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What was your first bass guitar?
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- first bass old real
My first was my 1976 Columbus 'lawsuit' Jazz, bought for £50 at a flea market my dad dragged me to. Very good copy, as it happens. I still have it.
I was 15, Nov 88', and found a Fender P for $250, and looked at a Fender 1x12 Bassman. When I went back they had sold the P, but had a Hohner short scale P under $100, so I got that and the 1x15 Bassman instead.
Summer 90' I painted the house for my mom with rollers and brushes and she bought me my first real bass, a new Fender Standard Jazz (MIJ).
Summer 90' I painted the house for my mom with rollers and brushes and she bought me my first real bass, a new Fender Standard Jazz (MIJ).
One could do far worse than getting an MIJ JB62 for their first solid-body. Go, Mom's-House-Painting-Budget!
She was going to pay someone twice that much to paint the house. I convinced he to buy the paint and the $299 bass and I would do it myself. Paint job stood 10, years until she sold the house to friends.One could do far worse than getting an MIJ JB62 for their first solid-body. Go, Mom's-House-Painting-Budget!
Summer of 1992,at 14 years old. An Aria Pro 2; SLB-2A in white. Don't have it anymore; had to google the pic. Was a decent bass I thought, for the price. It was easy to play.
My first bass was a 1977 Gibson RD Standard that I bought in 1992 for $275 CAD. It needed a refret, was too bright sounding for my liking, (all maple) and the neck pickup was dead, but it got me started. I gave it to a friend about 7 years ago. Don't really miss it. It looked cooler than it played or sounded.
My brother has that exact bass I'm sure. Was going to borrow it until I sell my Starforce and get a new bass
I learned on a cheap bass my stepfather bought. He wanted to learn it to play country with a friend of his, but he never did. Don't remember a brand or country of origin, but it was cheap.
First bass I OWNED was a 1970 Rickenbacker 4001 - fireflies.
First bass I OWNED was a 1970 Rickenbacker 4001 - fireflies.
Nope, I had put a fretless Warmoth neck on it, and when I started playing fretted again my old bass teacher was interested in it, and I sold it to him. Playing his friends black jazz as a teen is what made me want one. Selling it was dumb.Did the bass come with the house too?
Around the house time the church I was playing drums and bass in needed a bass, and I recommended a black w/ white PG Fender Std Jazz, so I got to keep playing one. We moved, they loaned their gear to another church, it all got stolen.
I think it's time for a Fender Amer Jazz in black w/ rosewood to keep and make up for times lost.
1980'ish Electra Phoenix P copy. Bought it new, still have it. Killer bass, huge bottom. P'ups look like DiMarzio DP's, but slightly more beef.
Poor axe has suffered many indignities over the years. Defretted early on and I routed in a Jbass pickup by the bridge. Did make it more versitile... back before anyone hatched a P bass special.
Poor axe has suffered many indignities over the years. Defretted early on and I routed in a Jbass pickup by the bridge. Did make it more versitile... back before anyone hatched a P bass special.
Sounds like the first bass that I actually paid for. I started on an old Crestline J-bass copy that my grandfather bought for me. When I got to college I went to a pawn shop to buy a case for it. The shop manager told me I could have any case out of a pile of them for $60. The case I chose turned out to be very heavy. Paid the $60 and rushed back to my dorm. Opened the case and found a yellowed white Fender Jazz.
That bass got stolen when my drummer's parents house got broken into. Their insurance paid me $700. I took that and bought the walnut / maple 1979 Sabre. Kept it for 20 years.
I got this in 1985. Went out with the Leather weather girl to choose a bass. It is an Aria Pro II RSB Special II. I have made a few modifications over the years. Presently I am doing a restoration of it. I plan to bring it back to original condition. If anybody out there has one or two working or not working MBJ1 pickups I would love to hear from them.
My 3rd bass was something similar, the SB Special II (a 1984 IIRC), which had the humbucker pickups and stacked pots. Great basses.
My 1st bass though, was an awful Kay Precision copy in sunburst. Got it cheap from a work colleague of my Dad's in the mid-80's. Weighed a ton, high action etc, etc.
