The Bass You've Had the Longest

[kerrycares]

A long time for me would be a year and none of my current 13 qualify.
Oops make that 11 , I sold 2 last week.
I do think I'm going to hang on to ………. Naw changed my mind ! Lol!

 

[bassdude51]

View attachment 4705425
My '77 I bought in 1980.

Wonderful photo of your Ric and love the lovely ladies in the back ground. (Marilyn. Who is the other?)

 

[Thumpin6string]

My 6 string I built about 20 years ago.

 

[jnewmark]

Bought new in 1995, it is my go to bass, 99 % of the time.

 

[dave64o]

1994 Stingray 3-band, bought new for $900.
View attachment 4705279

Beautiful! Looks like the precursor to the now-discontinued ( ) honeyburst. Did they all that autumn burst?

 

[fdeck]

In 1977, the middle school band teacher asked me to play bass in the jazz band that he had just formed. All of the school's upright basses were unplayable and beyond repair, so I got a second hand Fender Mustang Bass. I remember that my parents paid for half of it.

A few years later while in high school, I yanked the frets and filled the slots with "mahogany" plastic wood. I also refinished it because it had fallen out of its case onto pavement at one point and the red finish was all hacked up.

I tried a few different basses over the years, but keep going back to this one, and it's my main player today when I'm not playing upright.

The strap is that old too.

 

[sawzalot]

Beautiful! Looks like the precursor to the now-discontinued ( ) honeyburst. Did they all that autumn burst?

It is a honey burst, just in bad lighting.

EDIT: I just looked it up in the musicman serial number database and it's described as "BASS STING SUNBRST MAPLE 3EQ". That's it, no other info.

Here's a bad photo of the same bass, with better lighting:

 

[dave64o]

Sweeeeeeeet!!

Such a shame they discontinued it.

 

[eriky4003]

I have had the Ricky on my avatar since November 1984. Hard to believe it's almost been 40 yrs.

 

[FatCity]

My PBass. I have had it for 14 years and can't imagine letting it go.

 

[Root 5]

My May 24th 1964 Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass. I bought this on the 13th of November 1988 for £175, back then a "NEW" Squier JV Precision was £199. Really love this little bass.
View attachment 4704915

This is what I call a "deal!"

 

[JIO]

Here's the pic of the Stars Guitars bridge - most were in raw brass:

View attachment 4705616

Pretty significant mod - from before the time that "weight?" was the first question with basses - though would certainly help alleviate neck dive.... And, yes, I have seen these on pre-CBS Fenders. Ouch.

Never seen one of those - it's pretty cool, I'd use it on a custom build in a minute (raw brass!!!) on a very light-weight bass! ) Are they still available somewhere? The debate about non-reversible mods is really something that is cringed at more with passing time. (as you know) Think about the famous players who have modded their basses to make them theirs; Billy Sheen, Mike Watt, Jaco... to name only a few. Then there was the late '60s-'70s player-driven trend of stripping finishes to natural. I did it also to my cherry red '68 EB3. Back then (early '70s) I didn't know anything about the finish effecting tone - I just liked the way it looked/felt natural. There are DIY 'hack jobs' and that is always sad to see - but the whole vintage/stock/'unmolested' thing was just a lot less something players thought about then.

 

[funkinbottom]

I bought this '60 Jazz in 1971 for $100. I mod. the livin' $&*T out of it. Reshaped (very popular back then) badass bridge, brass nut, series/parallel switch. Had a mudbucker on it for a very short time, then installed the P. pickup. I pretty much only play shorties these days due to hand surgery, but it still gets gigged on occasion.

 

[bassist4dalord]

The one I've had the longest is the Ibanez AEB5E in the middle. My wife gave it to me for our first Christmas as a married couple (2012). We were two broke college students and it was a complete surprise. Quite the extravagant gift considering our financial situation at the time!

I only play it home as the electronics don't give a great sound. It's perfect for playing at home and I have no reason to get rid of it.

My #1 is the SBMM Ray5 I've had since November 2021.

 

[SteveCS]

I've had this one since 1987 or '88, not quite sure any more. Eko BX-7 from around 1982, and the only original parts, other than the wood(!) are the bridge, nut, truss-rod cover and output jack plate:

 

[steveinohio]

It is a honey burst, just in bad lighting.

EDIT: I just looked it up in the musicman serial number database and it's described as "BASS STING SUNBRST MAPLE 3EQ". That's it, no other info.

Here's a bad photo of the same bass, with better lighting:
View attachment 4705699

Yeah. I had one of these. This is what Ernie Balls standard sunburst was. I other more traditional Fender style burst was called something else.

 

[Dynacord]

Never seen one of those - it's pretty cool, I'd use it on a custom build in a minute (raw brass!!!) on a very light-weight bass! ) Are they still available somewhere? The debate about non-reversible mods is really something that is cringed at more with passing time. (as you know) Think about the famous players who have modded their basses to make them theirs; Billy Sheen, Mike Watt, Jaco... to name only a few. Then there was the late '60s-'70s player-driven trend of stripping finishes to natural. I did it also to my cherry red '68 EB3. Back then (early '70s) I didn't know anything about the finish effecting tone - I just liked the way it looked/felt natural. There are DIY 'hack jobs' and that is always sad to see - but the whole vintage/stock/'unmolested' thing was just a lot less something players thought about then.

Stars Guitars is long gone. It was on Folsom near 4th - right by Moscone Center - until maybe '85 or so. It was the same location/shared space with Modulus Graphite before Geoff Gould relocated. Those bridges were probably a good pound and a half (just a guess).
For sure on the stripped to natural aka "hippie refins". At Real Guitars and in Brawer's repair shop in the early 90's I'd say I saw more pre-CBS guitars and basses that had gone through that than hadn't. I remember seeing original Foam Green paint in the cavities of one stripped early 60's Strat that was in to have work done on it. That would have been hugely valuable if original even then.

Funkinbottom's post above of his '60 Jazz is a good example of some of the more extreme mods which were not uncommon.

 

[bajaandy]

Not that I intend to go to the grave with this instrument, but I highly doubt that I'll ever sell it. Back in 1980 I traded in my black '78 Fender Musicmaster (which at the time I considered a "beginners" instrument, wish I still had it now!) for this Kramer DMZ5000 "lumie" at the now closed San Diego Guitar Trader. I don't actually play this one much any more, but for some reason I just can't let it go. (But never say never!)

 

[Killing Floor]

My 6 string I built about 20 years ago.
View attachment 4705685

That birdseye is lovely!

 

[jd56hawk]