• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What was your first bass guitar?

Epiphone Power Bass, purchased new in 1988:
1989-Epiphone-Power-Bass-Guitar-Jazz-and-P-Bass-Pickups.jpg


It wasn't a very good bass but good enough to learn on.
 
Age 13, back in '73, and bitten by the bass bug. Went hunting one day with the old dear in tow (as much-needed guarantor!), trawled a whole load of shops and everything too expensive for my budget. The last shop, nixi either. Was on the way out, went to open the door and saw the attached hiding behind it, low down and almost out of sight. Fell in love with it right away. £30, bang on budget! Paid the Tenner deposit and paid the rest up over three months.

It came with a Selmer snake-skin, plush-lined case and the smell from inside was intoxicating; even the bass reeked of it. It came with Roto Black Nylon strings, which I hated, but being unaware of anything else existing they stayed on the bass until I shifted it two years later. What I remember about the bass was the beautiful flamed-maple on the back, taking it for granted back then. Same with the nitro crazing on the body, which I then found fault with! My model had two on/off switches on the treble side of the upper bout.

By the time I had my next bass - an Ibby Rick copy - the old Hofner was deemed redundant and I flogged it. Been looking for it ever since, out of foolish nostalgia but not seen it yet.

Hofner HS 185.jpeg
 
My first bass was a cheap Drive bass/amp kit. Short scale, one Precision style pickup. The amp sucked so I spray painted it gold out of spite and then my dad threw it out. I hear the bass died peacefully in a bluegrass collective and got buried in a closet somewhere about 10 years after I got rid of it.

My first "real" bass was a Peavey Millennium 5, Indonesian-made, one of the BXP models from back when they were legitimate MIM Fender competitors. I tried getting rid of it several times over the years but it always ended up back with me. I've accepted it as a permanent part of my life and made it my main bass again.
 
Last edited:
Received this Lindell bass as a gift in 1981. It was old then. Never used it much because I became a guitarist. I kept the bass and used it for recording projects in the 90's. It's still in perfect shape as it was when I receieved it. Wonder what it's worth??
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3045.JPG
    IMG_3045.JPG
    491.7 KB · Views: 20
Last edited:
If you grew up in the 60's, 70's, or even into the 80's and played bass you
know there were not many playable affordable basses on the market. Japan, Italy, Taiwan,
etc etc were churning out basses by the thousands to keep up with the demand of American kids who wanted to become rock stars. These basses in most cases were virtually unplayable.
Sporting sky high action and necks you could ski off of. I still have the scars of trying to get a string to the fretboard! You could not run to the local music store and pick up a playable and affordable Squire or Ibanez off the rack.
No boys and girls, if you were going to buy a real bass there were not much other choices
than (in my opinion) a Fender Bass.

In my case Flashback 1979. After working my butt off for what seemed forever and armed with around $500 bucks in my pocket I headed off to the famed Music Row on 48th St in NYC.
My goal? A used Fender Bass. After hitting a few stores like Manny's and Sam Ash I soon learned there were more choices, so it came down to this:
1972 P Bass
1978 Stingray
1979 Modulus Graphite BaSSStar P/J
After some deliberation I walked away with the Red Modulus. (no its long gone now)

So let's hear what your first "real" bass was?
 
Last edited: