dtituspacbell.net Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 After reading through the massive amount of posts in this forum, I was impressed with the quality of basses that everyone owns. I, myself, have 5 Warwicks that are like children to me...but that wasn't always the case. My first bass (which I still own and will never get rid of) was a B.C. Rich NJ Series Eagle (neck-thru) and had a hi-gloss white pearl finish. After playing for several years in smokey bars, the finish is now a dull yellow (another reason not to smoke...) I am curious: What was/is your first bass and do you still have it? There will always be something special about getting to "first bass"! Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmyripphotmail.com Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 Dale, My first bass was a Cort headless 'Steinberger' copy. I've since sold it my brother for 'safekeeping' in his basement studio, and I can visit it whenever I please.. ------------------ Rob Miller Philadelphia, PA www.bklounge.net Rob Miller Philadelphia, PA www.JimmyRipp.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigLeyhFrameBand.com Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I worked in a repair shop in WPB, Fla. that specialised in basses. My first was a Jazz with a p neck shaved to a Jazz. ------------------ Thank you, Craig S. Leyh CraigLeyh@FrameBand.com Thank you, Craig S. Leyh CraigLeyh@NVSMedia.com Keep It Low! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Wise Man Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 I started on a borrowed Fender Mustang bass -- it was Competition Red, but somewhere along the line somebody must have thought the racing stripes were dorky and had painted over them. I then moved up in the world, and borrowed a nifty Vantage (1 split pick-up, medium scale, bolt-on with a fake neck-through finish). Shortly afterwards, my parents bought me a Japanese Bradley P-bass copy -- the wood and frets were good, the neck pretty solid, but the bridge was installed at a weird, string-destroying angle, and the soldering was lousy, so it shorted out after an early feedback experiment. Additionally, a bandmate decided that this new bass was too pretty for punk, and took a baseball bat to it -- only cosmetic damage ensued. I borrowed the Vantage again, which really was a good, solid instrument. The Bradley has since had the bridge moved to the proper position and the electronics re-wired, and is with my brother the tubist, who declares it to be quite a decent P-bass copy. It also looks very rock n' roll since the baseball bat operation. Thanks a bunch, Chaz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R. Posted February 16, 2001 Share Posted February 16, 2001 My first bass was a small scale no name that I bought from a friend of a cousin. It worked better than the tennis racket I was using for air guitar. I then graduated to a Peavey T-40, a solid piece of mediocrity. First amp was a Roland Spirit 30 that had a wonderful farting sound when cranked. -David R. This message has been edited by dxr@iname.com on 02-16-2001 at 05:11 PM -David R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucko Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 My first "bass" was a cheapo electric guitar (think Teisco Del Rey) detuned as far as it would go. Hey, I was just a kid. It was fun to play. My second bass was a little better. It was a hollow-body, bolt-on, 30" scale cheapie rented (and later bought) from the local music store starting in 1971. I don't remember the brand name, which is probably just as well. Man, I hated that thing during my garage band days! The hollow body would feed back like a mother, even after I stuffed the thing full of paper towels. Eventually around 1980 I destroyed it by deliberately smashing it against the floor, in the time-honored rock'n'roll tradition. It felt liberating. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Next up, I think, was a Fender Jazz with a twisted neck. I didn't have it very long before I sold it. Finally in late 1987, I got my first decent bass, a Peavey Patriot. At $200 new for a US-made instrument (case extra, of course), it was a hell of a deal! I still have it. I still love to play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 My first bass was a beautiful Juzek Plywood upright. It had nice tuners and a good ebony fingerboard. I should have kept it, but I had to sell it to buy my next upright. My first electric bass was a Kramer with an aluminum neck with wood inserts. It had two pickups, and an "ebanol" fingerboard. It sounded okay, I converted it to a fretless, but eventually sold it. My next bass was a mid 70's Jazz in that strange solid "turd" brown they used for a while. Man....I should'a kept it!........... Looking back I realize that I've sold way too many nice basses! ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilan Posted February 17, 2001 Share Posted February 17, 2001 My first bass was a Hofner 500/1 "Beatle bass". My dad bought it for me in 1975 for the equivalent of $40 or so. My dad is a wise man, but I hated the Hofner. I was a kid and I wanted a solidbody bass that looks like rock'n'roll, not like a violin. I wanted a Fender. So I sold the little Hofner to my teacher and got a Klira. It was a German instrument, the worst bass known to science. Made of solid something (not wood, I can assure you. maybe cardboard :-) and was covered in ugly torquise plastic instead of paint. I should mention here that in Hebrew, "Kli Ra" means "bad instrument", and I suspect it's no coincidence. Sold it two weeks later for half of what I had paid for it. That was my first clever move in this sad story. Eventually I bought a Fender (76 P) that I still play. I hope I never see a Klira bass again in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 18, 2001 Share Posted February 18, 2001 <> Wow, shrewd marketing strategy! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Malone Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 My first bass was a Kent. Then I bought a Fender Precision from a friend of my father. This was in the sixties. The guy I got the Precision from played acoustic bass and didn't like the electric. It was a great bass. After that I had a number of basses including a Fender Jazz, an EB3, and a few other Precisions. Just like Ed, I sold way to many good basses, usually to fund my next purchase. In 1986 I got a Kubicki ExFactor which I still own and last summer bought an Alembic Orion 6 string. So now I have just the Kubicki and the Alembic. I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude_dup3 Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 Mine was a cheapo Kingston (I believe) that had been stripped of the finish and all brand name markings that I bought for $35 or something from some kid up the street. It was all I could afford and it did the job pretty well as I recall (lots of miles and dead brain cells since 1972). Here's the only photo I have of it: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=637760&a=6989142&p=23663615 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steele Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 My first Bass was a Fender P bass copy, it was called a Sunn Mustang, and to be honest it was nasty, the action was awful, it was black and I played it for a year. Then I got a vesta which is a warwick copy. Then I graduated to Bass Collection basses which I've played ever since. And no I dont have the Sunn Mustang anymore, I only got it to learn on then I sold it to a friend, funny though I dont see the friend anymore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtian_dup1 Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 My first bass was a Lyle P-bass copy. I think I paid $30 for it back in 1982, or so. It was the heaviest bass I have EVER held (including those weird metal Kramers). It led a very interesting life... During a re-painting job (by someone I loaned it to who didn't tell me he was going to repaint it), the bass accidentally caught fire. The paint job wound up looking...well, like it caught fire! So after a particular heavy night of drinking, I covered the bass with labels from bottles of alcohol (Jack Daniels, etc), and put a clearcoat on it. It then came to the hospital with me when I had my tonsils removed (I was 15 or so by then), and had surgical tubing, gauze and other hospital paraphanelia applied to it. The best addition in the hospital was a sticker for little kids that was used to cover up stitches, etc. It said, "The OUCH is under here!", and I placed it over the hole where the pickup switches used to be located. (They didn't seem to work, so I ripped them out early on.) And no matter how hard I think about it, I cannot figure out what ever happened to that bass... My second was a 1974 Rickenbacker 4001 that I still play today, and I played on my last CD. (Which you can hear by clicking the link below!) Memories...nothing more than memories... - Christian Budapest, Hungary www.Crunchy-Frog.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkyassbasser Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 my first bass was a real treat. It was an Abel Axe. The only bass they ever made in fact. I was friends with one of their assemblers, and asked if they could make me a bass. I was given this bass as a gift. Has anyone ever seen an Abel Axe? They are guitars that have an aluminum body with cheesholes all over. Really goofy looking. Sound terrible. Don't think they are even made anymore. Soon after I graduated to a Peavy Fortress, then a Yamaha RBX 765, and then began my lust for Warwicks. (I own two. I guess everyone thinks they're no good after '92 or something, but I LOVE both of mine. Any comments Dale?) Never owned a Fender, would like to get a good Jazz though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted February 19, 2001 Share Posted February 19, 2001 my parents bought me a lyon (by washburn) P copy in 1993 for christmas. it came in a package with a peavey practice amp. i've since replaced the pickups with bartolini P replacements and bought a mexican J. i play through a carvin PB300 (1996), but i just bought a crown K2 to power my shizat. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Starr Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 Wonderful sunburst EB2-D bought new for me by my dad at Manny's for my 15th birthday in 1966. PLayed mostly through a fuzztone, in psychedelic bands innocent of melody, it acompanied me when I first left home for Puerto Rico, and tragically had the head snapped off by a cruel speed junkie at a party below ground on the Bowery. Repaired by Rick Turner in Marin County in '68, it lived again till I entrusted it to a girlfriend from Seattle for safekeeping while I went off to Maui. It was almost 30 years before I started playing again. I sure wish I still had it. Aloha, Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backonbass Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 My first bass was a Kawai, a Japanese bass that had the fattest neck in the world. I remember playing songs like 2120 S. Michigan Av. and my left hand would cramp just from the exertion required to play in the third position. Oh yeah, it also had terrible action. #2, a baby blue Kalamazoo the drummer's brother let me borrow. #3, a beautiful Jazz Bass a player let me borrow when I took his place in the band he co-founded. #3 was another beatiful '66 Jazz Bass I bought from a kid who took the money and bought a stereo receiver. I bought his black faced Bassman amp, too. I still have the '66 but the bassman was lost. #4 is a Carvin 6 string. #5 is a yamaha fretless. #6 was a recent buy, a Squier P-bass that I picked up to keep on the outer island when I travel without one of my basses. It had great tone and action and was cheap enough to purchase as a spare. And now I've got "gas" http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif to buy a F-bass. Anybody got one? I'm interested in your opinions of them. This message has been edited by Mike Smith on 04-03-2001 at 06:30 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 In 1968 I bought a Vox bass with a full-size hollow body, together with a Guild Thunderbass amp (twin 6550 tubes, twin 12" speakers). The tone was actually pretty good, but I think that was due to the amp more than the bass. The neck was so warped it didn't intonate correctly and I had to re-tune if I wanted to play mid-neck as opposed to near the nut. In 1970 I wandered into Dan Armstrong's Guitar Shop somewhere in lower Manhattan to drool on one of his new-fangled lucite-body basses, knowing they were way out of my price range but wanting to check them out, anyway. There was a just-traded almost-new '69 Precision hanging on the wall, which I bought on the spot for $150, with case. I gave the Vox away. I still have the Precision (which I have modified quite a bit) and it was my only bass up until a few months ago. This message has been edited by Ben on 04-06-2001 at 07:03 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobT Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 My first bass was an Epiphone hollowbody. Shapped like a Gibson ES-335 guitar that my dad bought me back in 1977. Flatwound strings and no 'umph', or what I thought was 'umph' at the time. My dad was a wise man. Ya' gotta remember this height of the slap and pop groove in R n' B. I guess I wouldn't have spent to much on the whim of some wet-behind-the-ears sixteen year old either. At the time I hated the thing. Now that sound seems to be in vogue. I started out using a pick along with my fingers. I couldn't wait to get a solidbody bass. I guess I WAS ahead of my time http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif then. RobT Famous Musical Quotes: "I would rather play Chiquita Banana and have my swimming pool than play Bach and starve" - Xavier Cugat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 My first bass was a Gibson EB-O, puchased new in about '66. A definate step up from the Supro guitar I had been playing. Traded the Gibson for a Fender Srat which I eventually butchered to the point of almost no trade in value. ("custom" psychedelic paint job with fox fur covering the back - I kid you not. Hey - I was 17 at the time.) Found my '68 P bass at the flea market for $85 in '73 and still have her. Just had the one bass for 27 years, till about 2 years ago when I contracted GAS - I now have 5 basses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 OK here goes: Sears hofner copy with worst neck warp on the planet. EBO copy (epiphone?), then a real EBO (worst "good" bass ever made), Peavey T-40, Fender Precision, Hondo Longhorn, Rickenbacher 4001, home made, Carvin fretless (older model), G&L 2000 (my first real lefty), and a lefty epiphone. I still play the G&L 2000, Percision, T-40, Rick, home made (has a tele bass pickup for more thud per pound), and try the fretless until the dog howls. The epiphone stays at the g****r player's house if I happen by without a bass. Hey, I just realized I could have opened my own store if I had kept them all! Now I'm gonna go look under all the beds to see if I missed one. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted April 5, 2001 Share Posted April 5, 2001 Sometimes as a mental exercise I try to remember all the basses I've had,[cue Julio and Willie!] it's getting harder due to my advancing age, my brain cells decrease and the number of basses I get increases! I've lost count, but it's somewhere around 45 total. Too many good ones under the bridge. I ran into a guy from Boston at the NAMM show who said, "hey, I still have that 75 Jazz you sold me!" I couldn't remember selling it to him. Me, sell a 75 Jazz? What the hell was I thinking? My collection tends to hover at about 9 basses at a time. While that may seem excessive, it's only because I can't rationalize owning more than that. Most of them are up on my equipment page, though I have to update it to include my new Carvin Fretless and the Stingcision. I also sent back my old Koa/Maple Carvin in exchange for an LB70P that's being built. Strangely enough, I've never had a Carvin 4 string before. www.edfriedland.com/equip.html ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricknbokker Posted April 6, 2001 Share Posted April 6, 2001 A Guild Madiera. It was real thin and light, w/2 pickups. Some guy I knew used to wire his own pickups, and put in two that were wired in stereo, but not what you'd think. the E and A strings went to one output, and the D and G strings went to another. Had it for 3 years. Than I ran it through a stereo delay pedal once. And only once. I had been eating a lot of acid at the time, and the thing scared the hell out of me. I sold it the next day to someone I didn't like too much. Got $125 for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted April 7, 2001 Share Posted April 7, 2001 Well, here's a brand new first bass memory I'll post on behalf of my daughter Aimee. I just bought her a Squier Bronco bass today! She's been playing trumpet pretty seriously for 2 years and is quite good for her age (12) and the time she's been playing, but last week she said she wanted to play bass for fun. Naturally, I was thrilled, I had suggested bass in the past, but she wasn't into it. But when she changed her mind, I jumped on it. I was going to lend her one of mine but 34" scale is still too big, so I found a new Bronco (30") for cheap and she's happy with it. It's just like the old Musicmaster bass with a maple fingerboard. So, I'm taking a different approach with her than I do my students, show her some licks, keep it light. She's a hard worker when motivated, but now she's entered my "turf" so it's a little trickier. Trumpet was easy for her to get into because I don't know how to play it! It's an interesting dynamic, anyone else out there teach their kids how to play? Well, I told her no pressure, but she's subbing for me next week, so learn those first 5 notes on the E and A strings quick! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backonbass Posted April 7, 2001 Share Posted April 7, 2001 Hi Ed - Yeah, my 10 year old son wants to learn how to play bass now, too. After teaching my son simple fun licks and seeing his determination and his difficulty with my Jazz Bass scale, I called Bass Northwest for info on a short scale bass. They recommended the Dano Long Horn. I searched Musician's Friend and saw the Bronco and thought that might work as well. How does your daughter like the fret spacing? Are you going to keep the stock pick ups? This may be the answer I've been looking for, thanks. BTW - yeah, I know the feeling you stated about having offspring interested in bass! It's exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 Mike, Well the Longhorn is a good sounding bass, I actually had one but sold it because short scale just ain't for me. My kid did pick it up once and the size was right, but she didn't dig the design. Let's face it, the Dano is an aquired taste (like so many of the finer things in life!) and it just didn't look cool to her. The Bronco is more normal looking, and I think it sounds great. The stock pickup is fine for now, when she starts doing gigs [next week http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif] I might put a better one in. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Bolton Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 My first bass was a Japanese GHI brand, circa 1966... I've never seen another one! Finished in a nice crimson burst with a cool pickguard, chrome bridge cover, 30" scale and a nice thin neck plus a reasonable pickup, much better than the Ibanez baseball bat neck basses with 1/2" action of that period. I learned a lot about bass playing with that bass! Check it out..... http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1485440&a=11322079&p=46164596 Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 My son already played bassoon when he wanted to learn bass. I showed him a few simple licks for one informal "lesson", showed him where some of the notes were for a second, showed him some patterns for a third. Then he got into the jazz band in high school and took it from there himself. Since he could already read bass clef for bassoon, he taught himself to read bass pretty quick. After 30 years of playing by ear, I am now slowly learning to read, and he has given me a couple lessons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted April 9, 2001 Share Posted April 9, 2001 i bought my fiance a squier affinity P-bass for christmas this year and have given her a few lessons. she's still in college, so is very busy, and it's hard for her to find time to practice. her biggest fear in getting a bass was not whether she wanted to play, but that she was worried i would be too impatient with her and expect her to practice more. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif it took me a year and half to get into a garage band in high school before i started taking bass seriously! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman1ovation.net Posted April 23, 2001 Share Posted April 23, 2001 My first bass was a Micro-Frets. I don't know the model name. They came in the early 70s and I think they were gone by the mid 70s. Nevertheless, they were actually pretty nice guitars and basses, albeit a little odd. Back when Johnny Cash had his network TV show, his band all played Micro-Frets. The reason I got it, though, was that my friend (later to be bro-in-law) just happened upon their factory when joy riding his Austin-Healey in the hills of either Maryland or Virginia (I don't remember), and he saw a second with a messed up (crinkly skinned) finish he thought I'd want. He came back and told me, and we went right back and I got it. I still have it. It has a really wonderful fretboard, but I'm not so keen on the pickups. I sometimes think about having it re-done with new finish, good electronics, etc. It has a carved out hollowed body, but no sound holes. Before that, I was doing the tune-the-guitar-down bit, boosting bass, killing treble, and living in denial!! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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