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What did you do with your "beginner" bass?
- Thread starter Greenman72
- Start date
I gave mine to my (now ex) fiance's son for him to use to write music with the software he's loaded up on his PC. I never played it since I replaced it nearly 30 years ago with a MM SR 5. It was a custom made by a chap named Fred Wolf. My band called it "The Mutant" - it had an outrageous cutaway at the top, a baddass bridge, Bartolini pups (bridge was a double humbucker, neck was a jazz), and an MXR EQ built into the body. I could never get it to sound the way I wanted and ran to one of my local dealers who was a MM dealer after I heard Fugazi's "Waiting Room" for the first time and became obsessed with that tone.
There was no way I was going to waste my time with a Teisco or Airline, I wanted a professional instrument.
So when I started out in late '76, I bought a brand new Gibson Ripper in natural, then a year later a new RD Artist. I came all around buying a Thunderbird, but the neck dive was appalling.
The Ripper was fine. The RD at 13lbs + was tough, and I was in my early 20's.
They served their purpose, but then I transitioned to a succession of 80's Yamaha BB's, and that was that, they were just SO much better to me
I never 'miss' axes I used to have, and I don't miss that Ripper.
So when I started out in late '76, I bought a brand new Gibson Ripper in natural, then a year later a new RD Artist. I came all around buying a Thunderbird, but the neck dive was appalling.
The Ripper was fine. The RD at 13lbs + was tough, and I was in my early 20's.
They served their purpose, but then I transitioned to a succession of 80's Yamaha BB's, and that was that, they were just SO much better to me
I never 'miss' axes I used to have, and I don't miss that Ripper.
I do remember it barely, and have no clue what I did with it. all I know is I didn’t sell it for cash.
I still have my Gibson EB-2 from the 60s. Just bought a new (and wonderful) case for it from Cedar Creek Custom that cost more than the bass when I bought it. It's still a great bass and I only play my SG more often because I leave it out and it's lighter.
It was a lawsuit Ibanez Precision bass that I converted to a PJ. I sold it about 2 years after I got it in 1979.
Always wondered how it was doing. I kind of know how to get ahold of the guy who bought it, but I'm hesitant to contact him. I'm afraid of what condition it'll be in. Some things are best left in the past.
Always wondered how it was doing. I kind of know how to get ahold of the guy who bought it, but I'm hesitant to contact him. I'm afraid of what condition it'll be in. Some things are best left in the past.
My first bass was a much better instrument than I realized it was when I bought it used for $100 in 1985. It's a 1979 Ibanez Studio bass which is really beautifully made. Unfortunately, it also weighs about 50,000 pounds (okay, it really weighs 13 but it feels like 50,000) so I don't gig with it anymore.
I still play it a lot when I practice; I've always liked the neck. I just play it sitting down so my spine doesn't collapse.
I actually like it enough that, when I saw a matching one for sale locally about 20 years ago I bought that one, too. It seems a little crazy but I was younger and stronger (and dumber) then so the weight didn't really bother me. Eventually I'll defret one of them. Whether I defret it or not, the original and its twin still get played a lot.
I still play it a lot when I practice; I've always liked the neck. I just play it sitting down so my spine doesn't collapse.
I actually like it enough that, when I saw a matching one for sale locally about 20 years ago I bought that one, too. It seems a little crazy but I was younger and stronger (and dumber) then so the weight didn't really bother me. Eventually I'll defret one of them. Whether I defret it or not, the original and its twin still get played a lot.
When I got my 1973 Fender Mustang Bass in 1977, it was considered to be a "beginner" bass. I de-fretted it sometime around 1981. Today it's my main electric bass. I've had other electric basses, but I keep going back to the Fender. It's just super easy and fun to play.
My first bass was a Kalamazoo KB-1. I messed around with it for a few months, but I was playing guitar in a band at the time so it was kind of a novelty. I ended up selling it. Fast forward a couple years and I joined a different band, one that needed a BP. I borrowed a Kingston bass from my GF brother and started woodshedding. Then I bought a T40. ( The 40 stands for its weight in lbs.) Anyway, I wish I had kept the KB-1. The Kingston hand a wonky laminated neck and the T40 was too heavy. Honestly, I think T40s are overrated. I mean, they’re okay, but I had a ‘92 Foundation that was way better. But I digress….
Still have my Squier VM Jazz from 2016, the year after I first picked up bass. I voted collecting dust but it’s just a notch above that: I gave it a good fret level/crown and a full body polish recently. It’s been my test dummy for learning basic luthier skills and electronics mods. I have it setup as V/S/T (4-way) and it sounds and plays genuinely great. Only other mods are a bridge swap (aesthetics 
) and the big Dunlop strap buttons. I just don’t have the heart to sell it so I’m looking for a prospective player at church and seeing if they’d want to use it. My mainstay is a 5er Combustion.
) and the big Dunlop strap buttons. I just don’t have the heart to sell it so I’m looking for a prospective player at church and seeing if they’d want to use it. My mainstay is a 5er Combustion.
I had to sell my first bass (a Kingston) to make a down payment on my second bass which was a Gibson EB2. The EB-2 was expensive back then, $350.00 new.
The Kingston ($90.00 purchase price, $60.00 trade in allowance). The Kingston shown is an E Bay purchase many years later, I had to buy it since it is identical to my first bass.
The EB-2 (I still have it)
The Kingston ($90.00 purchase price, $60.00 trade in allowance). The Kingston shown is an E Bay purchase many years later, I had to buy it since it is identical to my first bass.
My brother started playing guitar and I was into tinkering with electronics. He and his friends would bring me guitars to repair loose output jacks or bad pots. Basic stuff. One day my brother says "hey, you should learn to play bass so you can be in a band with me". So, my older brother bought me my first bass. A 1980 Fender Precision bass USA. Black with a black pickguard and a maple neck. I fell in love with playing bass. I sold it a few years later and have bought, sold, and traded many basses since. I do not regret it. I have had many high-end basses from Fender USA, Ibanez prestige, Bacchus, Spector, MPG, Alembic......the list goes on. Over the years of learning to repair more complex issues on instruments as well as playing so many different brands, I started building my own. So yes, it would be great to own that amazing P bass again, but the journey that brought me to this point of being able to make whatever I want to play has been worth it. That P bass cost him $300 with original hard case.
My first 3 basses all happened around a short period 1974-75.
Started with a Solidbody Hofner Purchased in a Beale Street pawnshop in 1974. Had it for about a year, then sold it to a guitarist friend,
who used it till he passed. (Nearly 50 years).
The p bass i only had for about 6 monthes, didn’t like it, and sold it when i got my first Rickenbacker.
(which Fate took away from me after a few months). Wish i still had that Rick!
Started with a Solidbody Hofner Purchased in a Beale Street pawnshop in 1974. Had it for about a year, then sold it to a guitarist friend,
who used it till he passed. (Nearly 50 years).
The p bass i only had for about 6 monthes, didn’t like it, and sold it when i got my first Rickenbacker.
(which Fate took away from me after a few months). Wish i still had that Rick!
I still have it, but I don't "pay" it anymore, I only play it… 
A Vester J-bass clone, bought used 1994 for CHF 200 at a flea market because I just moved and so I didn't have direct access to my former band- and flat-mate's Warwick and fretless Aria Pro anymore. (At that time I was still primarily a guitarist.)
The Vester currently lives in my small backyard studio, has flats on it, is my only bass in regular E Standard tuning, and I'm using it every week when I have bass guitar students.
Vester & me live on stage in 1997 with a punk trio called "MØPP":
A Vester J-bass clone, bought used 1994 for CHF 200 at a flea market because I just moved and so I didn't have direct access to my former band- and flat-mate's Warwick and fretless Aria Pro anymore. (At that time I was still primarily a guitarist.)
The Vester currently lives in my small backyard studio, has flats on it, is my only bass in regular E Standard tuning, and I'm using it every week when I have bass guitar students.
Vester & me live on stage in 1997 with a punk trio called "MØPP":
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