did you keep your 1st bass?

[tmw]

Still have mine. A '78 Fender P Bass purchased in May '79.

Time flies.

 

[Frank77]

I could never put enough distance between me and my first bass. It was a Squier HM (I think that's what they called them - pointy headstock, late 80s - early 90s kinda vibe). Super uncomfortable neck and weakest pickups ever made. Every time you finally put it down, it made you want to never play it again. I traded it in for like 75$ when I bought my second bass (which I still own), a US G&L L-2500.

I was thinking of strings and a setup.
New PUs and different preamp sounds interesting.
Ugh .... loss of playing time though .... decisions decisions....

Sounds like a lot of work, and you have 3 other basses.

 

[zon6c-f]

My first was a used Kay. S scale sing pup flat wounds
Parents bought it for me as I was also playing string bass on high school symphony. Beatles hadn't broken up yet

They paid $25 in 1969. Thought I was In. In 1970 pup died do they bought me a new Epi sh scale with flats 2 humbuckers. Thought I was really in. It was red In 1972 it's pups died.

Bought my first Rick 4001-s burgundyglo. Slapped on Roto rounds.

Finally I had a good bass

I gave away my Kay in late 80s from Lenox. square parking lot
Still have the Epi. Still dead.

My beloved Burgundyglo was stolen mid 80s. 2nd Rick is used 78 bought before 1st was stolen.

I digress...No I don't still own my first bass

 

[Ffreddy]

No.....I wish I did. My first bass was a Memphis P-bass copy. I thought it wasn't that great because is was made in japan. Sold it to a buddy for $40 and replaced it with a peavey milestone II.
I could barely play and didn't realize how good the memphis was until a few years later when I picked it up at my buddies house and was like

 

[brianrost]

I sold mine because I needed the money to buy another one. Then that bass I sold a few years later. The oldest bass I held on to is my second one, Danelectro Silvertone I bought in 1978 for $65. There's only three others since then that were keepers, I've sold most of the basses I've bought over the years to buy others and am herd clearing right now.

 

[RickyWoo]

"Boy, I really do not like playing it. And don't like the sound either."

If you're not going to play it, get rid of it. I never got too sentimental over these things. Sounds like it served you well as a beginner. Pass it on so someone else can learn on it. Especially if you don't like it at all.

 

[scowboy]

I sold my first bass (and most of my possessions of any value) to buy a sailboat which I lived on throughout my 20's. It was a Matsumoku made Vantage VP801 (or something like that) that loosely had that Alembic look. It was a very well made bass and it sounded pretty good as I recall but it had neck dive like nobody's business. I have no regrets what so ever. I see them on eBay once in while and still have no regrets.

 

[BassUrges]

I kept my first bass AND my first girlfriend.

 

[City]

I started playing about two years ago .... I live in China ... my first bass was a no-name bass made here ... since then, I have bought additional basses (Ibanez, Fender, Sandberg).

I lent my no-name out to a friend about 6 months ago and just got it back. Boy, I really do not like playing it. And don't like the sound either.

My apartment is small. Space is tight. Keep the 1st bass or let it go? Sentimentality over practicality?

Who still has their First?

Yes I did but hardly ever play it. It's a 1986 Charvel 2B. Great bass, but a 4 string. I play 5ers now. I have been able to get rid of many things but all my instruments (except 1 that I hated) have stayed with me. Don't really know why.

 

[kodiakblair]

First bass was held together by nails and had three 20 year old strings,no tuner pegs either. Cost £1. Upgraded to this and wished I'd kept the £1 bass

No I didn't keep it,those things were responsible for more folks quitting than playing.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

Nope, my first was a Gibson EB-0 and I unloaded it as soon as I got a PBass. I dont have any sense of attachment to most instruments (except for an old Fender acoustic that I've had since 1970).

 

[BPortas92]

Peavey Milestone III in blue, was great to start on and carried me through many of my first gigs with a range of awful bands in around 2003, when I first started. Gave to my brother when he took over playing bass in a band I left and he sold it on from there, no idea where it went!

 

[Sweet Willie]

I no longer have mine -- Ibanez Roadstar II p bass from the mid-1980s. As some others have commented about theirs, I didn't fully appreciate how good an instrument I had at the time. I sold it to a friend, and maybe I could get it back from him (not sure if he still has it) if I really wanted to. I have good basses now, and don't need it (yeah, "need" is a loaded term...), but who knows what the future holds?

For me, it's not about sentimentality as much as a more mature (?!) sense 30 years later (!) of what I am able to do with a passive 4-string P bass, and a better appreciation of 1980s Ibanez basses now that I've fingered a few.

 

[SeSt]

I still have my Ibanez sr400 but had been living in the closet for ages. But since I ride a motorcycle, I decided to keep it in the guitarist's rehearsal room (aka garage) for my convenience.
Generally I'm not very keen on getting rid of things that won't bring much cash back, unless it's a space issue.

 

[micahwc]

I got mine back from my older brother who had it for like 10 years. I cleaned it up a bit, replaced the pickup with a Wilde P-46, wired it up to a varitone, and use it for practice almost every day.

"Cruise by VMI" P bass clone; black finish, maple 1 piece neck. No pickguard.

It plays extremely well. It's very comfortable. My brother had a hard time letting it go because it just played really well. My parents bought it new in 1997 for me from a "music store" running out of a guys basement near Kalispell, Montana. I've looked these up on eBay and Reverb; every once in a while I see one for sale and they are usually less than $100. I've thought about picking up a few more.

After 18 years of playing the two basses I play the most are the first two I ever owned, a P bass clone and a standard J bass V.

 

[inthebassclef]

My first bass was a squier infinity
Long gone

 

[flame]

Yep, mine is a Squire J bass and I still love the feel. Upgraded with Seymour Duncan Qtr. pound pick ups!

 

[mc900ftj]

No. It sucked, though it did get me started/hooked and I used the heck out of it before trying it in to help me get my second bass...Which I traded to get my 3rd bass. This was back in the late 70's/mid-80's.

I do currently have (the same vintage/model of) the 3rd bass I owned. 1985 MIJ Ibanez RB850.

I even occasionally gig it.

 

[interp]

My very first bass was a no-name Japanese copy of a Hofner Beatle bass, purchased new in about 1967. I had it for about six months before replacing it with a Gibson EBO, which was shortly therefore replaced by a 1964 Precision.

I have zero emotional attachment to that first bass and have no idea where it might be today.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Nope. My first bass was just trading material for a succession of slightly better and better basses.

The "nostalgia" thing only sets in after a few years. Like after you forget that the thing was not all that great to play.