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How many basses have you owned?

#62
1990 - Westone Spectrum II - heavy and lifeless through a woolly Laney amp.
1991 - Yamaha RBX800F - active fretless, but tonally dead.
1992 - Westfield (POS) 5-string.
1996 - Hohner B2A - longest serving bass.
2010(ish) - ESP LTD B-155DX STB - second and last foray into the world of 5-string.
2014 - Ibanez SR300 IPT - flipped on eBay, neck too thin.
2014 - Vintage active fretless - played nicely but neck too chunky.
2014 - Hohner Custom Jack - still got this one, will keep it forever.
2014 - Vintage V96 Stingray copy - still got this, bought with broken electrics, beautiful neck and light body. Changed hardware and stuck in an EMG MMCS and it's wonderful.
2014 - Cort Curbow - secondhand from a guitar shop near where my folks live. It had come in the day before and had I gone in on the day I'd planned to go it wouldn't have arrived yet... got it for £150 and it's brilliant.

2014 was the year I realised that you can buy basses and move 'em on if they don't suit. Also the first time I've owned more than one bass at a time :D
 
#64
1969 Hagstrom 8-string Swede … Dad bought used in 1973 for $125 .. !!
1977 Music Man … working at music store
1980 Kramer Aluminum neck
Half a dozen Ibanez thru the mid 90’s
1994 … ordered Pedulla ET5 … went to factory to pick out the wood for the top .. !!
1994 Pedulla ET6 … bought at great discount while at the factory
1995 used Alembic Elan II … had it made into a fretless ( yeh I know – dumbass . ! )
1996 used 73 Fender P bass
1999 Peavey Cirrus 5 string … don’t like 35” scale necks
Things get fuzzy in the 2000’s … buying /selling/ building …
Sadowsky UV 5string , 1974 Fender Jazz , a few Fender parts basses builds , Ibanez 6 strg , Alteire Z , 1983 Fender Pbass , Warrior Sig 5strg , Fender Geddy , G&L usa , current 4/5 string Warmoth builds
What about guitars , keyboards , trumpets , etc ….. ???
 
#65
Bob_Ross said:
Slight thread drift:

Perhaps this is just misguided nostalgia, but does anyone else miss those wacky Asian off-brand instruments they used to sell in department store catalogs in the 60s and 70s?

Nowadays a beginner goes shopping for a true Entry-Level Instrument and they wind up with something from Yamaha or Ibanez or Cort or SX etc. And in addition to being a bass that's at least half-respectable, it's probably a bass that looks, sounds, and feels like 95% of all the other basses out there (regardless of whether they're Entry-Level or not).

But 40 years ago if you wanted to spend $150 or less on a bass, you wound up with some plywood sunburst Zimgar or Teisco or Goya et al that you found in the Sears or Penny or Lafayette catalog right next to the Tiger Eminee organ, and it didn't really look like anything anyone else was playing (unless you were fans of Paul Revere & The Raiders) and it probably had an insuffereably high action such that it wasn't so much an "Entry-Level Instrument" as it was a "Disinterest-Generating Instrument"

Anyone else miss those idiosyncratic pieces of crap?

Yeah, I didn't think so...
Click to expand...

YES! I'm not alone. You, brother, hit the nail right on the head. And let me be clear....that bass was a true and real piece of absolute crap. I mean, for real. :eek:
 
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#66
Nine. I had a 1965 Gibson EB2 that I got in 1974. A few years later, I got a Fender Musicmaster bass. I did not keep either of those very long.

Since I decided to retire, I've had a:

Peavey 4 string Grind
Sky Acoustic
Cort GB 34
Epiphone Viola
Squier SS Jag
Ibanez AEB5
Gold Tone MicroBass

I still have the Squier and Gold Tone. I gave the Cort to my son. The others have been sold.
 
