My bass came in UPS last night. Unpacking it was awesome. I haven't bought a new (as in brand new, factory box) guitar/bass since I was in high school. I wont count the $90 P-bass I bought some years back, as it was such a cheaply made instrument that it's not nearly the same experience. In fact, a week before I purchased the bass, I was in Guitar Center demoing this model. They had one in stock, and it was the floor model I was playing. They told me I could purchase the floor model if I wanted. It was in like new condition, nothing wrong with it at all, but I really wanted that experience of opening up the factory box myself. It's been a good 15 years since I've done that. So after I made up my mind, I went back to Guitar Center and had them order one and ship it to my home. I'm glad I went that route.
This is the best bass I've ever owned, I couldn't stop playing it last night. The first bass I owned was an Ibanez Soundgear P-bass, the lowest end model. I sold it when I was poor in high school so I could fund other guitar gear.
I missed having a bass, as I like to do my own multi track recordings, so around the time I graduated high school I bought a shitty $90 (shipped!) P-bass off eBay, as that's all I could afford at that time. Very cheaply made. Perfectly playable, no problems setting it up correctly. But cheap bass = cheap sound. I also accidentally ordered the P model when I wanted the J model, and I just kept it as that was easier than the exchange for such a cheap instrument. I bought a genuine Fender J bass bridge pickup that I was gonna retro fit into it, but never got around to doing that. I decided it wasn't worth the time to do it on such a cheap bass.
So some years after that, a friend of mine sold me his old Ibanez 5-string. Some lower end model, nothing special. I think I gave him around $100 for it. I've owned it for years now, and I still haven't played it. I only wanted a 5-string in case I need one to record with, otherwise I want to play on a 4-string.
I never had a proper bass amp, being that I wasn't a "bass player" and only wanted one to record with. I would record DI, and if me or someone else was playing live with a group I would just use a DI box with my PA. So a couple of years ago I was able to score a Fender M-80 1x15 combo amp at a pawn shop. At first glace, it seems like "some shitty bass amp Fender made for only a few years then discontinued," but it's actually a decent amp. It gets great tones, and the built in chorus effect is fantastic.
Long story short, this is the first time I've owned a decent bass and a decent bass amp so I'm pretty stoked about it.
