What was your first bass guitar?

[crucislancer]

A Cort Jazz Bass copy that I got in the early 80s and looked exactly like a Geddy Lee bass with the bound and blocked fretboard and the whole bit. I'll bet it weighed 12 pounds.

I had one of those, in sunburst, it was my second bass, purchased from a co-worker for $100. Mine wasn't 12 lbs, but it was heavier than some that I've owned. I rarely played it, the pickups were awful, and even after a setup attempt by a local tech it just never played very well.

 

[Deleted member 269102]

My first was a mid 80s MIJ E-Series Fender p-bass. I still have that one, and never letting her go.

 

[lukatch]

~'67 Höfner 500/1, blade pickups era, bought in 1976 for $70.

 

[bholder]

Learned on my brother's '54 Fender Precision. First of my own was a 70s Epi EA-260, then a Fender Musicmaster, then a Gibson Ripper, then a T-40.

 

[Batmensch]

A Univox factory second (The only issue was a bit of paint slopped over on the binding,) rebranded as a Maestro.
Looked like this:

It had a really cool ruby red sunburst over a very nice looking Foto-Flame top. I have no clue as to how it sounded, I never got to play it thru any kind of half decent amp, but it was fun to play, and I credit it with encouraging me to stick with the bass. Wish I still had it. If I could find one for sale somewhere, I'd seriously consider buying one.

 

[ccbass71]

1986 Cort Precision Bass copy. Black with white pickguard

 

[mpdd]

sunburst mayfair hollowbody

 

[Pandastylebass]

1991 Ibanez EX Series

 

[jetgraphics]

Kimberly Bass (Teisco / Kawai) 1970
Mail order from Lafayette Electronics, NYC
Short scale, zero fret, ply neck, mudbuckers, narrow string spacing (I miss that!), neck dive, and sounded like nothing else.
Some photos (not mine)

 

[TomCuervo]

A MIM Fender Jazz, Artic White, rosewood

 

[mysteryclock]

Mid-80s Peavey Patriot, just like the one below. Went though many pickguards on that one before I figured out how to loop my cord over the strap instead of just stepping on it and hearing that sickening crack. Sigh....

Made in the USA ('Merica!), titanically heavy, very well built and not a bad sound. Traded it in for a pointy Ibanez.

 

[Thornton Davis]

My first bass 1967.

And as it is today with changed knobs and removed Vox headstock logo which I had glued on back then.

TD

 

[Mxyzptlk]

A Sunburst 4 string Commodore, cheap Japanese semi-acoustic.

 

[Eilif]

Mid 90's MIM P-bass Black.
Still play it though now it's got…
-Slightly thicker bridge
-Tort pickguard
-SD 1/4 Pounder
-Ultralight tuners

A great little bass, though the fingerboard is more like a lamination than a board. Barely thicker than the tang of the frets. Very comfortable neck though.

To this day I'm grateful to my folks for splurging on a Fender rather than a Squier. It was a great first bass (though I already played upright).

 

[nicu1986]

Black Squier P bass. Thing is set up miserably and the neck has a nice bow to it, so it plays horribly, and I got drunk once and put a Speedwolf sticker on it for some reason a while back. However, I still play around on it often and I actually like the weird crappy tone I get out of it, so it stays in my rotation.

 

[Cup]

An SX passive five string. Costed 275$ new on ebay and it turned out to be exactly what i needed as a beginner. The five string was something like 15$ more than the four and i thought five was a funny number of strings to have so i got it!

 

[BigDaddyO]

Sears Hornet - '67

 

[Iridescentone]

A used Harmony H-27 for $45 at a pawn shop in 1970.

 

[Minirehak 212]

Mine was a vantage 725b. Traded it to a shop here for a peavey head. It is passive and not as good as my Warwick but it's still at the shop and I miss it so I'm working my way to get it back

 

[Bassplayer315]

This was a late 60's Encore that I got for Christmas in 1973. The bass that started it all.