OT - starter basses

[oddjob]

Kind of spinning off another thread, I was curious with what you guys and gals started with. I trust most of you entered with either used gear or entry level basses. I realize that it is not EBMM related but am just curious (mods feel free to pull the plug on this if you need to) BP, I would love to hear about your 1st personal bass.

I started with a Phantom p-bass. Zebra striped and actually not bad tonaly. About a year in I started modding it. Dropped Duncans in and a Khaler on it (finally it got strap locks and a Hipshot). Played it solidly for 5 years (and was a backup ever since).

From this bass (which actually is quite killer) I bounced into the mid range basses for about 5 more years until I went boutique... then the "Kermit incident" happened and I have been EBMM ever since.

Here it is in '88 in the studio (that is a Playboy cut out that was actually taped onto the bass - I needed a clear pg even back then )

 

[shamus63]

Started out in '79 with a Memphis P-Bass copy.

 

[Old_Guy]

35 years ago? A Hoffner. They don't even make the model like this anymore, but it looked like a 2-H P bass. Sort of. Had frets like railroad ties and used these bizarre "tapered" strings - as it had tuning pegs with small holes (rather looked like guitar tuners to me). Action was so high ... you could slide your whole wallet between the fretboard and the strings, not just a credit card. I got along with it because I'd started out (and concurrently played) a bass violin. Tone wasn't bad at all, really. Ran it through an Ampeg B-15.

 

[RitchieDarling]

Mine was a Hofner copy.....

Not a very good one....

My dad got it for $35 in a pawn shop in 1967.....

The name on the head was "Telstar"...... Or "Telestar"......

R

 

[cky4ever]

I borrowed a gsr 200 and played it a week. Sounded terrible. Fast neck though. terrible fret buzz. So i was going to buy a squire. but a friend said it was fenders equivalent of the gsrs 200. So i sold all i could find... bought a mim pbass. Upgraded in a year to badass 2 bridge and bartolinis classic series pups. Quite killer. Stood to any MIA fender. then sold it and made the headdive to mms.

 

[RobertB]

Mine was an 80's (87, I think) Robin Freedom Bass. I'm sure 1 or 2 ppl here have heard of Robin basses and/or guitars. I remember seeing Tommy Shannon with one at some point & SRV had a double neck Robin guitar. His brother Jimmy also played a Robin guitar & supposedly guys as diverse as Billy Gibbons, George Clinton, Dweezil Zappa, JJ Cale & Dave Grohl, have been known to play 'em too (according to their site). "Hand made" in Houston. I think they're still makin' guitars, but the Freedom bass died out long ago. It was sort of a J/SR hybrid copy.

I still have that Freedom Bass. It's a passive bass with dual "Rio Grande" humbuckers. Very fat lows with crisp/clear mids. It caught my attention the day I walked in that particular guitar shop, being the most hideous bass I'd ever seen, but in kind of a cool way - seafoam green/maple with a really wierd pickguard design (white). So I grabbed it & was pleasantly surprised to find it played & sounded pretty darn good. I think I paid $500.00 for it. I never play it anymore, it's more of a "project bass" for future experimentation. I may put either a Stratus graphite or Warmoth neck on it at some point, for fun ... keep it around for my son to bang on.

 

[Micolao]

it was a Venson PJ
the body shape was nice...it's all I remember about it

 

[jaylegroove]

I started in 1976 with a cheap-cheap kinda Jazz Bass copy. It was awful, had tons of buzz for days, but hey. The year after, I got a summer job, so I could switch to something really good. Gave this first bass later to a young guy who wanted to learn bass but had no money to get one.

Sorry, no pics, lost all my early photos in a fire in 1994.

 

[73jbass]

I started in 1981 with a 73 Jazz bass that I still own. That one is going to the grave with me.

 

[strummer]

Short-scale Fend*r, and some Steinb*rg knock off...

1990...

 

[p5string]

My first guitar was a "Jefferson" 6 stinger that my Mom got at western Auto of all places. It had nylon strings and a black painted cardboard fretboard! My first bass was a Harmony H-22 that I bought with paper route and gift money that I had saved. Cost me $109.00 with a case and tax. That was about 47 years ago. Wish I still had it.

 

[Rano Bass]

A no name fender P copy but with a soapbar shaped pickup instead of a regular P pup.

 

[timmy5strings]

Mine was a UNivox, it looked like an upside down Strat. It had rusted screws on the pickups and if you pushed on the neck too hard it would change pitch It was given to me because I sucked on the guitar and we needed a bassplayer, thats where it all began

 

[carpedebass]

Steinberger headless. It was given to me. I learned how to play by playing along with the Dire Straits "Love Over Gold" record. I already knew how to read music, and played every brass instrument with valves. I ended up trading that bass in for a Kramer Focus with a tremolo. Wish I had both of those basses back, now...even as terrifically corny as they were.

 

[Kristopher]

The first one I played was a no-name borrowed P-bass copy. Super neck dive, big neck pocket (you could yank the neck and it would move side to side). First one I owned was an early Musician's Friend house brand 5-string ("Rogue").

 

[silverburst]

Mine was an Aria Pro P-bass copy. Not bad for the money, really.

 

[AnthonyD]

Royce - SG copy...


I wish I still had it as a reference for how far these "beginner" instruments have come. I have an eBay alert search going two years now - nothing!

 

[MingusBASS]

HeadlessWashburn Bantam Steinberger Spirit Copy! When I was 9 I chose it over a normal looking Fender. It was horrible and looked like a gun.

 

[Kirby]

Back in 1985 a Peavey T-40 that was ungodly heavy and had a badly twisted neck. It was the high school's bass that they let me use so I could not complain too much, besides I did not know any better. I saved for 8 months doing all kinds of odd jobs for people to buy my first real bass a custom painted BC Rich. Still have that one today, have not played it in years though, just sentimental I guess.

 

[Baird]

Used Ibanez Roadstar II P copy.

Great bass and I think it was $200 in 1985.