Yesterday, I had a busy day.
I drove to NJ to meetup with a fellow TBer from NY. He was buying an upright bass from me. Really good player and heck a nice guy. After the deal was done, we just stood there talking bass and gigs and all things music. It was cool.
As I headed home, I got a message from another fellow TBer who was interested in a electric bass I had for sale. He sent his phone number. Since I had a couple of hours of driving ahead of me and didn't want to text, I figured, " Why not call him back?" So I did. We started talking bass and gigs and all things music. The more we talked, the more we realized we had in common. That conversation lasted a good chunk of my drive (and we got the deal done on the bass... so that's a bonus).
With the sale of those two basses, I gave Roger Sadowsky a quick call and ended up talking shop with him, as well. Granted, it was a shorter conversation... he's a busy guy. But still really enjoyable (NBD coming soon
).
But it got me thinking... why is it so rewarding to talk with other bass players?
I think I've figured it out.
Most of us play with other musicians, whether that be in a band or in a studio. In those situations, there might be a couple of guitarists, multiple singers, maybe some horn players... but typically, we're the only bassist (I'm sure there are rare exceptions). So our hang is almost always with people who play instruments other than our own.
That's what makes connecting with other bassists so special. Even though I play a lot of instruments and genuinely enjoy people of all races, creeds, colors and instrumental-orientation, it's rare that I have the opportunity to be around other bassists in a musical setting. That's the real value of TalkBass and connecting with other low-end lovers in transactional settings. You get to talk shop with like-minded folks.
Another story: A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to connect a couple of bassists because of an instrument I had sold. A TBer contacted me about a bass I had built. He was thinking about ordering one and was gathering info. Unfortunately, I sold that particular bass last year to a guy on ebay (back before they raised their fees). As we talked, I realized they live near each other. I was able to help them exchange info and they had the chance to meetup & play my old bass. They hit it off. Afterwards, they both contacted me to say thanks for getting them together. I don't know why, but that's just so refreshing to me.
It's funny... I have some really great people in my phone's contacts list that I regularly text with and will likely never meet... all bass players or bass builders from TB, Reverb, eBay... etc. Somehow we've connected around this wonderful instrument and managed to stay in touch.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bass players are good peeps.
Anyone else have similar stories?
I drove to NJ to meetup with a fellow TBer from NY. He was buying an upright bass from me. Really good player and heck a nice guy. After the deal was done, we just stood there talking bass and gigs and all things music. It was cool.
As I headed home, I got a message from another fellow TBer who was interested in a electric bass I had for sale. He sent his phone number. Since I had a couple of hours of driving ahead of me and didn't want to text, I figured, " Why not call him back?" So I did. We started talking bass and gigs and all things music. The more we talked, the more we realized we had in common. That conversation lasted a good chunk of my drive (and we got the deal done on the bass... so that's a bonus).
With the sale of those two basses, I gave Roger Sadowsky a quick call and ended up talking shop with him, as well. Granted, it was a shorter conversation... he's a busy guy. But still really enjoyable (NBD coming soon
).But it got me thinking... why is it so rewarding to talk with other bass players?
I think I've figured it out.
Most of us play with other musicians, whether that be in a band or in a studio. In those situations, there might be a couple of guitarists, multiple singers, maybe some horn players... but typically, we're the only bassist (I'm sure there are rare exceptions). So our hang is almost always with people who play instruments other than our own.
That's what makes connecting with other bassists so special. Even though I play a lot of instruments and genuinely enjoy people of all races, creeds, colors and instrumental-orientation, it's rare that I have the opportunity to be around other bassists in a musical setting. That's the real value of TalkBass and connecting with other low-end lovers in transactional settings. You get to talk shop with like-minded folks.
Another story: A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to connect a couple of bassists because of an instrument I had sold. A TBer contacted me about a bass I had built. He was thinking about ordering one and was gathering info. Unfortunately, I sold that particular bass last year to a guy on ebay (back before they raised their fees). As we talked, I realized they live near each other. I was able to help them exchange info and they had the chance to meetup & play my old bass. They hit it off. Afterwards, they both contacted me to say thanks for getting them together. I don't know why, but that's just so refreshing to me.
It's funny... I have some really great people in my phone's contacts list that I regularly text with and will likely never meet... all bass players or bass builders from TB, Reverb, eBay... etc. Somehow we've connected around this wonderful instrument and managed to stay in touch.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bass players are good peeps.
Anyone else have similar stories?
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