#68
New Update
2010 Fender American Jazz
2014 Fender American Vintage 60's Hot Rod P/J
2014 Fender Tele bass
2001 Fender MIM Jazz Speical
Gibson EB 4
Godin SD4
Dan Armstong Ampeg lucite 1970 3/4 scale

Gibson ES335 Dot
Fender American Strat
Fender American Tele
Gibson 1968 Melody Maker
 
#71
drummer5359 said:
I started off of a neighbor's borrowed pawn shop instruments in 1969 on drums and bass. I wanted drums, but the parental units deemed them too expensive, noisy, took up too much room... In 1972 I got a Tele Star bass from the local Murphy's Mart for my 13th birthday. I bought a used Silverstone amp (for $10) with money earned as a paperboy.

The Tele Star was crap. I ended up trading it and the amp for an equally crappy set of beat to death drums in 1975. I played only drums for a long, long time.

In 2008 I was buying a Ludwig snare at a pawn shop in DC. For some reason a red Jackson JS-40 caught my eye. $125 with a case? I owned a bass again. At this point I could pretty much still play what I could in 1975, roots and octaves. But nearly nearly forty years of drumming gave me a good sense of time, it was a start. Alas, there was a spanner in the works. I suffered a major stroke that year. Learning to walk, talk, etc, trumped any concerns about my bass playing skills. I had a second stroke later that year and ended up retiring the following year. The Jackson lived in it's case as I sorted out my life.

In 2010 I got serious about playing bass and found talk bass. I bought a Peavey Dyna. It was beautifully made and to me was my first serious bass. But it didn't speak to me, I'm not sure why. I eventually sold it to buy something else.

My Peavey Fury! I was impressed with Peavey even though I didn't love the Dyna, so I bought a Fury. This bass felt and sounded more like what I was looking for. Maple neck? Split pickup? Hmm... The seeds of my Precision bass love were being sown, although I didn't know it at the time.

A Schecter C-4 XXX was the next bass to enter my life. I bought it stupidly cheap. It is well made and feels good, although not exactly what I was looking for. I still own it today, but I'm going to get rid of it as it doesn't get played as much as it should.

2011 sunburst Fender American 60th Anniversary Precision. This bass rocked my world and still does today, this is my forever bass. I was looking for a 2008 or newer American Standard and tripped over this at the beginning of 2012. I LOVE this bass.

2010? Squier Vintage Modified Precision. (Copy of a 1972 Telecaster bass.) I sold the Dyna shortly after buying the Anniversary P. I was driving home from the sale with some money and drove past a shop that I hadn't been in for a long time. They had this used Squier on the wall, it still had plastic on the pick guard. I played in a band for years with a guy that had a 1972 Tele bass and always was a sucker for them. I figured that this was as close as I'd ever get. It played nice and was very well made, pretty impressive.

1972 Tele Star (Teisco) bass. One identical to my first bass popped up on ebay. Yes, it was stupid, but I bought it. And yes, this one is crap too, but I'll hang onto it as a reminded of how far that I've come.

1972 Telecaster bass. I ran into the bassist that had the real Tele bass. He wasn't playing in any bands any more and was selling off unused gear. I told him that if he sold the Tele bass to anyone else, I'd hunt him down. lol. Three weeks later he called and asked if I was serious about buying the Tele. I was, and so I did. I was with him in 1975 when he bought it from the original owner. Great bass. So now I owned a second "forever bass".

2011 Fender American Standard Jazz bass. Now that I owned a real 1972 Tele bass, the Squire was redundant. I sold it and a couple of snare drums that were not getting used. I ended up finding this Jazz bass. I always loved the looks of Jazz basses and the sound of them in other peoples hands. I needed to scratch this itch. I bought it. It was a good bass, but I didn't use it as much as my P bass.

1997 or 1998 Fender MIJ Precision with a rosewood fret board. Up to this point all of my Fender or Fender style basses had maple boards. I stumbled upon this for cheap and thought that I'd give it a try. It was over twenty years old and had some "mojo" and played nice. It did confirm to me that I like maple fret boards better for some reason.

