Most expensive 1st bass to learn on ? ?

[juggahnaught]

Not my first bass, nut my first six-string bass (my second bass). It's a custom neck-through bass and I think I paid around $1000 for it at a local music shop in Tallahassee, my hometown. This was back in 2012 or so when I didn't have crazy cash flow so at the time it was quite a bit of money.

 

[blowinblue]

How about my first bass to learn 5-string? Yes, kind of expensive for a non-doctor, non-lawyer person like myself.

M. M.

 

[elgranluis]

My “first “ bass was a Memphis that I bought from a “friend”, who proceeded to borrow it maybe two weeks after I purchased it and never returned it. I bought a fender American standard on eBay to replace that one, which wasn’t cheap , but was far from being expensive.

 

[Hevy T]

Mine was a Mansfield 51 p bass short scale copy that an idiot put a les Paul styled pickup in. I paid like $50 for it

 

[BlueTalon]

When you were just starting out,
When you were looking to buy your very 1st bass,
Before you even really new how to play . . . . .

What is the most expensive bass guitar you bought to learn on ? ?
Like has anyone bought a custom bass as their very 1st bass guitar to learn on ? ?

My first bass was an Epiphone ES-335 style semi-hollow body that I got my mom to buy for me for around $100. I learned on that for a year before spending my own money to get a Rickenbacker 4001, which I later customized. I was still learning at that point so... does that count?

 

[Chrisk-K]

Why not buy a Ritter or a Fodera?

 

[Koshchei]

After 33 years of playing guitar, I was forced by health issues to switch to bass. So, knowing my theory, having excellent chops, and also very definite preferences, I got a used Rickenbacker 4003SW because it was light and played like a beast. So, yes, it was expensive, but no I wasn't coming to it with a blank slate - I had transfer credits.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I really lucked out. After years of feeling the itch to pick up bass grow stronger and stronger, I finally decided to pull the trigger as a 40th birthday present to myself. But despite being gainfully employed, I didn’t want to commit a ton of money to what would probably be just a hobby. That, and there was a particular Squier P-Bass Special that was calling out to me. Unfortunately, that model had been discontinued a few years earlier.

Amidst my relentless search for that Squier, I stumbled across across a listing for a used Fender Aerodyne costing about $350 + shipping. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend for my entry to the Low End, but it was so damn cool looking. Plus, it cost cosiderably less than a brand-new Aerodyne, so I succumbed to the temptation and pounced on it.

From then until now, I have never regreted snatching it up. What could’ve been modestly expensive bass gotten for a great price that was also a dream to learn on.

EDIT: Pics, or it didn't happen!

 

[dave hope]

Never happened here, either. My first was a <$100 Lafayette or similar and that was a lot of money! OTOH, I watched a dad buy his 11 y.o. son a really nice Gibson Les Paul as a first guitar...that was '79 or so.

Riis

My first was a Lafayette

 

[rtav]

My mom, through an Opry friend, bought my first bass in 1977 - a 1967 P Bass, OHSC, and Fender MusicMaster amp.

She paid (at the time) $700 for the whole setup and it was purchased from the original owner, Opry musician Leon Rhodes.

I had it for 35 years, switched to 6 string basses about 2010 and sold it to someone who would use it.

 

[tbz]

First bass was a Fender JP-90. Basically a MIM JP bass, but assembled in America, so it could have be sold as An American Fender.

iirc it was like $300 at GC when the MIM P basses ran $200 or so? My dad was cool enough to pay for the upgrade. Thanks again dad.

It was a very good instrument to learn on.

 

[Discount Bassy]

Used $100 Jay Turser FSO P-Bass clone with orange, furry strings and a severely warped pick guard. It gigged around for a goodly while before I stepped up to the custom/hand-crafted level instruments available.

 

[neil|lien]

Hmmm, not my story as my first bass was a really bad Cort Action bass, with a terrible set up (had no idea at the time, nor did i have anyone to enlighten me lol), but i have a friend who started on a Sire V3, barely used it for the time he had it, then got himself a MIA silverburst Fender & a couple of weeks later a Sire U5. And he still is a beginner. Does that story count?

 

[neil|lien]

Not my first bass, nut my first six-string bass (my second bass). It's a custom neck-through bass and I think I paid around $1000 for it at a local music shop in Tallahassee, my hometown. This was back in 2012 or so when I didn't have crazy cash flow so at the time it was quite a bit of money.

View attachment 4751689

That bass looks like a Ravenwest i used to have!

 

[logdrum]

Sky's the limit. If you do get a 30K Alembic or 20K Fodera, those prices won't prevent you from playing the bass out of tune or clanging on the frets. Actually with Alembic's complicated pre or Fodera's Pope preamp controls turned to the extremes, you probably will have some unpleasant tones as well.

So let's take it down a notch and get yourself a passive Lull or Fender custom shop (I don't know how much they are now 4K - 6K? ), you can still make them sound bad. My point is the most expensive bass will not prevent you from making it sound bad. Now setup that Alembic with wacky intonation, high or buzzy action and bad strings, it will sound bad and be very hard to play as well.

It's not like - Hey I want to learn to drive a car. You can learn to drive on a 200K Benz also. There is no need to start on a Camry or Kia. But if you get a race spec'd not road legal rally or NASCAR which cost more than the Benz, you will probably wreck it very quick. It's not the money but you can get injured or die and take even someone down with you as well.

Bass guitars, well set up bass guitars should be easy to play whether you are a beginner or a pro. This concept of beginner guitars serves only one purpose. If that consumer looses interest they will only loose so much money. That will be the First Act music category. Anything after that, nowadays is actually a decent instrument.

I would advice that you take someone who is already an experienced bass player when buying the bass and set aside 50 to 100 or whatever it is in your locale for a decent setup. Nowadays 400 can get you far that the bass will probably even serve you gigging.

My assumption here is that the majority of us here, have too many nice instruments (includes me) not actively gigging or not depending on gigging to survive because we have other sources of income. Many have basses and amps that are pro/touring level and nothing says we can't even if we leave this earth not having jammed or played with anyone else. Many play for their owne enjoyment alone and nothing wrong with that.

Of course just by the nature of this forum, if you start a thread about a 20K Fodera Monarch and you do not know where the E string is, it will raise some eyebrows and you will get flogged by some.

 

[Hundred proof]

Inspired my my long time buddy and local bass legend … one day he out of the blue said “go buy a bass I’ll teach you a couple of things”. At an out of the way pawn shop in Mississippi I scored a G&l 2000 for cheap, that was my first bass.

 

[Chickenwheels]

I first owned AriaPro2 basses. I’d probably sound good on them now. If they still made them today they’d be expensive instruments, unlike at the time ironically.

 

[jamro217]

I started on guitar and switched to bass as a sideline never realizing it would become my main instrument. The first bass I owned (in 1974 or '75) was a 15-fret, copper shorthorn Dano with a broken string. I talked the seller down from $15 to $12 for that reason. By the time I got serious about the bass (1978) I bought a '76 P bass (natural with a maple neck and a black pickguard that was switched to tort along with ditching the horrible sounding original pickup) with the case for $335. Can't remember what kind of pickup replaced the brittle sounding original, but it is fantastic. Nice, round, wooly yet clean tone that has just the right amount of grunt. The Goldilocks pickup! That was and occasionally still is my main bass. Lightyears ahead of the inaudible toy Dano.

 

[juggahnaught]

That bass looks like a Ravenwest i used to have!

To be completely honest, I've been trying to identify this bass for a long time now, so it could very well be the bass you had. If you sold it to MusicMasters in Tallahassee, then it's definitely yours.

It doesn't have any branding or identifying marks on it anywhere, though. I checked out this thread (Wolf,Woodo,HK and Raven West (KHL.Co.)Basses.) and it looks like the headstock on mine is broader than the KHL basses in that thread. (It's also really heavy - it's a beast. The fretboard accessibility is amazing, though.)

Edit: Here's a closer shot of the fretboard design:

 

[BlueTalon]

Bass guitars, well set up bass guitars should be easy to play whether you are a beginner or a pro. This concept of beginner guitars serves only one purpose. If that consumer looses interest they will only loose so much money. That will be the First Act music category. Anything after that, nowadays is actually a decent instrument.

I make it a point to never ever ever buy an entry-level anything, if I can avoid it. It has been my experience that it's always worth spending the additional money to get something that's at least two steps above entry level, no matter what it is. And I would recommend that to any bass beginner as well. Whatever money they might save by getting the First Act stuff would be down the toilet as soon as they outgrow the beginner stuff. And that would happen rather quickly if they are the least bit serious about learning.