How bad (or good) was your first bass?

[2thAche]

My first bass was a red Yamaha BB300. Really a decent sounding and playing instrument. In a fit of rage, my stepdad smashed it on the porch in front of our house when I was probably 16. He later replaced it with a more expensive, but worse sounding Washburn. I wish he had just replaced it like for like. Eventually I might pick up another BB300 if I can find one at a decent price.

I still have mine

 

[Rob Rogers]

I had a star burst Univox bass. I think it was about 100.00. Got it in 1970. The action was about an 1" off the neck. Did'nt know any better, but I tried as best I could. Rare Earth, Grand Funk and Chicago.
I would of kept it if I knew now what I knew then. YOUTH?

 

[pineforestken]

I bought a Univox (Japanese) Beatle Bass copy, with a Red/Black/Yellow sunburst. In 1965 - $99.00. Good price, huh? I never knew how good or bad the sound was, because all the amps I used with it were so terrible. But I was just happy to have a bass.

 

[Brian Hubbard]

My father brought home a Fender Precision, sunburst, with maple neck in 1976 as a late Christmas present. He also helped me to purchase a Music Man 118-RH 150, when my Gibson 115 solid state amp was stolen off of the Belle of Louisville in 1982. My pbass was a little heavy, but it sounded fantastic. I always believed and still do that I had three different basses depending on string choice: Rotosound round wounds, Labella flats, or GHS brite flats. I could never make up my mind which strings to use because I loved the way my precision sounded playing with those strings and depending on the tune.

The Pbass was stolen after Stevie Ray Vaughan signed it after a gig one night while playing in Louisville KY. I sold the amp when I went to work overseas.

I'd love to have them all back in my possession, because the feel of that bass and the tone of the amp are forever imbedded in my memory after gigging for 8 years with that gear.

 

[thisonegoestoeleven]

A Memphis P copy back in...1979 I think. Don't remember anything about it playability or sound wise.

 

[Undecided]

I got my first Bass Guitar around 1977, I was 12 or 13 it was a Concerto. First Bass, the only thing I new about them was they sounded cool and Gene Simmons axe Bass was the coolest looking Bass ever. I only remember a little bit about mine. It had 2 pick ups and a toggle switch that allowed me to switch between either one or both. After a couple of years one of the pick ups or the switch started to fail. I started High School about that time too, so between that and High School, (new friends, girls, motorcycles, cars and a job) I kind of lost interest. Wish I still had that Bass. Started playing again in 2018 with a Dean Edge. Wish I had a picture of the Concerto, I know there is one picture of me playing it on stage with the middle school band at an assembly. Played the theme song from Rocky.

 

[Buffalo Man]

hmm.. i found my first bass dumpster diving in my early 20's… that was a long time ago. and all I have to say it was fun to mess around with but it had zero musical control. The neck was super warped. But it was free! Some months later I was inspired to get something better traded it for a little kids bicycle which I then rode to work on to earn money most of which was spent on weed but eventually I got a nicer one. Life has been cruel to me but a bass in the dumpster is a treasure in a others hands and can lead to awesome things! Don't judge me. lol

 

[JIO]

It was long scale and for some reason back then I always thought it was a Howard bass. I got that photo from the web, mine is long gone.

The one I had could also have been this one - badged St George but also Stadium.

 

[JIO]

A 1976 Antoria White Eagle, bought on eBay January 2018. Cheaper than a Ric, and as Jon Camp of Renaissance played one, thought it would be a good 'starter' bass. Turns out Jon's was a Black Eagle refinished in White, and fewer than 20 Production White Eagles were made!

Wow Bob Wow! - that's awesome! Wasn't aware there was such a beast!

 

[bobyoung53]

The one I had could also have been this one - badged St George but also Stadium.
View attachment 4694224

Mine was nowhere near as cool looking as that one.

 

[JIO]

Mine was nowhere near as cool looking as that one.

I just wish I had a pic of me playing mine to determine exactly what it was. 1966 was a different time/era and taking photographs was not common like today unless your dad was a 'photography-nut'.

 

[bobyoung53]

I just wish I had a pic of me playing mine to determine exactly what it was. 1966 was a different time/era and taking photographs was not common like today unless your dad was a 'photography-nut'.

I had a B&W picture of me playing around that time but my wife ended up with all those old pictures and doesn't know where they are now, grrr......

 

[Kujibo]

It was an Aria Pro II of some sort. It was brand new from the local music store for somewhere in the $200 - $300 range. I was pretty stoked to recently find a picture I didn't know existed from the day I got it for I think my 15th birthday (1985). Otherwise I wouldn't even remember when or how I exactly got it. I recall it being quite decent, but would be curious to know how it stacked up with the basses I have now. Wish I still had it but some years later I had to sell it to help fund tuition.

 

[Canapache]

The first bass I had of my own was a 1977 P Bass. I had to take it back to the music store to get it set up, and the guy told me it was from a special run Fender did with a maple body of 200. Really not sure if that's true but I cut my teeth on that bass. Sold it in the early eighties, a big regret. White with maple neck and black guard. I paid $200 for it with the case.

 

[bassdude51]

My first bass. 1968. A Swedish Hagstrom. I no longer have it but it looked like this (Google).

It was an OK bass. Easy to play. Thin neck. Narrow. Sounded good enough for the bands that I was in back in high school.

It was a short scale bass but I was too young and uninformed to know that it was shorter than a 34" Fender.

Link Removed

 

[halcyo]

Bought a Mexican Fender Jazz "standard" (before they called 'em "player series") before I was really even a bassist. I'm a keyboard player, producer, etc who played some guitar, and I just wanted a bass for around the home studio. Ended up joining a band that needed a bassist and BECAME a bassist on that thing. It was an entirely decent instrument- made a nice income off that thing for 3-4 straight years in a busy working cover band.

Come a long way since then, but I definitely didn't start on a crappy specimen of a bass.

 

[Jeffery Axthelm]

View attachment 4689384 Mine was a 1986 Guild Pilot. I loved that bass. Candy apple red with a black painted headstock. EMG P/J pickups. Light weight. Played great. Sounded great. I got it on sale at a music store for $350 brand new which I saved up with my high school part time job. Bought a GK 400RB and a fender cab with a 15 and 2 10s. Never loved the head. Hated the cabinet. Loved the bass.

I still have my Guild Pilot 5. It has the best feeling neck! It has a crack in the neck which doesn't seem to affect the playability too much, but I play my Spectors on gigs.

 

[Bongo Bassman]

It was an early '70s Epiphone "Rivoli" ES-260 hollow body, in red. I bought it new in 1975 and, other than a little neck dive, it was a decent little bass. I traded it in on a Gibson "Ripper" because I played the Epi until the strings went dead (I didn't know new strings was all it needed) and I wanted a bass with the longest neck I could find. I wish I still had that bass … and The Ripper … and etc., etc., etc.

 

[scooper]

First bass was a cherry red '63 Gibson EBOF from my brother in 1965 who was the original purchaser. Gibson made about 270 of the EBOF's with the built in Fuzztone from '63-'64. I put another humbucker on it to sort of make it into an EB3 although let's say my luthier skills were limited. Relatively light with great action. I switched to lead/rhythm around 1972 and sold it to my bass player who refinished it in metallic green. I reacquired it around 2008 after going back to bass guitar and bumping into him at a high school reunion. He was selling off a number of instruments due to the recession but I paid him four times what I sold it to him at so it wasn't like I took advantage. I then had it restored back to the original cherry red finish and aged. The Fuzztone was not working at that point and Gibson indicated they could neither repair it nor provide the schematics for the electronics for the bass. I did acquire the schematic for the original Gibson Fuzztone foot pedal and finally found a fellow at Dave's Guitar in LaCrosse, WI, who was able to get the Fuzztone working again. After nearly 60 years, the neck is near perfect and it plays well. Unfortunately, I play only 5 strings now so it is in its case in my guitar closet, much as others above have indicated.

 

[Brass Bass]

Ah the Roland GR-77B A cool looking bass and pedalboard. Huge heavy and I didn't have any good chops at the time. Was able to sell if off for 300% of what I bought it for! Then I got the Peavey Cyberbass and Midibass. All sold after Source Audio came out with their C4 synth pedal. They solved the tracking problem without having to buy exotic bass guitars that were kind of expensive.