After an ill-advised sojourn into an attempt at playing acoustic guitar, I’ve purchased an electric bass again. I think my true calling reveals itself.
Now, “Playing?” you may ask, and I say “Well, poorly, but I like buying gear”…
Excellent. I had wanted to take up bass guitar for years, but never did until less than a year and a half ago, and even though I’m not in a band, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Oh, and if you haven’t been there, www.talkbass.com is an awesome resource for bassists, whether they play slab or doghouse.
Hells yea!
[BEGIN Pointless Musician Tale]
I actually got started when I was 16 when my friends needed a bass player for their band. That didn’t work out–they got offended when I showed up for practice all the time, on time–and hadn’t done the band thing since. Then I moved twice and didn’t have the bass with me for about a year. And then (and currently) I lived in an apartment and I didn’t want to torment my neighbors with my loud, obnoxious playing. I played electric guitar previously and just ran my bass through my old guitar amp, turned on the distortion, and played really loud.
Anyway, so I got the acoustic for that, but I’d never play it. My fingers are too damn big for a lil fretboard. And I’d been jonesing for a bass again for a while and the urge struck tonight. So a sexy blue Yamaha is on its way to my house. With a “headphone amp” that sounded like what I needed.
[/PMT]
So yea, it’s cool. I need a band of equally non-talented, like-minded idiots to join…
While we’re on the bass stories, I feel like sharing that the other day, I ran my guitar through an effects pedal with the setting on a one-octave-down “whammy,” and then turned the bass all the way up on the pedal and my amp, and thus made my guitar into a crude fake bass. Some of the notes sounded bad because of the harmonics, but I still got that nice warm vibratey feeling all through my gutty-wuts, and annoyed my neighbors at the same time.
I used to borrow my friend’s effects box, wire the bass through that, and turn on the distortion. And I used to play it tuned a full step down. You’ve never heard anything like a phaser-ed, compressed bass.
Oh, bass. I thought this was a fishin’ thread. Being a keyboardist myself, I must share my favorite bass joke:
How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
None. The piano player can do it with his left hand.
runs away, covering head 
Not sure if this is MPSIMS or Cafe Society stuff, probably equal parts of both. But if it’s about bass, I’m interested. Bass is cool, and the headphone amp should please the neighbors. Have fun!
And my advice, which I know is not for everyone, but it does it for me: lose the frets! Bass is cool, fretless is cooler. If I had the time to master it, the money to buy it, and the space to store it, I’d move on to the coolest instrument of all, the double bass.
I put it in MPSIMS cause we’re not talking too much technical stuff. But the Mods’ll move it. I haven’t actually considered going fretless or adding more strings–though Musician’s Friend had some nice 5 n 6 string basses on sale and I was tempted, but I barely know how to play four.
[fuddy-duddy mode] Ah, if you can’t play it on four, you can’t play it on five (or six or seven or eight…or nine…[sub]or twelve[/sub]…[sub]or eighteen[/sub]…) [fuddy-duddy mode]
After many years of of indecisiveness, I bought a bass (Rickenbacker 4001 Jetglow). I’m waiting on an amp and then I’ll be ready to start learning.
“Are you bass-in?”
“I’m bass-in like a Mason”
“I’m bass-in so much my heart is racin’”
“Hey guys, I’m bassing.”
Yeah, well Stanley Jordan can do it with his right hand, so nyah!
:smack:
I thought the fuddy-duddy saying was “If you can’t play it on a four, it shouldn’t be played on a five or six.” I’ve only got a four right now, but there are things you can play on a five, six, seven, or eight that you can’t play on a four. Whatever works for the musician.
Bass is so sweet. I got mine almost a year ago and I still can’t play much of anything, but that doesn’t bother me, because it just sounds so cool no matter what you play. What settings do you guys play with on standard amps (no effects, just high, mid, low)?
I’ve been playing more guitar lately, but I still can’t resist picking up the bass frequently, just to have that feeling of real power behind you. Before I started playing, I never realized just how thin and pathetic a guitar sounds, because I’m so used to hearing it with a bass playing along. You can work with it, tune it down, make it fuller, but you’re never gonna get the kind of BOOM that a bass makes.
Plus they compliment each other. You play guitar for a while, then when you play bass the frets feel huge and you can totally get in to your groove. You play bass for a while, then when you play guitar it feels like a little toy, and you feel like you’re totally shredding. Heh.
I love em both.
LC
I forgot to mention my favorite bass website: www.bunnybass.com . I especially recommend the amusing bass section.
LC
I know. I, being a drummer firstly and a student of the bass guitar second[sup]1[/sup], merely took this oft-quoted saying that I heard applied to the drumkit:
If it can’t be played on four (drums), it can’t be played on five…
and threw it into my post with a ‘bass’ context, since I have somewhat the same opinion.
To me, three octaves is enough for any kind of backing work, with the odd exception of a 5’er here and there.
[sub]1. Though I am a student of the drum, as well, for as long as I play.[/sub]
Someone who stayed at my home for a while decided to leave behind a cheezy old Mateo bass and a rather nice Park bass amp with a 15" cone. I tried for years to get it back to him. Finally gave up and now use it to lay down tracks for my other work.
Bass is fun to play, lots of elbow room on the fretboard.
How do you get a bass player off of your doorstep?
Pay for the Pizza.
Good luck with your new instrument. Most importantly, have fun!