Why are they so scarce?

[str8h8]

Good bass players, that is! Why can't anyone seem to find a good bass player and why are they so rare? Just wondering what everyone thinks.

[songsmith]

I think there's a perception that there's more "glory" in being out front singing, or playing lead guitar. Of course, that's not exactly true... in music, everything's what you make it. Then there's the "tightness factor." A good bass player has to have the timing of a drummer, and the ability to synch up perfectly with said drummer, or the entire band will sound sloppy. You have to be able to play well enough to stand out, but being too flowery or overplaying can also bite you in the behind... lots of music calls for simply supplying single-line 1/8th notes behind the guitar chords, and you're there just for bottom end, while some music needs fluid walking lines, or percussive high-fret stuff, or thick funk, or Geddy-like prog runs... say what you want, I started out in bands as a bassist, and it's harder than it looks. Too many people take the bottom end for granted until it ain't there... ever play on after the bass rig breaks down halfway through a song? It doesn't sound like a band anymore.---->JMS

[bassist_25]

Songsmith hit many points, dead-on. A lot of people think that bassists are failed guitarist, or that it's an inferior instrument because it only has 4 strings. (They also said the same thing about guitar, until Segovia proved them wrong) People also think that because you can play guitar, all you have to do is adjust your technique to bass, and wah-la, you can play bass. Nothing could be further from the truth. Each instrument has an entirely different approach to it. Geezer Butler played guitar in Sabbath (well, it was probaly still Earth then) before switching to bass. And you know what? Every time I listen to a Sabbath song, it sounds like a guitarist trying to play bass. That's not to say that guitarists can't become great bassists, (Sir Paul McCartney, is IMO, one of the best to pick up the instrument) but it's niave to think that just because you can play one, you already know how to play the other. I also never bought the idea that bassists don't get recognition. I always seem to get compliments from musicians, and non-musicians alike. I don't say that to brag or anything; that's just my own personal experiencence. I remember someone once said, "Bass is one of the most easy instruments to play, and one of the hardest to master". I think he hit the nail on the head with that. Bass is an easy instrument to get into because you can get away with root noting in a lot of music, but if you want to even touch the level of guys like McCartney, Wooten, Pastorious, Berlin, Squier, Watt, Lee, Levin, Manring, or Jamerson, you have A LOT of work ahead of you.

As far as the first question; I really don't know how to answer that. I do know that I really like being in a seller's market. I can be as choosey as I want about who I play with. I don't have to accept a gig, just because "that's all there is". But the funny thing is, people say, "Guitar players are a dime-a-dozen", and I don't find that to be true at all. Sure, there are a ton of hack players, but top notch guitarists are just as hard to find as good bass players, drummers, keyboardist, ect. I think the top players are elusive to find, no matter what instrument they play.