USA Std. J Bass, F Cabronita P Bass, Squire P Bass special fretless, Squire HSS Strat.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 53 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4
Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: