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What's the bass/instrument you have had longest?


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8 hours ago, LowB_FTW said:

My Maison 129p is my longest had instrument.

Maison 5-String Bass Guitar - 004

Bought in '92 I think, and it sounds absolutely lovely through my Vox amp.

Sadly, the volume knob on the bass no longer works so I have to get that replaced, and I'm planning on removing the name decal from the body at some point - someone here recommended T-Cut for that, I haven't got around to doing it yet.

It was the second bass I ever owned, and the first 5-String.

 

Mark

 

Some SGC Nanyo Bass Collection genes there. I should leave the decal, especially if it's the only identification.

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Unfortunately I sold my first (and second) bass, but I still have a Cort headless Flying V that I got in 1994/5.

 

72C8D286-9E0E-4E09-8B27-6D4DD8B50DE3.webp.b715bb8458a3c85c18569d5ade19d848.webp

 

That’s not a photo of mine but one that is identical. Although, mine is currently banana yellow. My plan is to strip it, again, and stain it walnut.

 

I just missed out on the bass version of this guitar. It would have been cool to own both.

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image.thumb.jpeg.78e656ad03e51fbaa444d6e4c33c4ae4.jpeg
 

My longest serving is this BTB 1205 Prestige, bought new in 2006 for £760, so 18yo.

 

World Musical Instrument Company, Incheon, 🇰🇷 (I think “Korean” unusual for Ibanez, normally 🇮🇩 if not 🇯🇵).

 

USA Bart pre and humbuckers. 19mm, 35”, flaaaaaat fretboard, skinny neck. Sounds awesome. But! Weighs 11lbs so hasn’t been used for years! But will never part from it.

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My oldest instrument is a rather battered Kimbara acoustic, which either needs gifting to a charity shop, or using as a test bed for learning how to set up properly.

Oldest bass is my RW Precision in 2TSB which I've had for 6 years. Lovely bass, but think that's going to have to go in recognition of what appears to be arthritis in my fretting hand. Short or medium scale here we go...!

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I still technically own my Hohner Arbor P copy that I stole from my brother in the early 90s.
Some idiot* defretted it with a pair of pliers so the neck is like a banana and covered in splinters and plastic wood stuff.
Completely unplayable, unsellable and useful only as a cautionary tale.
No pictures as it lives at my Mum's in Manchester gathering (more) dust - she asks if I'm going to take it with me every time I visit.
I am not.


*Me

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I've had Cort Rithimic pictured below since 2016, I think. I've got that picture saved as 'bass collection 2017', which would be about right. 

 

I'd actually sold all my bass gear and had bought some guitars that I was messing on with. In about 2013 or so I found myself in a funk with bass and decided to shift over to guitar. It was fun, but the desire to play bass again came back big time and I suddenly found myself absolutely hooked on Jeff Berlin's my music and playing. I found the Rithimic listed for sale here by the well-known British rock bassist Neil Murray in the summer of 2016. I also bought a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo amp and a TC Electronic Corona chorus pedal to make the right noises.

 

I've played countless hours on it since and it now has Jeff's signature on the back of the headstock. I still own the Pedulla too, which I must have bought around September 2016.

 

YUrUwa3.jpg

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9 hours ago, pete.young said:

I should leave the decal, especially if it's the only identification.

I'd never really considered this approach. It is the only identifying mark/name on the bass, everything else is just plain.

I may actually just leave it alone now.

 

Mark

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6 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

That’d be this bass I built when I was 16. 16 year old me had very different aesthetic preferences than 36 year old me. It’s also the heaviest bass I’ve ever played 😂

 


Amazing that you built that at 16.
Shame it's melted so badly.

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On 11/05/2024 at 01:50, LowB_FTW said:

My Maison 129p is my longest had instrument.

Maison 5-String Bass Guitar - 004

Bought in '92 I think, and it sounds absolutely lovely through my Vox amp.

Sadly, the volume knob on the bass no longer works so I have to get that replaced, and I'm planning on removing the name decal from the body at some point - someone here recommended T-Cut for that, I haven't got around to doing it yet.

It was the second bass I ever owned, and the first 5-String.

 

Mark

 

I had the fretless version of that very bass - like you, the first 5-string (but the third fretless).

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FB_IMG_1637766196851.thumb.jpg.7c2fa018c65ccf3d7a5cf8081c057910.jpgguantanamo32.jpg.ba3550978f18ea8bc0e7e67724cb40c2.jpg

 

I got my Kramer Striker five string fretless in 2002. It was my second bass, bought for my 18th birthday. My parents, divorced, clueless about music, contributed 1/3 the cost each and I the rest. It was between this and a Steinberger Spirit, back in the old Musicyo days. I went for the Kramer because it was both five string, very hard to get lefty then, and fretless and i'd just been introduced to Pearl Jam. 

I still occasionally gig this bass, but rarely now because it doesn't suit the style of music I'm playing. We talked about doing a studio recording and video and immediately I thought of this bass. It's a cheaply put together bass which now has a Kiogon loom to get the best out of the stock pickups, but it feels and sounds great. I love it and can never get rid of it.

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Longest serving instrument is a Kawai K1 synthesiser bought in the mid 80s as I'd formed a proggy band and in addition to playing guitar, I had some synth parts. I still use it now mainly as a controller for a couple of rack units and software synths, but I don't play it live.

