New incoming gear and a new series

This weekend, my wife and I completed our Christmas shopping for each other. We do things a little different than most people - we order our presents online, together. That means there are no surprises, but it also means there are no disappointments either. It works out quite well.

We usually get one big-ticket item, and this year, my big ticket item is a bass. Or more accurately, a Fender "Stop Dreaming, Start Playing" Bass Pack, complete with a Squier bass, a nice Fender Rumble 15 amp, and a wad of accessories like a gig bag, cord, strap, and tuner. I have to say, I haven't been this excited about a new gear purchase in a long time.

I decided to go with the Jazz Bass instead of the P-Bass, despite the fact that I think the P-Bass looks a lot better. There's just something about that shape that just looks right to me. Still, the Jazz Bass has the kind of tone that I prefer, plus Geddy Lee plays one, so what else do you need?

I'm also going to start a new series to coincide with the new bass that will chronicle my bass learning experience. I'm trying to think of a good name. I was going to go with something cheesy like "Bass Emotions" but I may just call it "John Learns the Bass." When I make my first post, you'll know what I picked.

Since buying the bass, I've also been listening to music differently. It's like a whole new world is opening up to me. I listened to my "guitar" playlist on my iPod - the one that has all the songs I can play on guitar - and the songs sounded different to me. I heard the bass, not the guitar. Sure the guitar was still there, but it moved to the background. I was locked into the bass lines and I heard things I've never heard before, even on songs that I've heard hundreds of times. I hope that my actual experience playing the bass is as good, because I feel like this may be My Thing. I feel like I may have missed my calling all these years. Perhaps that's why it has taken me so long to improve on the guitar. Perhaps I was meant to be a bassist. At least I'm a prog fan. I can't think of any other genre except maybe funk in which the bass is given such a prominent role.

The bass pack will arrive in the mail within the week, but I won't open it until Christmas. I really don't know if I'll be able to wait that long. Shortly after, I'll start the new bass series. I'm looking forward to re-learning the songs I already know on guitar, and beyond.

I was wrong. I do know that I won't be able to wait until Christmas. Help!