My first bass was in 1986. It was a Carvin Studio bass and a Fender Bassman 20. My pops pick it up for me for $300 for the pair. Hard to believe that was almost 30 years ago.
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How much did you pay for your first bass?
- Thread starter Mr Gaston
- Start date
My first bass was in 1986. It was a Carvin Studio bass and a Fender Bassman 20. My pops pick it up for me for $300 for the pair. Hard to believe that was almost 30 years ago.
My first bass was/is (I still have it) a 1975 Ibanez Rick copy. I bought it in 1996 for $125. I didn't know him at the time, but the guy I bought it from ended up graduating H.S. with me. He still hits me up every so often to try to get it back. I'll gladly sell it to him when he comes up with what I believe it to be worth. First amp was as cheap Kustom practice amp...can't remember but probably paid ....100-$125?
I started playing around 1969 on a beaten up classical guitar with the top two strings removed and playing 'bass lines' an octave higher than they were supposed to be. Then in 1970 I managed to buy a Hofner 182 bass from a friend for £5. My best guess is that it was a 1964 bass, short scale with really narrow string spacing - and repainted a horrible poo colour. Funnily enough, just yesterday I was looking at Ebay to see if I could buy another (only a proper red one this time), just for old times sake, since I can't even remember what became of the first...I think I must have swapped it for a long scale Baldwin.
Smooth_bass88
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Got the Squire P Starter Pack from my parents for Christmas in 1999. Was probably around $200 from Sam Ash in Edison, NJ. Blew the amp the first time I tried jamming with a drummer, but the bass lives on!
In grade 11, I started taking Music at high school. At first, I was already playing guitar so I chose it. For the next year, it was a requirement to select another instrument with its music written in a different clef. I chose the bass, felt the groove & love and never looked back.
Before the class began, I went through local classifieds. The one I found was a blue Vantage Flying V bass for $100.
(Looked like this one except it was Blue.)
And soon after located a Yamaha B 115 bass amp.
A year or so passed and I was sure that I would stick with bass so I bought an Ibanez SR885 and Ampeg B2 head with a SVT-1510 cabinet, both of which I still own today.
Before the class began, I went through local classifieds. The one I found was a blue Vantage Flying V bass for $100.
(Looked like this one except it was Blue.)
And soon after located a Yamaha B 115 bass amp.
A year or so passed and I was sure that I would stick with bass so I bought an Ibanez SR885 and Ampeg B2 head with a SVT-1510 cabinet, both of which I still own today.
My first bass was free99 a MIA Peavey Fury my dad had (guitar player) I was 13. First amp was a little Roland Keyboard amp I got for $100 at a pawn shop. First real amp Ampeg BA 115 think it was like $380. I still have everything the fury is an awesome bass I got lucky my dad had it laying around. Roland I use as a sub for my stereo, ba 115 is at my drummer buddies house for when we jam, it actually keeps up with his loud ass drumming and a guitar if I crank it I did bypass the tweeter though.
First bass was a Commodore hollow body with no heads on the tuners ( had to use pliers )
pickup was held in place with nails and the controls had been smashed into the body so
a tear drop plywood plate had been made.Again nailed to the body
This finely crafted bass cost me £1 in 1982 ( about $2 )
pickup was held in place with nails and the controls had been smashed into the body so
a tear drop plywood plate had been made.Again nailed to the body
This finely crafted bass cost me £1 in 1982 ( about $2 )
March 1977, asked to be in a band before I had any equipment. I got my first bank loan of my life to buy a '73 Fender Precision for $150 and a black rolled and pleated Kustom 200 watt amp and 2 x 15" cab for $200. Wish I still had both to sell now for about $2k and get a used Roscoe. That P bass was one of the two worst basses I have ever owned. No tonal flexibility and I hated the neck. Same with the '79 Gibson Thunderbird I bought new when my Travis Bean was stolen out of my van. Traded the T-Bird for a new '81 Kramer Pioneer Imperial (PJ) which I still have and love. The Kramer will have a new owner when my Will is executed.
Fist bass and amp, my Dad bought me as a Christmas present. 1982ish I guess. Ibanez Roadstar II in black with a single P style pickup, and a Peavey Basic 40, somewhere around a $1000 new for both give or take the tax if I remember that day in the store correctly.
I was playing guitar for a good 15 years before I picked up my own bass. I was always borrowing my friends basses during that time and knew that I liked bass enough that I was going to stick with it.
When it came time for me to buy my first bass I happened to find a used Modulus Quantum 5 at a local shop. It was pricey but not that bad (way less that what they go for now). I picked it up and fell in love, it was SICK! I went home without it but couldn't stop thinking about it, so I called them the next day and made a lower offer, which they accepted. I've had it ever since and it's not going anywhere.
When it came time for me to buy my first bass I happened to find a used Modulus Quantum 5 at a local shop. It was pricey but not that bad (way less that what they go for now). I picked it up and fell in love, it was SICK! I went home without it but couldn't stop thinking about it, so I called them the next day and made a lower offer, which they accepted. I've had it ever since and it's not going anywhere.
1994, Guitar Works in Kelowna BC, $311.17 CAD for a Fernandes P Bass and Trace Elliot 1x8 combo.
In 1987:
Bass: Hondo (I think) J+P "Eddie Van Halen" red with white stripes, 200$ used from a friend.
Amp: Fender Bassman 1969 Silverface with Bandmaster cabinet with 2 x12 : 350$ used from a local music store.
The fender was practically new when I got it. Best deal I've ever made. I don't play it anymore but I still have it (and it works well).
I had to carry a lot of luggage to pay for these (I had a summer job as a bell boy then), but it was well worth it.
Bass: Hondo (I think) J+P "Eddie Van Halen" red with white stripes, 200$ used from a friend.
Amp: Fender Bassman 1969 Silverface with Bandmaster cabinet with 2 x12 : 350$ used from a local music store.
The fender was practically new when I got it. Best deal I've ever made. I don't play it anymore but I still have it (and it works well).
I had to carry a lot of luggage to pay for these (I had a summer job as a bell boy then), but it was well worth it.
Ajapses
Gold Supporting Member
1968 - $70 for a Beatle bass and amp from the Alden's catalog, thanks to Mom & Dad. A big deal to an 8th grader.
No, I don't wish I still had it.
No, I don't wish I still had it.
1983 first bass -- Vox Stinger IV from 1968, $200
1984 first amp -- Fender Princeton from 1959, $100
1984 first amp -- Fender Princeton from 1959, $100
1991/92. A used Epiphone EBM-4 with EMGs and a Hipshot drop tuner. I think it was $345 and came with a case that had no padding, broken latches and a belt to keep it closed. My mother lent me the money and 'yes' I DID pay her back sooner than later. You may think that's a rough price for such an iffy bass with a shoddy case (and one of the saddles cracked down the middle, forced to buy a chrome mismatch piece), but a few years later I would work for that same store and did for seven years. Good times - good memories!
