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Why Bass??

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killatrooper
Nate+gsr200
Wello
DudeWithABass
Pastichio
Dropthelines585
Cliff em' all
Igastopheles
Malastare
Drakon7
Dmanlamius
Lassepetri
general lee
stefk0
Guzco
WNx3fed
Redstarking
david2545
lokki
Faceslide
McSnuggles
Smaz
Protoplm
Flycutter
SuperMaximo93
mts
ThreeLetterSyndrom
Fuzzy
32 posters

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Why Bass?? Empty Why Bass??

Post  Fuzzy Fri May 08, 2009 7:21 pm

Why did you start playing bass?
Simple question, sometimes complex answer.

Music has never really been in the family.
Dad and his mates wanted to start a "pop group" many years ago, before i was born, dad was going to be the lead guitarist.
He borrowed a fender strat from a friend and bought himself a new "100 watt" amp.. I keep telling him its a 30 watt amp because its tiny and has 30 in the model number.. but of course he paid for a 100 watt amp and assumes thats what he got lol.
His "pop group" lasted a few weeks i think.
I bought a guitar about a year ago.. a cheap chinese fender knockoff.. played it a couple times and knew it just wasn't for me.
Then about 4 months ago i bought a bass.. a cheap fender knockoff bass Razz
Immediately i knew it was for me.. even though it was cheap, it was my instrument of choice.
It had meat, it wasnt all twangy nancy boy electric guitar stuff.
When i told dad i bought a bass he asked "ahh is it a fender stratahcastah?" because thats how he said it.. and im like "no its a bass" but i dont think he really understood.
My brother thought i only bought a bass because it was "the easy instrument", even though he cant play anything.. he goes "why dont you just stick bigger strings on your old guitar?" i tried to explain the differences between a bass and electric guitar but he didnt see the differences as significant.. simple people, my family.
Then about 3 months ago (1 month after i bought the cheap knockoff bass) i bought my beautiful second hand Ibanez SRX300, it was in mint condition, only six months old and half the retail price.
Then a month ago i bought my brand new Peavey Max 115 60 watt beast, not super powerful but is a heavy monster with a sweet sound.

So yeah thats my story, what's yours?
Fuzzy
Fuzzy


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Post  ThreeLetterSyndrom Fri May 08, 2009 7:56 pm

I've played piano for about 7 years now, and about a year ago, I started playing bass.

I suppose Flea was the person that got me started. I've always admired his basslines and techniques. Also, I knew a lot of guitarists, but not a single bass player. Nobody plays bass in my friends circle, I'm the only one. I figured I'd be original. Also, I like how the bass is both an instrument of percussion and an instrument of melody. I'm a rythmic person, but I find it rather annoying to not have any melody anywhere. The bass is an instrument that pushes the music forward.
So a few months after this started, I bought my first bass, which I'm still using, alongside with my mere 30-watt amp. Razz

My family is ok with me playing, and sometimes both of my brothers try to play a little. Usually whatever I'm practising. However, most of those things need a good technique, speed, stamina and strength, which leads them to trying once and then not playing it ever again. I find it hilarious Very Happy

ThreeLetterSyndrom
A resident.
A resident.


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Post  mts Fri May 08, 2009 8:47 pm

There was a time when i lived in northern Finland and we had metal band were i played guitar and that split ways for some silly reason. So some of us teamed up and put together new band well soon we had idea for 2 bands and we had 2 singers, drummer and 2 guitar players so we decided that on hc punk band called Hysteria which i would play bass and other guitarist would play guitar and on crust/grindcore band called G.D.F.H. i would play guitar and this other guy would play bass. And difrent singer for each band. And that lasted maybe year and then i dint even have own bass or nothing. I then played crust bands singers leftys bass(im right handed) so it was kinda weird cause i learned all the song that i had stickest string down(if you get what i mean). I dint try pick my left hand cause after some years of guitar playing that felt impossible!

But well people grow up and move around so after year or so we dint have either of those bands. I moved south and couple of years went before i met some people who wanted to start a band. they dint have bass player so i bought bass and amp. we had practice room but we dint ever throw single practise with that group. So i was stuck with my bass gear and started learning. And here i am.

