Hey guys, sorry... been kinda stressed out here, with fire all around me. Yep, I'm in Simi Valley, California....
Just happen to be on my laptop, paying some bills (yaaaaaayyyyy!!!).
Soooooooooo... I'll give the short version...
1982, I'm 14 years old. I get my first bass. A 1981 Gibson Victory. Still have it.
Now, remember... this post was not initially about us wishing that we still had our first bass, which is what it seemed to morph into. But... this is TB...
1983, a friend who is a couple of years my senior(during his Van paper route) spies a black box on the side of the road. Turns out to be a bass case, with a bass in it. He brings it to me, and My Dad gives him 150 bucks for it. At the time, I was a huge Rush fan, and wanted that bass that Geddy plays. We had a publication out here called the RECYCLER at the time. Sort of a Craigslist type newspaper. A guy had the "Geddy Lee" bass of my dreams, and was looking to trade it for what I had. I dialed his number, my Pops took me over to his house. I handed him this "ugly bass", he handed me the "Geddy Lee" bass. A 1973 4001. All was good in the world, until... I played it. I hated it!!! It was uncomfortable. Felt cheap. And Didn't sound Nearly as nice as My Victory, or "ugly bass." I sold it for $150.00. I know the guy, He's a friend of my older Cousin. Unfortunately, he moved away to New Mexico, around 15 years ago. He passed away 3 years ago, and His widow sold all of His gear... CHEAP!!! I found out too late. UGH!!!
Now... back to the Victory (remember...? the other part was... a bass that you wish that You had treated better). Anyhow, fast forward to 1989, I now have a '79 Music Man Sabre (my favorite bass of ALL TIME), a '88 Spector NS2-A, an '86 Kubicki, and yes... believe it or not... after becoming more knowledgeable about instruments, and mentioning that I wish that I still had it... Dad gets Me another Ric. I didn't mean that I wanted another one. i just wish that I still had the one that I had sold for 150 bucks, because of what it was now worth. Turns out that this new Ric, is a 1986 4003 Shadow. But... what do I know/care, right? I still have all five of these instruments, but...
The Music Man, Kubicki, and Spector get nothing but love, and are still pretty pristine. The Ric, becomes a "beater", and you can tell. The Victory, well... I learned to not like RED instruments, and... well, my 3 "main" basses were all active now. She just couldn't compete. She sat in my room, at the band/party house that we lived in at the time. One night, I allowed a friend to "carve" their name into the back of it with an ice pick. Let's just say that it became a "trend." Although... at this point, I really don't regret it too much, as some of the "ice pickers" have passed away and I look at it as kind of a momento of great times with great people...
Back to "ugly bass"...
Before I moved up the "professional ladder", I started out as a Union Stagehand. Putting shows in and out of arenas/theatre's, etc... So, I'm backstage at The Universal Ampitheatre, after loading in a RUSH show, shooting the breeze with Geddy's tech, standing next to a rack full of Jazz basses, 2 Rics, and... believe it or not... 1 P bass!!! Yes... I said P bass. No longer was this bass ugly to me, it was natural with a bronze pickguard, and I knew what it was by this point. I tell him the story, and He just laughs.
Yep, I bought a 1958 P bass for 150 bucks, traded it for a '73 Ric that I sold for 150 bucks, and... totally disrespected an '81 Victory, and 1986 4003 Shadow.
Kill me now.
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