What was your first bass guitar?

[alaskaleftybass]

Kay hollowbody bass with a sunburst finish. It was beautiful, light, and sounded excellent. I would love to have it today.
It had perfect intonation and the neck was fast and slim.

 

[Neveragain55]

At first, I decided I wanted a Squier Standard Precision Bass Special in that sweet-ass Satin Pewter Metallic finish. However, it'd been discontinued a few years before. So, after expanding my search further and further out, I found an amazing deal on a Crafted-In-Japan Fender Aerodyne via Pawn Mart. (a southern-states chain o' pawn shops) It was more than I'd initially wanted to pay for my first-ever, but it looked like too good a deal to pass up.

However, I never gave up on the one I wanted first. Six months of off-and-on web-hunting finally paid off…a P-Bass Special from a refurbisher on eBay. I finally nabbed "My Sexy Beast"! (eternal thanks, fretjoe!!)

And to this day, I still have both. If push should ever come to shove, I only hope I never have to choose between keeping only one. It'd be like having to choose one child over the other.



Yeah, but can you play "Rio"?



Rondo used to be located in Union, NJ?! I used to live not-too far from there in Berkeley Heights! Apparently, he lives in New Hampshire now.



Another "memory lane" intersection! The store is still there, by the way.

Oh, and I bet you were totally rad on the bass-line for "When Doves Cry"!

Yes.........

 

[1stnamebassist]

Mine was a Blackjack violin bass, about 1972. After a couple years moved up to a Harmony solid body. Don't remember which one or what it really looked like. Sort of like a pbass I guess, but I remember it had some white toggle switches. Played through an Alamo amp which was purchased for about 25.00 through the
Grace Holmes catalog! Really terrible amp, probably about 5 watts of pure unamplified distortion!

 

[thabassmon]

My very first bass guitar was a red "Star" P Bass copy with a body made of MDF. Curiously it was comfortable to play and sounded quite good. I didn't like the Red colour so I removed the finish and repainted it Pearl White.
I have no idea if "star" is the brand or model name and I don't know where it was made either. But it got me through my formative years and I did a lot of gigs with it when I was younger.

I later loaned to my friend's younger brother to learn on, which was fine with me as I had moved on to an old Vester PJ 24 fret bass. After a couple of years I got it back and found that the output jack was wrecked. So I took it to a guitar shop for them to repair the jack and "professionally" set it up, it came back almost unplayable.

So I pulled the frets out and fixed the set up and it's now a good sounding fretless P bass copy. I don't often use it much anymore but I will pull it out on occasion if I need to fretless sound when recording. Most of the time I use a tenor tuned fretted five string.

Overall it was made cheaply but it's easy to play and sounds good.

 

[SamJ]

1982 Ibanez P-bass... made in Japan.

 

[old spice]

A Univox just like this one (thanks for picture from Univox Lover).
A feedback machine. My cousin gave it to me a long time ago. I don't know where it is now. Got me started on something that's still going.

 

[JMacBass65]

Fender Precision Elite II in sienna burst w/ gold hdwr and rosewood board.

 

[7dollarbologna]

At first, I decided I wanted a Squier Standard Precision Bass Special in that sweet-ass Satin Pewter Metallic finish. However, it'd been discontinued a few years before. So, after expanding my search further and further out, I found an amazing deal on a Crafted-In-Japan Fender Aerodyne via Pawn Mart. (a southern-states chain o' pawn shops) It was more than I'd initially wanted to pay for my first-ever, but it looked like too good a deal to pass up.

However, I never gave up on the one I wanted first. Six months of off-and-on web-hunting finally paid off…a P-Bass Special from a refurbisher on eBay. I finally nabbed "My Sexy Beast"! (eternal thanks, fretjoe!!)

And to this day, I still have both. If push should ever come to shove, I only hope I never have to choose between keeping only one. It'd be like having to choose one child over the other.



Yeah, but can you play "Rio"?



Rondo used to be located in Union, NJ?! I used to live not-too far from there in Berkeley Heights! Apparently, he lives in New Hampshire now.



Another "memory lane" intersection! The store is still there, by the way.

Oh, and I bet you were totally rad on the bass-line for "When Doves Cry"!

Yea, they had a brick and mortar store that sold all brands of guitars and basses.

 

[hsp-sandiego]

A Stanley Clarke Signature Alembic.

- no, although I would have both played it a lot more, got lessons right away, etc...

Point being, If you do have a nice instrument, it will beg you to pick it up.

(here... I am making great sense of this thread... although a good thread that will spawn memories).

okay, a white P bass Ibanez Roadstar like a few others here. If it were setup properly, it would be okay although sure made me dig in !!!

best bud at the time was a key player... I ended up playing soon after in a Reggae group in Lake Tahoe; a great start after 5 years of wanted to play shred guitar.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

A 1962 Epiphone Newport...cherry red , short scale,2x2....1 bigmudbucker PU......christmas1972....with a airline 50 watt combo amp from monkeywards.... Ive sold it and bought it back twice

 

[DreadyDiggs]

A "Johnson" Jazz bass copy. Sunburst. 4 String. Passive.

Was too heavy so I sold it. I definitely think that was a mistake but oh well. It got me started. Would love to have it back for sentimental reasons, but I don't play 4 strings live at least not right now so no real need for it.


Didn't even have facial hair way back when haha.

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[hsp-sandiego]

A 1962 Epiphone Newport...cherry red , short scale,2x2....1 bigmudbucker PU......christmas1972....with a airline 50 watt combo amp from monkeywards.... Ive sold it and bought it back twice

Sold and bought back twice? okay, keep until the grave. ditch the amp. (although that could be a cool thread..lol)

 

[hsp-sandiego]

A "Johnson" Jazz bass copy. Sunburst. 4 String. Passive.

Was too heavy so I sold it. I definitely think that was a mistake but oh well. It got me started. Would love to have it back for sentimental reasons, but I don't play 4 strings live at least not right now so no real need for it.


Didn't even have facial hair way back when haha.

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okay, in the posting mood - which isn't often. No biggie getting rid of a Johnson bass - Looking reggae here and I am sure holding down the low end tight with the group you play with now. To all... Keep holding it down and if anyone tells you to play "less" or whatever, say okay and play the notes you want to. I had this recent at a "classic rock" gig... I did get called back, but I'm not going. keepin' on with my funk band, groove-control.

 

[GIBrat51]

First one? Lefty '78 Fender P-Bass. Needless to say, I still have it...

 

[BoogyBass]

My first bass was a Tokai jazz bass. It was 200 Dutch guilders (about 90 euros). Inexperienced 16 years old me thought it was a cheap piece of s***, so I traded it in. Stupid! I wish I still had it.

 

[DDXdesign]

Oof, tough one! I think mine was a Kawai 4-string in piano black, bought at Wheaton Music, the other guitar shop right around the corner from Chuck Levin's in MD.

 

[crucislancer]

A black Epiphone Power Bass. $225 in 1988. Even came with a case!

 

[bass_lord_mutha]

My first bass was an Epiphone Expert 6 string bass when I was 14. Wish I still had that bass.

 

[SpanishDave]

zv,mz

A black Tanglewood PBass copy with a white pickguard like the above pic (borrowed from Google) but mine had a maple (might have been) neck.
The very first bass on a long journey!

 

[javi_bassist]

Squier Affinity P-bass. The blue one. I still have it and use it from time to time