1995 EBMM Stingray. In the fall of 2012 a bassist in a group that I play hand percussion in brought this Stingray to a gig. It was for sale, was I interested? It's a beautiful bass, burst, maple neck, right up my alley. But I'm tripping over basses and drums for that matter, I really don't need another bass. Besides, I didn't have the cash at the time. The next week he brought it to another gig. Man, it really is nice... But no. The third week he brought to yet another gig. I told him that I was selling a drum kit, if it is still available once the kit sells, we'll talk. I ended up trading the drums for the Stingray. I really like it, it isn't going anywhere.

Another 2011 Fender American 60th Anniversary Precision popped up on my radar, this one is in the only other finish that they came in, white blonde. Okay, nobody needs two of these... But, as I said, my other 60th Anniversary P is my all time favorite, it sure would be cool to have a blonde one too. I sold the 2011 Am Std Jazz and the MIJ P bass and bought the blonde. And yes, I really love this one too. That was my only bass purchase in 2013, I was being pretty good.

2001 Fender American Jazz bass. I sold my other jazz to buy the second Anniversary P last year. I wanted to add another Jazz bass to the fold. This one is natural ash and flawless. I only got it a few weeks ago, but so far I really like it.

And lastly, I always wanted a Rickenbacker, but Rics with maple fret boards are like hen's teeth. I just ordered a 4003W to scratch my Rickenbacker itch, we'll see how that goes.

That makes fifteen basses that I've owned, in this group I'm a lightweight. The more important thing is that my bass playing skills have come a long way. Not too shabby for a drummer.
Click to expand...

This thread popped up again today, I looked at it and realized how out of date my post from less than six months ago was. (I've been a busy boy...)

When I last wrote on this thread I had recently ordered a walnut Rickenbacker 4003, it still isn't here. No worries, I have plenty of basses.

I had a health scare, I was in the hospital with heart issues shortly after the original post. I'm doing fine, but when I got out I decided to buy my self an "I'M STILL ALIVE!" present. There was a 2012 new old stock American Select Precision on eBay for a stupidly cheap price, I bought it. WOW! This is an awesome bass.

The American Standard Jaguar came out this summer. It's a cool bass, but they don't offer it with a maple neck. I spied an American Select P neck and a loaded American Standard Jaguar body in Stratosphere's eBay store. That would be a crazy project to put together. Crazy or not, I ordered the pieces and put it together. It's a very versatile and unique bass.

If you read my earlier post, you know that I had a few American Peavey basses and was impressed by them. My American Fender P-basses made my Fury redundant, I gave it away to a great nephew. The Dyna was a great bass, but I wished that it was a Foundation instead and I prefer maple necks, so I sold the Dyna ages ago. This summer an American Peavey Foundation with a maple neck popped up on the local CL for a good price. I really didn't need another bass, but I had the money in pocket and was curious what I'd think of my "dream" Peavey now that I've played a lot of other stuff. I picked it up cheap, had it set up professionally with a set of flats and it is a great bass. It is the practice bass that I keep in my upstairs office these days.

I've been wanting a nice 5 string for a while. I figured I'd eventually pick up an American Standard Precision V. It seemed like the obvious choice to me since I really like P-basses. But then I stumbled upon an American Deluxe Dimension V. It's not the five stringer that I was looking for, but it plays great. It joined the flock.

I ran across a Fender American Precision Plus (Boner bass) that a local guy that I know was selling. I've always wanted to own an American Precision with a P/J configuration. This one is in perfect condition for a 23 year old bass. Yes, it came home with me too.

I got a chance to play an American Special P that belongs to a bassist that I've been working with for years. His was great. Hmm, I decided to keep an eye out for one. A squeaky clean American Honeyburst Special P came my way. I couldn't help my self.

Then the other day I picked up a nice Schecter five string for the cost of a decent dinner. It was the main player of a bassist friend. he dropped it and put a gouge in it. He was so mad at himself, he sold it to me cheap just so he wouldn't have to see the scar that he put in it.

