Oldest Bass you've played?

[Goteky45]

No such thing as a 50's Jazz.

I'm just saying what my teacher told me. All I know about it is that it was from Leo's era.

 

[Wolfehollow]

I have a 59 P and a 66 Guild.

Neither compare to my 1745 Bergonzi... (violin)

 

[carlthegroover]

The first one was Jaco's Bass of Doom which I got to try when I did a roadie gig for him in New York back when he was playing with Mike Stern.

Nice! You are part of history now, I believe.

 

[PastorofMuppets]

I played a beat up 59 P
It was nice but not that kinda money nice.

 

[msb]

51 Pbass . I would have loved to have been able to afford it . I have probably played about a dozen various early SCPBs . One 54 really stood out as an exceptional one . A Gibson mando bass , probably from around 1920 , and some orchestral quality uprights that were several hundred years old . ( the bass broker's description , I did not get specific with them )

Oldest ones that I own are a pair of 72 Pbasses .

 

[meatwad]

I hope this thread doesn't turn into a "vintage bass hatefest", even though I do find it interesting that seemingly more players are realizing that because it's old doesn't always mean it's better. Or vice-versa.

 

[39-Bassist]

1977 Fender P-Bass w/maple neck and natural body. Plays sweet and sounds great.
I am playing it now. Guy traded it in at the guitar store and told boss I'd double what he paid and he said take it, so it won't sit in store long. ($700) All mine...

 

[C-60 Bass]

'67 Precision although it belongs to a friend.

My oldest is a '78 Precision which I think sounds better but its much heavier!!

 

[michael_atw]

'67 Fender Coronado II. I still own it

 

[Shawn Luckman]

My 1964 Hofner Violin bass, bought back in 1988 when it was already 24 years old. Still own it and play on it sometimes great little bass.

 

[bassplayer1494]

a vintage musicman stingray. i think it was either a 77 or 78

 

[Stilettoprefer]

A 70's jazz. I hated it pretty badly. The action was terrible and it just didn't feel right. didn't even plug it in. I'm more of a P guy anyways

Throw a P neck on that jazz body with flats and put a P pup in that awesome P position and I'd be all over that thing though! The finish was awesome, gotta love some good wear on a fender!

 

[ClassicJazz]

Nice! You are part of history now, I believe.

I wouldn't go that far....but I did get some cool photos from one of the shows back in 1983. I took these with a "Disk" camera (remember those!) so sorry for the low res. He used both his fretless and fretted Jazz basses.

 

[Jazzcat]

 

[RobJ]

Indeed! Great shots, thanks for posting CJ.

 

[Fassa Albrecht]

If we're counting double basses in this, then the oldest I've played is an 1850s German DB.
The oldest EB: likely a friend's dad's 61' Fender.

 

[Meddle]

Oldest bass I have knowingly played was a 1981 Hondo I owned for a while but sold last week. Weighed a ton and seemed to try and fight me at every musical turn.

 

[Ric5]

As someone who owned and played 60s basses and I had this one here ...

As my main player for 30 years ... I would like to say that older basses are not better ... they are older ... they are cool . They have a vintage vibe, but they are not worth the vintage prices.

My 2011 4003 is a better player than my 1968 4001 ever was.

 

[TomB]

Today I gigged my '63 Jazz. I've had it since '73 (it replaced a stolen '64 J). That's a lot longer than I've had my '61 P or my '71 Jazz. All are sweet, warm, & mellow and sound great and I'm totally at home playing them. But my newer basses are every bit as good instruments and I'm just as happy playing them.

 

[ModulusQ5-122]

I owned a 68 Telecaster bass. Best neck I have ever played on.