How bad (or good) was your first bass?

[vindibona1]

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. .

 

[GIBrat51]

I suppose it depends on what the OP means by "your first bass". Anyway; In my case:
- The first bass I ever played was a friend's birthday present; a blue, left handed '68 Rick 4001 - in 1968. I learned to play bass on it; sure seemed like a perfectly nice bass to me. I love the thin, "shallow D" contoured necks of old Ricks to this day; I loved the factory Maxima Flats it came with, too. Probably why all my basses have always had flats on them - if I can help it... I know that people have all kinds of problems with Rick basses, but... they have always fit me like a surgeon's glove. Which is probably why I have 2 of them...
- The first bass I ever performed on stage with, was a friend's late '60s-very early '70s Japanese P-Bass copy - a right handed P-Bass copy. I was normally that busy band's soundman/set-up guy/roadie. We were all GI's stationed in Panama in 1972-'73, and... work had to come first. Or else.... So, when work called the bass player away, I took his place. I don't remember what brand the thing was - something made by Matsumoku, most likely; all I knew was that it was red; wrong handed; and I... well, not hated it, exactly, but it made me seriously consider buying my own bass - regardless of the problems that would certainly cause me later on. TBH, except for being "wrong handed"? It wasn't a bad bass at all, really. For the time, and for what a first term Buck Sargent could afford to spend, anyway...
- The first bass I actually owned, is a '78 Fender P-Bass with an "A" neck; and, I still have it. I bought it from a friend I was stationed in England with, in 1988. He wanted the money to buy a bass he'd found in a London pawn shop - a lefty, all original 1958 P-Bass that was strung upside down; badly spray painted black; with obscene graffiti all over it - de rigieur for London's Punk scene at the time... Mine's had to be re-finished (long story), and re-fretted (yes; years of the original owner playing nothing but Roto 66's can/will destroy even a P-Bass's frets); but other than that? It's an original '78. At 11.1 lbs., its a little heavier than my 71 y/o shoulder really wants to deal with for very long, but with it's "A" neck there's no real neck dive to speak of; and... no dead spots, either. With the foam mute in the bridge cover, and a set of GHS Precision Flats on it? Welcome to 1959, Daddy-O...

 

[funkinbottom]

Nice, a guitarist in my first band during the late 60's had a Diamond semi hollow guitar that looked a lot like that. I don't remember it saying Aria on it.

From what I remember, it did not say Aria on the headstock, only Diamond. There was a label inside the body that said Aria.

 

[tubatodd]

1991 Ibanez EXB404 in black. My parents bought it for me new. It came with a black leather strap, straplocks and a custom molded hard case.

I'm willing to bet the sales folks tried to convince me to get a Mexican Fender, but at 12 years old in 1991, I probably thought the Fender looked old or not cool. Of course now I play mostly Fender Shaped Objects (FSO).

(not mine)

 

[No Malarky]

Mine was a no-name P-Bass knock off made in the '70's and bought at a garage sale by my parents much later. It was rough. After I bought my first quality bass, I took the knock off out back and blasted it with my .30-30 Winchester.

It improved the playability.

 

[kinopah]

AriaProII "FB" model PJ. It was HORRIBLE. Buzzed like crazy with the tone up to any degree. J knob just kept turning seemingly forever in either direction. Neck was super bowed and the truss rod had no effect. Action was around an inch at the 12th fret, yet it still buzzed past the 15th. Pretty much everywhere there COULD be a gap between adjacent surfaces there was one.

I miss it.

 

[DOMIT]

The first bass I played was some no-name Pawn Shop Special short scale that belonged to my buddy who talked me into changing from guitar to bass to jam with him. I actually found that I enjoyed playing bass more than guitar, so I sold my guitar stuff...

My first bass that I owned was awesome, I wish I still owned it- a Fender P-Lyte.

 

[SoulReflection]

Early '60s for me. Canora (named after a town in Saskatchewan) was a Canadian import brand owned by Great West Imports Ltd of Vancouver, as were Mann and Raven. The instruments were sourced from various manufacturers in Japan and (maybe) Korea.

I was too young to know if it was good or not. It was cheap ($40) and got me into my first garage band. Later, I found out it was not that good and moved on .

 

[mongo2]

In the late '60s I bought a '63 Fender Jaguar Guitar and a '63 Fender Deluxe Reverb (blackface) amp from a friend for $300. It took me a long time to pay it off.

