Default Bass Players

[PocketGroove82]

Ok, who here started playing bass only because they were "defaulted" as "the bass player"?
I know I did!!! My frienads had a strt. and a drum set and said,
"if you buy a bass....we'll have a nirvana cover band!"
(granted, as soon as I touched that strat. I fell in love.)
...so I begged and pleaded till I got one! Too bad, every time we rehearsed my guitar player buddy would forget his amp's power cord, so I would just pretend while he used mine.

now that I think about it...i'm pretty f0cking glad i'm 25, able, and don't have to put up with that kind of sh!t.

although the government hasn't bought me a new set of strings in 5 months!

 

[LowDownDave]

Interesting thread, I guess I sort of fall into that category as well. The first band I was in I played drums simply because I was the only member that could keep time and carry a beat, ha-ha. I always wanted to be a drummer, and I like to think I was pretty decent for a guy that didn't even have his own kit! Anywho, we eventually changed bass players to this other friend of ours who played some guitar but was actually going to college to be a session drummer! At the time I kind of figured my days as the drummer were numbered (even though my bandmates still claim they never thought of replacing me with him) so I decided to buy a bass and start learning (I always wanted to have a go anyway, and used to play simple songs on bass along with my guitarist friend who also owned a bass). So it's not like I felt I HAD to play bass and it was a chore or anything I was forced to take on, I found I really enjoyed learning my first stringed instrument, and so I learned our set on bass and suggested to the other members that the bassist and I should switch, which we did. I still love messing about on drums, and plan to one day own my own kit, but I also love playing bass, and so I'm thankful I found myself in that particular predicament in life (even though it was purely self imposed) as otherwise I may never have found out how much I love this instrument, would not be in the two bands I'm in now, and would never have found this cool forum!

Oh, and I suppose I should at least be thankful we didn't replace our GUITARIST with a session drummer!

 

[Bill]

My first instrument was fiddle, which I still play to this day. I began playing bass in the early '90s because I always loved the bass & thought it was cool. Now, about 95% of my gigs are on bass, and I'm lovin' every minute!!

 

[mobass]

I started on drums, but all my bands broke up because we couldn't find a bass player. I also played bass some at that time, and made the switch full time. Never regreted it.

 

[Rick]

Not me. First and only instument since 1973 is bass and I still suck. But I love it

 

[RitchieDarling]

Not by default.....

First and only instrument from 1968 until 1991.

Added guitar in 1991, but I suck at it.

And added synth and synth pedals in 2000. Considering taking up the banjo next.

Ritchie

 

[PocketGroove82]

haha....so far this thread is 3 for 5...."default bassists"!
i respect anyone who is naturally drawn to the bass!
I feel I must have played A-bass in a past life...which is what drew me to it in the first place.
I don't think a "gift" is a gift...
you gotta earn it.

 

[tkarter]

I am a mefaulted bassist. I play guitar and so did the other 5 guys and wanted to have a band. I said okay someone has to play bass it is me.

4 days later we played our first gig.

don't ask.

tk

 

[RitchieDarling]

I am a mefaulted bassist.

Mefaulted?

R

 

[brooklynfall]

First and only here as well - I decided that if I played bass I could get more gigs than if I played guitar. Holds true to this day!

 

[Moondog]

kind of, I was the tallest, so . . .

 

[tkarter]

Mefaulted?

R

Okay, default was mine!

tk

 

[bassmonkey]

Nope, bass first and foremost.

I heard Queen "Another One Bites The Dust" one day and said to myself, "I want to play that cool instrument which gives me an uncontrollable urge to tap my foot and move my body".

 

[KennethB]

I started out playing sax in primary school. When I became a teenager and started getting into rock music I chose the bass from day one. It was just what I liked from the get go. Players like Steve Harris, Les Claypool, Tim Commerford, Flea, Billy Gould, Stuart Zender, Jaco,Sting etc. were guys that "showed me" how cool the bass could be. They were great role models for me back then, still are. Also I really digged the function the bass serves in a musical setting. Plus every band/musical group needs bass in some shape or form so it was a smart choice as far as being in demand goes. I just love the bass and everything that goes along with being a bass player. I'm a laid-back guy as well, so it suits my personality to play bass. I also play a bit guitar and I enjoy harmony singing. But when I play guitar I say I'm a "bass player who plays guitar" haha . I play the guitar with my fingers most of the time, my right hand technique is patterned after Mark Knopfler's. In fact I find it suprising that not more guitarist play with their fingers more often. Ok, there are some technical limitations to it, but the sound you get is just beautiful. Well, this got a bit "hijacky" so I'll stop before it gets out of hand haha Cool thread!

 

[silverburst]

I started on guitar and sucked (still do, but I try). Moved to bass about 20 years ago. Goyt my kid a drum kit this past Christmas so I could have a whack at it. Literally.

 

[Narcosynthesis]

I started out as a six stringer, playing with a few friends (one of them who didn't really pick up an instrument seriously until then, so defaulted to bass, but he didn't really play anything at the time)

Mostly playing around with the bassists instruments, found out I liked playing it , so got my own, and now it has overtaken the guitar playing (though I still own my guitar gear, and play it, just not as much)

I just like the sound and feel of it better, similar technically to guitar, but in practise a completely different instrument. Simpler at many points, a lot more complex at others, it just suits me and the sound I like playing around with.

Incidentally, the guy I played with at first who was a bassist now plays guitar

David

 

[midopa]

I started on cello in middle school. A little later I was the sound/setup kind of guy (wasn't any good tho ) for my church's youth group praise team. Their bassist rarely ever showed up for practice, so one day the leader got frustrated and asked if I can play bass. He figured since I played cello, the move should be easy. Well, after that it just stuck and I got addicted.

 

[Caca de Kick]

No not defualt, I picked it.

When I was in 3rd grade my school teacher (who was a sax player) started teaching me to read music, and she kept edging me to learn sax. So in the 4th grade where music classes started, I got a sax and played it til I graduated high school...played in everything including community orchestras and jazz bands.

But during my 10th grade year ('87/88) I was playing sax in a local old-R&B/funk/soul club & wedding band with guys all 21-30yrs old (yes the clubs still let me play). The bassist was an incredible funkayyy player, and I was bitten hard by the sounds. I immediately got a bass and jumped into a band(s), then when school was over so was the saxophone, bass became IT since.

 

[MickeyMouse]

The first instrument I picked up was the piano in grade 3 I wasn't that great but I learned how to read music. Then I picked up the trumpet in grade 6 and dropped piano... somewhere along the line of grade 10 one of my closest friends said we should start a Rush cover band and that I should pick up bass and be just like Geddy Lee well eventually I asked my parents if I could take lessons and learn how to play bass and they agreed.

been playing bass ever since but am still silently waiting for my first EBMM

 

[hankSRay]

I started playing bass when my friend, and now guitar player in my band, said "hey you look like a bass player." I had no clue what a bass was except that it looked like a guitar. the rest is history.