How bad (or good) was your first bass?

[Bluesrock]

My first bass was a new 1976 Olympic white Fender Musicmaster. I recall the neck being somewhat thick and round, and the action was a little high. I never adjusted the neck, saddles or pickup. Nonetheless, I gigged with it often until I traded it in when I purchased a new Rickenbacker 4001, which I still have.

Corrected....Rickenbacker 4001 - not 4003

 

[LBS-bass]

First bass was a 1960's era Gibson EB-0. I thought a short scale would be better for my little fingers, but I never got comfortable with the sound of it, and I got schooled (so to speak) by another bassist who was little like me and played his heart out on a full-scale, so my next bass was a full scale Kramer, then I bought a Fender Jazz. Still playing a Jazz today, though not the same one.

 

[5StringBlues]

No need for apology. You haven't posted that often really, we have both just been here a very long time.

That was an ARB Solid state head, 150w I think. Only ever saw them around New England. Covered in colored flocking, with different colors for type.ie blue for PA Red for bass, etc. Can't find any info of them. A victim of 3 letter google results.
I believe the cabinet was a sound City product with the grill removed I think it had a Cerwin Vega 18 in it it could shake the neighborhood and for some reason keep up with that Marshall sitting next to it. In other news I apologize for the repeated posting of that picture there aren't many from that era

 

[Bobb Nagel]

In 1965 when I wanted to become a bass player and my mom being a single parent of 4 instruments were pretty much out of reach for us. That was until my best friend's B-I -L had these two items to sell for $75.00. The amp and HSC had matching coverings. By today's standards they weren't much, but to a 13 year old kid it was top of the line. 57 years later I'm still at it!
So mom, wherever you are, weather you know it or not, you did well!
Duke
View attachment 4689469 View attachment 4689470

Yep. That is the amp I had in '65 that went with the Kay bass I posted earlier.

 

[Bobb Nagel]

I wish I could have edited my earlier reply... but found a picture of my 1965 Teisco bass. I actually had it until I moved in 2007. It had the original strings that I put on in '66. I GAVE it away, now kicking myself because they're selling for just under $1000. I gave away a Sears Silvertone Twin 12 to. And again selling for big money. .

View attachment 4689587

I have a sunburst version of the Teisco, willed to me by a friend that came my way about 25 years ago. Still has the original flatwounds on it.

 

[DivisionLocal]

On the one hand I understand the sentiment, but on the other hand, if you are in a position to aquire a Ric I think you should do so. There are no skill-based rites of passage and it sounds like you have an affinity with the Ric, so...

Aw, thank you. I definitely will at some point. I'm no longer in a position to purchase a new bass, since I already spent the money on a JMJ Mustang and MIJ Fender Jazz.

It's more important to me to get better and stick with it this time around, even if it means accommodating my weird psychological feelings of inadequacy with respect to the Ric's awesomeness. I don't regret the decision. I'm enjoying the versatility in having a long and short scale option, and it gives me something to look forward to.

If I have any regrets, it's that I wish that I had held onto that first bass, and that I had stuck with it, rather than psyching myself out, and quitting something I enjoyed.

 

[audiorep2]

Still have it . A 1965ish . And ,... it's not bad !

 

[definenredefine]

Still have it . A 1965ish . And ,... it's not bad !View attachment 4691006

I love the inlays on that neck...

 

[MobileHolmes]

Here's mine. Laguna P bass. They were imported and branded by a company in my home town. Finally tracked down a guy who worked there for some details. It's an 82 and made by Aria Pro. Really a nice P. I broke the original guard (which was more of a black with some tort) and replaced the pickup with a quarter pounder. Still play it some

 

[Smokey P]

the VERY first bass I played was my father's Gibson EB-0 ('62-'64), sooo thats pretty good for a beginners short scale. My dad played for a few years in the late 60s but got his hand wrecked in an industrial printing accident, hes got his digits and could have picked it up again a year later or so but he'd moved on to trans atlantic sailing and just a little bit of the nose candy. cant say i blame him.... I still have the gibson but its not my thing, i fell in love with a '00 MIM jazz bass, which is the first bass that was really "mine". Thaaat's the first bass I really put in some serious hours on for about ten years, until it was stolen from my locker at music school while I was in Amsterdam for half a year. Dumb mistake to leave there when I was gone for so long but I had honestly forgotten about it while I was preparing to leave the States.

edit: i never answered the question, both basses are/were awesome! wish i still had the jazz

 

[chris_b]

My second bass was an early 60's EB0.

