Pretty much exactly like this. Mid 70's Lyle I got for Christmas 1974.
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What was your first bass guitar?
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Pretty much exactly like this. Mid 70's Lyle I got for Christmas 1974.
My first in mid 2014 when I was 64, was a Gold Tone GT MicroBass 23" scale acoustic with Road Toad Pahoehoe polyurethane strings. I played rhythm guitar for almost 50 years and was often told I should play bass because I have good feel and tempo, but didn't want to be encumbered by a big electric bass, forget a stand up.
Then in mid 2013 I took up tenor ukulele and never touched my guitars again. A year later the leader of my 40 person uke group asked if anyone would like to take up the bass to fill in our sound. I checked the internet and discovered all the bass ukes/mini bass guitars (21" to 24" scale) and went for it. Since then bass uke has been my main instrument, tenor uke and blues harmonica a close second.
Then in mid 2013 I took up tenor ukulele and never touched my guitars again. A year later the leader of my 40 person uke group asked if anyone would like to take up the bass to fill in our sound. I checked the internet and discovered all the bass ukes/mini bass guitars (21" to 24" scale) and went for it. Since then bass uke has been my main instrument, tenor uke and blues harmonica a close second.
Is this a password retrieval question?
My first bass was unbranded. I bought it second hand from a friend in high school. I think it was a Sears or Monkey Wards brand. Teisco maybe? I don't even remember what happened to it.
My first bass was unbranded. I bought it second hand from a friend in high school. I think it was a Sears or Monkey Wards brand. Teisco maybe? I don't even remember what happened to it.
1982 Memphis P-Bass! Japanese made, I believe. Great memories of that Christmas Day 
I borrowed a guy’s cheap Peavey P bass to see if I even wanted to learn bass. When I decided to get my very own bass, I bought a made in China Spector. Can’t remember the model name. It was a great looking bass. An amber finish over a quilted maple top. It had passive EMG pickups in it. Had something weird going on with some frets. A few dead spots & some fret buzz. I didn’t keep it all that long & decided to sell it.
My first bass was a burgundy-red Ibanez EXB404 I got Christmas 1993 before I started taking lessons January 1994. I'd been saving up for one (I worked an after-school job reshelving books in the local library), and my dad (RIP) saw how hard I'd been working and offered to go halves on the gear with me. (He did that years later when I was looking to buy my first car, too. Thanks Dad!)
This is an excerpt from the first guitar catalog I ever picked up from a music store and that kinda influenced my purchase and my taste in instruments. https://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/us/1992/exb.jpg
This is an excerpt from the first guitar catalog I ever picked up from a music store and that kinda influenced my purchase and my taste in instruments. https://www.ibanezrules.com/catalogs/us/1992/exb.jpg
First electric bass I got to play regularly was a Gibson EBO that belonged to my highschool jazz band. That thing s**ked big time ... thud/mud machine all the way.
The h.s. jazz band also had an Ampeg Baby Bass which I really enjoyed playing as I had come from playing URB and the amplified Ampeg was very cool in my opinion.
First bass I owned was a black '72 Fender Jazz with a blocked and bound rosewood board. Loved that bass, and with just a few exceptions, I've remained a Fender/FSO Jazz player for 50+ years.
sorry no pics that I can find.
The h.s. jazz band also had an Ampeg Baby Bass which I really enjoyed playing as I had come from playing URB and the amplified Ampeg was very cool in my opinion.
First bass I owned was a black '72 Fender Jazz with a blocked and bound rosewood board. Loved that bass, and with just a few exceptions, I've remained a Fender/FSO Jazz player for 50+ years.
sorry no pics that I can find.
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Mansfield Tele copy....like this:
1977....I must have been 14-ish....I recall my Dad taking me to the local jewelry store---they had a limited selection of guitars/basses there. My dad had also purchased (in '61) his then brand new '59 6120 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman and 50W Danelectro Twin-12 from them (I still have them both....!!).
