LeftyBassist.com

Virgil Lay was a guitar maker/repairman in Akron, Ohio. He built this for around $70.00 as a graduation present from High School. Virgil went on to start SIT strings with my old band mate Bob Hird in the mid 1970's. The bass has had a few upgrades over the years (first generation EMGs from mid 1970s) and several refins but it keeps on truck'n!

My first bass was a Australian maker Maton "Who has gone on to be a maker of high quality acoustic guitars"
purchased in 1968 one of only a 161 made, and only a small handful lefties. The biggest mistake I made when
by peer pressure (Band Members) I trade it for a Gibson EB0 1970 A heap of crap. The picture is of a band that
was just getting started when our singer got call up for the army.

FOM wrote:Virgil Lay was a guitar maker/repairman in Akron, Ohio. He built this for around $70.00 as a graduation present from High School. Virgil went on to start SIT strings with my old band mate Bob Hird in the mid 1970's. The bass has had a few upgrades over the years (first generation EMGs from mid 1970s) and several refins but it keeps on truck'n!

$70?! That bass looks amazing. More pix, more pix!

Kay SG bass copy purchased winter of 1979:


Surface mounted microphonic pickup thru this Epiphone bass amp sounded just as you'd imagine...


Not pictured:
Groovy stitch/weave guitar strap, grey plastic molded coiled cord, and felt pick.

Kay bass, played upside-down.
Bought new in 1976 for $65. Hooked it up to my home stereo for a while 'til I bought a Univox amp for $100.
bass and amp are long gone.

yikes..my first bass?

ok it was a silvertone from the early 80's I had it 3 months and was pretty heavily into all kinds of stuff back then. Got wasted one night, fell off the stage broke the neck and threw a LYLE neck on it, while I was in one of my moments, I tossed another Dimarzio guitar pickup in it. Intonation..hahah what was that?

the damn thing played pretty good under the 12th fret with no buzz and low action.
here it is and I actually kept it around until a couple years ago when my neighbor wanted a bass he could smash on stage...he did...lol


and here is me in my basement in 1983 before I busted the neck on it perfect shortscale flipper bass..it had a crappy chrome mud-bucker in the neck position and no fucking short jokes I've heard em all as our 2 guitarists were over 6ft....

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My first bass was an EB-3 copy (believe it was a Kay bass but can't remember), purchased in the late 70's along with a Peavey amp. Sold all my gear to raise money for college; when I finished school I looked for "real" lefty but was not successful; I was was out of music for a number of years until the day I walked into the New Haven Sam Ash and found myself staring at a NOS '96 American Standard P. That first bass served the purpose; I learned the basics and in time went on to better instruments and better projects. I'd like to think that whoever ended up with that copy can say the same thing all these years later.

1982 was a long time ago but I bought a red Hondo P bass copy that weighed like 12 LB...Wow that was a few years ago..I didn't own an amp for another year and it was a Peavey crapper and a Radio Shack 15" and a cab I built myself and boy what a combo it sounded horrible. Next bass was a Rick right handed 3000 that I flipped and it was killer I wish I kept it.