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How much did you pay for your first bass?

#221
Showing my age here...

My 1st bass was a Christmas gift from my parents in 1978 - a Sears Silvertone 2-pickup model, with cable, strap, 15-watt amp & Carol Kaye's "how to play electric bass" book. I believe the entire package was around $150.00. I was in Junior High School at the time...

I played that bass 'till my fingers bled (and then some), saving every penny for two years, and in 1980 I bought my first real bass, an Ibanez MC-924 Musician Bass, followed shortly by my first real amp, a new Peavey Mark IV head & 2 used Altec "Voice of the Theater" 1x15" cabs. I paid around $625.00 for the Ibanez, and it remained my only bass for 5 years. At that point, GAS set in, and I've bought & sold more than 200 basses since then. I currently have 9 basses in the stable, and plan to thin the herd a bit more..
 
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#222
Summer 1986. Ibanez Roadstar II P bass. (Never should've given it away!) About $200 new. Manny's Music on 48th St. And a Gorilla practice amp. About $70 maybe. What a POS that was! But I used it well and hard.

(And to answer an unasked question... Second bass was a Music Man StingRay5 fretless in 1990. Second amp was a Peavey Mark IV head and Peavey 1516 (2x8, 1x15) cab in 1987. That 1516 had real balls. And weighed a ton.)
 
#226
Thinking about it now, I feel I actually had four first basses:

First, was the very first piece of crap telstar or teisco which was the cheapest bass that could be bought at that time. Around $70. Thinking back now, if I knew that basses had truss rods at the time, it may have not actually been all that bad. With no internet to learn from it was a very different time in the world. Almost hard to imagine a world without internet or cellphones now, even though I lived in it for 30 years.

First bass I ever had that I actually gigged or did any recordings with was a Fender Mustang I bought dirt cheap in the mid 80s, while I was still playing guitar. $200. I sold that bass to someone who years later gave it back to me as a birthday present. And then I sold it again a couple of years after that :). I think I sold it for $200 the first time, and $300 the 2nd.

First bass I ever had that I considered a "real" bass was around 1990, when I hung up my guitar and started playing bass full time. $450. It was an Alvarez Dana. I knew absolutely nothing about basses at the time, and thought I was buying a high end instrument. I gigged that bass lots.

First REAL bass was Warwick Corvette, bought on my girlfriend's (now wife's) credit card in 1999. $999 with a case.
 
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#229
1972 Xmas, I got-
Epiphone bass (candy apple red) $109...still have
Univox bass amp (1x15") $150...sold in the mid-'80s for $75

In 1974, I bought a '64 Fender Bassman amp for $100 (w/ saved lunch money)...still have
In 1975, I bought my '64 Fender P-bass for $200 (w/ saved lunch money + my $1/hr job).
Still have; it's undergone a major facelift, though.
Both of the above were bought from the same neighborhood guy; he dealt mostly in pre-CBS Fenders. He kept the best stuff for himself, though.
 
#230
BassHappy said:
Thanks gjohnson....

It had very high action which was ultimately very good for me as a beginner. A guitar player friend owned a properly set up Kalamazoo mustang style bass and soon after I opted to buy that. After playing the poorly set-up Old Kraftsman - playing the Kalamazoo was a real treat! I was 12 and knew nothing about setting up basses or even tweaking rods - and there weren't any other bass players around to ask about this stuff.

View attachment 562606
Click to expand...
Boy! That one's beautiful too!
Ignorance is sometimes bliss, especially when your young. My very first bass was a Kingston and I hadn't a CLUE what was happening when the fretboard separated from the neck!
 
#231
I started playing bass in 1974. Bought a Fender mustang bass brand new w case for $189.00! It was sunburst with a rosewood fretboard. I traded it to a music store along with another $275 cash for a used 1974 Fender jazz bass & case. I've been playing that one ever since until a few years ago, when i found out how valuable she is! Play out with a 2006 Highway one now.
 
#232
In 1974, I was given a Simpson Sears bass by my brother (Vancouver Island, BC). I then paid $50 for a Traynor 50W tube amp and there was much rejoicing when everything worked. I sold the Sears bass a year later for $20, but don't tell my brother.
 
#233
Hrmm... I was 15 and in high school (2003/04). Couple of my friends were playing together and I wanted to join in (one on drums, the other on guitar). Initially I wanted to play guitar, so I had my friend show me a riff (it was 'One' by Metallica). Having never really picked up a stringed instrument before I struggled pretty hard with it. And I still remember what he said to this day - "some people just aren't meant to play guitar."

Bought a Squier P-bass and the 10w practice amp from another kid in school for a cool $100. Still jam with those guys to this day. I've upgraded basses a few times in the years, but still have the Squier. Plan on keeping it forever.
 
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#235
Sweet Willie said:
Summer 1986. Ibanez Roadstar II P bass. (Never should've given it away!) About $200 new. Manny's Music on 48th St. And a Gorilla practice amp. About $70 maybe. What a POS that was! But I used it well and hard.
Click to expand...

Those Roadstars are killer basses. I used to have one around the mid-80s also, and still miss it.

And Gorilla amps! Oh man, I had almost forgotten about those! I think every person my age plugged a guitar or bass into a cheap Gorilla amp at some point. They were like disposable Bic lighters of the amp world, but they worked for us poor kids who were just starting out...
 
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#239
My first good bass was a '73-'74 P bass and cost me $200. Absolutely one of the worst basses I've ever played. It did sound ok, but was like playing something designed and executed by a sadist specifically to make you depressed. Eventually traded it for a Silver Series Ibanez Jazz bass that completely blew it out of the water. Even then, people would take "Fender" on the headstock of a crappy bass over anything else on a good one, so it taught me to ignore the name on the bass as well.
 

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