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Your first bass vs. what you play now

#561
I probably answered this thread already a long time ago but since it came back around again... :) I started off in 1981 with a Lark P-bass copy and stuck with it for 4-5 years. It came with flats which I didn't like at the time...I probably went to GHS Pressurewounds and didn't look back. Thing was hard to play, but then again I didn't know a thing about properly setting up a bass. I play a Fender P and J now, both properly set up, but it wasn't until I really got into playing the P with nylon tapewounds last year, and listening to some old recordings that I made back in the early 80s with a songwriter friend, that I realized that cheap old bass got me just as good a tone as the newer P if not better. Lesson learned not to overthink the tone issue.
 
#563
My first bass was a Rogue. Late 80's or early 90's I don't really remember. It was a piece of crap bass to bang around on. As I got older I became more aware of what I liked and didn't like, tried about 6-8 different basses in my 15 years of playing. Settled on Ibanez about 2 or 3 years ago, and went from the newer active to a classic late 80's passive Ibanez.

I guess what I liked about the Rogue was that it had been passive, fairly light (compared to a Fender P or Yamaha) and otherwise I really had no idea what I was doing then, and now I have a better grasp of what I want my bass to feel and sound like.
 
#564
My first bass was a Yamaha BB300. I still have and regularly play it. Can't say it really influenced my other choices in buying other basses. I bought other basses to suit other interests (ie: fretless, 5 string, acoustic (aeb)...).

The only commonality between them is they've all had rosewood fretboards.
 
#566
I started out as a guitar player and when I wanted to switch my first bass was a Gibson ripper. Now play avri 62 jazz
The ripper I think was a 73 or 74
My son still has his ripper a cherry sunburst. That ripper is a beast on the shoulder!!
 
#567
spade2you said:
A...how if any did your first bass influence your later basses?
Click to expand...

My first bass was a VERY poor quality violin bass. I bought it in 1977 at a pawn shop and it was probably 10 years old at the time.

The way it influenced later basses is that it was so impossible to play, and sounded so bad, that I stopped playing bass after a few months and didnt return for 30 years.
 
#568
First bass was an "Old Kraftsman" in 1964 made by Kay - purchased out of the Speigel catalog. It was packaged with a dual channel amp for a cool $179

BM2583.jpg


BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#569
My first bass was a Hohner tele bass, moved on to a 1978 Peavey T40 which I sadly destroyed by going Van Halen on it. Then I got my 1986 Charvel 2B. Have done tons of paint jobs on her. Still have her to this day. Had a Traben, was terrible, sold it quick. Had an Epiphone Korina flying v bass which was stolen. Then in 2008, I got my Fender American Standard P bass. Love it so much. Still looking for someone to help me get my Charvel up and running again...someday.
 
#571
My first bass was a MIM Precision. Several years, a music degree, and lots of gigs later, I'm still using it on recording sessions and gigs. I have had a revolving door of five stringers, but this remains my four string workhorse.
 
#572
I started out on a Squier Jazz when I was 14. The neck was out to lunch so I worked a summer, sold the Squier and bought an Epiphone EB3. Several years later my tone tastes changed, so I bought an EBMM SUB 4. Fast-Forward 6 years and I saw a Squier Matt Freeman sig in Guitar Works and snapped it up. Got a hankerin for a jazz, so last month I bought a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz..

The only one I got rid of was the Squier Jazz. I guess after 13 years I decided that I best go back to my jazz bass roots.

TLDR look at bolded words for the brief version
 
#576
First bass was Aria ProII "Thor Sound". Was a decent bass for $200 when I got it, and I gigged it for a few years.

But it was not a great instrument.

Now I have basses like a Conklin GT7 and a Warwick fretless Corvette Standard. Far superior. Even the recently acquired Peavey Grind is a huge step up.
 
#577
First bass was a loaner from my Jr High Chorus teacher. It was an early 70's Fender (can't remember if it was a P or a J) in Lake Placid Blue.

I can't remember exactly which bass was the first I purchased myself. Probably my Peavey USA Custom Shop Cirrus.

Now, I generally play 3 different basses regularly, an Alembic Series II, Status Mark King 5, and a Presige Wylde Bass in passive mode
 
#578
The first bass I played was an early 70's P-Bass that belonged to the bassist in the band that I was the sound guy/roadie/substitute bassist for, when I was stationed in Pamama. Learned a couple of songs by rote, and played them right-handed (I'm a lefty) when someone needed to take a break. My first bass was a '78 P-Bass that I still have, and still play a fair bit. It's been put back to the original P-Bass set-up, with the covers and mute, so it's not very versatile, but sounds right for early Rock and Mo-town. I'm fortunate to be able to have pretty much any bass I want (and as many), so the P can be a 1-trick pony. I try to play all of mine regularly, but probably play the Rick 4001 and a Dano DC 59 Pro the most. Have a Rogue VB-100 that gets played a lot, too.:D
 
#580
spade2you said:
After seeing countless threads of my first bass was a Fender and I've been playing 'em for 30 years, how if any did your first bass influence your later basses?

My first bass was a Peavey Cirrus and it set the bar really high in a few areas, the big one was ultra low action. I had no idea the Cirrus was special, just that the action was really low. The only downside was that I struggled to find stuff that was capable of playing like a Cirrus without breaking the bank. I also developed a taste for ramps or radiused pickups. The balance and comfort was also very nice.

To this day, whenever I order a bass, I try to get it to feel like a Cirrus.


Now your turn!
Click to expand...

My experience is exactly the opposite.

My first was an EB0 copy with mile high action and high tension flatwounds which were old enough to be falling apart. I had no idea about setups and just learned on that. I haven't been able to look at a Gibson since.
 

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