So what makes a double bass player different from a bass guitar player?

[Terry McDougal]

I play the double bass.
I just had a wee peek at the bass guitar part of this forum. Well, they might as well be banjo players! They talk a different language.
I known we're a' Jock Tamson's bairns, but they do seem different. Tell me, what do we have in common and in what ways are we different?

[Thomas Erickson]

I tend to think jazz DB players and bass guitarists have much more in common than either does with the symphony player, but that's just me. While I dabble in jazz and BG, my education and interest lie as a symphony player, and when I talk bass with jazz musicians I don't feel like we're even from the same planet, let alone playing the same instrument.

And that isn't judging or faulting anyone; I have a lot of respect for guys who play other instruments and different types of music! It's just that playing in the orchestra is a totally different approach to the instrument, IMO, while playing pizz on the DB (by comparison) is really pretty similar to bass guitar.

[Scott Pope]

It's kind of like what some people say about the USA and the UK: two great nations separated by a common language -- for DB and EB, it's two great instruments separated by a common tuning.

[Terry McDougal]

Originally Posted by Thomas Erickson

I tend to think jazz DB players and bass guitarists have much more in common than either does with the symphony player, but that's just me. While I dabble in jazz and BG, my education and interest lie as a symphony player, and when I talk bass with jazz musicians I don't feel like we're even from the same planet, let alone playing the same instrument.

And that isn't judging or faulting anyone; I have a lot of respect for guys who play other instruments and different types of music! It's just that playing in the orchestra is a totally different approach to the instrument, IMO, while playing pizz on the DB (by comparison) is really pretty similar to bass guitar.

Some of us improvisers play a lot of arco Thomas. I personally practise about 90% arco - though I really should increase my pizz practice. A lot of us slightly older improvisers are classically trained, though the younger ones usually come through jazz schools now (where I live). I actually have a degree in classical playing, but haven't played in orchestras for years. I have to say that I really value that classical training = good technique. Hey, but I'm just a humble Scotsman.