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What is your Bass guitar progression?

#41
1977 - (first bass) Cortez Fender Jazz replica, Tobacco burst, sold in 1988
1983 - Rickenbacker 4003 Jetglo, sold in 1988 (regretted selling that one)
1984 - Ibanez RB850, Metallic Red, sold in 2013
2013 - Fender Geddy Lee Signature Jazz (MIM), still have
2015 - Ibanez SR370F (fretless), sold later in 2015
2015 - Fender Standard Fretless Jazz (MIM), black, still have
2017 - Rickenbacker 4003s Jetglo, still have

You may notice several basses sold in 1988, a long gap, then several basses purchased since 2013. I sold most of my music gear (2 basses, 1 saxophone, amps, mics, etc) when I got married in 1988, to help fund the wedding. I kept the Ibanez RB850 and a practice amp. For quite a few years I only played occasionally because I got married, had children, focused on building a career etc. I had a personal "music renaissance" in 2013 - children are grown and out of the house, career is long established, I finally have time to focus on music again and I've been buying lots of gear. I practice or play 4/5 days per week at home. I don't gig, I'm not in a band. I do collaborative stuff with a colleague from work - mostly recording covers in our home "studios". He was a pro jazz drummer for a few years in his younger days. We both studied music in college. I play bass, some 6 string guitar, keyboards and sax; he plays drums, guitar, keyboards, mandolin and harmonica. Between the two of us, we can cover most instruments in modern and classic rock.
 
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#42
Played drums throughout the 90s in 1999 decided to try bass as my girlfriend also wanted to try it so I bought a hideous GTX53 bass in snakeskin at a pawn shop in central Florida (its literally just an Ovation Celebrity rebranded by Kaman to be more "metal".) I still have it and have changed every single part on it and I love it dearly. However I did have to move forward and get more serious and nicer gear. Started with a Gibson Thunderbird, but it just never did anything for me. Maybe I wasn't mature enough as a bassist yet, so I sold it. Decided to try fretless and bought some cheap I branded one at San Ash (Carlo Robelli maybe?)

I gradually went through plenty of others over the next decade including a few EBMM Bongos and Fenders, An Ovation Magnum, A few Westones, and a an Ibanez somethingorother. About five years ago played a vintage Mockingbird with Moser circuit and fell in love and those are my mains now (despite the bloody neck dive) tried fretless again via a Bongo and remembered how much I sucked at fretless so sold it too. So I play the Mocks most of the time but I whips out the GTX53 once in awhile during gigs with 80s-heavy setlists. Nothing quite like tearing through some Quiet Riot on that thing.
 
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#43
Just the highlights:
  • Early 80's- started out on a Gibson SG-ish (don't remember exact model) bass that had the action of a compound bow. It's a wonder I kept playing.
  • I briefly owned a headless Explorer type bass. I don't remember much about it, but I literally purchased it, and a Sunn Collesium 300 amp head, brand new a week before a gig and promptly got both stolen at that gig. That was a hard pill to swallow, but it made me completely untrusting when it comes to my gear and (knock on wood) have not had anything else stolen in the thirty plus years since.
  • There were a few more basses that were little more than sideways movements at best, but then there was a Charvel Model 1B. I played that on the road for years. I eventually had a set Alembic picks ups and pre-amp installed. The improvement was marginal. That bass got backed over in its soft case by my friend/guitarist. Fortunately, it was after the gig as it was my one and only bass at the time. Surprisingly not only do I still speak to the guy, we're still in the same band together.
  • That was replaced with an Ibanez SR800 that I had to get back from a friend. I'd purchased it to accommodate the hands of a very small lead singer in a former band who wanted to play an instrument when she wasn't singing. She wasn't using it at the time. Still have that one. This began the habit of adding to the collection, rather than replacing.
  • A completely unremarkable Fender Precision. Couldn't tell you anything about it, other than I hated playing it almost as much as my first bass. I still have it. I think.
  • The same guy who ran over the Charvel, suggested that I get an acoustic bass, so we could do an acoustic duo. I showed up with the same black Washburn AB-20 as the OP had/has. I so wanted to love that thing; on board pre-amp, XLR out- what's not to love? The sound, that's what. Anytime I dug into it , even a little, it distorted. Badly. Countless unanswered phone calls, emails and even regular emails to Washburn support later and I finally just sold the thing and vowed never to by from them again. It also didn't really convey the acoustic image I should have been going for anyway.
  • I replaced that with a Tacoma Thunderchief, and still have that one.
  • There were a few more hits and misses that didn't stick. Bass of the day type stuff
  • Brian Moore i5. My first five string and still main gigging bass.
  • MIM Fender Jazz 5. Purchased mostly to be able to have something with five strings and a Fender logo on it when needed to satisfy brand-blindness by somebody hiring me.
  • Dingwall Combustion. Saw it for sale in a consignment shop and had to have it.
Those last three are the Three Wise Men in my avatar. I haven't felt the need or desire for anything different/new in a while now, although if the right five string Precision showed up, I'd have to seriously consider it. My next planned bass purchase will probably be a NS Designs WAV5 EUB, after I recover from a recent digital console purchase. That's a whole other collection/obsession for another forum!
 
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#47
I've done the typical life crisis metal bass player thing:

June 2007. My first bass for my 15th birthday is a Legacy PB400, just your usual Chinese made P bass copy. Play that for 6 months and outgrow it as it is already falling apart from 8000 hours of play.

Xmas 2007 sees me get a Spector Legend 4 Classic and is what I would consider to be my first "real bass". Quilted maple top, passive EMGs with an active preamp and a fairly fast and slim neck. It was very much in with the fashion of metal basses at that time (think Schecter Stillettos and ESP B series) and eventually sold in 2013. I've regretted the sale ever since and have wanted it back but only for sentimental reasons.

January 2009. I'm now craving 5 string basses and the guitarist in my band plays a B.C. Rich Warlock, so I buy a Maverick X5 prototype model. A black hellbeast of a bass with a strange electronics set up and is a champion neck diver.

Three weeks later I trade it back to the shop for another Spector, this time a Rebop 5 DLX FM. It's very similar to the previous Spector but with a richer look and sound... along with a neck that is too thick, a suffering B string and a bridge I can't stand. Despite the gruesome love/hate relationship, it endures as my main bass for about seven years and still sees play now and again. Despite wanting to sell it, Spectors and those other basses which were popular in the late 2000s were and are still no longer in fashion, so along with a collection of battle scars, I wouldn't get as much as I wanted for it. Also, my mum still likes it a lot.

November 2015. Despite having no intention to do so, I stumble across a marvel of a bass at the same guitar shop I have always frequented. A Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar 5 string. Emphasis on the word "modified", as it just so happens this bass has USA Hipshot tuners installed along with a John East J Retro 01 Deluxe pre amp installed. And it's being sold £185. Instant buy, and along with a great feeling neck and fantastic sounding B string, this bass is still my favourite 5 string and is my main bass for a couple of years.

December 2017. The Jaguar essentially causes a growth of Fender fever but Fender don't offer a 5 string Jaguar in their main line and I've not played a 4 string in neary four years at this point. Then one day, same guitar shop as always, I'm trying out reverb pedals and pick up an all white MIM Jazz bass. Either it was destiny or the thing is possessed because I can't stop thinking about it for weeks before giving in and buying it. Despite being completely stock and a 4 string, it has the sound I have been chasing in my head for years. A month later, I play one of the best shows of my life in London, it's the first gig ever with this bass. I end up bleeding all over it and it ends up suffering dents from the rings of a guy's fist. Again I ask: destiny or possessed? Maybe both.
 