I didn't even add these up when I started writing this update. That is seven more basses since June. Oops. I did end up trading my old Schecter C-4 XXX for a Martin Acoustic a while back.

So, I've owned 22 basses.

That's quite a few for a drummer.
 
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#72
In nearly 50 years I've owned 11 basses. Of those I only gigged 4 extensively; a Framus Star bass (my first bass), a 68 Fender P bass (still own that one), a Lakand 55-94D (just had it fret stoned and set up. Love it again) and a Lull PJ5 (my goto bass for 4 years). I sometime look in the classifieds for a Lull M5V but really I'm done on basses.

The 7 other basses I owned; Gibson EB0 (horrible), Fender P special (OK but too heavy), MM SR5 (a good 5 string starter), 2 Wal 5 string Customs (amazing, great in the studio), Rob Allen MB2 (great but fretless and only 4 strings!) and Fender Am Std Jazz V (OK but Lakland better).

Amps and cabs are a different story thanks to bass websites!!
 
#73
  1. Kingston bass. My first bass. Not an MTD Kingston but a cheap Kingston bass that I paid a guy $50 for in 77. That bass is long gone.
  2. 78 Fender Jazz * .. My first real bass. Natural wood, maple neck. I still have it.
  3. Jackson 5 sting. Can't remember which one it was.. When I started playing again in 2001 after a 15 year or so layoff I wanted to try a 5 so I got a used Jackson something or other from a local music store here in N. Va. that is n0 longer in business. I hated that bass. It had a very floppy B to it. I wound up giving it away.
  4. Tacoma Thunderchief.. my first ABG .. a very resonant bass. Great sound. Kind of fragile though. I sold that.
  5. Ibanez SR 505. My forst real 5 er and the one that got me hooked on 5s. I bought it brand new around 03 I think it was. I just sold it about 9 months ago.
  6. Schecter Stilletto Studio 5. A great bass that I pickled up in a pawnshop. It was a better bass than the Ibby I had. Another step in the quest for that bass.
  7. Fender JV24. * V My first 19mm 5er and the one that showed me more of what I like in a 5. It was also the first bass I bought from here on TB. A very nice bass with a U Retro 01 pre in it that was a tone monster. It played very well but the neck was kind of long for me and I injured my left shoulder and had a hard time playing it after that. It was also a little too heavy for me.
  8. Michael Kelly Fretless Dragonfly 5. My first fretless bass. A very nice bass also .. but the B sounded kind of weak acoustically and it was not for me. Very beautifull instrument though that played very well.
  9. MTD Kingston KZ5. * What a great bass. I also got that here as well. Another step along the way of finding what I really like in a bass because I am a firm believer in the notion that most of us don't know it until we find it. The neck on this bass really made me start looking more closely at necks.. which I never really paid much attention to. It was a bass .. it had a neck.. but the KZ got me to really looking at neck profiles.
  10. MTD Kingston Heir 5. * * Another very nice bass. I really like those Kingstons. This was the fisrt bass I bought specifically because I was looking for something different tonally.
  11. Breedlove Studio Atlas ABG. * My last ABG. After I sold my Dragonfly (which I bought because at the time I could not afford a Breedlove and the price was right) I told myself that I was done with ABGs until this poped up, The price was right, the timing was right and now it is mine. A very noce ABG. Great tone. Great feel.
  12. Brice HXB-405. * I bought this bass because I was getting interested in fretless and did not know if I would like it so I didn't want to drop a lot of coin for one. I have since modded it and it is a very nice bass even stock for the money.
  13. Peavey Cirrus Fretless 5. * *Ahhhh thoise Peaveys.. I love this bass. I am considering trying to get a fretted version. It is very comfortable to play. The neck profile is wonderful... thin but not too thin.. not chunky at all.
  14. MTD Kingston KZ6. * My first foray into the 6 string world. I hated it. Not the bass.. the bass itself was great, also from here... but the 6 string itself.. Not for me. Maybe later buit for now I will stick with my 5s.
  15. Lakland 55-01. * * I had been hearing about these bases and their great necks for some time so I started looking for one. There was a great sale on Amazon for a brand new one for $790 buit I missed the sale so I started looking here. Found a nice one. Got it, liked it dropped am Audere PZ4 in it and it is now my favorite bass.
  16. Lakland 55-02. * * I had to try it out to see what the hubbub was all about on the 55-02s. I like the bass.. but I like my 55-01 better and I may just sell the 55-02 if for no other reason than to have some funds available for the next gas attack.
I still have not found "the one" but I am very close with the 55-01 and the Cirrus. I will probably wind up keeping those basses for a long time. Everything else will be subject to change.

