Ok , so you have learned all of this incredible music , you have a drummer that is a clone of Dean Castranovo , and a dude down the street on summer break from college playing bass....that wont do.

An instructor at my sons Taekwondo school was talking about music the other week ( I just listen anymore , my battle is over ) ...he said " yeah , I used to play bass , but switched to guitar because I wanted more of a challenge ". Man , I must have looked like a lunatic as memories from years ago flashed in front of me. All of the covers from Iron Maiden , Rush , Yes , Yngwie , The Who , Racer-X , MacAlpine. The original music we had with many all instrumental tunes. It never even fucking EVER crossed my mind that I had it easier than anyone else in the band. When I got home I broke out my olld 79 Precision ...damn near every fret is worn close to wood , many more than others. I went and looked at my old rig...beat up cabinets , a rack full of gear that is no longer made.

So , I thought about why I decided on less glamorous instrument. I was in the 6th grade ( 1981 ) and a friend needed a bass player for the talent show. We played TNT from AC/DC , and the crowd reaction , the girls , man that was the way to go. After that I learned more songs , and music theory , jazz in high school...bass guitar was just so " endless " to me in my mind. My band got in with a promotional company in high school and were playing large clubs ( we'd just go to school parking lot after playing and struggle though the day ).

I just thought it was so cool to be the entire rhythm section during a solo , or unison / harmony melodies with one or two guitar players , and I had a solo spot every night...how was playing bass not cool ?
I always seemed to find cool bass parts composing music on grand staff. I'd draw out the main riff ( or melody ) and be able to see the many possibilites outside of the root note ( it's adds so much depth to the overall sound of the band ).

So , I played covers like " Autumn Lords " , Scarified , Motor Man , YYZ , etc. , composed / recorded / played original music during a time that expected musicianship , banged this stuff out three nights a week and working full time , all of this dragging 2 guitar cords from my Precision...and some fool tells me he wants more of a challenge.

A good bass player conducts himself as a musician and never wants to take the " easy way " out of anything relating to " execution ". And bless those that carry on , my day is done . - freak

I feel your emotion, like when someone tells me electric guitar is stupid and i should have done violin or something pffft.

I have all the respect for good bassists and I love the instrument (although I can't play one for crap).

Every time I write original stuff and then bass tracks for them, I always try to par them with the guitar. I want all the instruments to be as technically challenging and to have their own shine spots.

There's some monster bass-players out there...Billy Sheehan, Jaco Postorious, Geddy Lee, Steve Harris....they'd give a lot of guitar players a run for their money lol..

I seen David Lee Roth on the Eat Em and Smile tour and Vai and Sheehan were just phenominal together...Sheehan was every bit as technical as Vai, make no mistake...Billy is one of the kings of bass players...

A good bass player is truly hard to find, probably harder than finding a competent guitarist....when you find a good bass player, you hang on to them lol...

I agree with you 100%, I have even thought of switching to bass in the past ,or even drums. No matter what you choose, you have something to offer, and never ending learning/advancement.

What bassists do you rate Hvac? I like Sheehan, Claypool etc but Victor Wooten just blows me away!

The only truly magnificent bass players i am aware of are Cliff Burton, Jason Newstead and Steve Harris. I think i have seen the name Sheehan somewhere but for the most part i haven't heard of any of those guys that have been mentioned.

Check out Billy Sheehan on youtube Steve. He formed Mr Big along with Paul Gilbert. He totally burns those guys you mentioned. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiC5Xc5f7HE

Jeff Berlin is my favorite , along with Bill Sheehan for sure. Victor Wooton , Stanley Clarke , Chris Squire , Geddy Lee of course.

http://www.billysheehan.com/audio.html

Scroll down to misc. and check out " Screeming Bluesomania " with Paul Gilbert. This was an insert ( a flimsey 45 rpm record )in a Guitar Player magazine ( same with the MacAlpine tune ).

Have you ever heard of a player called Kjell Benner? I think that is his name. I had a dvd where he did an eight finger tapping version of Toccatta and Fugue.

Thanks so much for posting that link hvacfreak! I haven't heard screaming bluesomania for years - I used to have that flexi disc of it back in the day.