Was your 1st bass a P.O.S?

[Cave Puppy]

I had a poopy hollowbody Crestwood when I first started in 1978 and an even poopier amp. I used to plop the bass on top of the kitchen counter to amplify it (and tune it using a piano) and remember first showing my Dad - he laughed at me. I'll never forget that. My mom got me a Fender Bassman amp and a brand new (1979) P bass but I couldn't play that thing for the life of me. I think I traded that P bass for an aluminum necked Kramer. I'm a total P bass (with a Jazz neck) guy now. Ah, memories.

 

[Winton]

Mine was a MIJ Fender Precision so it was a pretty good bass. I didn't care for it much though because (now I know) it was a 50s style and I was getting into Jaco during that time. So them harmonics didn't pop for me as a novice bassist and it didn't have that burpy back pick up sound.

 

[walking Bass]

I traded a much-loved Sunburst Fender Jazzmaster for a Cherry Gibson EB-2 in 1964. Took off the pickguard and handrest and I still have it. I still love it too, but also love it's little brother SG Bass and all the other basses I've bought since then (Ken Smith Burner 5, Rob Allen MB-2 Fretless, Fender American Performer Mustang and Sadowsky NYC).

Gibson 1963 by Ted, on Flickr

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

My first was a Gibson EB-0. Not bad (easy to play) but I didn't like it. That was 1968. Changed to a PBass after a year or so. I probably could have experimented to get it to sound better but I was so new to playing the bass and of course, there was no internet.

 

[Jjacks651]

My first bass was NOT a POS. It was a brand new Gibson EB-0. Bought it in 1967 and play the poopie out of it for 3 years, wore the frets out, put many miles and countless hours of playing on it, and still have it now. I've had new frets on it and refinished the body. It plays well, but, it's not a modern instrument, it's very much a '60s sounding bass, with high distortion and no real Punch like the pickups on today's basses.

John

 

[LBS-bass]

First bass was a 60's Gibson EB0 and whether it was a POS or not is a matter of opinion. It was a shorty with a floppy E string and a mudbucker, so I didn't like it that much, and traded it for a full-scale bass after a relatively short time. But that bass was a great bass for a lot of people back then, so who knows?

 

[Lowbrow]

I had a poopy hollowbody Crestwood when I first started in 1978 and an even poopier amp. I used to plop the bass on top of the kitchen counter to amplify it (and tune it using a piano) and remember first showing my Dad - he laughed at me. I'll never forget that. My mom got me a Fender Bassman amp and a brand new (1979) P bass but I couldn't play that thing for the life of me. I think I traded that P bass for an aluminum necked Kramer. I'm a total P bass (with a Jazz neck) guy now. Ah, memories.

Was your '79 P one of Fender's International Series colors? Mine was Midnight Wine with black PG.

 

[MegaSwing]

No. It was a Gibson Grabber, which seemed pretty decent at the time. Would I have one now? No. I actually didn't have it that long then. The first Fender Precision that came along turned it into a casualty.

 

[SLPimp]

First bass was a Squier Affinity.
First non-child labor law violating working for my dad job was McDonald's.
First car was a Plymoth Neon.
First guitar was a Peavy Raptor
First apartment was a 400 Sq ft basement

Doing it right.

 

[bassliner50]

Absolute POS. (of course I knew nothing about set ups and string selection.) A Japanese "Ideal" copy of Sir Pauls Violin Hofner. Looked great. Played like and sounded like S.
Ah..........but I did have an Ampeg B-15n Portaflex.

 

[Chad Michael]

Mine was a short scale Fender Bullet - a bit cheesy but also kind of valuable now. (At least the long scale versions are going for over $1K on Reverb.)

Same - my folks paid $399 (USA 30") with hard case back in '84, '85 ish. Served me well, was thankful to have it as a first instrument

 

[Altitude]

Mine was a red Ibanez Destroyer. I was trying to be Rick Savage. The bass was cool; I wish I still had it.

I suppose I've got more of a John Taylor vibe going on in this pic.

 

[Zak TMD]

Kinda but also kinda not? First one I got was an early 90s red Yamaha RBX 300, and then a friend gave me a black one. So, while the pic isn't mine it was a lot like the below. They were fine entry level basses, so I'm not sure I'd call them POSs exactly. Although in both of them, the strap buttons on the horn stripped out and the pups sorta fell apart - so I'd say definitely some POS tendencies.

I kinda put down bass for awhile and moved on to guitar from the late 90s until I started singing in bands around 2002, and then didn't pick the bass back up until maybe 2012? I had a similar Ibanez on hand during that time for demo / recording purposes, as the Yamahas were long gone.

In '12 I got a cheapie Treban and started falling back in love in bass (still singing in a band) and then in '13-14 I had the bass in hand as we worked on writing our full length - our Bass player at the time had moved out of state. I made the full conversion to bass / vocals in '16 and started getting serious about my gear. I guess technically the first "Nice" bass I ever bought was around 2016 when I picked up an Aerodyne, though as cheap as that Treban was, it played pretty nice and didn't sound bad. I will note that I'm not a fan of active pups, and that battery died all the time, plugged in or not.

 

[MCS4]

Yep. I'm a lefty, but my first bass was a righty Johnson p-bass copy that I bought for around $100 and restrung as a lefty. Playing a p-bass upside down, with the strap relocated to the tiny lower horn, is just about the maximum amount of "neck dive" that you can experience.

 

[micahwc]

I had a Cruise created for VMI p bass clone. I still have it. It's one of the best playing basses I've ever played. It currently has a Wilde P bass pickup in it with a Kellingsound varitone.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Mirada p-bass copy from Sam Goody record store. That bass launched a thousand misses. POS

 

[electracoyote]

At the time, yes.

Now, it's sought after and collectable.

Matsumoku factory era Gibson EB clone in Pelham Blue. I can't even remember how it was branded. A very convincing well-made copy, but subject to plenty of snobbery. A bizarre and unfortunate accident lead to a snapped neck. That was 45 years ago and I still miss that bass. Almost impossible to find now.

 

[Steadfast]

I was the pos.... not the bass.

 

[TerribleTim68]

My first bass was a late-80s Aria Pro-II SB series. I wish I still had it.

 

[the baint]

Nope. Mine was a nice Gibson Ripper that my extended uncle lent and then gave me. It did have neck dive and I didn't fully jive with the pickups. Eventually I put in a Basslines MM pickup and preamp and played that thing for years.