Probably when I dropped tenor sax and pursued double and electric bass full time starting in sophomore year of high school.
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When did you realize that you were a bass player?
- Thread starter redwingxix
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- bass player player
I knew I was a bass player the second I pulled the low E on a bass in ‘93. I was in 8th grade. A friend of mine had a Jackson guitar, Boss Metal Zone pedal, and a Fender Blues Jr amp. It was during this year that I solidified my love of metal. Metallica, Megadeth, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman... you get the picture. However, I had actually seen a bass guitar. I knew what it sounded like, but had no clue as to what it was like to hold one.
I went with my friend and his mom to a music store in Lodi I think. We lived in Lockeford and my memory has been lifted up and out of my head with too much weed smoke throughout the years. Anyway, we went there and I was supremely intimidated with all the guitars and drums and... Lo and behold, basses. There was a little jam station set up with a bass amp and a cable, so I grabbed the “coolest” looking bass I could reach. I think it was a Peavey but I remember it was pearl white with neon green, yellow, and red platter paint all over it. I plugged it in, turned the amp on, and pulled the E string.
I instantly knew... without a shadow of a doubt, that I was born to play bass. I could show you my SAT scores and high school transcripts to prove that all I cared about, at the time, was playing music.
I went with my friend and his mom to a music store in Lodi I think. We lived in Lockeford and my memory has been lifted up and out of my head with too much weed smoke throughout the years. Anyway, we went there and I was supremely intimidated with all the guitars and drums and... Lo and behold, basses. There was a little jam station set up with a bass amp and a cable, so I grabbed the “coolest” looking bass I could reach. I think it was a Peavey but I remember it was pearl white with neon green, yellow, and red platter paint all over it. I plugged it in, turned the amp on, and pulled the E string.
I instantly knew... without a shadow of a doubt, that I was born to play bass. I could show you my SAT scores and high school transcripts to prove that all I cared about, at the time, was playing music.
I've played bass for over 40 years and I still don't think I'm a bass player.
When they handed 12 year old me a 62lb Gibson RD Bass and said “sorry, guitar is already taken by Nick next door; here, try this.”
I have played bass almost as long as I have played guitar--but it is really only a few years that I spent any significant time with it or took it that seriously--after taking bass lessons in my teens (Alongside guitar lessons)
I'm still waiting for it to actually sink in.
I started out on my musical journey in secondary school (high school) when I began playing drums. A friend of mine was playing bass and we used to sit in on each other's lessons.
I quickly became bored with drums and realised, while sitting in on my mate's lessons, that bass was totally cool. I think that's when I realised I was actually a bass player at heart.
I quickly became bored with drums and realised, while sitting in on my mate's lessons, that bass was totally cool. I think that's when I realised I was actually a bass player at heart.
44 years ago. I was playing guitar in my first garage band (3 guitars and a drummer) and gravitated to playing the bass line on guitar. One of the guitarists said "hey, if you're gonna play the bass line you might as well play bass". I traded in my guitar for a bass and never looked back. BTW, I was 15 years old at the time.
When I realized I was playing the bass lines on my guitar.
It was 1985. I heard the intro to Turn Me Loose Lover Boy. That was it. A buddy of mine played guitar and helped me. Junior in high school. Good times! His parents were awesome. We played ultra loud in the basement and they loved it!!
1968 I started...2018...Let's just say I still got a ways to go!
I was learning acoustic guitar and didn’t love the sound of it, but I liked playing an instrument.
A few weeks into it, a bassist friend showed me how to play the bassline to Pink Floyd’s “Money” on my acoustic and I became obsessed. THAT was the sound I wanted to make. I bought my first bass the next day.
A few weeks into it, a bassist friend showed me how to play the bassline to Pink Floyd’s “Money” on my acoustic and I became obsessed. THAT was the sound I wanted to make. I bought my first bass the next day.
bassbully
Endorsed by The PHALEX CORN BASS..mmm...corn!
I started on guitar but always loved the bass players sound and roll in a band. I did not get back to into seriously playing music until I was about 40 and when I did instantly wanted to play only the bass in bands. It’s just me and it fits.
Still playing it. The drums kick it off, while the BL says something or other. If I think she's getting wordy, I just start playing anyway. The one moment on the gig when I'm running the show.
When I knew: After 25 years or so, I got a gig with a band with a drummer who's spent a few years playing behind Bo Diddley. I'd been playing with them for a month or so, and nobody had given me any feedback. At rehearsal, I couldn't stand it anymore, and asked "Is everybody okay with what I'm doing?" The drummer looked up from his kit at me and said "Just keep doin' that boom-boom-boom."
This was the one for me too. I was a big Clapton fan (and still am) but one day listening to this tune I heard Jack Bruce's playing and it blew me away. It still does.