* TB purchase
* Still own
 
#75
Peavey fury 4
Fender p mim 4
Ibanez tr 5
Warwick corvette FNA 5
Warwick corvette standard 5
Musicman stingray 5
Musicman bongo 5
Warwick thumb bolt on 5
Warwick thumb neck through 5
Conklin gt-7 7
Fender fretless jazz mim 4

That's all i can remember. Some basses like the thumb neck through i had for a decade others like the bongo i sold pretty quickly. Never had more than 3 at a time because I like fresh strings, gets too expensive. Another reason i got the 7. It's easier and cheaper to replace 7 strings than it is to replace the 15 strings between three 5 string basses in f#bead, beadg, and eadgc.
 
#77
Short answer, too many.
Long answer TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MAAAAAAANNNNNNNY.

Off the top of my head.

67 (ish) Hagstrom B4
76 Precision
70s Mann hollow body
80 (ish) Yamaha hollow body
82 (ish) Roland G77
84 JV Squier Jazz
91 MIM Standard Jazz
92 Heatfield (defretted)
94 (ish) Godin Acoustibass
95 ish Cort SR copy
98 G&L L1505
98 Dano Longhorn
99 Epihone El Capitain (early "good" one)
99 Dano VI
2006 MIJ Jaguar Bass
2008 (ish) MIC Dano '63
2010 (ish) Epihone Viola
2012 MIC Squier 50s Precision (SC PBass)

Ummmm..... I'm sure there were others...
 
#78
Since 1971. Bought/sold one along the way.

Basses.jpg
 
#79
This shouldn't be too hard, I haven't owned that many.

Mid 90s Squier P Bass- My first bass. did the job fine. I sold it twice and bought it back twice and ruined it trying to mod

Ibanez Soundgear- I never really bonded with this bass. Played nice, but the neck was very thin

Fender MIM fretless Jazz (mid 90s)- I was in a High School Punk rock band and wanted to try something a little different. Fretless didn't work out for me.

Fender MIM Jazz (2001, I think)- My first bass that I was really happy with. I still have the body, but the neck is unusable

Peavey Cirrus USA 4- Fantastic Bass. It was my main and pretty much only player for a good 7 years

Alvarez Acoustic Bass- Need an Acoustic for campfire praise and worship. It got the job done fine.

Epiphone Les Paul Bass, Epiphone Goth Thunderbird- Both of these were bought as novelty basses for $100 each and neither was worth it.

Peavey Millenium BXP 5 string- I thought I needed a 5 string (I didn't), but this was actually a pretty great bass for the price.

Fender Jazz American Special- Traded the Cirrus, Alvarez, Thunderbird, and Millenium for this plus a little store credit. I actually liked this bass quite a bit. I started drinking the Kool-Aid and decided I needed to upgrade the bridge and bought a KSM bridge and I instantly fell out of love with it. I was going to just switch it back, but I brought it to my shop to have it setup before a gig and I saw the next bass, and I traded it.

Fender Precision 1974- perfect in every way. Light, resonant, thick chunky neck that is a joy to play.

Fender Precision MIM 1996- bought as a backup for the 74. great bass, but likely going to be sold shortly because I found something I like even better

Fender Cabronita- this is the something I like better.
 

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