 

Longest serving bass is my Spirit XZ2. I can date it back to 2008 from photos so I must have had it at least 16 years. It's been through all kinds of adventures from being dropped (no headstock is definitely an advantage) to being the communal bass for jam sessions (I'd never do that now) and it's currently the base (see what I did there?) for my VBass pick up. When I sold all my gear in my great 'toys-from-the-pram' retirement from live music episode in 2012 (I was fed up of playing the same old tunes night after night), it was the only bass I kept. I don't play it often but it will be the last bass to go if that happens again. 

 

I have a rehearsal tonight at which I was going to use the P Bass, but just typing all of this I think I'll take the Spirit, just to give it an outing.

 

2012

 

R0012320-2.jpg.8485654aaf25c56832d4a6687ec3f75f.jpg

 

2013

P1070246.jpg.61ae77f3dd687eb25dba792bfa1cdb54.jpg

 

2022

DSCG9539-30.thumb.jpg.03db0f6a45dba46fe81077e8f9878c1a.jpg

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On 11/05/2024 at 13:28, Chris2112 said:

I've had Cort Rithimic pictured below since 2016, I think. I've got that picture saved as 'bass collection 2017', which would be about right. 

 

I'd actually sold all my bass gear and had bought some guitars that I was messing on with. In about 2013 or so I found myself in a funk with bass and decided to shift over to guitar. It was fun, but the desire to play bass again came back big time and I suddenly found myself absolutely hooked on Jeff Berlin's my music and playing. I found the Rithimic listed for sale here by the well-known British rock bassist Neil Murray in the summer of 2016. I also bought a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo amp and a TC Electronic Corona chorus pedal to make the right noises.

 

I've played countless hours on it since and it now has Jeff's signature on the back of the headstock. I still own the Pedulla too, which I must have bought around September 2016.

 

YUrUwa3.jpg

Meohmy, that Pedulla is beeootifool!

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The bass I’ve had longest is this 1983 Fender Precision ( Dan Smith era ) I bought it new from Monkey Business in Romford. They were advertising the last American built Fenders, it was when the Fullerton factory was closing. I fell in love with the neck. The collection grew from this point.

2F115492-B28E-4DBE-8FF4-F9FB8A24DBCA.jpeg

5B1B6558-809A-4ED3-A0B4-7EF3E033AD14.jpeg

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2 minutes ago, Gibson,Guy said:

Yes that’s right👍

I had been home visiting my parents, had a look in the shop and fell for the precision, didn’t buy it, but couldn’t stop thinking about, got my dad to put a deposit on it, and went back the following weekend and bought it. 

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This is my first-ever guitar, which I bought second-hand in 1980:

 

chopsg01.thumb.jpg.54fef9883765ba65169f71a654200d73.jpg

 

What might come as something of a surprise, is that it did not originally look like that. "Surely not!!!", I hear you you squeal in shocked surprise. But no - it's true. It did suffer what can best be described as a mishap, involving some superficial decaptiation, which unfortunately necessitated the mild modifications you can see, in order to rectify the matter.

 

Originally it looked like this, so as you can see it is barely altered from its original design.

 

ColumbusSG.thumb.jpg.e83c8eab88d0cc2aee30f1a6944b141e.jpg

 

The bass I've owned for longest is this, which I bought new in 1984, from Allan-Gordon Music in Wathamstow.

 

rsbresize.jpg.a9b85b705a3f8114ed9ed10be9d2058a.jpg

 

And this is it, being used in anger by an annoyingly skinny & youthful Moi. Can't say my dress sense has improved greatly, tbh.

 

abst01Aria.jpg.1b32c5f9192715d700a11ff947a5bd07.jpg

 

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Here's a photo of two of the instruments I referred to in my post on May 8.

The guitar is a 1967 Gibson J50 ADJ that I bought new in Toronto in late 1967, I still have it and enjoy playing it and it has been gigged extensively over the years as explained in my earlier post. I was 21 when I bought it, I'm really old now.

The banjo is a 1975 that I bought new when I joined a trad band in mid '75. It is an Ode tenor built when Baldwin (of piano and organ fame) owned the company, thus the Baldwin Ode name. I use it on some jazz gigs including one last weekend, lovely to play and stays in tune better than most banjoes and sounds great and has been used on hundreds of gigs. The only downside is that it weighs 14.6 pounds(!) due to the heavy cast bell metal tone ring but it sounds so good I just live with it and use a wide strap.

 

Edit: While I really like playing both of these I LOVE playing my DB. 😊  

P1060735.jpg

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I have an old classical guitar, a Vicente Tatay Tomas, that my mum and dad brought back from Spain, about 1972. It's been in the loft too long, and is now in several pieces. Apart from that, my Ovation Balladeer, model 111-4, that I bought in 1975 from McCormack's in Glasgow for £150, a whole term's grant.  

I thought it sounded lush. I have snapped the headstock off twice. The second time I repaired it with carbon rods, and it has never held its tuning better. I will not be parted from it.

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Bought this new in 1988. A friend at work was being wooed by a bloke who had a music shop and she suggested that if he did a deal for a friend of hers she might just see him again. Think I paid £515 against the RRP of £795. 
 

Can’t see myself ever parting with it

IMG_3811.thumb.jpeg.77e0e3e0be6f419f4855fecc886fe3ae.jpegIMG_3306.thumb.png.9fd82b9408bb00975fac95849781707e.png

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