knetzke11:ahh a baseball player?baseball's IMO the best sport ever
I'm sure my handle makes it apparent. I'm not one of those who took up bass because I couldn't handle guitar, (I started on it, and still play some) but because I truly love being a bass player. :) I am left handed, but play like a righty. (Just like Mr. Emmett, in fact. :)) Personally, I always felt having my stronger hand on the fret board was an advantage, if anything. I think guitars and basses are constructed backward. At least I needn't go through the trouble of finding left handed instruments, lol. Like Mr. Mike, I play predominantly with a pick. This was a carry over from starting out on guitar and I also I actually prefer the more defined sound a pick gives me. I was influenced a great deal by Chris Squire, also a pick player, who is still my all time favorite bassist, (Sorry Geddy, love you too though!!) even though there are alot of bands I prefer to Yes.
Through out much of my band playing youth, I played a newer edition (new for back then, lol) Fender Jazz bass that I upgraded with EMG pickups and a badass bridge. I also used briefly a stock Fender Precision and a Rickenbacker 4001. Now the Rick I always loved for that distinct sound. But, I always -loathed- that gigantic scratch plate and the gigantic rear pickup, which would get in the way of my pick alot of the time. (and somehow the instrument just has a really dated 70's look about it) Worst, of all the edge of the Rick body is angled, rather than curved like a Fender. Like alot of bassists, I pick back near the bridge to get a firmer sound. But resting my arm on that angled body was painful after a few songs! Thus, out went the Rick and I got the jazz bass, which is surely one the world's most comfortable and playable bass guitars.
Fast forward to some years ago. Rickenbacker created the Laredo and Cheyenne 4004 lines, that eliminate everything I hated about the earlier models. (scratch plate, giant pickup and angled body are all gone! ) They are beautiful, highly playable instruments. Had to have!! But, they did not make many. And ordering an instrument from Rickenbacker is friggin' SLOW. (Like well over a year.) But, to my delight, found a Laredo on eBay and snagged it for a decent price. *True Love* My main axe, today.
I also play a Dean eight string (the Edge model, nothing too fancy) which I whip out when the guitarist starts getting too uppity, lol. It's not suited for a lot of things, but for certain parts I love it. Also, you can play the coolest sounding harmonics on those. I've never gotten into five or six string basses, for the simple fact I hate the wider necks. Especially the six. You could serve lunch on that friggin' neck! (In case any non-musicians who happen to be reading are confused why I play an eight, which has more strings, it's cause the strings are paired, like a twelve string guitar, so the neck is little wider than a four. An eight is basically just a four with a different sound.)
Amplification: I am still an Ampeg groupie. I use a 3PRO head atop a 410HE enclosure. Sounds KILLER!! Some people say bassists should be felt and not heard. Well, I am not happy unless I am felt AND heard. Rickenbacker + Ampeg = your presence will not go unnoticed, even under the thickest and most overdriven of guitar tones. Mostly for fun, I have a ZoomBFX-708II multi-effects processor. Don't use a whole lot, but it comes in handy now and then. I don't play all that much these days, I could get buy with a less pricey set up, but what can I say, I love my toys!!
Prolly more data than anyone wanted to know, lol, but I have some time to kill tonight.