Most unusual 'First New Bass' story? Here's mine...what's yours?

[Mick The Hat]

The very first brand new bass I ever bought was a sunburst shortscale 'Top Twenty' from Woolworths for £27.00! The single pup was (unsurprisingly) so rubbish that I ripped it out and replaced it with a cheap six-string guitar pup I had lying around. Believe it or not, I actually gigged with this bass for over a year with no adverse comment!

My actual first bass was custom-built (by me) Brian May-style from a rectangular lump of old mahogany fire surround, to which I attached the neck purloined from a neighbour's Spanish guitar. The m/heads were 4 substantial nails, to which I attached my own branded hybrid flatwound/roundwound strings - i.e 4 lengths of bright green heavy gauge wool nicked from Mum's knitting basket! Needless to say, the action was a bit high and flabby, and the overall sound was not as similar to a Ricky as I would have hoped. But it was a start!

[lojo]

My first bass was built and discarded to me by a friends older brother, it was a hammerite painted piece of ply with screws for pick ups, a piece of planned timber for a fretless neck, amazing it player Iron Butterfly and Hendrix lines quite well, and got nicknamed the fuzzy bass.

My first real bass was a cheap "rockson" brand, I thought it was better than the hand built but it wasnt


I cant remember what happened to it , and I so wish I could see it again.

Edited November 26, 2014 by lojo

[Chiliwailer]

Not really unusual but... 14 years old and I got a Rockwood by Hohner LX100B, I couldn't stand Precisons back then, as most beginners bass were P Basses, and wanted a bass that looked good for metal, that one fitted the bill. Thing is, the action was super high, little did I know that's why I was having a hard time playing it. 5 months later and I had a Saturday job in Andys in Denmark Street, they quickly trained me how to set up guitars and then I realised the Rockwood could be sorted so I set up, much better. I sold it a while later for an Aria Integra, and then a year later it came back into Andys for sale. Was I sentimental enough to buy it back? Hell no, that bass was better off left behind.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Chiliwailer

[stingrayPete1977]

My first bass was funded by selling my Ibanez Ex 160 guitar (failed guitarist you see) so it was actually a good one really, a new 1993 Peavey Foundation, sold it a few years ago as I stopped using it when I bought a Bass Collection SB320 in 1997

[Drax]

Paper round wages bought my first new bass, a white Washburn. Bored of the colour one day I 'borrowed' my dad's electric sander and stripped all the paint off, in the lounge.. Filled the entire house with toxic white paint dust we were still finding years later.

[KingBollock]

The only thing unusual about mine was that it didn't look anything like I wanted it to. I desperately wanted it to look like this:



But my Dad decided he wanted to manage a band, so it ended up looking like this:


Not my actual bass.

It came from a shop, but I ended up getting some lessons from its original owner who gave me an LP that he had used it on (Dickens - Standing Out (with the worst album art I have ever seen)) on which it also got a mention on the back of. Which was nice. I loved that bass and it broke my heart to have to sell it.

Edited November 27, 2014 by KingBollock

[streather]

Mine's quite boring in comparison.


My mate was looking to get rid of his peavey milestone 3 bass.


I was looking for a bass because I'd agreed to be bassist for a band at college.

Arranged to swap a fender squier strat that had about a billion stickers on it for the bass.

[dazza14]

Oh man, I remember my first bass, it was an Encore E83 P style bass finished in sparkly white with a three-ply w/b/w scratchplate, white pickup covers and was a hell of a lump! I bloody loved it! Bought it from Modern Music in Abingdon for £130 (my dad 'knocked' down the salesman from the original £139 price AND got them to throw in a 'how to' book, a bag and a cable). I sold it about a year later but it had a Batman sticker under the strings on the body and a Sylvester transfer on the top horn.... yes, that's right, I was cool........ kinda.

[Si600]

I made mine over many lunchtimes at school after a school mate found Mervyn Hiscock's book in the school library. He made a sort of Telecaster shape and bought the neck. I made a sort of J shaped thing, but with quite pointy body horns, not intentional!

It was actually reasonably well spec'd hardware wise, Schaller pre-unification M4 tuners and 3D4 bridge, Kent Armstrong jazz pickups and a strat style jack socket. All the controls were in the top horn, V V T T with a Gibson style blade switch for the pickup selection. No resistors so the tone didn't work anyway, It was going to be rear routed or rather, forstner bitted, but the piece of plastic I found for a scratchplate, (don't ask why I wanted a scratchplate with a rear control cavity), was about 5mm thick so I carved (forstner again!) it into the body and ended up with the control cavity going all the way through with a clear plastic cover on the back.

The neck... Well, suffice to say that I made it myself, from scratch and fretted it with a tenon saw and a hammer. It didn't have an adjustable truss rod, just a square section steel bar under the fingerboard, which was in two parts IIRC as the blank was for a guitar. The fret ends were filed of with a huge file and left V marks on the fingerboard at the end of each fret. It was only in tune with open strings and itself.

It was badly painted gloss black all over, including the neck. I've no idea what wood was used for it, but it was bloody heavy and quite frankly looked horrible when it was finished. But it was mine and I made it. Eventually the string tension pulled the neck off, there was a gap you could get a biro in at the end.

My amp was an old radio amp my dad acquired from somewhere, two oval speakers and we built a varnished plywood box for it that was also very heavy.

Beyond all expectation the whole ensemble actually worked even if it did look like something the dog had dragged in, half eaten and then sicked up. I found the remains in my parents loft and cannibalised the parts to refresh my Arai Pro 2 (See build diary thread).

Then I got a £120 P-Bass copy from Chapppells in MK. That probably counts as the first "real" bass and was a dream to play comparatively. Then I broke it for parts intending to make a Saints tribute bass, and then sold it as I now only play 5s. The body and neck were sold on here not so long ago as was the bridge.

[Bassman Steve]

My first new bass was a Fender Precision in 1977. I had a Columbus Jazz to learn on.

I was just out of college and working for Lloyd's Bank and taking home about £112 a month. At the time, Andertons were selling Precisions for £209. Then, one month, I got a tax rebate and my take home for the month was £210. A friend gave me a lift to Guildford and we returned with my first new Fender - serial number was S749320.

Because I'd spent all my money I had to walk the 12 miles to work and back for the month and try and convince my folks I was on a health kick (the bass was hidden at the back of my wardrobe!!). Needless to say, I failed and it was soon discovered.

[Hobbayne]

A Satellite. The shortscale bass version of this:
It was terrible. I stuck sticky labels on the frets with the notes on.
I bought it from a second hand shop in 1982 and sold it back to them when I was skint.
My second bass was a Westone Thunder 1 from my mates mums Littlewoods catalogue.

Edited November 27, 2014 by Hobbayne

[bertbass]

I started on one of these, [url="http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/vox/bass/Clubman.php."]http://www.vintagegu...ss/Clubman.php.[/url] It cost me £5 in 1965.

Then I had an Egmond B2 shown here. [url="http://www.egmond.se/egmond_se_History.html."]http://www.egmond.se...e_History.html.[/url] Also cost £5.

Then progressed to one of these, [url="http://www.tuneyoursound.com/collection/burns-artist-bass-1960."]http://www.tuneyours...tist-bass-1960.[/url] Yet again £5, wish I still had it now.

Got one of these next, brand new from Bells Catalogue. [url="http://www.allguitars.com/Guitar/Electric/slides/Wilson%20Sapphire%20Bass.html."]http://www.allguitar...re%20Bass.html.[/url] Left handed of course. All the others had been turned upside down. Surprisingly good bass at the time.

Then in 1972 got my first, and last, Fender P, just like this one, [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/251697484583?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&chn=ps&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108&ff19=0."]http://www.ebay.co.u...f14=108&ff19=0.[/url] Mine only cost £220 though.

Edited November 27, 2014 by bertbass

[Twincam]

First new bass was a yamaha rbx was well built but rather weak sounding i thought.

But my first bass Laura, was a pre wilkinson vintage active plywood thing. That had been owned by 5 of my friends before hand. Bought it for 15 quid as i remember.

I named it Laura after the lass i was seeing at the time, as it was Cheap, Filthy and had did the rounds with the lads. So they had lots in common.

Laura the actually lass thought it was sweet i named the bass after her, until i told her the exact reason why. Good thing she had a sense of humour. I still think of them both on occasion.

[CamdenRob]

My first bought new bass was a small bodied Westfield thing in a redburst colour... I was 13 and playing in black metal bands at the time and felt so embarrased playing the desperatly uncool squire P bass I had I couldn't wait to get something more modern looking.

Traded the P in against it and later saw the P sell in the same shop for twice what I paid for the Westfield...

[BigRedX]

When I first started playing bass I didn't actually own one. The band I was in (with 3 other school friends) was a recording band only, so I would work out the bass parts on the guitar and then use a borrowed bass when we came to record the songs. There were two people in my year at school who had basses I could use - one was a Woolies special that was vaguely Moserite shaped, and the other was a home-made contraption created by someone who had once seen a photograph of a P-bass. Both were horrible to play and sounded completely dead.

I bought my first bass - a Burns Sonic - while I was at University in 1981. It cost £60 including the original hard case and the shop threw in a Fender strap. What I really wanted was an Ibanez or an Aria Pro II, but both were way over my budget. The affordable alternatives were Grant or Columbus copies of P or J Basses, however the Burns looked so much more interesting looking, and actually played and sounded far better. The bass had been heavily modified by the previous owner(s) and I had to buy new machine heads, a bridge and replace all the electrics apart from the pickups to get it into a proper useable condition. It was my main bass all through the 80s until I bought my first 5-string in 1989. I still own it and it gets the occasional use in the studio when I need that particular sound. In many ways through it's strengths and weaknesses it shaped both my playing and my tastes in instruments - I can't imagine being the same bassist if I'd decided to get one of those Columbus or Grant copies instead.

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/DSC01541-2.jpg[/IMG]

[bartelby]

First bass was for my 16th birthday. A used black Aria Pro II cardinal series CSB Deluxe and a 30w Laney Linebacker to go with it.

I part-ex'd the bass for, what is technically , a new bass.

A pearl white Aria Pro II SB Elite. It was a few years old when I got it but it still had plastic over the pickup and control cover plate.
The guy in the shop said it had been a demo model. I kept it in mint condition for a year or so, until one day I decided to install a Dimarzio Model One as a neck pickup.

I still have the bass and use it quite regularly.

[uk_lefty]

Not so unusual... I had two friends who played guitar ok at school, and another who was a good musician but didn't own a guitar. They needed a bassist, singer and someone to write songs. I started off writing some ok songs but after watching the Doors movie decided it would be better to write random nonsense and pretend it was poetic. I even tried to talk the lyrics out and tried to sound like Jim Morrison which was just plain wrong. I was then swiftly elected bass player though none of us had one, got a learn guitar (not bass) book from the library to see how hard it could be.
My mum sold our house before Christmas and as we were downsizing I persuade her to buy me a bass. Tanglewood P copy, left handed, with an amp. No tuner until March so goodness knows what I was doing.
In the meantime the friend who was a good musician bought a guitar and bass (rich family) and could pick up songs quickly by ear so that band moved on without me.
Looking back it was a decent bass, if I still had it I would have a new pup in it and still use it. However a fretless five string Kramer for my 18th kicked the tanglewood in to touch and it got traded in to contribute to a gigging amp.

[paul_5]

Mine was a Hohner short scale black thingy with a chipboard body and a P pickup. I did quite a few gigs on it, and remember using it to transcribe tracks from Led Zeppelin II and any soul/Motown tracks I could get my hands on (on cassette).

I named it 'Frank'. It ended up in a skip.

[DrBike]

The first bass I "owned" was a no-name cheap precision copy in silver sparkly finish. I swapped my JooDee Les Paul copy and cheap amp that I had with a bandmate who had the bass above and a Laney Keyboard combo amp.

I played it to death until I could afford my dream bass which was a Fender Jazz that I got brand new in 1984. I'm not sure what happened to the silver sparkle bass although I have a feeling that I sold it back to the guy I got it from. I've still got that first Jazz though.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1417093434' post='2617015']
When I first started playing bass I didn't actually own one. The band I was in (with 3 other school friends) was a recording band only, so I would work out the bass parts on the guitar and then use a borrowed bass when we came to record the songs. There were two people in my year at school who had basses I could use - one was a Woolies special that was vaguely Moserite shaped, and the other was a home-made contraption created by someone who had once seen a photograph of a P-bass. Both were horrible to play and sounded completely dead.

I bought my first bass - a Burns Sonic - while I was at University in 1981. It cost £60 including the original hard case and the shop threw in a Fender strap. What I really wanted was an Ibanez or an Aria Pro II, but both were way over my budget. The affordable alternatives were Grant or Columbus copies of P or J Basses, however the Burns looked so much more interesting looking, and actually played and sounded far better. The bass had been heavily modified by the previous owner(s) and I had to buy new machine heads, a bridge and replace all the electrics apart from the pickups to get it into a proper useable condition. It was my main bass all through the 80s until I bought my first 5-string in 1989. I still own it and it gets the occasional use in the studio when I need that particular sound. In many ways through it's strengths and weaknesses it shaped both my playing and my tastes in instruments - I can't imagine being the same bassist if I'd decided to get one of those Columbus or Grant copies instead.

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/DSC01541-2.jpg[/IMG]
[/quote]

I was similar in that I actually played bass way before owning one, I used a Rose SG bass copy from 1989 until buying my Peavey in 93, the Rose was awful, really heavy, dodgy weak looking neck joint, muddy neck pickup only, a very accurate copy you could say!

[Drax]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1417051692' post='2616694']
The only thing unusual about mine was that it didn't look anything like I wanted it to. I desperately wanted it to look like this:



But my Dad decided he wanted to manage a band, so it ended up looking like this:


Not my actual bass.

It came from a shop, but I ended up getting some lessons from its original owner who gave me an LP that he had used it on [color=#006400](Dickens - Standing Out (with the worst album art I have ever seen[/color])) on which it also got a mention on the back of. Which was nice. I loved that bass and it broke my heart to have to sell it.
[/quote]

Just had to look that up

[KingBollock]

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1417125775' post='2617397']


Just had to look that up


[/quote]
That's the one!

[Telebass]

I went through two Framus Star basses, one solid and one hollow, a Hofner solid, then a couple of Vox P copies. All used. My first new bass was my 75 Precision. Wish I still had it, because it was a) a great bass, and a transition piece in the way of Fender mismatching things.