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How bad (or good) was your first bass?
- Thread starter CochinoBass
- Start date
My first bass, at 16, was a Gibson EB-2.
The year was 1968 and I bought it new from Grinnell's in Detroit.
Traded for an EB-3 a couple years later.
The year was 1968 and I bought it new from Grinnell's in Detroit.
Traded for an EB-3 a couple years later.
In 1966 I bought a '62 Fender P for $100. Being 4 years old at the time, it was already a "relic"- pretty beat-up.
My brother's bass player immediately offered to trade me his gold Zim Gar P (which sported a hand-painted "VOX" logo on the headstock) and $100. But I was not quite that dumb.
After a while, I pasted a bunch of Sunday funnies on it, because I was kind of a cool guy.
Some time later, my mother told me how to refinish it. I played it for years in blues, country rock, pop, new wave, Motown and girl group bands.
Being a bit of a pack rat (but still kind of a cool guy!),
I still have it. I don't take it to gigs anymore, but it's what I'll grab as I'm leaving my next house fire.
My brother's bass player immediately offered to trade me his gold Zim Gar P (which sported a hand-painted "VOX" logo on the headstock) and $100. But I was not quite that dumb.
After a while, I pasted a bunch of Sunday funnies on it, because I was kind of a cool guy.
Some time later, my mother told me how to refinish it. I played it for years in blues, country rock, pop, new wave, Motown and girl group bands.
Being a bit of a pack rat (but still kind of a cool guy!),
In 1965, my parents bought me a Harmony hollow body bass. It had great tone, though one-dimensional, and with a hard, cardboard style case. It set my folks back $80, and I really wish I still had it. In 1966, they got me a Vox Wyman Bass, which I still play a couple of times every month.
My first bass was a new 98 or 99 fender squier p-bass special. I didnt know anything anout bass except that my guitarist friend needed someone to play one. I was 14 at the time. The action was very high. Despite that, the strings still buzzed on the frets. But at the time in my life, I was just discovering rock and metal, so I was so happy that there was an instrument in my hands capable of reproducing what I was hearing on the radio. When I turned 16 and started working, I saved up and bought an Ibanez. I swear that putting that Ibanez in my hands increased my skill level by about 10X just because the action was set correctly. I eventually tried to "customize" my p-bass in a way that left it unplayable (simply pulling out the frets didnt result in the fretless bass that I always wanted). I ended up giving the pickups to a friend, the neck was toast, so that went in the trash and another buddy wanted the body, so I gave it to him. No regrets
First post and first and only Bass. 72 P Bass that I traded a mandolin to get. I'm primarily a guitar player but dabble in drums and various other stringed things. I
replaced the J Bass knobs with the proper type.
Mine was a 1976 Sears and Roebuck Jazz copy in tobacco sunburst! I worked a whole summer with my dad until I was able to save up the $200 for the bass and the amp. It held up under daily and heavy use until 1980. At that time I bought a Memphis P-bass copy which also lasted a very long time. I was able to pass it down to one of my nephews much later.
My first bass was a Dean Edge 4 string. That thing was horrible. So horrible in fact I actually took the neck off the guitar and stuffed both pieces into my garbage can outside and never looked back. The electronics were so weak it almost didn't send a signal to my amp it was so quiet. Before you all say upgrade it. I did. I upgraded it with a real bass. I got Shecter Stiletto Stealth 4 string I was much happier with. That is the one you can see part of in my profile picture.
Huh...
My first bass was in 1984 a Fresher Jazzbass. That's all I remember. I don't know what it was like. But I didn't have an amp, so I connected it to the mic in of my fathers stereo. Didn't want to kill my own
. I didn't even buy it to play. Indeed I bought it for a playback show in a school celebration. Anything else just seemed to happen. I found a band, bought an amp I actually didn't like, a Peavey TKO 65, with an integrated compressor with absolutely no chance to controll it or even switch it off 
. And that really killed any sound. Little later I bought an Ibanez RB 850, wich was pretty cool. I tore the frets out of the Fresher 'cause I wanted a fretless bass 
. Don't know what happend to that old peace of wood. Perhaps it's still in my parents house, or perhaps I made an ashtray of it... 
I seem to do things like that every once in a while. Luckily I quit smoking 20 years ago... 
My first bass was in 1984 a Fresher Jazzbass. That's all I remember. I don't know what it was like. But I didn't have an amp, so I connected it to the mic in of my fathers stereo. Didn't want to kill my own
. I didn't even buy it to play. Indeed I bought it for a playback show in a school celebration. Anything else just seemed to happen. I found a band, bought an amp I actually didn't like, a Peavey TKO 65, with an integrated compressor with absolutely no chance to controll it or even switch it off . And that really killed any sound. Little later I bought an Ibanez RB 850, wich was pretty cool. I tore the frets out of the Fresher 'cause I wanted a fretless bass . Don't know what happend to that old peace of wood. Perhaps it's still in my parents house, or perhaps I made an ashtray of it... I seem to do things like that every once in a while. Luckily I quit smoking 20 years ago... 
My first was a Hohner P, I loved it and sparked a lifetime of bass playing and collecting. Was it good? I can't quite remember or at the time compare it with anything else but it was good enough for me. I didn't have an amp so I used my cassette deck on record and pause to monitor with headphones and I later made an amp from an old philips hifi amp, bought a 10 inch speaker and banged a cab together. I later traded my Hohner P for a 78 Boss CE-1 which I still have, use and cherish.
My great-aunt worked at Macy's when i was a young teen, and at that time they had a real music section, with guitars, basses, drums, and amps! She was wonderful, she bought me a Hagstrom bass for my 13th birthday, and I loved it. The neck was mostly truss rod, very stable and adjustable, and I was able to get a comfortable setup and good sound though my Wollensak tube tape recorder
, then my Ampeg B-15. 
Too effing coolMy great-aunt worked at Macy's when i was a young teen, and at that time they had a real music section, with guitars, basses, drums, and amps! She was wonderful, she bought me a Hagstrom bass for my 13th birthday, and I loved it. The neck was mostly truss rod, very stable and adjustable, and I was able to get a comfortable setup and good sound though my Wollensak tube tape recorder
1960's Rythmline Bass Guitar - made, of course, in Japan! I bought it from a reprobate uncle for $40 in 1976. Is/was it any good?
1. Well, I still have it and it still works, all original electronics.
2. It has a deep and warm tone that none of my other fancy basses can approach.
3. My daughter played it for her jazz studies in high school and I've lent it with success to other young players.
4. Almost 50 years later, I'm still playing the bass. So, I have to say, yeah, it was a good first bass.
1. Well, I still have it and it still works, all original electronics.
2. It has a deep and warm tone that none of my other fancy basses can approach.
3. My daughter played it for her jazz studies in high school and I've lent it with success to other young players.
4. Almost 50 years later, I'm still playing the bass. So, I have to say, yeah, it was a good first bass.
1998 Yamaha RBX765A in jade green. Still have it. I barely play it though, because I don't like five strings generally. How "good" is it? For the money, pretty good. When I'm asked to record and need the low B, it usually sits in the mix almost perfectly. No complaints.
My first bass was from some knock-off company called Givson in India. Terrible construction, high action that I couldn't figure out how to adjust and there was no way I could access the truss rod to reduce the warp. Couldn't slap on it. I exchanged it for a slightly better bass that was kinda an experimental prototype made my Lewis & Sons, based in Bangalore. It was a step-up, but not by a lot. That eventually led me to save up and buy an Ibanez GiO 5 string bass.