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#49
I was going to start this same thread!!!!!,

Schecter Hellraiser Exreme - returned after first lesson
Squier Classic Vibe 50's lake placid blue
Fender Hotrod 60s P black that I did not bond with
Fender Select Jazz
Gibson anniversary SG bass
Fender American Precision 3 tone SB*
Limited Musiciman Stingray in Neptune Blue with roasted neck
Fender MIM fretless black
Fender Mexican P - used in purple
Fender American Jazz 3tone SB*
US Geddy Lee
Rickenbacker 4003 Jetglo
2 Fender American Standard PJs - both returned due to finish flaws
Fender 50's Lacquered*
Hoefner Ignition - returned
Fender Mustang PJ*
1974 Daphne Blue Musicmaster* birth year bass
Squier Affinity PJ white*
Spector EuroLX TW in black matte*
Warwick Thumb BO on order*

I still have the instruments with the *

I need to sell the Mustang and the Musicmaster as I don't use them
 
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#50
At ~15 (2006) I bought a cheap Rogue (P)
2007 inherited a Johnson P bass with EMG pups
2008 bought an esp ltd b50 (p/j) -loved that one.
2014 was gifted a squire J bass
2016 bought an esp ltd d4
2018 *Every day I'm trying to control myself, and NOT buy a MM of some sort.

* Part of me feels I may have earned the right to buy one. After over a decade of trying to improve my skills and playing mostly cheap bass guitars...surely I deserve something?
 
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#52
This is more to test my memory- Starting in 1972-
Eko Mustangish thing (horrible) Gibson EB3 (worse) Hofner Beatle (even worse, much worse!) Ibanez Jazz (WAAAY better) Jazz/Explorer hybrid (Rocked!) Travis Bean (heavy as hell, and did not stay in tune) Early Spector NS, Alembic Series 1, EBMM, EBMM, EBMM, P-bass, P-bass, P-bass, J-bass, Thunderbird, Spector rebop, Ric, Alembic Elan, J-bass, G&L, Ric, P-bass fretless, Yamaha fretless, Danelectro (for small stages), Warwick Corvette 4, Warwick Corvette 5...retired for 5 years...now my current crop, which are documented in these pages....in transit- Fender 50th anniversary Jazz (will be here Tuesday).
I know I have forgotten at LEAST ten.
 
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#53
I bought my first bass in 1988 - it was a B.C. Rich Warlock. Cheap import thing for $250.00.
I traded that and some cash for an Aria Pro II SB 2 Elite (the Rudy Sarzo sig model) in 1990. That bass was what I played my first bar gigs with for seven years.
In 1997 I traded the Aria and a lot more cash for my first Spector. It was a black NS-4CR (Czech model).
I added a 5er in 2009. I lived in SoCal at the time, so I went to the Carvin store and bought an Icon5. This was the first time I owned two basses at the same time.
I hated the sound of the Carvin, so I traded it for a Spector Euro5 (with a dude on TB) in 2010.
I sold the Euro5 in 2012 and bought a Spector Alex Webster sig Euro5.
I sold the black NS-4CR in 2013 and ordered a custom NS-4 (Bahama blue) from Spector.
I sold the Alex Webster in 2014 and picked up a Spector NS-5XL used at a GC. I still own this one.
2016 was a busy year for me:
-I went to Gerald Veasley's bass boot camp, where I won an Ibanez GVB-36 6-string bass in a drawing. WOW! I still own this one, too.
-I had a Roscoe SKB custom fretless built, which I currently play.
-I also picked up a Spector Euro4 oil finish, which I stripped, covered in punk stickers, and had it clear-coated. I'll always keep this one.
-I purchased my first Fender ever as well. Found an American Standard Jaguar in the TB classifieds, which I modded with a custom black pickguard and Moses graphite neck.
-Finally, I ordered a Skjoldslayer 5 from Pete Skjold.
In 2017, I sold the Spector NS-4 custom and bought a Fodera Yin Yang Standard 4.
In January 2018, I picked up my Skjoldslayer from Pete.

I currently have the Skjold, Roscoe, Fender, Ibanez, Fodera, and the two Spectors (NS-5XL and Euro 4 sticker bass).

That was fun!
 
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#54
After 20 years of exclusively playing upright, my first bass guitar was this Kalamazoo KB-1... basically a Gibson EB-0, sorta' disguised as a Mustang.

