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What was your first bass guitar?
- Thread starter the region
- Start date
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- first bass old real
- Nov 27, 2003
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- Rogue luthier employed at Knooren Handcrafted bass guitars
A navy blue Vantage Precision bass copy with a neck which had an alembic style cone shaped headstock. I got it without a pickup and tuners, so I put in a Dimarzio Model one pickup en later defretted it. I still have it, it hangs on the wall as a pleasent reminder of the "good old days"
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My first bass was some red jobbie that my folks got me when I was 16 - I dont' remember the brand - but if you dipped the end in water I'm pretty sure you could blow bubbles with it. Probably came with a free hotwheels toy or something.
My second bass though, was a Warwick Streamer I throughneck in birdseye maple. I got it at a garage sale and had no idea what it was or who made it. Played it for two years and absoluetely loved it - most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Sold it to pay some bills when I was 18 and broke, and have regretted it ever since. Just getting into bass again 12 years later and wish I'd never let that one go.
C'est la vie - lesson learned - try to always hang on to that first decent bass you had or loved... you'll miss it when it's gone.
(moment of silence please)
My second bass though, was a Warwick Streamer I throughneck in birdseye maple. I got it at a garage sale and had no idea what it was or who made it. Played it for two years and absoluetely loved it - most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Sold it to pay some bills when I was 18 and broke, and have regretted it ever since. Just getting into bass again 12 years later and wish I'd never let that one go.
C'est la vie - lesson learned - try to always hang on to that first decent bass you had or loved... you'll miss it when it's gone.
(moment of silence please)
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
I bought my first bass, a Harmony PJ, at a local pawn shop for $150. I still have it and I'm trying to get it back into palying shape. I severely abused it by way of sanding it down, tearing out the frets, dot markers and nut, and making the tuner holes too big for even standard size Fender tuners. I also used the cavity in back to practice routing. It's pathetic to look at now, but I've got all the supplies I need to get her back up and running, if she ever forgives me!
My first bass was a Gibson EB-3 probably a 69, I bought it used in 72 or 73, I had to have it because Jack Bruce played one and the gutiar player in my band had a Red Gibson SG so they matched. That was very important in jr. High school. Plus, it had a 4 or 5 way switch that gave me 4-5 useless sounds. I wish I had a picture of it, but photography was kinda new then, I think they were still doing pictagraphs on cave walls, not digital pictographs either!
The Veneman's Music Emporium really hit me. Takes me back to the early 80's with one of their catalogs dog eared drooling over all the cool gear....
The other one that hit me was the Mako. My first bass was somthin g similar with a dumb ass string through bridge that bent the strings over a sharp edge. Hell I played a couple years before I knew most people did'nt break srings every other week.
The other one that hit me was the Mako. My first bass was somthin g similar with a dumb ass string through bridge that bent the strings over a sharp edge. Hell I played a couple years before I knew most people did'nt break srings every other week.
It was my first electric bass, too. My father bought it for me in 1963 (I was 12 years old) from Dorn and Kirschner (huge school instrument supplier at the time) in Newark, NJ along with a Sano amplifier, he paid a total of $260 for everything which was a large amount of money to my family.Sundogue said:
I really thought I was hot s***! I sold it about two years later ... I was way too young to appreciate what I had, and I think on some level I've been trying to replace it ever since. I have an old pic somewhere, I'll try to find it and scan it in.
When I was 12, a guy donated a Memphis P bass to my dad's church. When the church split a few months later and all of the musicians left, it became 'my' bass. A year and a half later, my dad lost his job just before thanksgiving and everything had to be sold just to keep us off the street.
When I was almost 15, I dug a classical guitar out of the dumpster, defretted it, and strung it up with the heaviest green weedeater string I could find. That was my bass for almost two years. I did get to play a real bass occasionally, when we would visit one of several small churches that had a bass but no regular bass player.
When I was 17, I got a job, and within a few weeks, bought a Peavey T-40 second hand. My first bass that I paid for myself.
When I was almost 15, I dug a classical guitar out of the dumpster, defretted it, and strung it up with the heaviest green weedeater string I could find. That was my bass for almost two years. I did get to play a real bass occasionally, when we would visit one of several small churches that had a bass but no regular bass player.
When I was 17, I got a job, and within a few weeks, bought a Peavey T-40 second hand. My first bass that I paid for myself.
My late 80's (3 bolt) G&L SB-1 P-bass. Really a great P. $250 at U-Crest Music outside of Buffalo. I had bought a superb early 30's Selmer Paris Tenor Sax there only a few months before.
I passed on a gourgeous pre-CBS white pearl/tort Fender P for only a little more cause I wanted a new bass. My arse still hurts from kicking myself over the years.
I passed on a gourgeous pre-CBS white pearl/tort Fender P for only a little more cause I wanted a new bass. My arse still hurts from kicking myself over the years.
Ben Clarke said:
We had a tough couple of years there. Mom and Dad both worked two minimum wage jobs. I wanted to play bass, so I improvised.
Needless to say, I feel very blessed and thank God pretty often for what I have today.
nondenonde!
An Ibanez, not sure of model. A had it for 2-3 years and got a lot of the fundamentals down, and learned a lot of songs by ear. I didn't find myself playing too much at a certain point, so I sold the bass and my Fender amp to a friend, who still has the setup.
Fast forward a good 12 years, at which time another friend, who needed a bassist to jam with, loaned me his Peavey T-40, and I have been playing steadily ever since, about 3 years. Not a gigging player, but jam here and there. Play almost daily at home. I really started out by learning many of the Beatles tunes, as they are great for bass. Today, my main styles are classic rock, blues ala B.B. King, old country like Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, etc. I hear some of you guys laughing about the last 3 listed, but I love the grooves in their bass-driven songs.
My first bass the second go-round was an old Emperidor violin bass via ebay. A couple days later I added a Jay Turser Beatle bass, then a Fender Geddy Lee, a Ric 4003, fretless J, a P, MM Sterling, another J. Some have been sold to upgrade, a couple are on loan. All have been great fun and the ones I have now all get playing time. My #1 at the moment is the Amer. Jazz---I can't seem to put it down.
Fast forward a good 12 years, at which time another friend, who needed a bassist to jam with, loaned me his Peavey T-40, and I have been playing steadily ever since, about 3 years. Not a gigging player, but jam here and there. Play almost daily at home. I really started out by learning many of the Beatles tunes, as they are great for bass. Today, my main styles are classic rock, blues ala B.B. King, old country like Johnny Cash, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, etc. I hear some of you guys laughing about the last 3 listed, but I love the grooves in their bass-driven songs.
My first bass the second go-round was an old Emperidor violin bass via ebay. A couple days later I added a Jay Turser Beatle bass, then a Fender Geddy Lee, a Ric 4003, fretless J, a P, MM Sterling, another J. Some have been sold to upgrade, a couple are on loan. All have been great fun and the ones I have now all get playing time. My #1 at the moment is the Amer. Jazz---I can't seem to put it down.
I got a 1966 Harmony P-bass copy. My parents bought it for me in 1980. They paid $75.00 for it. It was the red sunburst and sounded like junk played even worse with action up to my eyes, but it worked and it was all mine! I sold it 3 months later for $100 and bought a Peavey T-20FL for $225.00