After that i used to part of 2 groups but i quit another one cause it wasent active enough for me and another one singer started to dislike me for some reason and other members were kinda "blackmailed" to vote me out. So now its just me and my bass looking for a new band except now im not sure do i have time for new band cause im working much evenings and nights. And on weekends im practising with my new crust/grind/hc-punk/metal/whatevernoise band and im playing guitar. Kinda annoying but well im found my self creating own stuff with bass.
mts
mts


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Post  SuperMaximo93 Fri May 08, 2009 8:58 pm

I was playing Guitar Hero World Tour one day in December, and decided to have a go on a real guitar, as I was bored. I doodled around with my little sister's accoustic and instructional book for 15 minutes, and I could play some simple sucky tune. My main problem was that the strings were to close together! Cool My sister came in and suggested I try bass so that we could play in a band. I said OK, that sounds cool, and researched bass a little, and liked what I read. A few days later I had a bass in my hands Very Happy I also happened to stumble accross talkbass.com on the same day I got it, which let me to...
...
...
Dmanlamius.com!!!! On the same day I got my bass! Very Happy I checked out Dman's vids and tried out Creep. In not much time at all I had perfected it, and the next day I went on to nail Cannonball, and then the verse of Come Together... etc.

My other friend who enjoyed playing GH with me decided to get a guitar, about 2 months after I started(He got a guitar the day I got a second bass after convincing myself that my current one sucked Laughing I found that I had thought correctly after trying out a load off basses in the shop). He's very dedicated, and he's already got many, many chords down, and has good technique and can play resonably fast. Then Funk Mail was started (after much debating and text messaging over a name). Now his brother has started guitar so we've got another guitarist. Drummer... We have a friend who says he'll get drums when he cleans out his shed... ... It could be a looong time... Mad At least Fruity Loops demo version exists Razz
SuperMaximo93
SuperMaximo93


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Post  Flycutter Fri May 08, 2009 9:21 pm

I learned to read music and play guitar in my senior year of high school. Two brothers I went to school with were in a bluegrass band with their parents but they already had a guitar player, so I bought a bass. It never really went anywhere so I sold the bass, that was in 1981.

Now, I have two daughters and the youngest one plays guitar and drums. I bought my current bass about 3 months ago to play along with her and her boyfriend who also plays guitar.
Flycutter
Flycutter


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Post  Protoplm Fri May 08, 2009 9:36 pm

My friend, by nick name of Splooge. I met him about two weeks earlier in geometry class. He turned around one day and asked me what I thought about playing drums. I had actually wanted to play an instrument and looked into drums a bit. I had/have an acoustic, which I got years ago.. just couldn't play it. It didn't work for me.

Well, it turns out Splooge wanted to help me buy a drum set.. and a few days later he decided that he just didn't feel the fire of passion from his bass, just embers. He gave me his Yamaha BB300 bass (Which is older than both of us.) and bought himself a drum set.

Immediately I was hooked, It just felt right.. I don't know. I was always a fan of Cliff Burton as well, so I had an immediate inspiration, regardless of having no knowledge of the instrument. I developed my love for music at that time and afterworlds found out that my older brother used to play alot of bass.. I've always looked up to him so that gave me even more of a goal to go for.

Since then I've been at it for 1-3 hours every day for about 5 months now.
Protoplm
Protoplm


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Post  Smaz Fri May 08, 2009 10:30 pm

"The band needed a bassist."

Yup, that's me. A couple of years, a couple of small gigs in pubs mainly. Nothing major.

Although after I decided to leave the band, I pretty much gave it up, but kept all my gear. I always said I played bass during a 2 year or so gap, but was embarassed about how good I actually was (or wasn't as the case was Very Happy). Then one day, a guy nicknamed Jules who is part of a gaming community I joined started talking to me about bass & showed me a couple of Victor Wooten videos. That was it. I never knew you could do THAT with a bass. So, I started playing again, and haven't stopped.
Smaz
Smaz


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Post  McSnuggles Fri May 08, 2009 11:42 pm

I was sitting in the car one day with my dad and a cool bassline came on the radio. I told my dad how I always liked the sound of a bass and thought a good bassist can make the difference between a great band and a crappy band. He, a guitarist for years, told me I should pick up a bass. I bought one off craigslist and found Dman to teach me.
McSnuggles
McSnuggles


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Post  Faceslide Sat May 09, 2009 6:16 am

This is kind of a question that is unanswerable in some points for me. I feel it is part of the base (ho ho!) of who I am, It never really has to be forced for me to practice or want to pick it up, It has just ingrained itself as part of my daily routine just like singing in the car or dancing like a mad man around the apartment to swing music. Something I naturally enjoying doing without any particular reward. Not trying to sound pretentious or anything.
I noticed when I was about 17 that I was oddly drawn to certain kinds of music and could never figure out what really made certain bands have the... pull. It was always the bass, I would sense it before I even knew what I was looking for. Its what drives the song, The guitar is the icing, but the Bass is the cake and personally, I would rather be the foundation than the trimming. I think it was Flea. as cliche as this sounds, that pushed me over the edge to actually invest, and the fact that guitarist are like jolly ranchers when compared to good bassist. So I borrowed one of my friends second hand acoustic electrics and have been trying at it ever sense, Although admittedly I only became REALLY dedicated about.... 2 months ago. A lot of you guys are serving as Inspiration for me, Especially some of you younger ones that are so fantastic its almost hard to believe. SO! you say you need percussion? I've got it baby, You say you want Rhythm? Well that's my middle name. And lets not get started on melody kids, Ive got a truckload.


cheers Thats that.
Faceslide
Faceslide


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Post  ThreeLetterSyndrom Sat May 09, 2009 6:57 am

Faceslide wrote:
You say you need percussion? I've got it baby, You say you want Rhythm? Well that's my middle name. And lets not get started on melody kids, Ive got a truckload.
That's a great saying! cheers

ThreeLetterSyndrom
A resident.
A resident.


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Post  lokki Sat May 09, 2009 12:10 pm

To be honest.

I started bass because it was the "Easy instrument".
I have bad blood circulation in my hands and my muscles needed more movement.
Working as a mechanic has your hands in tight lock with your tools most of the time.
It was actually my doctor's advice to play guitar. And well, the less strings the easier it is right?
My brother made fun of me about it, saying you can't play bass on it's own. It's a support instrument. Well, i work better supporting someone else anyway.
After my first year of just randomly hitting notes and sticking them together i started to look around for fun songs to learn.

That's how i came across Dman.
And then here.
So all in all, i don't know that much yet. And I'm pretty sure it's apparent.
lokki
lokki


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Post  david2545 Sat May 09, 2009 1:50 pm

i started playing because of playing guitar really


i had been learning guitar for a few months and my brother come to mine with a bass one day he had been playing for years so he was good lol

i was listening to him play bass an thought i wanna play bass it sounded alot better than what i was playing and i started to realise over the next few weeks most of my favorite parts in songs where done by bass an now here i am Smile been playing bass for a few months now Smile
david2545
david2545


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Post  Redstarking Sat May 09, 2009 3:41 pm

Well, originally I wanted to play an instrument that was easier then guitar but necessary to have in music. When I got my bass and started watching Dman's lessons I learned the the Bass is a compleatly unique instrument and I was very glad I started to learn how to play it.
Redstarking
Redstarking


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Post  WNx3fed Sat May 09, 2009 4:26 pm

i started playing because .... well i dont know ... for no apparent reason i wanted to learn bass Very Happy i had no inspiration and didn't really listen to many bass lines and think "i wish i could do that". I just randomly wanted to learn and i'm glad i did! its been awesome so far Very Happy
WNx3fed
WNx3fed


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Post  Guzco Sun May 10, 2009 2:29 am

I'd always been fascinated with great bass lines in songs. I've messed around with my friends guitar and always had a good time with it.
For a while I had been thinking about getting a bass but never really looked into it.

