Ibanez Roadstar II and a Peavey TNT 150. Kinda wish I still had the Ibanez- it was a nice bass for a beginner, and I still don't have any basses with a maple fretboard.
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What gear did you start off with?
- Thread starter Whiplash4ever
- Start date
It was 1986, and the music store bass teacher/salesman talked my father into a Washburn Bantam B-60 (Headless Steinberger copy) instead of a Fender P-bass and a Fender Sidekick 60 amp. Still have the bass, but still get kinda mad at the music store guy...
Used MIM J bass, that I talked the guy down from 275 to 200 b/c it needed a little TLC, and an Ampeg B50r that I found cheap on CL. About 3 years ago.
Summer of 1998 my Grandfather helped me buy my first bass (helped him with random stuff through out the summer, I was 11). I had wanted a Blue Squir P bass but it was back ordered so I recieved a black one instead. With the bass I recieved a small practice amp, a Korg tuner, gig bag, strap and chord. Been through a ton of basses/amps since then.
- Nov 30, 2009
- 878
- 195
- Disclosures
- Amateur. Take my advice for its resale value.
wow....I haven't thought about this bass in a LONG time....
My first gear was a white Dean 4 string with soap bar pickups and a small tiltable Fender bass combo.
My first "RIG" was a Fender MIM Midnight blue Jazz bass through a Ampeg B2R and 410HLF (still one of my favorite cabs.)
My first gear was a white Dean 4 string with soap bar pickups and a small tiltable Fender bass combo.
My first "RIG" was a Fender MIM Midnight blue Jazz bass through a Ampeg B2R and 410HLF (still one of my favorite cabs.)
Yamaha P and J (cost me like $250) I think.
10 watt practice amp Ibanez I think (what a POS, it couldn't even compete with my stereo)
10 watt practice amp Ibanez I think (what a POS, it couldn't even compete with my stereo)
In my case I started playing bass at 13 in high school but never owned my own until I graduated and got a nice used Ibanez Musician as a grad gift and immediately had it professionally turned into a fretless. By then I was a pretty established player so it's a different situation.
first bass I played was the school bass, a surprisingly nice vintage (1970s) fender precision (obviously USA, it was a real fender back then), sunburst (no surprise again there). school even had it modded to badass bridge with some other work done when I was 16 or so.
I started renting basses at age 16 like crazy to try lots out and learn the differences. rented larrivees (fretless only), fenders, hohner steinberger copies (5 string fretless), others. Also borrowed several from friends when I was 16 and 17 years old, a dan armstrong ampeg clear plexi (toured with it too), cheap japanese made p-bass copy with small tele-like single coil that sounded and played great actually, rickenbacker 4003 (!!), hollow body f-hole type electric bass (had some really nice friends LoL), bc rich (a really nice one), oh man the list goes on.
But the first bass I owned was the ibanez musician at age 18.
Now the real fun is with the first amp I owned:
a noname super heavy tube bass amp (vintage) that wasn't very loud, was about 3.5' x 2' by 1', ugly grey, simple controls, a single 15" in sealed cab. seriously, it was uber heavy. quite dull sounding but very clean.
next I "upgraded" to a GBX 4x10 (might have been 4x12) with build in power amp in the cab and the gbx bass driver as a preamp. sounded great for a couple of very specific sounds. no real power though, huge, overall a cool experiment but not a good amp as a whole package. I think the cab and power amp were the issues.
So the amps might be more laughable LoL. I always used other people's amps for real gigs.
first bass I played was the school bass, a surprisingly nice vintage (1970s) fender precision (obviously USA, it was a real fender back then), sunburst (no surprise again there). school even had it modded to badass bridge with some other work done when I was 16 or so.
I started renting basses at age 16 like crazy to try lots out and learn the differences. rented larrivees (fretless only), fenders, hohner steinberger copies (5 string fretless), others. Also borrowed several from friends when I was 16 and 17 years old, a dan armstrong ampeg clear plexi (toured with it too), cheap japanese made p-bass copy with small tele-like single coil that sounded and played great actually, rickenbacker 4003 (!!), hollow body f-hole type electric bass (had some really nice friends LoL), bc rich (a really nice one), oh man the list goes on.
