quantumeffect

Randy P
 
My advice. Get the kid a bass and amp. Keep the guitar, he may go back to it, or he may start learning both. Playing with both my kids are great memories, even when they were beginners.
 

I loaned him a Yamaha bass (with active electronics … I took the battery out) that I bought off of a bass player friend of mine many years ago so he can get started.  I do have an Ampeg cabinet with a 15” driver in it but I do not have a head for it.  If he sticks with it for a while I will look for something so he can start shaking the walls of the house.

There ya go! You might look around the local pawn shops or craigslist for a cheap head or combo. He's likely to get bored if he can't feel that low E rumble.

Randy P
 
There ya go! You might look around the local pawn shops or craigslist for a cheap head or combo. He's likely to get bored if he can't feel that low E rumble.

Funny you should say that because I always feel the "rumble" in many pieces of music, and it is one of the things that takes me away really fast. Likely the main reason why I never took the bass more seriously is because I never bought me an amp of some sort ... I wonder!

Playing bass may be a dirty job but someone has to do it. :)
 
Also, I found it is easy to become a big fish in a small pond while playing bass. Invitations to Interlochen, Julliard and Lawrence Welk's band (sad but true) were nice.

Ah one-a and-ah two-ah and... 

Dave - I suspect this thread really wasn't a serious request for parenting advice as I think you probably meant it as tongue in cheek, especially since you already have done the best thing possible for encouragement but not "going overboard" one way or the other.
 
I just want to say however, that if someone were really looking for advice on anything that one might really want to consider "the source."  some people give advice where they have absolutely no experience.
 
and also remember that we're all children here anyway.