This Mansfield served me well standing by his side for Legion / Knights of Columbus hall gigs, and for the first rock band I was part of. I honestly can't recall how it sounded or how it played.... but it turned a short, skinny, pimply faced shy kid into a rock'n'roll god.... snort, chuckle, ha, ha....
Great thread topic!!
1977....I must have been 14-ish....I recall my Dad taking me to the local jewelry store---they had a limited selection of guitars/basses there. My dad had also purchased (in '61) his then brand new '59 6120 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman and 50W Danelectro Twin-12 from them (I still have them both....!!).
This Mansfield served me well standing by his side for Legion / Knights of Columbus hall gigs, and for the first rock band I was part of. I honestly can't recall how it sounded or how it played.... but it turned a short, skinny, pimply faced shy kid into a rock'n'roll god.... snort, chuckle, ha, ha....
Great thread topic!!
A yamaha PJ of some sort I got for $70 at a pawn shop. Fondly remember trying to learn Sade songs with that. Zero knowledge of set up, when I took it in to be restrung the tech was appalled at how high the strings were.
No idea. It was red but I think it it was burst originally. No name I can recall. Total POS. But soon I got a blonde Vantage that was really sweet.
The one on the left
an MIJ EB 3 copy, branded Granada.
Got it used when taking guitar lessons and then also took bass lessons as part of a band program.
(Never played bass in the bands though)
I was reluctant at first, but found I liked it
I still play guitar and bass--but play bass more these days than I ever did.
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an MIJ EB 3 copy, branded Granada.
Got it used when taking guitar lessons and then also took bass lessons as part of a band program.
(Never played bass in the bands though)
I was reluctant at first, but found I liked it
I still play guitar and bass--but play bass more these days than I ever did.
Invalid Link Removed
My very first bass was a sad and unmarked 'P-Bass' copy. I moved on from it rather quickly.
The 'P' copy hangs in a 'Place of Honor' in the horse barn.
The 'P' copy hangs in a 'Place of Honor' in the horse barn.
LTD -B304. Bought it because we couldn't find a bassist in the band I was in about 20 years ago. Still have it, though I hardly play it. I've kept it for nostalgia. Guess I should gift it if I find an new bassist that needs an instrument.
No picture but I bought a Japanese single pickup bass second hand with no name on it in 1967-'68 for 25 bucks from a friend which belonged to his older brother. It was probably a Teisco. I was 14 and had no job, my buddy had to chase me around all summer to collect for his brother, I still don't know if I ever paid it off. 
I kept it for 2 or 3 years and left it in California where I went to be a hippy. I bought a new sunburst Fender Precision in 1970 for 250 bucks with case, the covers, mute etc which I took off and promptly lost. The thing slid down the cellar stairs on it's back onto the concrete floor a few weeks after I bought it- long story. Will include it by popular demand.
I kept it for 2 or 3 years and left it in California where I went to be a hippy. I bought a new sunburst Fender Precision in 1970 for 250 bucks with case, the covers, mute etc which I took off and promptly lost. The thing slid down the cellar stairs on it's back onto the concrete floor a few weeks after I bought it- long story. Will include it by popular demand.
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An unknown brand hollow body with one microphonic pickup with foil on it, around 1968. It was named The Spoon. Replaced pickup with a Bill Lawrence and played in a 50s sha na na band around 75. Removed the frets in the late 70s. Left behind in an apartment when I moved. By then I had a Guild and a SD Curley and a walnut EB3 and a Matsumoko Aria Pro2.
A Hondo P-Bass copy. Maple neck, ash body and a 3-tone sunburst. Classic 70's! Still have the sales receipt.
Vantage 80s VS600B…sold it to a guitar player and bought my Jazz.
https://media.guitarcenter.com/is/image/MMGS7/000000118372433-00-720x720.jpg
https://media.guitarcenter.com/is/image/MMGS7/000000118372433-00-720x720.jpg
My first was one I rented to own. It was a Yamaha RBX765A. I actually played that for a long time.
