Why did you pick up YOUR bass?

Lounge
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With respect to the “Why did you pick up bass/what makes you like it?” thread, I’m curious as to why you picked up your specific bass, the bass you play, and why you like it?

I’ll start: my first bass was an Epiphone Accubass, way back in… like… 1991 or something. It was pretty much a P-bass clone. I didn’t like the neck, so I sold it and a few years later got a Yamaha RBX260 (I think, it’s been a while). The body didn’t feel right when I played it… it was just uncomfortable for me. So I sold it (and a Carvin 300w, 15" woofer bass amp, which I regret selling) and in 2009 went bass shopping again. That’s when I found my trusty Ibanez SR300. The weight of the instrument, the shape of it, the width of the neck, all of that was everything that I had wanted from my Epiphone and my Yamaha. It felt… perfect, for me.

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My first one was a Squier 70’s Classic Vibe Jazz bass because it did so well in Josh’s gear review and GC here had it. Simple as that.
I said “this is a side hobby, this is all i need” …13 basses later, I think I was incorrect in that assessment.

The others I have accumulated all basically covered the range of basses out there.
P, J, PJ, MM, Gretsch hollow body, etc.
Then I started dialing in specific sounds / looks.
'61 Fender CS P - old school vintie Motown bass thump
ESP Frank Bello (with active P/J) - loud in your face metal, etc that looks like the batmobile
Japanese Aerodynes - J and PJ - because i am simply in love with them
Fender Vintera P Dakota Red - because I envisioned an all red/gold bass, this has Optima gold strings and a Ray Ross bridge for sustain for days (works well for a 'hey your muting skills suck bass" too.
Fender HMT MIJ P/Piezo semi-hollow - cause it was so odd and has a woody thump quality to it
SBMM Ray4 - cheap testbed to tinker and put various pickups preamps in (but currently house the SIMs pickups / Glockenglang premap, and love that combo so much that nothing else is going in it for a while.
Kala U bass - cause it thumps like no other
Yamaha BB735A - 5 string, cause — its a 5 string awaiting arrival, sold my TRBX304 to upgrade to it

So some are for tone, some looks and tone, some are to tinker with (well most are).

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I bought my first bass - an Ibanez SR500 - because it looked cool. I had no idea what I was buying at the time. I like it because it looks cool, has a nice thin neck, it’s light, and it works.

I bought my second bass - a Fender Duff McKagan PJ - because Fender, because Duff McKagan, and because PJ. I liked it because it looked cool and sounded amazing. I’d love to pick it up, but I no longer have it, because I returned it. (Twice.)

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My bass was relatively inexpensive and lightweight. What more could I want? Even now, they are the main factors for me choosing any bass.

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My LTD B50 FM I got in a trade with a guy that wanted a guitar I had (Godin SD22). I loved that thing immediately after I had it set up. It is a P/J style and is a lot of bang for the buck. The next one I bought because it had old school Jazz vibe to it. A Vintage VJ74 Re-issue. I put Fender Flats on it because, you know…that was the sound in my head. I do have a hankering for a neck through of some type. We will see how I progress as time goes.

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My first bass was a 120 dollar fender knockoff from Amazon. It came in literally unplayable condition. So I had to do a little research, find out how to set it up.
Huge research later ( 2 weeks) I ordered an Ibanez sr 300e. What a great investment. It plays so nice and is so forgiving.
Yesterday I got my new schecter stiletto custom.
I bought it for the build quality, the reputation of the maker and lastly for the style/color.
Immensely playable, lots of room to grow with the instrument. As a beginner. Finding one that’s easy to play is critical, I think.
Whatever bass a person gets, playing one is magic. I don’t care about hire much money it cost. If it feels good and its talking to me, I’d play a stick with a string tied to it.
No ragrets, yo!

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First I needed a lefty so that cuts down the selection :slight_smile:
Then I didn’t want a cheapie – I wanted a quality made instrument
Then I needed it right now

But I am happy with it – Ibanez SR300EBL

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I typed best beginner bass 2021 i to Google and one that kept popping up in all lists was the Yamaha TRBX174EW. I was originally drawn to the natural but after realising no one in all of Sydney had stock and due to Covid no one could tell me when stock would be arriving, I managed to track a root beer coloured one about 25 minutes away!