KalamazooKB1.jpeg


I went straight from that to this Custom Rick Turner Renaissance 5-string fretless...

LaMarDel Fuego_RB-5.jpg


...after that, a parade of Turners and Alembics took up residence, along with a few select Gibsons. All are still here as welcome guests.

Rick Turner_Rens & E-lines.jpg


Resized_Alembic4x.jpeg


Gibson_ThunderSeries & Q80.jpeg


At some point I decided to try a hollow-body... and along came this Guild/DeArmond Starfire II. Currently it's getting fitted with some Alembic pickups and activator circuitry.

Resized_20180306_140738.jpeg


What can I say...? I like having a harem of bass guitars to choose from, but Jeannie's the extremely jealous type, so only one of her here. :smug:

Jeannie Thinking.jpg


Ironically, I do wish sometimes I hadn't parted ways with that first Kalamazoo. I traded it to another TB'r in a moment of haste, then saw it on Reverb a year or so later, so who knows... maybe it'll come back around here one day. :cool:
 
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#58
Been through about 25 basses in the 6 years I've been playing. No real progression to be seen.
I've still got and use my first bass, all but one have been short scale, and I currently have a total of 8.

Some were more expensive than others, but I don't see it as a progression as much as
just finding the right fit for me.
 
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#59
So the first bass I played on regularly and gigged with was a Rickenbacker 3001, blonde, approximately a 1970. I had no idea at the time what I was playing. It was my dad's. He traded a blonde p bass in 70 to get it. I played this bass around 1999-2000. He later sold it for a little of money. I then went and bought my own bass, an Epiphone Les Paul 5 string, around 2001 that I used for a few years into college. Then stopped playing for a few years while I was in the army. Recently sold the Epiphone and went on a crazy slide:
All sold or traded:
Fender American Deluxe Dimension V HH
Squier Affinity Jazz Bass - Babicz Bridge
MTD Kingston Super 4
Ibanez SR1405TE with OBP 3
Ernie Ball Musicman Classic Sabre Tony Levin Sledge
Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 4H - 1990 Red
EBMM Stingray 4H - 2005 Sunburst
EBMM Stealth Stingray
Fender American Deluxe Precision
Sandberg California II VM4
G&L L2000
Squier VM Jazz Fretless
Ernie Ball Musicman Stealth Stingray 4H

Current Armory:
Nash PB-57 Heavy Relic, Lollar PU
EBMM Caprice
Fender American Elite Dimension V HH

It's been a fun ride so far but aside from the dimension, I think I have my basses.
 
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#60
Best I can remember... I was 12 when I got my first bass. First new bass was a Stingray in 2012. Basicly everything has been bought out of the classifieds since 2010, except maybe 2 iirc.

2002- Peavey Milestone III
2002- Squire Precision
2003- Cort 5 String
2003- Alvarez 5 String
2004- Gibson Victory
2004- Spector Performer 4
2004- Schecter Stiletto Custom 5
2005- Yamaha TRB1005
2006- SX Jazz
2008- Carvin LB70WP
2009- Musicman Stingray H
2010- Fender Jazz fretless
2011- Yamaha TRB5II
2011- Warwick Corvette
2012- Musicman Stingray 5HH
2012- Ibanez SR505
2012- Warwick Thumb 5-BO
2012- Fender Precision Bass Special
2013- Carrigan Designs 32" 4 string
2013- Carrigan Designs 36" 5 string Scroll
2014- 92' G&L Legacy Bass
2014- Brubaker KXB-6 Custom
2014- Warwick Thumb 5-NT
2014- Fbass VF5
2015- Dingwall ABZ5 x3
2015- G&L L1000
2015- Buscanti double P
2016- Fender jazz
2016- Ibanez SRC6
2017- Shawn May SC4F
2017- Warwick Streamer Stage I
2018- BassLab Soul V
2018- ESP Vintage P

Jeeze that looks like a lot...
Almost always sold my current bass to buy the next in a seemingly endless quest to try them all. And still so many more to try!
 
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