We ALL have that ONE bass...

[juancaminos]

i kinda disagree with that......What I notice about tone (and this applies to all instruments, not just bass) is that its a "sheen" that the audience notices. You can have two bands of equal caliber, one with guitarists and bassists with fresh strings, using optimal pickup and fx configs for the songs, and a drummer with fresh heads and they will notice that they sound drastically better than a band with dead strings, blues amp setups for every song (including non blues tunes), and drum heads old enough to vote...they may not be able to tell you why, but folks can hear a difference

I will say that bass is probably the most forgiving, hence why there are so many 'set-it-and-forget-it' players because a single good tone can often work with a nights-worth of songs and nobody would notice, but it doesnt mean that a player shouldn't be concerned with tone and not do their part to add to the polish

I have said this for years (and on this forum in one way or another) People do notice the difference between a good sounding band and a bad sounding band. Most of the time they have no clue why and sometimes musicians themselves have no clue why. But quality equipment in good repair played by musicians who care trump all else. You don't have to be the best musician in the house, town, state, country or world. You just have to care enough to have good equipment in good repair and really care about your presentation, that will win every time! I could go on and on...but yes SpazzThe Bassist is right on!

 

[juancaminos]

I still have my first bass but did not take very good care of it. It's a Fender Telecaster that I got in 1960 or 1970. I'm so old that I don't really remember, probably '70. My second was a late 70's Jazz bass that I love to death. I have bought other basses and tried other people's basses but always come back to the Jazz

 

[*Tempest*]

... that we got when we were Young and dumb.

In My case... 3.

We either did something dumb, like... letting it go for a stupid reason.
Or, still have it, and wish that we had taken better care of it.

I fit into BOTH categories. Before I embarrass Myself (and I will, PROMISE), let's hear YOUR story, see pics.
Live and LEARN. UGH!!!

The only instrument that I've ever regretted selling was a stealth black 4HH stingray. It was one of a kind sounding and playing.

I think the sheer number of basses/guitars I've bought and sold over the years is embarrassing perhaps. Haha.

 

[Marc DLarosa]

WOW!!!
Lots of stories about "my first", "the one that got away", "wish I still had", "I was lucky to get it back (My favorite stories).

But... What about... "I still have it. I wish that I had treated it BETTER...?"

 

[Acoop]

Got her down to four, plus my upright. ... I considered the same question a few days ago. ...

 

[dmt]

This sure is a weird thread to "Like" someone’s post on.

"Back in ‘78 I traded my all original pre-CBS Fender for this spoiler I wanted to put on the back of my Vega. Well, the Vega got wrecked shortly thereafter so I never did get that spoiler kit on. Oh well. Always kinda did wish I could have that P back though..."
Like?

 

[Marc DLarosa]

This sure is a weird thread to "Like" someone’s post on.

"Back in ‘78 I traded my all original pre-CBS Fender for this spoiler I wanted to put on the back of my Vega. Well, the Vega got wrecked shortly thereafter so I never did get that spoiler kit on. Oh well. Always kinda did wish I could have that P back though..."
Like?

Nope.
But... I'm still waiting a bit, to post the reasons that I started this thread.
Kinda afraid of being Lynched...

 

[JRA]

I'm still waiting a bit, to post the reasons that I started this thread. Kinda afraid of being Lynched...

let's have it.

 

[dmt]

Oh no...

 

[Riff Ranger]

I would like my High School pre Ernie Ball Sabre back... but not for the +$3k prices I see.
View attachment 3191816

My biggest bass regret was not getting that black neck-thru Westone Thunder III from you! D'oh!

I've enjoyed every bass I ever owned but never regretted selling any that I sold. Amps are a different matter. It wouldn't be hard or expensive to replace the Peavey 400BH head I had in high school now if I really wanted to, but that was a great amp and I can't remember for the life of me why I got rid of it, or what I got for it. That pointy logo made a big impression on me as a little kid in the early '80s, the sounds I could get from that amp have stuck with me, and I just might have to reunite with one of those even though I have a very different and very good set-up now. I know I'm not the only one to regret letting a 400BH go, either.

 

[headband]

When I was young I was into mini bikes and music. Mom was a pianist that wasn't too keen on the mini bikes so she talked my Dad into getting me a nice bass for Christmas. I still remember going to McMurray Music in St. Louis to pick out my bass. The top three were a P-bass, a Jazz and an EB-3. I have small hands and gravitated to the EB-3 and the Jazz. I wasn't sure what to do, so my Dad asked the salesman. He said " 9 out of 10 basses he sells are Fenders" so I came home with a sunburst Jazz Bass with Lolipop tuners. I still have the bass today, as well as the case (case still has a metal McMurray Music emblem on the side). Here is a photo of the bass I have had since 1968 and is as familiar as the back of my hands. Here is a recent photo.

 

[retslock]

In 30 years, this Alembic Series I is the only bass I have sellers remorse over (I sold back in 1989).......and Im not really sure that, if I ever got it back, that I wouldn't part with it again after a revisit and rediscovering the things that I didnt like that made me sell it in the first place

View attachment 3191699

Eighties hair....a wonderful reminder of an over-the-top era in which more was less.
Just kidding. My wife liked your pic.

 

[retslock]

He cared too much for tone, as all instrument makers do. But people listen to notes, tunes and rhythm not to sound. That's why they bought acoustic recordings of Caruso in the 1910s or 78's of symphonic music in spite of terribly limited fidelity. Tone doesn't matter.

They bought those records because that’s all there was. Engineering to the lowest common denominator is a recipe for mediocrity. I want my instruments to sound the way I like them. It doesn’t matter if nobody else notices but nice if they do.
If we’re honest, pretty much most of us play music for our own pleasure. If others like it, bonus. Having done it professionally for many years, I have no doubt that sounding the best I could was definitely a positive addition to my employer’s desires to call me back, particularly in the studio.

 

[Riff Ranger]

Technically my first bass was a Harmony P bass that an uncle let me borrow. But i consider my 'real' first bass to be my '95 Ibanez ATK300, that i bought for myself.

It's now over 20 years later and i still have it! Quite a few basses have come and gone in the meantime. But, i have a sweet spot for this bass and I've never been able to let it go. It only really saw heavy use in one band over a 4 year period, from 2002-2006. Since then my bass choices have become pretty focused... and unfortunately that focus is not what this Ibby can do.

Even though it doesn't see much use, it has a lot of memories and nostalgia wrapped up in it, and it's staying with me.

View attachment 3192020
From 2004-ish

I got my black 305 around the same time (1995), but I'm thinking of getting rid of it as my tastes have changed. Tricky, though, as I leaned heavily on that thing when I did gig and record regularly. The moment of truth comes tomorrow when I look into a Spector 5 ...

 

[Riff Ranger]

I pretty much only regret selling a couple of basses many years ago, and that is only because if I sold them now I'd get many times the money I did back then.

I did trash my first bass, a plywood P copy, trying to defret it. My 2nd bass, a 79 4001, was one I'd rather have sold yesterday than in the 90s. My 3rd bass and most since I have kept and taken good care of.

That reminds me of a bass regret I do have: not scoring a new Ric for under 1,000 USD back in the '90s.

 

[retslock]

WOW!!!
Lots of stories about "my first", "the one that got away", "wish I still had", "I was lucky to get it back (My favorite stories).

But... What about... "I still have it. I wish that I had treated it BETTER...?"

Yes I’ve got one of those. A ‘70 P that I stupidly installed a Jazz pickup in at the bridge position. Dumb dumb dumb. It never improved the sound at all and I ended up never using the bridge pickup...ever! The other stupid thing I did was rout a hole for the original Badass bridge. I still have the bass and will never sell it ‘cos it still plays and sounds great but I sure wish I hadn’t messed with it.

 

[chris_b]

Yes I’ve got one of those. A ‘70 P that I stupidly installed a Jazz pickup in at the bridge position. Dumb dumb dumb. It never improved the sound at all and I ended up never using the bridge pickup...ever!

Yep, I did that and with exactly the same result! It cost a lot at the time, didn't improve anything and changed forever what would now be a nice vintage bass. That is my dumb bass move. That was the last time I ever modded anything and why I'll always advise against doing stuff like that.

 

[bearfoot]

While I did get another ABG not long ago, I still keep my eyes open for a black Applause in the hopes that it may come back to me.

That's awesome Bro. I still have a white Applause guitar, first guitar - so worn the fingerboard has deep ruts in it up to the 5th fret. It has a loose brace and is no longer played due to the buzz.
That might have been the first year they were made, that I got the black bass. 92 or 93. They were short scale at first, with the notched Applause headstock.
I put every type of string on that Applause bass, including flats before it was cool again. The salespeople even tried to dissuade me from trying them hahaha.
It sounded real nice with Chromes, but I ended up back in Bronze for intonation and versatility. And for Violent Femmes type sounds that can only be had with bronze abg IMO.

I do an ebay search from time to time, and you can find them. But I have a Cort Mark Egan ABG that is the nuts. If I picked up another Applause ABG though, I'd probably string it differently from the Cort.[/QUOTE]

 

[Swingin]

My very first bass, a Dean 5er, was lent to a band mate because he was asked to play bass for a reggae gig. Around that time our drummer quit and the band ended, and the guy who had my bass stopped returning emails and calls. This was nearly ten years ago. As far as I know he still has the bass and I have no idea where he lives.

The second bass I ever owned keeps coming back to me. I’ve tried to sell it multiple times over the years (It’s a fine instrument, I just have basses I like and use more) and something always causes a potential sale to fall through at the last second. I even tried to take it to GC for a trade in, and right then the input jack messed up and they wouldn’t take it. The jack was since replaced. I’m pretty well just hanging onto it for sentiment right now. It’s seen tons of gigs over the past decade, and was the first one I ever gigged with.

 

[Jeff Siddall]

I bought my first bass back in 1987, a MIA Peavey Patriot, although I thought the natural mahogany was ugly at the time. Glad I got past that and decided to keep it as it is a fantastic bass. Here is a picture of it from a couple of years ago when I put a new pickguard I put on it: