What was your first bass guitar?

[DaveKirkpatrick]

Joined my first band in '86. We rented a couple of basses to start out- first an Ibanez P-bass copy. It was a bad one and it put me off P basses for quite a while. It was a music store beater bass. Then we found a fellow that was renting out a Guild pilot bass. Black with a P/J pickup- It was an awesome bass. The guy who had the Guild wouldn't sell it, so I went to the shop and found a 81' G&L L2000E for $350. Still have it!

 

[Wavy]

First bass El Degas imitation Precision

Second bass = first real bass Peavey T-40

 

[QweziRider]

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

Gibson Ripper, I got used in '81. I don't know what year it was. I stupidly tried refinishing it (which involved sanding some corners smoother...what did I know?), ripping out the frets, putting them back in, ripping them out again. Still have the old war beast, but she's pretty beat.

 

[Chuck Chill-Out]

My first bass was a 1960-something Teisco short scale I found in the dumpster and rebuilt/Frankenbass into a fretless (the frets were in horrible shape and I had no tools to redress them). Learned on that (oh my word, the intonation and buzzing) for the past 10 years until my first real bass, a CSPiper neck through fretless. Plays wonderfully.

 

[Thumpin6string]

1st bass was a 60s Kay hollow body, but the first real bass was a 73 Jazz I bought for $125. It was a year old at that time. Am I dating myself? Bought it from a starving studio bassist. I had a choice of the sunburst Jazz or a blonde P bass for the same money. Being a kid I took the Jazz. Looking back I should have took the P bass.

 

[bass4more]

Peavy T-40

 

[Canadian APII]

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?

I have to disagree. Fenders were not the top of the line that gets pushed so often. They were mass produced with the cheapest components available. Leo himself lamented that. That is one of the reasons he co-founded G&L. Yes there are great Fenders out there. Throw a dart at a dartboard enough times you will hit a bullseye. I won't apologize if that irritates some people. Its just the facts. I have preferences like everybody. I have fenders and Aria Pro II's. In the seventies Aria Pro II's were considered "Lawsuit" instruments. They were often superior. In the late seventies Aria Pro II was influenced by a designer named N. Hayashi or H. Noble as he often had his name styled. In the eighties Aria Pro II almost knocked Fender off its pedestal with vastly superior Matsumoku built instruments. But Matsumoku was part of Singer and was lost when Singer fell on hard times. I was luck enough to get this beautiful Aria Pro II Special II as my first bass. It was beautiful and played amazingly. It is in the middle of a mild restoration.

 

[packhowitzer]

98 stingray. I was 19 or so years old and playing in a cover band in atlanta with older guys who did nothing but play music for a living. We were making real dough and it was time for me to have a real bass. I sold a samick and a washburn that I had and marched up to Rhythm City (now one of atlanta's guitar centers) and plunked down $1K cash. I don't think the salesman wanted to do the deal but I think he could tell I wasn't going anywhere and it was easier to just sell me the bass than deal with me nagging him about it all day. he finally huffed and puffed and said "ok dude". Then in my massive hubris I realized that that thousand bucks was all the money I had on me and I sheepishly asked (in my best oliver twist voice) if I could possibly keep 5 bucks to grab a value meal. I felt like such a tool but I really was famished. He shoved five dollars back in my hand and was like "GO" lol. I felt like kind of a tool, but man that was the best Mickey D's I've ever had in my life and I scored a brand new honey burst Stingray for under a grand. That bass served me well and I still have it. It payed rent for me for years and despite the fact that it's mostly relegated to recording and noodling now, I still play it all the time.

 

[Gyver]

Peavey Dyna Bass, white with gold hardware. Not an expensive bass, but a really solid bass all the way around.

 

[tangentmusic]

First ever bass was a Jazz copy my old man bought for me out of the Sears catalog in '74. Not a great instrument.
First real bass was bought brand new by me in '77. It was also the first thing I ever financed and made payments on. I still have that old SD Curlee. Very sentimental.

 

[Hounddog409]

I grew up in the 70's and 80's. The "real" bass every bass player I knew coveted a RIC, not a fender. Seemed like everyone that played in a band had a Fender. The guy with a black RIC was the envy of us all.

 

[pbass64]

My first real bass was a Gibson Ripper, bought it over the phone, sight unseen waited a week for it to arrive by bus.
Very happy day when it arrived, sold it long ago, wish I still had it.

 

[4stringsjack]

My first real bass was my first bass. I bought a Peavey T-40 brand new in... 1980? In Harvard Square for $279 including the hardshell case. That bass was soooo heavy, but it sounded nice and had a wide variety of good tones. I wish I still had it. It was natural ash with a maple neck.

I sold it to buy my second real bass- a '79 Musicman Sabre, sunburst. REALLY wish I'd kept that, but I sold it when I was a college sophomore to pay my car insurance. I made up for it just last year- see the black Sabre in my avatar.

Selling the Sabre wasn't the end of the world at the time. I had two basses anyway, and who the heck needs more than one bass??? Lol. My other real bass at the time was a '73 Rickenbacker 4001, Jetglo, that I paid $350 for. I still have it, and still gig it on occasion. It has the nifty checkerboard binding and a toaster pickup at the neck.

 

[voodoobassist]

I got pretty lucky,...started playing in church,...Mom hoped I'd go into the ministry,...sorry Mom,....anyway, she ponied up and went to the local music store, Driver Music in OKC. Kenny Driver sold her a '63 Fender jazz and a bassman amp for $300. This was in 1969, I was in 9th grade. Unfortunately, after playing for about three years, I dropped the bass at a revival we were playing and snapped the headstock off. New strap, hadn't broken in yet. I was devastated. Traded it in to Kenny Driver for a new Precision fretless that I ponied the bill for. Played that for approx 3 years until it was stolen. A 4001 was my next bass,......I've never been happy with cheap basses, and looking back, I can kind of see why........

 

[Pet Sounds]

I started on guitar. My first bass was a no-name Beatle Bass. I didn't keep it long, because for some reason at that time (early '70s) I thought playing bass seemed boring. (Truth was, I just didn't know what I was doing.) My first "real" bass came years later and was an Electra Phoenix Bass, then my first Fender Precision.

 

[Texsunburst59]

My 1st bass was a '74 Fender Jazz bass I picked up in 2008.

When I built my home studio, I realized I needed a bass to put down on tracks.

For years I've been hitting the pawnshops and scoring some great on some quality guitars.

Now the hunt was for my 1st bass. I really wasn't aiming high or really looking for a high end bass.

I just wanted something that would sound good and be of fair quality.

Well the 1st week of my search I hit the jackpot.

I found a well used '74 Fender Jazz bass in on of my area pawnshops.

It was up on the rack with a price tag of $59.

I took to the counter and tried my best to haggle and get it down to $40 out the door,but they refused to budge.

Well, I ended up giving them the asking price plus tax and took it home for $64.64.

I still have it and it's been used mostly by my son for a lot of his home recordings.

Here's my '74 Fender Sunburst Jazz:

 

[tangentmusic]

^ Awesome pawn shop score.

 

[eigentone]

My 1st bass was a '74 Fender Jazz bass I picked up in 2008.

When I built my home studio, I realized I needed a bass to put down on tracks.

For years I've been hitting the pawnshops and scoring some great on some quality guitars.

Now the hunt was for my 1st bass. I really wasn't aiming high or really looking for a high end bass.

I just wanted something that would sound good and be of fair quality.

Well the 1st week of my search I hit the jackpot.

I found a well used '74 Fender Jazz bass in on of my area pawnshops.

It was up on the rack with a price tag of $59.

I took to the counter and tried my best to haggle and get it down to $40 out the door,but they refused to budge.

Well, I ended up giving them the asking price plus tax and took it home for $64.64.

I still have it and it's been used mostly by my son for a lot of his home recordings.

Here's my '74 Fender Sunburst Jazz:

I'll give you $100 for it.

 

[abngourmet]

First bass was an EB3 copy out of an electronics catalog - terrible, but it was a bass. I think it cost about $75 at the time, no case. I put a Gene Simmons sticker on it from the Rock and Roll Over album.

First real bass was a '77-'78 Guild B-301, natural mahogany. That was a great bass, but ... then I discovered Geddy, and ... sold that to finance a black '78 Rick 4001, which I regret selling. Fast forward ...

I now own a '78 Guild B-301, and both a '76 (Autumnglo) and '77 (Jetglo) Rick 4001 .... great instruments.

 

[MCF]

'68 Mustang. I loved it. Rue the day I sold it.