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First Bass! Any Suggestions?

Mr.Guitar

Mr.Guitar

May 31, 2014
7
1
#1
Alright, so today I picked up my first bass at a garage sale with a variety of pedals. If anyone can educate me on some equipment I should look into that would be awesome! I listen to and play a variety of different genres/styles of music on my guitar, so anything that can be fairly versatile would be a plus.

Here's what I picked up so far:

1984 Peavey Foundation
Morley Wah
Akai Deep Impact SB1
1980 Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phase Shifter

Also I picked up this 1960's Telestar bass. It's definitely a fixer-upper. If any one can give me any info on it i'd appreciate it.

Thanks!
 
#2
The Foundation bass is a pretty good bass, I had one starting when I first started playing way back when. It was my 3rd bass ever. Well, I don't know if you have a bass amp yet, but I would look for a good used one on CL, definitely bypass the practice amp as any bass would sound pretty crappy on it. Go about 100-150w at least. I bought a Fender Bassman 150w amp for $80 - good size and sound.
Can you attach a picture of the Telestar bass? I believe most of their basses were short scale.
A NY wholesaler imported basses under the brand "Telestar" from the late 1960s to 1983, these guitars/basses were actually made in Japan primarily by Kawai/Teisco for the wholesaler. They're of decent quality (at least the one I tried a while back), nice retro vibe to it- electronics could use upgrading.
 
#4
I have an Ibanez Promethean 3110 and it's amazing (150 watts...300 with a cab) that's small enough to fit in the front seat of my Fiero. My musicians friends can't believe the way it sounds.
I just picked up an MXR M-80...incredible pedal priced just right.
The two together go a long way.
 
#5
banikek said:
Must. Post. Pictures!
Click to expand...
Thank you guys for the feedback. Iv'e been checking out your suggestions.
Things I need:
Bass amp
More pedals
picks/straps

Here's the haul!
IMG_0001.jpg


Here's a couple pics of the Telestar:
IMG_0003.jpg


IMG_0002.jpg
 
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#6
Nice haul! Love the Telestar bass very cool 60's Japanese import bass. That Peavey looks really great in metallic blue. USA Peavey stuff is really nice, I have two USA Peaveys at the moment.
 
#8
Qlanq said:
Oh man, that Telestar thing looks amazing. I'd keep that and sell all the other stuff to by an amp. Awesome.
Click to expand...
Yea the Telestar's look is what sold me. I wasn't able to play it before purchasing, but even if it sounded terrible I couldn't pass it up for $40!

As far as condition goes the Telestar's neck looks great I'm just concerned with the body. Random holes on it and a slightly rough feel over the streaks running through the body (potential cracking?)
 
#10
I'd hold off on grabbing up (or even thinking too much about) any more pedals until you've landed an amp you're going to dig. IMO its important to try and find the sound you want with the bass and rig you like and then add some pedals to tweak that sound to fit the song/genre you're after.
Didn't catch if you got a tuner in the deal? Snarks work well. Congrats on the haul! USA Peavey gets a lot of love around here...
 
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#11
natw42 said:
Nice start up kit! Just curious, how much did the Deep Impact set you back?
Click to expand...
Kind of a funny story. At this garage sale, I was checking out the Peavey which was $275. I noticed they had a box of pedals $10 a piece, so grabbed 3 random ones and asked if it was alright if I could incorporate them into the $275 price.She said yes, so basically I got it for free! I had no idea what I was sitting on until last night when I was talking to some musicians. I just thought it would be worth picking up since I didn't have any other pedals.
 
#12
hhirbe said:
I'd hold off on grabbing up (or even thinking too much about) any more pedals until you've landed an amp you're going to dig. IMO its important to try and find the sound you want with the bass and rig you like and then add some pedals to tweak that sound to fit the song/genre you're after.
Didn't catch if you got a tuner in the deal? Snarks work well. Congrats on the haul! USA Peavey gets a lot of love around here...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip! Yes, snarks are great. I already have one for my guitars.
 
#16
Mr.Guitar said:
Alright, so today I picked up my first bass at a garage sale with a variety of pedals. If anyone can educate me on some equipment I should look into that would be awesome! I listen to and play a variety of different genres/styles of music on my guitar, so anything that can be fairly versatile would be a plus.

Here's what I picked up so far:

1984 Peavey Foundation
Morley Wah
Akai Deep Impact SB1
1980 Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phase Shifter

Also I picked up this 1960's Telestar bass. It's definitely a fixer-upper. If any one can give me any info on it i'd appreciate it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Where and the heck are these garage sales. All I ever find are knitted tea cozies. No offence to tea or cozies, but really???
 
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#17
After more than 30 years, I still don't use pedals. If you are learning to play, skip more pedals and get an amp. Any amp will be fine for the time being.

The Telstar looks like it would work just fine. I don't know what the extra holes are all about or the rough patches you mentioned, but they shouldn't have any effect on whether you can play it or not. If it is the usual violin bass, it has a short, narrow neck that will be great to learn on.
 
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#18
I think you have a very nice pair of basses. They're quite different in character, so you have the chance to have very different sounds. I suggest you hang onto both. The Peavey is likely to be your primary, but the Telstar is a a very cool "vintage" bass that falls into the category of violin bass, or (thanks to McCartney's Hofner) often called a "Beatle bass".

If I sold anything to help buy an amp, it would be the pedals. Bass players don't need much for pedals, although a good old Boss TU-2 pedal is a nice tuner. If you actually need any pedals, you can choose them later.

My bet is that the pots on the Telstar will be a bit scratchy, but if so, that may improve with use. A small practice amp (100W or less, and light enough to be portable) from a pawn shop or Craigslist would be a nice addition for initial learning and practice.
 
#19
Gaolee said:
After more than 30 years, I still don't use pedals. If you are learning to play, skip more pedals and get an amp. Any amp will be fine for the time being.

The Telstar looks like it would work just fine. I don't know what the extra holes are all about or the rough patches you mentioned, but they shouldn't have any effect on whether you can play it or not. If it is the usual violin bass, it has a short, narrow neck that will be great to learn on.
Click to expand...

I understand your point. Like you, I also almost never use pedal for almost 30 years of playing bass, I prefer it 'straight to the amp'. But sometime, for beginner/expert, it can be fun to play with the pedal. And especially for me, there are times when I have to use it. At times like that I wish I have more time to learn with the pedals..

Oh and I first learn bass on a not narrow neck..they were double bass and precision. :)

To the OP,..that Tele Star is killer..congrats with the beautiful gears you just bought. :D
 
#20
LowF said:
Where and the heck are these garage sales. All I ever find are knitted tea cozies. No offence to tea or cozies, but really???
Click to expand...
Well, this one was in Minneapolis, MN!

Pilgrim said:
If I sold anything to help buy an amp, it would be the pedals.
Click to expand...
I've always been somewhat of a hoarder when it comes to music gear, so I would probably be kicking myself down the road for letting them go.

Later this week I plan to visit my local music shop to test out some amps. I've been researching a bit on Orange Amplifiers 100bxt. Have any of you played one? How about the Ampeg BA115? I'm looking around the $500 range.
 

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