Hi, I’m Jeff, and I’m 47 and live in the Detroit metro area. Played piano as a kid/teen, and have futzed around with regular guitar, but wanted to play bass, so here I am. Signed up for the lessons a couple weeks ago, but I’m currently waiting for my bass to be set up at the local guitar shop. They had a setup backlog, which is a good thing for a local business I guess, but I’d like to start playing! Hopefully within the next couple days or so. Anyway, it’ll give me time to decide on a practice amp. Nothing like shopping for gear, right?
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Welcome to the Forums, @zipgun2099 . . . 
You’re in the right place here . . . a little retail therapy is good for you, too! What kind of bass did you get?
Good luck and see you around, Joe
Welcome zipgun!
I’m new to the Bass and the course as well (Working through Module 4 right now). I am located in Ann Arbor and am about 10 years older than you, LOL - whereabouts in the Metro area, maybe we’ll be able to jam together at some point!
Loving the course thus far, I’m sure you will as well!
Cheers,
Kevin
Hey Matt @The_Baron , welcome to the forum and the course! I hope having some solid guidance helps you get to the next level and feel a little more gifted!
Also, I’d recommend reading a book called Talent Is Overrated, it’s full of interesting stuff on the topic of ‘giftedness,’ which you can guess the angle of from the title.
And welcome Jeff @zipgun2099! Sorry you’re having to wait so long for that setup, they must be really busy! A basic setup takes like 30 minutes max, most of the time.
Hi all, I just started on my way to becoming a badass (on bass at least, lol) I’ve been into music for years, started out “singing” in a band as a teenager, started playing guitar in my 20’s until a series of very unfortunate injuries to my left hand convinced me that being a guitarist wasn’t in the cards for me. Fast forward to now, I’m in my early fifties and decided that I would give the bass a try. So far, so good. I started tinkering and figured out how to play a couple of songs on my own (Brain Stew by Green Day and Rock You Like a Hurricane by Scorpions) and started doing some scales but I decided I need a structured path to learn and here I am.
In addition to being a fledgling bass player I’m also a parent to a teenager that plays guitar, I’m a Plumber and instructor to make a living, a golfer, and biker. I’ve also spent time learning the martial arts of Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate. My musical tastes are mainly rock and metal but in learning how to be a complete bassist/musician I’m open and willing to learn any style of music. Bassists in my musical orbit that stand out are (in no particular order) Pete Way, Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, Paul McCartney, Sting, David Ellefson, Mark Clarke, and Phil Kennemore. There’s many more but I don’t want to write a novel here.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my intro!
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Welcome aboard, @funplumbin1 . . .
You’ll enjoy your time here! Josh’s lessons are great and I’ve really learned a lot from them. Good luck to you, and see you around the Forums.
All best, Joe
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Welcome. You will enjoy the course.
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Welcome @funplumbin1
That’s great! Maybe you can catch up to them and play music together. 
Nice! There a couple other martial arts enthusiasts kicking around here somewhere… including me, in an extreme beginner capacity. Was studying Jeet Kune Do + assorted other stuff for a year or so before moving away from the place I was training. And I miss it a lot!
Hello, I’m 63 years young retired from the Forest Service Wildland Fire & Recreation. Just started playing bass about 3 months ago, played off & on because of death in the family no time & I found this site in the mean time, purchased the Beginner to Badass program, by the way awesome program… So I’m playing again & loving it… Thank you for putting these lessons together… Val
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Welcome, @sundancex2 . . .
You’ll enjoy being here, and the course is great 
See you around the Forums!
All best, Joe
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Hey, @Gio . . .
Just checked out your website at BASS — GIOBENEDETTI.COM Didn’t realize you have such an extensive and varied background . . . very interesting!
Thanks for all your posts and for sharing some of your wisdom . . .
All best, Joe
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Hey there Joe!
Thanks for checking things out.
Music and art, art and music, and lots of different bass work!
Yes - variety is the spice of life… and good bass playing, methinks. My week this week the bass life was/will be:
Mixing new funk EP
Country Honky Tonk gig
Alison Krauss tribute gig
Original Funk gig
Sunday church-rock service gig
I’m telling everyone here - the best discipline / lesson / bass example I’ve gotten has been the country honky tonk gig. The old stuff. Minimal, perfect, and only what is necessary. It’s been informing every other thing I’ve done.
Well, shoot. Time to get rehearsin’ again. These epic 17 minute Phish-esque jam tunes won’t learn themselves…
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Hi all. I’m Ray. I’m 61 and just this morning I purchased the lessons that I badly need. Two years ago I went through my second battle with cancer. I could no longer work. My brother in law loaned me a bass guitar and I would attempt to learn it, but with being sick, weak and hard to concentrate, it was not meant to be. He took his bass back. Two years past and he offers to let me have his beautiful Carvin LB70. He shipped it last month and I’ve been practicing on YT channel lessons.
Anyway, as I said, I purchased this program today and practiced for well over two hours. Seemed like half hour. I’m stoked.
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Welcome aboard, @SugarRay319
Good luck with the lessons!
Hope you have a lot of fun with them and with your new gear.
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Welcome Ray!
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Welcome @SugarRay319! Enjoy that Carvin, they make some beautiful basses! Glad you’re having fun with the course.
I really am. I’m doing your course in the morning and I’m getting ready to do it again. My wife is home so my dog doesn’t feel neglected.
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Okay, I’ll jump in…
I tried playing drums in high school, and then switched to trumpet. I never exceeded at either, mainly because I was too lazy, too distracted, and too disinterested in learning to read music. A shame, because my brother and father were both (brother still is) professional musicians.
I’ve always loved bass, and spent much of my life regretting never having taken it up. Whenever I listen to music or watch a live band, I tend to focus on the bass, always wishing I had learned to play it.
A few years ago, I attended the U2 concert, where we had floor tickets. We ended up right at the edge of the stage within a couple yards from the band. While my date was rocking out and watching Bono, I drifted over to the side of the stage, where I spend the entire performance mesmerized by Adam Clayton and his magnificent bass playing. I left there with the burning desire to learn to play the bass, but convinced myself that I was too old.
Fast forward to November 2018 when I was diagnosed with throat cancer. While going through four months of chemo and radiation treatments, and then recovering at home, one of my favorite sayings kept drifting through my mind:
“Don’t die with the music still in you”.
I don’t recall where I first heard that saying, but it never made more sense than it does now.
So here I am… a couple weeks away from my 70th birthday and miraculously, cancer free. Last week, I fulfilled my passion and bought a bass and amp (plus all the other odds and ends) So far, I’ve managed to learn the C Major scale and a couple of simple riffs. I’ve watched many videos on YouTube, and Josh’s were by far the most helpful and entertaining. Today, I finally decided to jump in, and signed up for the B2B course.
I’m still a rocker at 70 years old, and look forward to becoming a “Bad-ass bass playing rocker chick”!
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Okay. So I’ve been away for a bit. I’ve been trying to record myself and my own songs while my band was on a, what? ending? hiatus? Whatever it was I had no control and got quite depressed about it. I reverted to type thankfully and started to write my own stuff again. I am in the process of learning to mix and master my own shit, where I play everything solo. So I learned (am learning) keyboards and drums as well as bass and guitar. Jack of all, master of none (yet). In that process I found I could use slide pretty ok, which was a surprise both stylistically and mentally! My first effort is on Soundcloud for those interested. I’d like to thank all on Bassbuzz, especially our dear leaders, Josh and Gio for just being. My link is here:
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