What did I learn on?

[Maude]

It may seem a strange question but bear with me.
My first bass was a horendous SG copy, the body was so thin I thought it would snap, action you could comfortably have a picnic under and strings I'm sure were nicked from a farmers fence, BUT, I was hooked.
I knew nothing about setting up basses or strings so I just assumed it was sh*t, it probably was but curiosity now makes me wonder if it may have been alright with a bit of fettling.
Anyway I digress, with my new found love of bass I saved my pennies and went to the closest shop in Plymouth, which I'm sure was Mansons at the time, to have a browse and a mint green sort of P bass copy caught my eye.
I was informed it was a Billy Sheehan signature bass, Billy who I thought, anyway it was ,I think, £200 and after playing (read 'looking' as I couldn't play) with it for a bit I got it for £175 (in 1996). Happy days.
I learnt on that bass and started gigging with and it was brilliant, but one day I fancied a 5 string and couldn't afford another bass so PX'd it back to the shop for a brand new Yamaha BBG5S, which was also fab.
Now my dilema, all the Billy Sheehan basses I see are far more expensive than the one I had, and I've never seen another like mine.
It was that mint green with a maple neck, the neck had the typical offset Sheehan black fret markers (not carved into the board like most), white pickguard with black P pickups and a huge white slab neck pickup, chrome hardware and only a single jack socket on the side of the body, not the twin one on the front of the body.
Does anyone have one of these or know of any? No real reason for this, just curious as to what type of Sheehan bass I had without really knowing it, now I know I reckon it was a pretty cool bass to learn on and start gigging with.

[stu_g]

i think its a yamaha attitude special they didnt make many i had one myself was a nice bass
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygzNTtpd-1g"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygzNTtpd-1g[/url] this is my old one

[bagsieblue]

I learnt on a Westfield 5 string - bloody horrendous - can't believe I used to gig it - even had a tapping part on it in one song as well as the guitard couldn't sing BV's and play the riff.

I got it and a Sound City head from a second hand shop for about £250 as a poor student - although I bought it on a credit card so it must of cost me probably £1000+ by the time I'd paid it off. Never paid a penny in credit card charges for the last 15 years or so since - they are the devils work.

I had to leave the Sound City head and the no name cab in a pub in Darwen, Lancs (nr Blackburn) when the band split as I had nowhere to put it.
Worth a tidy sum now those heads - wonder where it is??

[Mornats]

I learnt on an Aria Pro II ZZB Deluxe. It was twice as big as me and four times heavier but it looked the mutt's nuts.

I then bought an SGC Nanyo Bass Collection SB301 in pearl white new (with my first student loan) back in 1994. What a beauty and a total contrast to the Aria.

Fast forward 16 years and I was bassless (had been for a long time) and bought my Dean Hillsboro Single on impulse, which served me well being fairly light with an ultra slim Geddy Lee Jazz-esque neck until I once again hankered for a Bass Collection.

I got a 5 string SB315 and a 4 string fretless SB320 off Ebay. Should have really held out for a 4 string fretted as, despite these two being absolute beauties, I never quite gelled with them.

So I bought an Overwater Contemporary Jazz (Tanglewood-made) after falling in love with it in a shop, then bought a used Classic Jazz from here as I wanted a passive tone (and another Tanglewater). Oh, in between the two Tanglewaters I bought a Warwick Rockbass Corvette off here as I had serious GAS, but little cash, for a Warwick when I bought my first BC in the 90s.

If I could have learnt on any of these basses from the start, it would definitely be the SB301. Hands down.

[AttitudeCastle]

Yeah sounds like the Attitude Special, budget versions of the Attitude LTD/LTD II made, with Yamaha pickups, single output, no scallops

A few of them about on here not too long ago,

[url="http://www.musiker-board.de/attachments/f3-musik-instrumente-know-how//f76-bass-forum//f11-e-baesse-bass//21087d1140822464-yamaha-attitude-special-attitude.jpg"]http://www.musiker-b...al-attitude.jpg[/url]

Like that?

My first real not a let down first bass was A Yamaha Attitude LTD II (I'm not spoilt I promise, long story to me getting her brand new!)

Came about 9 months after a squire P I got on the cheap as the neck was a night mare.

Hell of a neck to learn on! Everything else must feel puny and easy after it!

Edited July 19, 2013 by AttitudeCastle

[Maude]

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1374267449' post='2147139']

[url="http://www.musiker-board.de/attachments/f3-musik-instrumente-know-how//f76-bass-forum//f11-e-baesse-bass//21087d1140822464-yamaha-attitude-special-attitude.jpg"]http://www.musiker-b...al-attitude.jpg[/url]

Like that?


[/quote]

That's the puppy!

I never knew if it was a budget Attitude or not, as far as I recall it didn't have Attitude on it anywhere, just the big Yamaha decal on the headstock like in your picture.
The player had attitude though .

I quite like it back in a silly sentimental way .

[AntLockyer]

My first bass was a USA P the advantages of buying one later in life I guess. I used to have my friends EB3 though so that is what I first played.

[Spike Vincent]

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1374184896' post='2146337']
.
My first bass was a horendous SG copy, the body was so thin I thought it would snap, action you could comfortably have a picnic under and strings I'm sure were nicked from a farmers fence,

[/quote]

Also.Kay,it was. Bought from Woolworths for the enormous sum of £40 in 1978. It's still in the loft.

[great harry]

A Hofner 500/3. I thought it was a bit crap at the time and totally uncool (I wanted a Fender but they were well out of my range). I see they have started to reissue it recently as the Senator Bass for gazillions x what I paid for mine (£17).

I am now relearning on a Fender Jazz and hankering after one of those really cool German semi-acoustics.

[MisterFingers]

Like the OP - my first bass was an SG copy - brown or dark red, I think. It could have been a Kay or maybe a Columbus. A friend gave it to me to learn on - it had black tapewounds on it, an action as high as an orbiting satellite and a plywood body, but I was still bitten by the bass bug with it. I can't remember what happened to it...

[Oopsdabassist]

A brand new Squier P pro..ie it has a jazz pickup at the bridge, I loved it to bits until I blagged a 2nd hand Yam I fell for instantly, I recently dug out the squier and stuck a fretless neck on it, only then realising how bad the neck was, like a damn ski jump in fact. I still gig the yam regularly!

[JapanAxe]

Although I had briefly owned an Encore P copy before, the first bass I bought with the intention of actually learning to play it, was a very forgettable Washburn PJ with 2 volumes, a tone, and a balance control. It was a hideous metallic mid-blue colour. I bought it thinking it was active (based purely on the number of controls) but it wasn't - d'oh. I gigged it a couple of times before upgrading to a Yamaha BBG. The Washburn went to a friend of my son in a complicated 3-way swap kind of deal, and said eejit then proceeded to thoroughly trash it!

[ezbass]

I started with a Yamaha BB300 followed by a Westone Thunder lll (double P pickups) which I defretted. Then I didn't play for nearly 20 years; on my return to the low end I bought a Yamaha RBX270 before setting out on my string of 'better' basses. One of my best friends still has that BB300 which I swapped with him for the Westone.

[cloudburst]

This. Bought new in 1974. Still have it :-)

CB

[Pantry]

£70 wesley MM copy. After that I bought a Vintage V940a, was pretty good for £200. Kept it for 8 years, then sold it and bought a 5 string Warwick Streamer LX which I still use today!

[merlin]

yes started on an Avon jazz copy,had it for years,it took a long time to realise it was letting me down,found out big time when I brought a Ric,had GAS ever since...

[Gust0o]

I learnt on an Encore P-bass, traditional black with white scratch plate. I bought in from a little music shop in Piece Hall, Halifax. It was made out of some form of exotic matter, more dense than normal matter. I think the case alone was the on the verge of collapsing behind an event horizon, and the combination was difficult to lug about as a young lad!

I sold it on to a friend. Good to learn on, but complete toss as an instrument - I used the proceeds to buy a much lighter Aria Pro II Magma, which looked a lot more rock and roll! Bright red, maple fretboard and a vaguely pointy headstock, lovely bass!

[cocco]

I learned on a vintage Stingray copy, it was an okay bass, had a 3 up 1 down headstock, i went through 3 or 4 of the bottom tuner, the slightest impact would snap it. Played my first gig on it. It was a cool bass

[SPHDS]

Learned on a No-Name Jazz bass copy (I say no name as there are no labels on it anywhere!) It is black with a matt silver 'plate (which now has black Gaffa on it to leave a silver stripe continuing from the neck) also the neck volume knob snapped off soon after getting it, did come with a hard case though.
Found out the jack was held together with blu-tack for about 6-7yrs, only found out when it cut out and I took the control plate off to look....! There is also a massive kink in the neck, but only at the dusty end.....!
Still got it, and it is used as a 'learning'/stay at home practice donkey now.

[ead]

My first was a rather horrible (as I now realise) Squier Affinity P. Pretty much put me off Fenders.

[Geek99]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1374582597' post='2150433']
I learned on a vintage Stingray copy, it was an okay bass, had a 3 up 1 down headstock, i went through 3 or 4 of the bottom tuner, the slightest impact would snap it. Played my first gig on it. It was a cool bass
[/quote]
Yes I had one of those the est96a
It's a very underrated bass - I still play it