The Jag had flats and that rig and later a Telecaster with flats doubled as a bass for a while. It worked well enough in the basement with the added 15" speaker I bought cheap and used laying in its shipping box and wired up to the amp.

I kind of Rube Goldberg'd it but I didn't become an electronic engineer until about 20 years later so what did I know?

I think my first real bass was an Ampeg Big Stud I borrowed from a friend a few years later that I played into a blackface Fender Bassman/DIY cabinet.

Somewhere in there I got my first Danelectro Silvertone Model 1444 but I don't recall exactly when.

 

[J Wilson]

This was my first bass. The very idea of buying any of the inexpensive instruments they offered back then was just not going to work for me. I've always believed it's just a BAD IDEA to get a kid some horrible won't barely play sled that sounds like junk . . . . and then expect them to stick with it. I've seen kids get one of those big-box-store BASS STARTER PACK! piles and almost quit. I started in my late 20's, so I bought this myself.

 

[sawzalot]

Mine was a 1980's white G&L L-2000E. It was a good bass, except it had a definite ski jump on the upper frets.

 

[SoulReflection]

In the late '60s I bought a '63 Fender Jaguar Guitar and a '63 Fender Deluxe Reverb (blackface) amp from a friend for $300. It took me a long time to pay it off.

The Jag had flats and that rig and later a Telecaster with flats doubled as a bass for a while. It worked well enough in the basement with the added 15" speaker I bought cheap and used laying in its shipping box and wired up to the amp.

I kind of Rube Goldberg'd it but I didn't become an electronic engineer until about 20 years later so what did I know?

It took me a long time to be able to afford anything with a Fender name on it, let alone, an Ampeg name .

I think my first real bass was an Ampeg Big Stud I borrowed from a friend a few years later that I played into a blackface Fender Bassman/DIY cabinet.

Somewhere in there I got my first Danelectro Silvertone Model 1444 but I don't recall exactly when.

 

[foal30]

Yamaha Precision copy c.1987
I think it was M.I.T. RBX(?)

It was a good beginner instrument

 

[Watchootognbout]

You tell me.
My first bass was a 1979 pre EBMM Sabre in "Walnut" with a maple fingerboard.
Bought in 1980.

No this isn't it.
But it looks exactly like it.

 

[foal30]

The standard of beginner instruments today is in IMO considerably superior to the 1980’s.

 

[SoulReflection]

It took me a long time to be able to afford anything with a Fender name on it, let alone, an Ampeg name .

 

[City]

1986 White Charvel 2B bass. Now yellowed, but I took it through the riggers of the bar life and it performed well. I should part with it, but for some reason I just can't.

 

[brianrost]

My first bass was a Madeira, an import sold by Guild that was a bolt-on version of their JS-II bass, which itself was their take on the Gibson EB-3. I loved Jack Bruce, it was cheap ($180???), so I bought it.

I can't really recall what it played or sounded like but by the time I sold it in 1980 I had gotten my hands on a Silvertone dolphin nose bass and a Peavey T-40 both of which I much preferred.

 

[mysteryclock]

My first bass was a probably 1986-87(ish) Peavey Patriot, basically just like this one. Weighed a ton, rock solid performer. Traded that in for a blue Ibanez PL5050, just like this one, which it turns out had a slight twist in the neck. That didn't stop me from recording an EP and gigging 2-3 nights a week in Nashville with it in the early 90s. I ended up giving that one away to a kid at church who was looking to get into playing bass.

 

[Chrisenbacker69]

Pretty conventional story with my first. It was a 2009 Squier Affinity Jazz Bass in blue that came with Fender's "Stop Dreaming Start Playing" kit. I got it for my 41st birthday from my wife. In retrospect, it was very good for what it was. I never liked the tone, but looking back, my fingers were much more responsible for that then the pickups ever were. Didn't have a clue about proper setup, so through experimentation and the quest for "low action" I promptly screwed that up royally. Didn't yet know what I liked in strings, so I stuck with steel roundwounds and they played pretty stiff (see previous setup comments as a contributing factor). Never one to stick to conventional thinking, I bought a 2010 Rickenbacker 4001 C64S as its replacement which became my obsession and where I made much greater strides as a player. The Squier was never used, so I got rid of it.