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Your first bass vs. what you play now

#42
My first bass was a 70's Fender Musicmaster (short scale). I later hacked it up with a DiMarzio pickup and bridge before selling it to get better stuff. My first amp was a 15W "Regal" bass amp. Something akin to the First Act stuff you get at Wal-mart these days.

Now, I play MTD, Skjold, Sadowsky, Zon, Warrior, and Fender, through Epifani, Markbass, Eden, and Bergantino stuff. I still suck as bass player, but at least my gear has gotten a LOT better. :D
 
#43
I first had an Antares Black Bass. It sort of looked like a Gibson Explorer but with a piece cut out on the side. I think Dean makes a similiar shape. The neck was like a Fender P-bass.
My next bass, my Silver Ric 4003. I wanted a Ric from day one so the Antares was just a learning bass.

Steve
 
#44
Ah, the long-lost memories! My first bass was a Carvin short-scale bass I ordered in 1978. I have no recollection whatever happened to it - things became very confused there for a while, and I've worked hard to forget that part of my life.

Today my primary basses are 6-strings, a Tobias fretted bass and a Modulus fretless. I can't foresee ever changing out either one.

I still suck as bass player, but at least my gear has gotten a LOT better.
Click to expand...
Chuckle. Yep, I can relate to this. A lot.
 
#45
Absolute first bass was a Washburn, don't even know the model. Problem was, it was right-handed. Almost turned me off playing.

I went back and bought a lefty Peavey Milestone III a few years later (Jazz-style lower end Peavey). Had a very high action, but nice sound. It did teach me that I really like the sound of a Jazz.

I traded it awhile back, and really wish I hadn't. :crying: Would have made a great alternate tuning bass / backup bass beyond the Jazz and Schecter I have now.

-Mark
 
#46
I had a pretty strange progression, in that my basses got better, then went down in price.

The progression went Squier P >Aria Pro II P/J >Stingray 5 >Elrick Evolution Hybrid >MTD Z > Fender Geddy Lee Jazz > and now a Lakland 55-01. Although the 55-01 is about a fourth as much as my my most expensive bass(Elrick), I still love it and am quite happy.
 
#47
In my case there is a vast difference between my "very first bass" and what I play now. That first one was a '60 Danelectro double cutaway and the one(s) I play now which are Custom chambered Wilkins P/J's, their tone and playability are far better and worlds apart. Of course my second bass was a '62 Jazz and that was way better than my first.

George
 
#49
My first bass was a cheap Japanese white w/Rosewood FB copy of a Jazz Bass, it actually sounded good. Thirty-four years later I'm mainly playing my '08' MIA Fender Jazz V American Standard in Oly white w/Rosewood FB. In between all that time I played only Fender for a couple of years and it was a Fender JP-90, back in the early 90's.
 
#51
My first electric bass was a '63 Fender Precision that my Dad bought me when I was 12 years old. It was the cheapest EB in the store (and they only had Fenders) because it was a floor model with a small ding on the headstock. Bought it with a Sano accordian amp for somewhere around $300-$325 for the package including case, strap and cables.

Now, my main axe is a custom single cut 7 string .... I haven't played a 4 string as a primary bass in almost 8 years. But the Fender P neck made its impact on me, every bass I've loved over these many years has that chunky feel to the neck .... :cool:
 
#52
Mine was a plywood P-bass copy with no identifying marks on it, which someone gave to me. I didn't play it much because I was more into guitar. Later, when I wanted to pursue bass playing, I couldn't stand the thing so I bought an SX SJB. I like the Jazz bass better than the P. I also got a Jay Turser "Beatle" violin bass for a different sound and feel.
 
#53
My first bass was a MIJ '62 Pbass that I got pretty cheap because the shop said that it had been collecting dust for a while... plus it wasn't that much more expensive than the other budget basses there (the Pbass was about £250 and the other ones, such as the Squires were like £150-200). I didn't realise what a good deal I had back then. That bass had insanely high action and I didn't know a thing about setups so I got used to it. The next bass I bought was an American Fender Precision Deluxe P. After that, my first P got little play time, so I had a local luthier defret it, put some TI flats on it and give it some simple mods (new pup... BA2). That bass is one hell of a player now and there's definately some undefinable magic about it. Everytime I think about it, I often hanker for another one just from the nostalgia.
 
#54
My first bass was a Peavey T-40, 4-string, natural ash, maple neck with frets pressed right in the top. Passive humbuckers with tone controls that did little besides roll off the treble.

My main axe today is a Modulus Quantum 5, graphite composite neck, Bartolini soapbars with Bart NTMB 3-band 18V pre-amp, modded by Mike Lull with better matched value vol and blend pots, active/passive switching, 3-way mid frequency selector.

There is a huge world of difference between them. The Modulus is Hi-Fi, massively deep and powerful, crisp and defined on top, with an immensely flexible pallete of midrange voices.
I love progress.
 
#57
LP75 said:
My first bass was a Peavey T-40, 4-string, natural ash, maple neck with frets pressed right in the top. Passive humbuckers with tone controls that did little besides roll off the treble. ...
Click to expand...

Um... to be accurate, the tone controls on the T-40 also dial in the single coil/humbucker modes of the pickups. It's perhaps the most versatile system ever devised for a passive bass.
 

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