Then one day.. I had discovered slap bass and I was fascinated. I never had really realized how much it was used in some of the bands I listen to (including RHCP of course). I came across dman's videos on youtube one way or another and thought that would be a great help to getting me started... I looked at some basses, bought my sr300 and here I am today.
Guzco
Guzco


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Post  Fuzzy Sun May 10, 2009 7:37 am

Guzco wrote:I looked at some basses, bought my sr300 and here I am today.

Whats the SR300 like?
I'm in love with my SRX300 but i'm thinking of getting an SR in the future..
afro
Fuzzy
Fuzzy


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Post  stefk0 Sun May 10, 2009 2:43 pm

Because the cake monster told me to play it
stefk0
stefk0


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Post  lokki Sun May 10, 2009 2:52 pm

The cake is a lie!
lokki
lokki


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Post  SuperMaximo93 Sun May 10, 2009 3:02 pm

lokki wrote:The cake is a lie!

Unbelievable. You, subject name here, must be the pride of subject hometown here

Cool
SuperMaximo93
SuperMaximo93


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Post  lokki Sun May 10, 2009 3:19 pm

It's a compulsion, i can't help it...
lokki
lokki


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Post  Guzco Sun May 10, 2009 3:20 pm


Whats the SR300 like?
I'm in love with my SRX300 but i'm thinking of getting an SR in the future..
afro
Well I have the SR300fm
<-----
Same thing.

But anyway, why do you want an SR if you have an SRX, what's the difference?

Edit: Nevermind, this thread explains it pretty well
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1086840

Anyway, I'm probably not the one to ask about this because i really have not much experience with other basses but for my needs its very good.
Guzco
Guzco


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Post  general lee Sun May 10, 2009 6:50 pm

I've played the accordion for like 6 years I think, but then I said to myself that its time to play something more "modern"(?). I didn't want to play a guitar because everyone plays it, so I said "What about bass?". It suited me plus I found Dman on youtube, so here I am!
general lee
general lee


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Post  Lassepetri Mon May 11, 2009 7:55 am

My littlesister taught herself to play guitar. Then my father taught himself to play guitar. Then i thought, well fack that, if they can, then I sure as hell can too!

But alas.. I couldnt. I never really got the hang of playing the damn thing, I didnt find it interesting, the sound, the feeling, and .. well. I couldnt figure out how to handle 6 strings either Neutral .. And really.. I think a guitar is kindof... Ugly.

Then, some 12 months later, I got this crazy idea, that hmm.. Watching others playing their instruments on youtube was kinda fascinating. And whats this? A bass guitar? How intriguing! Can it really say like that? Oooh and like that? And what is that kind of funky sound?

So i started researching.

And by researching, I mean watching more videos.

Then i tumbled upon MarloweDK (who, as his name says, is a fellow dane!) and his site, playbassnow. From thereon, I really felt, that, damn, I wanna play that bass! So I bought my first bass as described in the 'which bass are you playing' thread, my peavey.

But then i found Dmans videos. His Creep-video, in fact, which was the first song i learned to play. All the videos have helped me alot, and scavenging the boards here, really keep the fire going, from fellow players talking to watching other ppl play. Its great Smile I am in fact, in a state where i just cant keep my fingers away from it, I just wanna pluck 'em strings!

So, you could say, that Marlowe got me into bass.
But Dman kept me going.


flower
Lassepetri
Lassepetri


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Post  Dmanlamius Mon May 11, 2009 10:38 am

That's great man, and I'm glad you have that passion and fire for it!

cheers

By the way, it just gets better and better and more and more addictive...Beware, you have gotten into something that may well be with you for life! Very Happy
Dmanlamius
Dmanlamius


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Post  Lassepetri Mon May 11, 2009 2:50 pm

Fire and passion indeed Cool I also find the bass guitar, an extremely well-looking instrument! fits my wall nicely!

And of all addictions, I guess playing the bass guitar, aint such a bad thing after all Smile eventhough some old Jazz-guy claimed, that i'll never earn a buck.


I guess im yet to prove that man wrong.
Lassepetri
Lassepetri


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