Basshappi wrote: So I guess John Paul Jones, Chris Squire, Paul McCartney, Sting, Allen Woody, Phil Lesh, Bobby Vega, Andy West, Carol Kaye, Ed Friedland, Duff McKegan, Steve Swallow, Mike Gordon, Dave Schools, Roger Waters (those are just the few I could think of right off the top of my head)...aren't bass players?
True, but imagine how successful they might have been had they learned to play the "right" way, or at least consulted with the experts loitering at GC first. 
It never ceases to amaze me how obsessed people can be with turning things into some sort of competition in their minds, as if we can't all share in the joy of music via our own muse/style. Many roads can lead to that goal, and I'm always fascinated when I see someone doing something cool out of the box or beyond conventional wisdom. (Not that playing with a pick is so "radical"  ). I've seen that kind of negative attitude at all levels, from the bedroom dipshits who felt they smoked everyone because they spent hours learning a couple of Billy Sheehan's two hand tapping licks, to studio cats so self-absorbed they've forgotten that everyone starts somewhere, including them. In either case, I can only equate it to personal insecurity.
Years ago I was picking up my Rick from my (then) repairman in Brooklyn who did a setup for me when in walks a well-known studio bassist (who shall be worthless), who was apparently a regular customer there and was used to having his ass kissed and his boring stories listened to with every baited breath. So I'm checking out my bass and experimenting with different amps in the store. I wasn't there to do a f*ckin' performance, I'm there to try out my instrument and noodle around to check the work on my setup. I naturally launch into a few classic Rick licks (Squire, G. Lee, McCartney, etc.) so I can make sure it still sounds like a goddamn Rick and not an EBO or something, and wouldn't you know it, Mr. Studio Cat is commenting behind me to the repairman, "Yeah, he he, I USED to play that kind of stuff...when I was young and inexperienced" or something along those lines. Continues on with his prerequisite name dropping and how great he is, and the two of them are having a nice little giggle at my expense before I finally turn around and say, "Hey! Schmuck #1! I'm not here to put on a f*ckin' show for you and I don't give a shite who you've played with. I'm here to try out equipment and make sure that Schmuck #2 hasn't screwed up my bass." Repairman looks horrified, not because he disrespected me as a customer but because I insulted his precious "name" customer, to which I paid him and told him I'll never set foot in his dump again.
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