I left school, turned pro and knew I couldn't use the Framus, so the EB0 was the cheapest "good" bass I could find. The first band I joined, a Blues Brothers R&B/Soul/Jazz band, hated the sound and asked me to play the singers Danelectro Long Horn. Pretty quickly I realised the band was right. The EB0 just sounded like a goose farting in a fog, and bought my 3rd bass, a Fender Precision, which I still have.

 

[Andy R]

It was a slab bodied Hofner, no contouring at all. Cherry red with a set neck.
I don't have a photo of it and this is the nearest that I can find, except that it had two pickups and a separate bridge and tailpiece.
The usual guitar-sized tuners but it did have a really nice neck - I bought a new Fender Precision in, I think, '71 but ended up selling it and using the Hofner for quite a few years .
I also acquired a Hofner violin bass but hated it and ended up using the pickups on the solid-bodied one - its life was ended when someone sat on it on the back seat of a car and broke the neck.....

 

[JimB52]

Don't apologize.
I love seeing that Tele bass everytime.
Wish I had it!
Do you still have it?
(Btw did grown up Danny Partridge sit in that night? )

Yes, and no comment

 

[JimB52]

You're the real Danny Partridge!

When I was a wee lad during my first year of bass playing (1971) my friends and I used to visit a music shop near us that had a bunch of ARB amps we'd use to jam with. The owner of this shop was none other than Bill DeArango. It wasn't until decades later that i learned about who was was beyond being a music store proprietor (and excellent guitarist). He was very eccentric so that should have tipped me off.

Very cool. So Bill DeArango was an ARB dealer? Wish I knew more

 

[misterCRUSH]

I learned on this ESP 214 vintage fretless. I still have it and play it periodically. It is a pretty nice bass. Only things I changed were the P pickup to Aguilar p60, and added the covers. It has a nice thumpy sound.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

When I was playing bass right handed the below colossal piece of crap was the worse bass geetar my hands had the displeasure of playing. I think it's a 66-67 Hofner and once I got all the parts put together, the action was just too high and it now sits in one of my brothers closet with a few other of my guitars. Maybe someday I'll go get it and sell it..... Maybe..

So Anyway, my first bass was also a Hofner Beatle Bass. Bought it new in '72 or so.
Can't complain because even though I had no experience and couldn't play, it got me into my first and second bands because it looked so cool. I had instant 'status'.
But as a beginner, it wasn't a very good 'first bass' for me.
Too much feedback that due to my inexperience, I didn't know how to control.

 

[ad9000]

My first, same as in post #225 of this thread: 1967 Silvertone/Teisco in sunburst (the photo is not of my bass but one exactly like it). It was a gift for my 10th birthday in the same year. Pretty awful to play, poor balance/ergonomics, terrible setup, but at least it was fairly articulate tonally. A few years later I stepped up (theoretically) to a 1970 Gibson EB-0, which was a much easier playing axe but actually a step backwards sound-wise - "geese farts on a muggy day" would be a good description. About a year later I got an offer to trade it for a '60 Precision, which I stupidly passed on. A year after that I turned the EB-0 over for a '70 Precision which at least set me on the right course.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Very cool. So Bill DeArango was an ARB dealer? Wish I knew more

Over the past few years I've tried looking for information on ARB and have come up with nothing unfortunately! Or, perhaps there is a reason for such a dearth of info?

 

[JimB52]

Over the past few years I've tried looking for information on ARB and have come up with nothing unfortunately! Or, perhaps there is a reason for such a dearth of info?

I remember a touring band in the early 70s that had a Ken Kesey type School Bus and used ARB exclusively. I left mine in LA after moving back east in 1980. Found a slightly better shot of the rig.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

Mine was a Conrad Beatle bass I bought from my brother's friend for $75 . I learned a bunch of stuff with it and I think it played ok . I was brand new to bass so I didn't have any other bass to compare the sound and playability with . I also was playing it through a Fender Bandmaster so I didn't have a real bass amp . Thankful that I could buy it and learn .