Bass was my first serious instrument outside of playing trumpet in school band as a kid. I started out by making up bass lines on the low strings of one of my dad's acoustics, while he played the other one. I got my first actual bass, a 3/4 sized harmony, in 1986.
The first thing that blew me away was when I found out that real basses are tuned the same as the low strings on a guitar, so I didn't have to re-learn anything I'd already worked out! Bonus! I played the bejeezus out of that little harmony bass. However, it didn't take long at all until I was ready for an upgrade.
My second bass was a 70's Ampeg "Little Stud" short scale that was sort of a P Bass copy. I bought it at a yard sale for $50. I thought it was the score of the century. It was the first bass I gigged heavily and toured with in my teens. I pretty much learned to play for real and be in a working band with it. But, I always lusted after Fender basses. It was west Texas in the 80's, so there really wasn't a big selection. All the Tejano music guys played Peaveys, all the rock kids played Ibanez or Jackson, and all the old school rock and blues guys played Fenders. As did all my heroes. Including Duff and Steve Harris. I wanted a Fender. I managed to score a '66 Jazz in a pawn shop deal, but thought it was an awful bass. I knew nothing about fretwork or setups at that point and just thought it was a terrible piece.
In the spring of 1992 I was just shy of 19, and had finally saved enough money for a new American Fender bass. I agonized for weeks over whether to order a P or a J from the only local dealer for hundreds of miles. They didn't stock them. It was special order only, and you had to pay in full up front, with no possibility of a return or a refund. I wanted to get it right. On the advice of the guy who worked there, I went for the Jazz, because "it has more pickups so you'll be able to get more sounds". A few weeks later, I had a brand new American Standard Jazz in Midnite Wine. I sold my Ampeg to my best friend to help raise the last of the money. That Jazz was the only bass I used pretty much exclusively for several years. Touring, recording, everything.
Also during that time, I got really serious about playing guitar. I started writing songs, and doing solo singer/songwriter gigs with a bass guitar didn't seem like a workable idea. I kept playing bass in bands, but started working more and more on my own as a singer songwriter. Then I actually got asked to front some bands, and play guitar. Eventually, I got in some financial trouble and only had guitar gigs, so I sold my amp and the Jazz Bass to pay my rent.
Over the many years that followed, I would frequently pick up a bass gig or short tour, and run out and buy what was easily cheap and available. I went through basses by pretty much every off the rack, big box store brand. I had Jacksons, Ibanez, Washburn, Yamaha, built a couple Warmoths, even had a couple G&L and Gibson basses, tried a P or three, but never had another Jazz.
Fast forward. Almost a year ago, I was totally burned out and just tired of everything. In all this time, playing music has been pretty much my only job. I had other issues besides my music problems, but I really, really didn't want to play guitar anymore. I hated it. Going to "work" was making me literally lose my mind. It was at that time I discovered that all I really wanted to do was play bass again. I enjoyed it so much. It was the only time I had any fun. But I couldn't land a full time gig. I had invitations out the wazoo to play guitar. But nobody I was interested in working with wanted me to play bass. I kept being told I'd be "wasted" and/or "get bored" in that position. I got really down in the dumps, and pretty much stopped working altogether.
Then one day and dear friend called me from Detroit. Their band was booked full time, all over the country, and just lost their bass player. The only other guy that he really wanted to hire, who could take off and do the gig, had just taken a gig with a much bigger band. He didn't know what he was going to do. I thought about it for all of about six seconds and said "I'll do it". He laughed and said "yeah, right". I said "no, seriously, I'll do it." He couldn't believe it. I've been working with them ever since. And the first thing I did was call up Sweetwater and order a shiny new American Jazz. All those other basses that came and went, literally over a hundred of them in the last twenty five years or so, and I immediately felt like I'd just gotten home from a way too long and grueling vacation the moment I lifted it out of the case.
I'm happy now. Don't know if I'll stay that way forever, but I do know I wish I'd made this move years ago. It's like coming home.
The first thing that blew me away was when I found out that real basses are tuned the same as the low strings on a guitar, so I didn't have to re-learn anything I'd already worked out! Bonus! I played the bejeezus out of that little harmony bass. However, it didn't take long at all until I was ready for an upgrade.
My second bass was a 70's Ampeg "Little Stud" short scale that was sort of a P Bass copy. I bought it at a yard sale for $50. I thought it was the score of the century. It was the first bass I gigged heavily and toured with in my teens. I pretty much learned to play for real and be in a working band with it. But, I always lusted after Fender basses. It was west Texas in the 80's, so there really wasn't a big selection. All the Tejano music guys played Peaveys, all the rock kids played Ibanez or Jackson, and all the old school rock and blues guys played Fenders. As did all my heroes. Including Duff and Steve Harris. I wanted a Fender. I managed to score a '66 Jazz in a pawn shop deal, but thought it was an awful bass. I knew nothing about fretwork or setups at that point and just thought it was a terrible piece.
In the spring of 1992 I was just shy of 19, and had finally saved enough money for a new American Fender bass. I agonized for weeks over whether to order a P or a J from the only local dealer for hundreds of miles. They didn't stock them. It was special order only, and you had to pay in full up front, with no possibility of a return or a refund. I wanted to get it right. On the advice of the guy who worked there, I went for the Jazz, because "it has more pickups so you'll be able to get more sounds". A few weeks later, I had a brand new American Standard Jazz in Midnite Wine. I sold my Ampeg to my best friend to help raise the last of the money. That Jazz was the only bass I used pretty much exclusively for several years. Touring, recording, everything.
Also during that time, I got really serious about playing guitar. I started writing songs, and doing solo singer/songwriter gigs with a bass guitar didn't seem like a workable idea. I kept playing bass in bands, but started working more and more on my own as a singer songwriter. Then I actually got asked to front some bands, and play guitar. Eventually, I got in some financial trouble and only had guitar gigs, so I sold my amp and the Jazz Bass to pay my rent.
Over the many years that followed, I would frequently pick up a bass gig or short tour, and run out and buy what was easily cheap and available. I went through basses by pretty much every off the rack, big box store brand. I had Jacksons, Ibanez, Washburn, Yamaha, built a couple Warmoths, even had a couple G&L and Gibson basses, tried a P or three, but never had another Jazz.
Fast forward. Almost a year ago, I was totally burned out and just tired of everything. In all this time, playing music has been pretty much my only job. I had other issues besides my music problems, but I really, really didn't want to play guitar anymore. I hated it. Going to "work" was making me literally lose my mind. It was at that time I discovered that all I really wanted to do was play bass again. I enjoyed it so much. It was the only time I had any fun. But I couldn't land a full time gig. I had invitations out the wazoo to play guitar. But nobody I was interested in working with wanted me to play bass. I kept being told I'd be "wasted" and/or "get bored" in that position. I got really down in the dumps, and pretty much stopped working altogether.
Then one day and dear friend called me from Detroit. Their band was booked full time, all over the country, and just lost their bass player. The only other guy that he really wanted to hire, who could take off and do the gig, had just taken a gig with a much bigger band. He didn't know what he was going to do. I thought about it for all of about six seconds and said "I'll do it". He laughed and said "yeah, right". I said "no, seriously, I'll do it." He couldn't believe it. I've been working with them ever since. And the first thing I did was call up Sweetwater and order a shiny new American Jazz. All those other basses that came and went, literally over a hundred of them in the last twenty five years or so, and I immediately felt like I'd just gotten home from a way too long and grueling vacation the moment I lifted it out of the case.
I'm happy now. Don't know if I'll stay that way forever, but I do know I wish I'd made this move years ago. It's like coming home.
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