Per my "handle", a 2009 MTD KIngston Heir. Still have it - it feels and plays great.
Takamine GE-400 GT
I was 15 and visiting family in Abilene, TX. All night long, I had a dream of a black pointy bass and a black pointy guitar spiraling through clouds being lit up buy pink and blue lasers. I woke up wanting a real instrument. I grew up well under the poverty line with a single mother running the roost. I asked her if we could go to some pawn shops and look at guitars. I asked this knowing full well we wouldn't be able to buy anything. I just felt like it was my destiny to find a bass. We ended up going into a Wild Bill's Pawn. I went inside by myself while my mother stayed in the car with the engine running as she knew we would be leaving in a couple of minutes. The pawn shop had only 2 basses. On the left was a plain old P bass of some sorts which was everything I didn't want in an instrument at the time, and to the right was this gnarly black and red, pointy, explorer style beast. I asked what their prices were. The P bass was like 80 bucks and the Takamine on the right was 128.00 . I hailed from a family of wheelers and dealers and ran the spiel my granddaddy gave me to lower the price on something at a pawn shop. The manager said they received that bass the night before, just before closing and they had rules on how long an instrument has to be in-store before they can lower the prices on them. The longer I stared, the more I wanted it.
I went outside to the car and told my mom about what I had seen. She explained we couldn't afford it and needed the money for gas on the way back across Texas. I begged her for it. My chest was ready to explode if we had to drive away from that bass, the bass that presumably was in my dream. She finally broke after about 5 minutes of back and fourth. She had me make a bunch of promises to get better grades, clean the house, etc, all the while seeming angry at the situation. I went back inside, bought the bass, and still have it today 15 years later.
For years no one could tell me what it was. Some people even tried to see if they could peel the Takamine logo off of the head-stock, thinking it was a decal someone put on. It always caught people's attention and for the longest time, I was the only person in my town that didn't have just a boring, figure 8 shaped bass. It was named The Death Bass and when I got enough money saved up for a case, I made sure to get a large coffin case. I had to modify it and rip out the little compartment inside just to fit the bass.
I was 15 and visiting family in Abilene, TX. All night long, I had a dream of a black pointy bass and a black pointy guitar spiraling through clouds being lit up buy pink and blue lasers. I woke up wanting a real instrument. I grew up well under the poverty line with a single mother running the roost. I asked her if we could go to some pawn shops and look at guitars. I asked this knowing full well we wouldn't be able to buy anything. I just felt like it was my destiny to find a bass. We ended up going into a Wild Bill's Pawn. I went inside by myself while my mother stayed in the car with the engine running as she knew we would be leaving in a couple of minutes. The pawn shop had only 2 basses. On the left was a plain old P bass of some sorts which was everything I didn't want in an instrument at the time, and to the right was this gnarly black and red, pointy, explorer style beast. I asked what their prices were. The P bass was like 80 bucks and the Takamine on the right was 128.00 . I hailed from a family of wheelers and dealers and ran the spiel my granddaddy gave me to lower the price on something at a pawn shop. The manager said they received that bass the night before, just before closing and they had rules on how long an instrument has to be in-store before they can lower the prices on them. The longer I stared, the more I wanted it.
I went outside to the car and told my mom about what I had seen. She explained we couldn't afford it and needed the money for gas on the way back across Texas. I begged her for it. My chest was ready to explode if we had to drive away from that bass, the bass that presumably was in my dream. She finally broke after about 5 minutes of back and fourth. She had me make a bunch of promises to get better grades, clean the house, etc, all the while seeming angry at the situation. I went back inside, bought the bass, and still have it today 15 years later.
For years no one could tell me what it was. Some people even tried to see if they could peel the Takamine logo off of the head-stock, thinking it was a decal someone put on. It always caught people's attention and for the longest time, I was the only person in my town that didn't have just a boring, figure 8 shaped bass. It was named The Death Bass and when I got enough money saved up for a case, I made sure to get a large coffin case. I had to modify it and rip out the little compartment inside just to fit the bass.
