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What was your first bass guitar?

#3,722
Whenever i see topics like this i feel grateful that my folks ponied up for a brand new 1996 mim p bass.

I'd been playing upright for 6years by then so they must have felt i was serious enough. The only original parts remaining are the body, neck and neck plate but I've still got it and it does everything i need a p to do.
 
#3,723
knockerjoe said:
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?
Click to expand...
Knocker ... you didn't tell us what your impressions with using the modulus were and what you liked about it and what you don't... the old guy story has been halved ;)
 
#3,724
My first bass was this 62 Fender jazz that my Father bought from a pawnshop in the 60's. It was also my first "real" bass. Dad panted it white because he did not like the sunburst. I still have the original tort guard, but alas everything else is gone.
62jazz.jpg

The first bass that I bought was this Rickenbacker 4080-12...
rick.jpg

I lost it in a pawnshop in Dallas...(Long story)

This is my 62 jazz after I "improved it" in the first real band I played with in the 80's...
downtown.jpg
 
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#3,725
Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass MIJ in 2010 and bought new in 2014 in Singapore having started playing discontinuously in 1991.
This was preceded by various rubbish instruments except for the last one a Cort GB94 which is good but with a weak preamp (bought in 2010 in South Africa).
The day I bought the Cort I wanted to buy the dream of my fusion funky mind ... the Fender jazz bass .. it was not available ...
It was too much time I wasn't playing anything and hence I purchased the best of the locally available basses (Pavillion commercial centre, Durban, good times) ... but it was only when i stepped out of the detached boutique instruments section of the Swee Lee shop in Bukit Timah road (Singapore) holding that piece of anchor which is the MM Fender jazz bass that I thought things were changing bass wise and I took a deep breath enjoying the air and looking at the sky notwithstanding the hot and crowded place ...
 
#3,728
My first bass was a Hagstrom like this................... (I don't know if it could be called a "real bass")
619155_hagstrom_HIIB_fullfront_webb_250_400.jpg


But then in 1971, I got a real, "real bass" a used 1969 3 tone Fender Jazz Bass and OHSC with a missing pickguard for $125. Yeah, that's the way prices were back then!

P1260474_zps298eb64d.jpg


Being young, dumb and at the time there being no such thing as "vintage Fender basses", I stripped off the finish and went natural with clear over coat. Kept it for a while. Sold it. I hate myself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Didn't know any better at the time.



Turned it into something like this............................
s939333.jpg
 
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#3,730
My first bass was a Gibson EB 0. And while that might seem like a very nice instrument to start on it wasn't. I got it for cheap and traded it for a Squier. I think I ripped off the kid with the Squier. Played like crap, would have been a nice wall hanger though. I later met one of the other former owners of that bass and he said that it had been passed around the area for years and that so many people had tried modding it to get it to play better that the body and neck were the only original parts. Some instruments are duds regardless of the name on the head stock.
Edit Since I don't feel I answered the OP.
My first bass that played well was a Washburn XB-400. Very pretty red finish. I sold it a few years ago since I never played it any more. Nice stable neck which was a first for me.
 
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#3,731
I got a "Laguna" branded P copy for my 13th birthday. It's an MIJ probably from the early to mid 80s. My gut feeling is that it was produced in one of the big factories and branded by a local importer/dealer (the only other one I ever saw was in a music shop in my home town, also used). Apparently, my dad had the choice of either the Laguna or a Mid 70s Fender J. Back in 1990, they were both 175 bucks with a case. he thought the Laguna played better. He offered to let me swap if I wanted to, but I played both and thought the Laguna played better too. Sadly, my bass is still worth 175 bucks, and the Fender is probably worth 2500. That said, it is actually a shockingly nice bass. About 8.5 pounds, can get a really low action. I "upgraded" the pickup to a Quarter pounder in about 1995, so I'm not sure exactly what it sounded like before, but I still play it regularly, even though I have a bunch of other basses too
 
#3,733
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
Knocker ... you didn't tell us what your impressions with using the modulus were and what you liked about it and what you don't... the old guy story has been halved ;)
Click to expand...
I'm the OP. I gigged that Modulus BaSSStar for 2 years and sold and replaced it with a 1968 Fender P. I could care less about the Modulus but I wish I had kept the 68 P. I could never find a neck like that.
 
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#3,734
MobileHolmes said:
is that a non original bridge? I can't tell from the pic. I picked one up on the cheap last year because it had a badass on it. I think also a 74. Those JS basses are relaly cool.
Click to expand...
Here is my 1973. The photo above was an internet stock pic. I have the harp bridge w/ rosewood saddles. Since the refurb. though, I can't get the coil tap wired right. My painter/tech couldn't figure it out either.
531784_10201481314092134_2117831451_n.jpg
 
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#3,738
I was spoiled... My first was a '67 Precision, then a '76 Gibson G-3, still have (traded the p for it, which had a bad neck), then a USA Peavey Cirrus 5string which is my go to.

micahwc said:
First was a "Cruise by VMI" which I have recently re-obtained. It's actually a great little bass and it's very playable. Feels great. I've upgraded the pickup and electronics.
Click to expand...
I picked up one of these from Craigslist for $10... put Squire P-ups in it and leveled the frets... plays great!
 

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