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What was your first bass guitar?

#361
Mine was a Univox short-scale with a maple neck and some sort of tobacco-burst body. It was stolen in 1976, leading me to buy a new (1976) Fender P bass that I still have, along with a Hofner and Warwick Thumb 5.

I didn't realize the Univox neck was short-scale, or even that there was such a thing, until I was trying out other basses to buy.

I'd be hard-pressed to tell you how it sounded, because all I had back then was a crappy little Traynor practice amp. I think the action was pretty high, but I didn't know any better.

Still, playing that bass along with records (this was 1976, remember?) is how it all started for me.
 
#362
My first bass was a violin shape Univox "lectra" bass. I got it used in 71, non working tone controls and a bandaid holding wires together under the control plate! Don't laugh, I learned how to thump and pop on that bass. It was my only bass for 5 years until switched to a 64 Gibson EBO with a treble pup in the back and a 3 way togle switch. That bass was a speaker killer! It just made everything in the room move around, dishes fall out the cubbard when I practiced at home and was never really usable in a band context playing funk, r&b and soul music. Playing rock it was right at home so I got rid of it. I moved up to brand new Carlo Robelli P bass copy. That bass was better sound wise and constrution wise than any new Fender p bass at the time! Carlo Robelli has since gone down the tubes :hmm:
 
#367
my first bass was a squire precision. It was really nice red wine colour, almost lookd black. I had that for a few years before i bought a second hand EBMM stingray 80's model. I still have the squire, but it sounds like i'm kicking a cradboard box when i play it, but to b fair 2 it the strings r about 3 years old and the stingray makes it sound like crap.
 
#368
Well, my first was (like many people's) a squier. Yeah, you know, the affinity P-bass that comes with an amp and all the goodies.
I played that for about 3 months and then bought a MIM Jazz bass which i upgraded for the next 9 months. Once all the hardware was black, and it had new pickups and electronics and everything was finally falling into place, I moved on again.
I'm now rocking it on a Fender prophecy bass. Made in Japan until 94, not too many people even know what it is! But man, is it sweet!
I'll play this bass into the ground or until i can afford a custom Warwick Streamer Stage I. :)
 
#370
My First bass I bought back in 83 was a black Dixon P bass Copy Played like poo but I Loved it cause it was BLACK :D I played it for about 3 years and traded it for a Yamaha Motion bass 3 medium scale still got it, probally wont ever get rid of it..She is retired now but I do pull it out from time to time and play it..


Here are a couple of pics of the basses I mentioned..
 

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#371
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this was taken a week or so ago, but its my first bass still, only too. Its a fender p bass special, sunburst with mod black guard.

I bought it on January 2nd 2002. Im really glad i bought a nice bass to learn on. It made all the difference in my opinion. And I paid for it, NOT my parents. Big thing for a 14 year old to do.
 
#372
First bass was some Korean piece of driftwood with no brand name. Stupid, awkward shape, stainless steel pickguard - a really stinker and right-handed too.

Quickly bought an Ibanez RSII (a lefty true) in rock n roll black. Good bass, sounded tough. Eventually sold it and moved onto a Fender Jazz.

Got a Stringray 5 on the way, have had to wait three months to get it made and now its only a couple of days away!!!!! :hyper:
 
#373
orskard you lucky bastard. you got a genuine Fender presicion as your first bass. i got a Samick SP-something p bass style. piece of sh!t. hopefully will soon enough have enough to buy a fender jazz bass for $800.but i have grown attatched to it over the 1 1/2 years ive had it.
 
#374
My first bass was a ford yellow home jobby. The neck was... well..... like a 2 x 4. It was passive. Also, the G string never quite made it through a set without popping out of the nut and making that really loud discordant "ping" during the song.

OH...... and whenever you played a "C", this huge swelling mass of sound overtook the room. It was time for a new bass.......
 
#376
My first was an Aria too. A pro TSB350.... I got it installed later on a MM/J Bartolini configuration and it sounded very well for the time being.

More pro-like basses were definately a different league. But I liked the tone... and still do in way. It had a typical sound which pleased most of the people who heard it.

Here's a picture of it.
 

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#378
In 1972-73, a friend gave me a very used Univox Mosrite knockoff. The previous owner, who wanted a fretless, had ripped out the frets, removed the finish, and then gave up on it. I replaced the frets with fret wire I liberated from a horrible acoustic guitar. Lots of hammering and belt-sanding later (ouch), it became playable. The tuning machines were the sloppiest I had ever seen (still to this day). I refinished it a couple times and ultimately sold it after I had bought a "real" bass. Sorry I didn't keep it.
 

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