Nostalgic buy

[iomamo]

Yamaha RBX260. Split coil pickup, 24 frets, black. Broke the nut installing a set of heavy flats and it was discarded when moving house. Solid instrument, as you might expect, and certainly a good example of a budget instrument of the time.

It's taken over twenty years and many expensive purchases and trades to realise that the Yamaha's basic P-bass V/T configuration is all I ever needed. Typical.

 

[mellowgerman]

My first was a black Squier Affinity P Bass, back in 2000. I was super stoked when my parents bought it for me. Certainly served its purpose and I ended up selling it when it came time to upgrade, probably around 2002.
In a cool turn of events though, I recently linked up with the guy I sold it to on Instagram (only social media I'm on these days) and offered to buy it back for the same $100 he paid me for it if he still had it, just out of nostalgia. He was nice enough to say that next time I make it up to NY he would bring it to me and that he didn't want any money for it. Never expected to be so stoked for a Squier Affinity P bass again... but hey, this was THE ONE!

 

[godofthunder59]

Mine is a Klira 356 violin bass, a birthday present from my folks in 1971. I still have it , one of my most prized possessions.

 

[JDLowEnd]

My first bass was the squier precision 5 string. The massively heavy one with two jazz pickups. This was about 17 years ago. The salesman told me that I needed a 5 string because eventually I would need to "upgrade" to more strings. I laugh at that now, but I would never buy that bass again. It was so damn heavy and there are zero things I liked about that bass. My second bass though was a spector performer, and it opened my eyes

 

[Copperhead]

My first bass was a 66 Precision. My brother lost interest and defaulted on payments so my Ma, the cosigner on the note laid down the law and it went to me.
I hated the wide neck and thought it wasn't boomy enough so I bought an EB-0.
I wouldn't buy it back I still hate C necks and it would be a few grand, out of my price range.

 

[baileyboy]

My first bass was a Hohner bass. It was pretty decent playing bass for a first purchase, considering I knew nothing at the time and bought it mostly on looks. No, I would not buy it back now. It was a significant stepping stone in the journey that brought me to where I am- '74 Fender P and Geddy Jazz- but I would have no interest in owning a bass like that now.

 

[One_Dude]

My first bass purchase was a used 1970's Gibson Grabber. I got it about 1980 and I still have it with no intent to sell.

Thump on,

One_Dude

 

[Frank77]

My first bass was a Squier HM and I sure hope I never see it again. I traded it in to get a much better bass (that I still own and play) almost 20 years ago.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

My first bass is my 98 MIK Squier Jazz, not going anywhere!

 

[groovaholic]

My first bass was a 1984 Squier Precision (MIJ) that I traded a couple years later.

About 12 years ago, I found another MIJ Squier P and realized how nice they are! Still have that second one...

 

[Yools]

In '93 I bought my first 5-string (which was actually the second bass I owned). It was a black Ibanez EX, passive with EMG Select single coil pups, Jazz Bass (V/V/T) pot configuration, and black hardware. I liked it at the time, played it for a couple of years and recorded with my metal band, then in '95 I bought a really nice custom 5-string and sold the Ibanez. Didn't really think much about it after I sold it.

Fast-forward to 2016... I see almost the exact same instrument (only difference was the headstock decal) on my local Craigslist for $100, including a SKB hard case. I end up buying it - total nostalgia purchase, as I didn't really need it and was pretty sure I'd just turn around and sell it and keep the case. It turns out it's in good condition - needs new strings and a setup, but the electronics are solid and the neck/fretboard is pretty nice. I replace the stock bridge with a chrome top-loading bridge, replace the tuners and knobs with chrome ones that I happen to have lying around, replace one pot with a blend so it now has master vol, blend, and tone, and give it a good setup and fret level. It's turned out to be my main bass for my cover band and any stuff that I do that involves standard tuning (i.e., not my metal band), and I love that bass - those pickups sound great, the tone knob is surprisingly responsive, and it's real easy to play. I think the biggest difference between now and when I owned my first one is that I now value lighter instruments with slimmer neck profiles, especially for covers. Pretty sure I'll hang on to this one for a lot longer than my last.

-Y

 

[LUCE]

'76 P - still have it!

 

[MIMike]

Late 60’s Guild Starfire was my first. I traded it in on a brand new P-Bass after a little less than a year of learning on it. I would love to find another one...but I doubt I could buy it for the $300 that I paid for it originally.

 

[interp]

My very first bass, in about 1967, was a no-name Japanese copy of a Hofner Beatle bass. I wouldn’t even think of buying it again.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

My first was a late 50s/early 60s Dano Longhorn.
Dunno. It was well worn in 64 when I got it.

Maybe.
It turns out that now they are worth something.
Who knew?

 

[LowFactor]

My first bass was a 74 Gibson EB-3L bought used in the early 90s. Still have it. Will never sell it.

 

[69Jazz]

Mine was a early to mid 80's Peavey Foundation. I sold it to an old girlfriend's mom to give to her little brother as a gift. This was about 93 and he still has it. He won't come off of it. Apparently he has more sentimental attachment to it than I did at the time. I really didn't realize what I had at the time. I was playing a nice pointy headstock Charvel 3B and a Peavey Dyna Bass koa neck through at the time, and wasn't giving the Foundation any love. I picked it up from a fairly shady dude that had a small studio where we were recording original music at the time. I paid $75 for it. Looking back, I am almost positive that it was hot. Nice bass, good shape, and a hard shell case for that price. Even though $75 to an 18 year old in 1987 was quite a bit more than $75 now, but still, it was as a steal. I later regretted buying it, and definitely regret selling it.

 

[paddydaddyo]

My first bass was a no-name MIJ P-Bass knockoff with a single, non-split pickup, and a neck like a recurve bow. I can hardly count that though, as I hardly ever played it. It was just too difficult. That was in late-1981.

Luckily, I remained interested in bass, and several months later had saved for a Hondo II that was a much better Precision copy. I put a Warmoth rosewood board/maple neck on it that I got for a song and an EMG pickup in and it was a great "first" bass.

Gave it to a friend as payment for an acoustic guitar that got broken on my watch (not my fault, but I was "in charge"), and that was that. It wasn't a big whoop though, as I was playing a real Precision by that point (an actual 1963 thats body had been stripped of the finish and linseed oiled).

Would I want that exact Hondo back? Sure, if I could find it, for what I paid for it (about $200) ... But it would be purely for sentimental reasons.

 

[jthisdell]

I bought this 71 P in 1976. Not technically my first as I had a couple knock offs before this. I was bagging groceries and we would roll them out to your car and put them in your trunk for you, tips were not required but mostly people tipped a dime. There are alot of dimes in this. Paid 275 which was a fair amount back then and my dad was wholly pissed. I played it through high school and college and some after college, then my nephew borrowed it and did the same. Luckily I was able to get it back from him a few years ago and gt back into playing.

Still plays and sounds great.

 

[BlacknWhite]

can't make out the name on the headstock what is it?

It's an old Yamaha RBX200