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It’s a great choice!

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I’ve only been playing the bass since May of this year. I originally was playing on an old Dean bass that my in laws had that they let me borrow… After enjoying the instrument and finding BassBuzz and the B2B course I knew I needed to find my own bass.

I watched a ton of videos online and came to the conclusion that I should get the Yamaha TRBX 304. It was highly rated as the best beginner bass by Josh. However I couldn’t find one anywhere. It was all sold out and everything I had researched let me know that it was going to be months and months before they would be in stock again. I didn’t want to wait until 2022 potentially to get my own bass.

Well one day in June my brother in law was in town. He is a huge guitar dude and we had been playing songs together. He is quite talented as on both acoustic and electric guitar. Anyways he wanted to go check out my local guitar center and see what they had in stock. I agreed and figured this would be a good chance to see what I liked and didn’t like.

I played about 6 different basses while we were there. I don’t remember what all I played but nothing really stood out to me. Nothing grabbed my attention. I told my brother in law I would play one more bass and then we would leave. I looked around on the wall and one bass suddenly jumped out to me.

It was the most gorgeous bass there, I don’t know how I didn’t see it earlier. I picked it up, in awe of the design, the color, the fretboard. All of it. My brother in law saw it and his eyes lit up too.

I plugged it in and it felt like magic. It played better than any of the other basses I had tried, some of them being significantly more than this one. It had a smooth neck, great sound and versatility.

I knew then that I found the first bass that would be mine. It’s a Schecter Stiletto Extreme. I fell in love and I’ve been using it happily ever since.

Sometimes when you pick up an instrument it just speaks to you, almost like a wand and a wizard in Harry Potter.

If anyone is looking for a good starting bass, this one will not disappoint.

Attaching a stock photo, I don’t have any images that I can readily upload here, but wanted to just show off how great it looks

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I have a schecter stiletto extreme and I love it, can’t go wrong with one of those

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When I got my Ibanez SR300 I was this → ← close to getting a Schecter Stiletto. The deciding factor? My GF liked the Ibanez better, and she was buying it for me as a gift. :slight_smile:

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I also got a lefty - Fender Jazz bass. Very happy with it, but probably most happy that I got a left handed one, so that I don’t have to worry about what my next bass might be. I think I’m better off without all the distractions of other basses…

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I tried a lot of different basses. When I finally tried a Fender Jazz Bass it spoke to me like no other instrument.

When I turned 50 a bunch of my family all contributed money for a 2015 Fender Standard Jazz Bass. It feels like it was made for me, is beautifully crafted, and sounds amazing with the stock Custom Shop 60’s pickups.

The only thing I’ve changed is to switch the tortoise shell pick guard for a black one. I thought the tortoise shell design was too busy looking with the sunburst finish. I also got some Schaller strap locks that I have yet to install.

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Foolishly bought an Ibby GSR200 as my first. After spending too much for a pro set-up to fix the ski slope fretboard,i sold it at a loss (i just hated it…fret buzz galore, shitty bass boost and tone knob that was basically am om off switch) and put together a parts p-bass with a nice all-parts neck. Good learning experience. Sorta have a love hate thing with it. But not ever going to get rid of it.

My other is a Gretsch junior jet that i got because it looks kickass, i wanted something more portable., and, honestly…the dude in Royal Blood used to play one.

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Interesting. This one is on my wish list for “one day when…”. Do you mind telling why your returned it? Faulty?

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Love thy schecter. I’m a schecter fanboy. These are mine

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@akos I second the question if you dont mind; Why did you discard the Duff?

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Because they were faulty.

The first one had a broken TBX knob, so I returned it for a refund. Then the second one (had to wait half a year to be back in stock) started having issues with the pickup selector switch after 4-5 weeks, right after my 28-day refund window expired. Returned it for repairs, took them a month, and it still had the same issue when I got it back. Returned it for a refund for good, and didn’t give it a third try.

Bought a Lakland instead, and then another Lakland, and I’m happy with those.

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