What was your first bass set up?

[Funkmaster]

Horrible Jedson short scale bass - £19.50.

Selmer Treble and Bass 50 amp with two home made speaker cabs with Fane pop 60 15" speakers. Can't really rember the cost.

Ah... 1973 - those were the days.

I wish I still had the amp!

[throwoff]

[quote name='bassicinstinct' post='805915' date='Apr 14 2010, 12:00 PM']Framus Semi Acoustic Bass.
Selmer Treble and Bass 50 amp.

Not a clue what I paid - it was in 1969, so probably not alot.

Both long gone.[/quote]

Those old Framus are quite collectable now

[Dr.Dave]

1973 Fender Precision Bass - £150. Of course I still have it. I still have the strings (though only as 'spares') for that matter !!

Marshall JTM 45 valve head - £45 - traded for a 100w tranny top , stupid.

Copy of a JBL 4560 P.A. cab with a Fane collossus speaker in it. Carved it up and made it into something else more carryable. I saw the (long since sans driver) 'something else' cab last week. Sticking out of a skip outside my Dad's old house where the new owner has cleared out the cellar. The remains of the collossus (ripped cone) were down there somewhere too.

That was 1978.

Before that I had a Columbus SG copy guitar and a tiny combo made by a bloke in Castleford.

My first guitar was a dreadful old acoustic thing when I was about 10 (probably for Xmas 1971). My Dad was out of work at the time and Christ knows what my folks went without to get it for me. It was stolen from my school a couple of years later. I still have the pitch pipes they bought me to go with it - right here on my laptop desk. I won't be parting with them.

[essexbasscat]

A very short scale Vox bass, from the 60's I guess. Got my hands on it in 1970/1. WEM 40watt head and WEM single 18" speaker in a huge cab.

The WEM head went back to the shop it came from in 1975 / 6, buzzing like hell. THe cab went on to a friend's band around the same time.

Still have that VOX bass. Quick little neck on it too. I learned Jack Bruce's lines to Cream's Crossroads on it.



T

[JTUK]

Marshall Super lead 100w plus a 4x15 cab which I bought off our gtr at the time.
I had a 70's Fender Jazz for my first gigging band. I quickly replaced the Marshall with a Hiwatt 100 valve
and did the function circuit.

I was 17 at the time, so no, I haven't still got any of it...

[clauster]

1981 - A tiny Sattelite P-bass shaped thing with two pickups, it fitted in a guitar gig bag with room to spare and a 15W Park Bass amp

[El Bajo]

First bass was a terrible hohner bass with flat wounds in 1994. Lasted about 6 months until I 'upgraded' to a Hamer Slammer P bass copy. Still got it, the necks bowed, the frest uneven, action high desote lowering it as low as the bridge will allow, buzzes and the input jack crackles. Still use it in the bedroom, its got a great classic rock sound and I use of for annoying tunings such as half step lower songs. Would never use it live though, its to unreliable.

First amp was massive HH Electronic 100w amp taht was soooo heavy. Really loud though with a great sound. It still in the garage but keeps shorting out. Not really sure what to do with it.

[Bottle]

Still have my first rig - see my sig (it's the 'Practice' rig)

Bought it in 2008 for about £200 all-in-all, still serves me well, although I don't play the Ibby as much now I have the Squier.

Keep itching with 'upgrade-itis' though

Ian

[JTUK]

oh..I had a Selmer TnB 50 as well, but it kept burning the valves and I couldn't find anyone to fix it.
I think the trasnformer had gone..?? wish I had it now if only for the resale.

When I moved into this house, it had a Selmer TnB reverbotronic or something in the loft and it looks like a train-wreck.
I wonder if I could ebay it.
I also have some JBL's 15" that might be worth reconing and getting rid of

Good thread...might remind me to get rid of some of this stuff.

[NAS]

1971
Un-named precision style copy hand painted purple.
Custom made 100W solid state amp by Chris Quayle (the only way I could get the power on a student grant).
2 x WEM 15 inch bass cabs, one each side of the stage.

The speakers blew during a gig with Dorris Henderson's Eclection in 1974. Cones came out through the front covers.
I think I gave the bass away and replaced it with an Epiphone Rivoli.
The amp went back to Chris for parts.

[Wil]

My first bass was a mid 90's Encore P. Cost about £80 I think. I still have it, the body at least, pretty much everything else has been changed:

[Jerry_B]

1988 - Westone Spectrum DX, which I still have and it didn't cost me anything. I also used to have an HH amp, but can't remember what type and it's wattage (but it was pretty big and loud). It went into storage at our drummer's house in 1991 and I dunno what happened to it after that. Wish I still had it!

[Stu-khag]

borrowed a bass from my mate for about a year (a nasty bc rich) until I managed to buy a MIM jazz bass. Still my number 1 although I've upgraded the pickups . Its 10 years old this year.Other basses have come and gone but this is a keeper.
first rig was bought off the guy I borrowed the bass from, a Laney dp 150 combo. christ knows why it was a combo as it weighed a tonne with all 4 speakers and head. had a graphic eq and all these other buttons. to this day I've never known what they all did. sold it for 50 quid about 3 years ago.

