I think my first bass amp was some awful 10 watt crate or something similar. I honestly can't remember. I know for sure my first amp to play with a drummer was a fender rumble 100 v1 with a single 15.
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What was your first ever bass amp?
- Thread starter bassistheplaceofcourse
- Start date
I bought my first bass amp at the end of the summer of 1971. I spent the summer painting a two story house for $50, and various other odd jobs; eventually getting to $175, which I spent for a used Fender Bassman. Young and dumb (now, I’m old and dumb), I thought the cab was a 215; but, found out it was a 212 after I got it home.
Yay, coil cords.
Yay, coil cords.
I started playing bass in 1965, but it wasn't mine, nor was the amp. I was the guitar player in a band we had when in high school (1964-68), but we swapped instruments on some tunes. After high school I went to college studying classical upright bass. Played guitar professionally for awhile. It wasn't until 1988 that I bought my own first electric bass guitar and bass rig and began being just the bass player in bands:
'87 Fender Jazz Bass Special
Peavey Mark IV bass head
Peavey 115 cab (two) with plain old Scorpion speakers
That set-up sounded great. I still have the bass and have played it regularly ever since.
'87 Fender Jazz Bass Special
Peavey Mark IV bass head
Peavey 115 cab (two) with plain old Scorpion speakers
That set-up sounded great. I still have the bass and have played it regularly ever since.
I bought a Kay 1x15" 100 watter with a brown grill and brown and white trim in '67 with my paper-route money ($45)--ugly as hell, and terribly heavy. PLayed a two-yar old Hagstrom through it and I've never has (to my ears) a better sound. Upgraded to an Acoustic combo in 69 and it just wasn't the same.
I had to dig around and do a bit of research, since my memory from 1974 is a bit sketchy. 
My first real amp was an Ampeg BT-25, one of their solid state rigs. It had all the oomph one could want and sounded great, The cab was loaded with 2-15" CTS speakers. I blew one of the speakers, didn't have the funds to replace it, and played with one speaker for a year or so. When I finally could afford the replacement, I was sliding it ever-so-carefully onto the mounting screws (or so I thought) and promptly ran the cone right through one of the screws, ruining it. 
Eventually I did get it all back together. 
It ceased to produce sound at some point, and when the local repair shop - Difiore's Music in Cleveland - couldn't get parts for it in a reasonable time frame, I traded it in for an Acoustic combo. But that's another story. 
This is not the actual rig, but it looked exactly like this one - of course, I wish I still had it!
My first real amp was an Ampeg BT-25, one of their solid state rigs. It had all the oomph one could want and sounded great, The cab was loaded with 2-15" CTS speakers. I blew one of the speakers, didn't have the funds to replace it, and played with one speaker for a year or so. When I finally could afford the replacement, I was sliding it ever-so-carefully onto the mounting screws (or so I thought) and promptly ran the cone right through one of the screws, ruining it. Eventually I did get it all back together. It ceased to produce sound at some point, and when the local repair shop - Difiore's Music in Cleveland - couldn't get parts for it in a reasonable time frame, I traded it in for an Acoustic combo. But that's another story. This is not the actual rig, but it looked exactly like this one - of course, I wish I still had it!
My first amp was a Peavey TKO 115, purchased used a while after starting the year at Trøndertun. Realized I needed one because I was in far greater demand as a bass player than as a guitar player. (Guitar was my main instrument back then)
I later sold it to my brother, who gigged with it a lot for many years until it finally gave up the ghost.
I later sold it to my brother, who gigged with it a lot for many years until it finally gave up the ghost.
My very first amp was a Peavey TNT 130 just like the one below. I got it new in 1982 at age 14 with some money gifted to me by my Grandmother along with a shiny new Black & Maple Peavey T-40. Quite a step up from my previous setup of a very crappy, defretted Hofner Beatle bass copy with no amp at all.
I don't really remember what happened to the amp but I traded that bass for a 197x Fender precision. The Fender was then moved along in favor of an Ibanez 850! Not all of my gear moves have been smart.
I did make alot of music with that Ibby so the regrets really don't run too deep. I miss that T-40 the most though.
I don't really remember what happened to the amp but I traded that bass for a 197x Fender precision. The Fender was then moved along in favor of an Ibanez 850! Not all of my gear moves have been smart.
I did make alot of music with that Ibby so the regrets really don't run too deep. I miss that T-40 the most though.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
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- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
Ok, I've got you all beat for weirdness. I posted this before on a similar thread or two but here it is again for laughs. It is an Airline tube radio, from 1952 or so. I think I might have identified it as a Phillips in a previous thread, which might have been the actual manufacturer.
There was a mono RCA input on the back of ours, and my father built me a cable to connect my bass to the radio. Once set on phono, it worked as a practice amp. I sat in my mother's kitchen on an old-fashioned metal "step stool" and played. However, when I wanted to play along with the radio, I had to disconnect.
Starting in 1963, I used to play along with everything that was music on that radio, jingles, swing Jazz, early '50s pop, and the nascent rock and roll. That got me started playing with a pick, which was louder played unamplified than my thumb. A short while later, I switched to finger-style and played through a borrowed an open back Airline 115 guitar amp from a band mate, but still remember that radio.
My first real amp was a new 1965 Vox Essex 212, a somewhat unreliable solid state 212, but better than a 212 Bassman for clean volume, even though out was only 35 watts RMS.
There was a mono RCA input on the back of ours, and my father built me a cable to connect my bass to the radio. Once set on phono, it worked as a practice amp. I sat in my mother's kitchen on an old-fashioned metal "step stool" and played. However, when I wanted to play along with the radio, I had to disconnect.
Starting in 1963, I used to play along with everything that was music on that radio, jingles, swing Jazz, early '50s pop, and the nascent rock and roll. That got me started playing with a pick, which was louder played unamplified than my thumb. A short while later, I switched to finger-style and played through a borrowed an open back Airline 115 guitar amp from a band mate, but still remember that radio.
My first real amp was a new 1965 Vox Essex 212, a somewhat unreliable solid state 212, but better than a 212 Bassman for clean volume, even though out was only 35 watts RMS.
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Aside from a borrowed vintage Ampeg Portaflex B-15, the first bass amp I actually owned was a Trace Elliot Series 6 AH200 head and Pearce Electronic 1x15 cab. I sold the head, still have the cab, because no one ever wanted to buy it for a realistic price. The Eden-made OEM driver needs reconing, now.
Just got it working today. Peavey Mark III 400bh, 1967 Kustom 212 cab loaded with Pyle drivers. I am in love.