But the first bass I owned was the ibanez musician at age 18.
Now the real fun is with the first amp I owned:
a noname super heavy tube bass amp (vintage) that wasn't very loud, was about 3.5' x 2' by 1', ugly grey, simple controls, a single 15" in sealed cab. seriously, it was uber heavy. quite dull sounding but very clean.
next I "upgraded" to a GBX 4x10 (might have been 4x12) with build in power amp in the cab and the gbx bass driver as a preamp. sounded great for a couple of very specific sounds. no real power though, huge, overall a cool experiment but not a good amp as a whole package. I think the cab and power amp were the issues.
So the amps might be more laughable LoL. I always used other people's amps for real gigs.
Pawn shop Yamaha RBX (not sure the exact model, the generic one with the P style pups) and a borrowed-from-a-friends-dad's GBX amp (might've been a horizontal 2x12).
My first bass was an el Degas ric copy (Geddy was my hero) for $200 CAN, I sold it 2 years later for $200.
My first amp was a garnet head (local Winnipeg manufacturer) and homemade speaker cabinet made in grade 8 woods class and stocked with 15" radio shack speakers. I bought a real rig a year later, an Ampeg 100 watt head with a 410 speaker cabinet.
My first amp was a garnet head (local Winnipeg manufacturer) and homemade speaker cabinet made in grade 8 woods class and stocked with 15" radio shack speakers. I bought a real rig a year later, an Ampeg 100 watt head with a 410 speaker cabinet.
A Laguna lB224 with a Line 6 Lowdown 15 amp. Love the amp for practice, getting ready to sell the bass on E-bay.
Some unknown P-bass copy.
Used HH VS-Bassamp head
Beater PA cabinet pulled from a skip outside a church undergoing renovation
Used HH VS-Bassamp head
Beater PA cabinet pulled from a skip outside a church undergoing renovation
Ibanez Soundgear 405 (before they started putting EQ's in those models, completely passive) and a crate 50 watt combo. still have both and use them for teaching.
i had a gretch shortscale piece of **** bass with no tuning keys so i had to use pliers to tune,and a guitar amp as a bass amp,i made sure i didnt play too loud though, but i traded a skateboard for it so im not bitter about it, and my gear now surely makes up for it
My first bass was a Fender Bullet. My best friend offered me that or an acoustic guitar for $CDN100 and I chose the bass (good call). Didn't get an amp till years later (bad call).
It's funny to see, people are actually looking for those, now. Mine was fine for starting out on, but it really wasn't much to write home to mom about. (You know how some lesser 5-strings have a lame low-B? Mine was like that with the E.
)
It's funny to see, people are actually looking for those, now. Mine was fine for starting out on, but it really wasn't much to write home to mom about. (You know how some lesser 5-strings have a lame low-B? Mine was like that with the E.
)
Much like me about 10 years ago... except it was 40 instead of 50. Peavey Cirrus 4 and a small Peavey 1x10 practice amp on day one, SWR Workingman 4004 stack within the first year.
.
In 1974, I bought a Gibson EB-2 and Fender Musicmaster amp. I sold them the next summer.
In 1978, I thought I'd try again, with LESSONS this time. I got a Musicmaster bass and amp. I sold them after I bought my first house and got enraged to enter the bonds of holy deadlock.
On Nov. 11, 2007, I got my Peavey Grind bass and Line 6 Studio 110 amp. Third time was the charm.
What bugs me is that AI understand that the stuff I sold is worth many times what I paid for it. ($150 for the Gibson and $100 for the Fender.) Sometimes I wish I had either or both of them for variety, if no other reason.
In 1978, I thought I'd try again, with LESSONS this time. I got a Musicmaster bass and amp. I sold them after I bought my first house and got enraged to enter the bonds of holy deadlock.
On Nov. 11, 2007, I got my Peavey Grind bass and Line 6 Studio 110 amp. Third time was the charm.
What bugs me is that AI understand that the stuff I sold is worth many times what I paid for it. ($150 for the Gibson and $100 for the Fender.) Sometimes I wish I had either or both of them for variety, if no other reason.