[Doddy]

I borrowed an early '90's Squier Precision for a few weeks before getting my first bass,
which was a Tanglewood Rebel-not the 4k,the older model with a slightly smaller body,
painted neck and matching headstock. It's a great little bass,I did a load of gigs with it.
I've still got it,but strung up in tenor tuning.
My first amp was an old,little 60 Watt Starforce that was sitting in the garage. It's not great,
but I still have it in the corner of my bedroom for occasional practice. It does the job.My first
gigging amp was a Trace Elliot Commando 100,which came a few months later. I got my first
effects unit about 6 months later.... a Zoom 506 multi effect which is sitting in a draw now.

This all started in February/March '96.

[bassicinstinct]

[quote name='throwoff' post='805973' date='Apr 14 2010, 12:54 PM']Those old Framus are quite collectable now[/quote]

[i][b]Please [/b][/i]don't tell me that!!

[Huw Foster]

First bass was some Ibanez with a single precision style pickup, which I got for Christmas 2000. I sold it a couple of years later when I got a Peavey Fury IV, which is gathering dust somewhere in my parent's attic.

I'm back visiting the parents at the moment - my first amp is still here! It's a tiny Squier combo. It's really noisy and the jack input is dodgy, but it's fine for practice when I'm here.

[Ancient Mariner]

First bass was an Avon EB0 copy with flats when I was 19ish. Didn't have a bass amp (didn't realise they were different back then) so played it through my AC30. It just made a 'woof woof' sort of noise.

I guess I've re-started, so currently the first bass(es) are an Encore P-type and a Johnny Brice J-type, both collected on the same day. First amp was a Carlsbro Colt 45 (donated by a friend a few weeks ago) and it's died already. An HK3500 should turn up tomorrow.

[Pete Academy]

Vox bass 1960s origin. Brother bought it for me for ten quid. Can't remember the first amp.

[MythSte]

P Style Encore and BB blaster 10watt amp. phwoar!

[lemmywinks]

Horrid Hohner P copy in red (eurgh!) with a Gorilla 20w combo.

The amp had a "growl" knob and a sticker that said "Hear this Gorilla growl", which i found rather embarrassing

I swapped the bass for a PC as i had saved up £600 and bought a Gibson RD Artist, the amp is also long gone, bought a Trace Commando and forgot about it, might still be in my parents' garage

[Huw Foster]

[quote name='Huwberry' post='806245' date='Apr 14 2010, 04:50 PM']First bass was some Ibanez with a single precision style pickup, which I got for Christmas 2000. I sold it a couple of years later when I got a Peavey Fury IV, which is gathering dust somewhere in my parent's attic.

I'm back visiting the parents at the moment - my first amp is still here! It's a tiny Squier combo. It's really noisy and the jack input is dodgy, but it's fine for practice when I'm here.[/quote]

Here it is:
[attachment=47327:IMG_0431.JPG]

WOOWOWOWOOOOO

[cameltoe]

Believe it or not the first bass I ever played with my band was a 70's Rickenbacker! Didn't have an amp, so it either went through the crappy Peavey thing they had at the rehersal studio or through the PA. It belongs to my brother-in-law who played a few years ago in a decent local band.

He actually gave me a great piece of advice, and was the reason he bought the Rick- "Once you realise that bass playing is your thing and you're going to do it for a while, spend a decent amount of money and get a really nice bass- don't bother chopping and changing cheap basses or messing around with midrange basses you may or may not like- take your time, save up and find one that you love"

A good piece of advice I reckon, and especially considering his bass is worth a lot more than he paid for it.

My actual first set up was an Epiphone EB-O and my Hartke vx3500 combo, which I still have.

Only two years ago- still a noob!

I'm yet to adhere to his advice- I've been messing in the midrange!

Edited April 14, 2010 by cameltoe

[cameltoe]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='806281' date='Apr 14 2010, 05:19 PM']The amp had a "growl" knob and a sticker that said "Hear this Gorilla growl", which i found rather embarrassing[/quote]

I want that on a T-shirt!

[Marvin]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='806281' date='Apr 14 2010, 05:19 PM']a Gorilla 20w combo.

The amp had a "growl" knob and a sticker that said "Hear this Gorilla growl", which i found rather embarrassing[/quote]
I had one of those as well. Along with a Westone Spectrum11. I sold it to a friend years ago, he's still got it, he wanted me to buy it back off him. I think not.

[nick]

An early 70's Fender Musicmaster through a HH VS 100w head & a 2x12 Fane loaded guitar cab.
Wish I still had all of it....
Shifted it to move on to a Westone Thunder 1A & 4x10 Session combo. It was acceptable in the 80's

Edited April 14, 2010 by nick