LeftyBassist.com

Here is mine:

It's a Peavy Fury II. I think I paid $412 for it in 2002. It is definitely a step above a "starter" bass. It is also the lightest bass I have ever laid my hands on (other than Steinberger-types). I sold my first guitar and told myself I wouldn't make that mistake again, but I am considering it beause I just haven't had a use for it.

God I wish I still had my first bass. It was a Vantage. I think the model was VS-600B. It got me through some confusing times. (Iron Maiden, Motely Crue AND a skinny tie?!? What was I thinking?!?) Those 30 years sure have flown....

I will call this my first bass, a 1980 Ric 4001, great bass, I still have it. Technically I had one bass before this but it was a flipped over J copy so it really does not count, this Ric is the bass that I learned everything on. I still remember at 15 years old I must have weighted 110 lbs and every week I would carry this in the full case on the city bus for lessons and later to jam with friends.

Here's me playing at some school function when I was 17 with my first bass - a MIM Fender Jazz that I modded to hell with a Warmoth neck, Bartolini pups and a Hipshot tremolo bridge.



And here she is:



She's a real tank, almost indestructible, but heavy as all get out. I've still got her lying around!

My first bass- an Aria Pro II, purchased from the Bass Centre in Birmingham, UK in 1991. I really wanted a Trace Elliot combo to go with it, but they were too expensive. I ended up with the used Warwick amp shown here. The Aria was not a great bass (Korean version), but as I didn't know any better I muddled through with it for 10 years or so. Ironically the GK backline amp it's leaning against is the worst amp I have ever owned by far.

I still have the Warwick amp (back in the UK) however. It weighs the same as a small tank, and so will not be going anywhere in a hurry.

My first bass was a Condor MIJ Jazz Bass copy with a laminated body. I had always wanted to play bass, but started out on guitar. After a few guitars, this was the first bass that I bought. It wasn't great, but it was also very cheap so I was happy. When I turned out to like bass better than guitar, I sold it and bought my first 'proper' bass, a brand new Yamaha TRB5II.



I later regretted selling it, and went looking for it. I even placed an ad to try to get it back. I got a reply from the new owner, who was really happy with it and couldn't be bothered to sell it again. I found another one, absolutely HATED it, and sold it again within two weeks. I'll never know if the first one really was better, or if I just didn't know enough about bass guitars back then to really judge the instrument

Reynold, I've done some crazy things in my "career" but gigging in a union suit is not one of them. Bravo sir!

Old habits die hard:

No pic. (Count your blessings.) I started out on guitar, played lead for a while, then we needed a bassist and the bass really spoke to me. The first two were righties-flipped-over. First came from Western Auto, maybe. Real p.o.s., hollow body, tried to feed back constantly, but I didn't know any better and kept it for years.

Fast forward to after college. I was at work when two guys approached me and asked me to audition for a position with them. They had seen me play years earlier. I auditioned, got the job, moved from Louisiana to north Arkansas (Heber Springs area) and played 5 nights a week. I found a Ventures signature Moserite and, of course, flipped it.

The first real lefty was a 4001 Ric.

First real "pro" (???) bass amp was a Vox Essex. Two knobs - tone and volume - and one on/off switch. Pumped out 35 watts into 2x12's. And it did everything that I wanted it to do, indoors or outdoors.

I don't have it anymore, but here's mine along with my first amp...



It's a Cort p-bass and a Gorilla amp... I think this pic is is from '88 or '89.

The amp is a Gorilla... And that Holmes amp next to it was our PA.

Loving the AM/FM combo with 8 Track and Turntable in the background! I used to teach at Jerry's music in Philly and we sold a ton of those Gorilla amps.

Similar story here... my first bass was a super-cheap righty Johnson P-bass copy that I picked up on eBay and struggled with playing upside down for a couple of years. I later loaned it to a righty who wanted to learn bass and never saw it again, but I didn't much care.

My first "real" bass is my trusty Carvin LB70, which is around 13 years old now and still shares regular duties with my newer Zon. Here's a pic of me playing it in the studio only a month or two ago:

This is mine; '78 Fender P-Bass, with the A code neck. Bought it in 1988 or '89 from a fellow lefty I was stationed with in England. Yes, it's been refinished - in 1992, shortly after I got out of the Air Force. I wouldn't have done it - mojo and all that -, but due to circumstances it became necessary, as all the original Burst finish just.. fell off. By the time I found someone good enough to do the job, all the original finish that remained totaled about 2/3 of a business card. And it ain't the prettiest piece of swamp ash, either. But, it sounds like a P-Bass should. And yes, it has the mute in the bridge cover, and flatwounds..

Cool!

What's an "A-code" neck? does that have to do with the serial number?

No, it refers to the width of the neck at the nut. B code was the standard 1 5/8" P-Bass width, and A code was the optional 1 1/2" width; same as a Jazz bass. The neck is also not the standard contour; if you knew how ( and the bass'es original owner did) you could get a fairly custom bass from Fender back then. I'm always surprised at how different mine feels, compared to other P-Basses I've handled. Probably why I've never felt the desire for another one.

My first bass was a righty Kay quasi-SG bass, played upside-down.
Bought new for $65 in 1976.
No longer have it.