My 1985 Fender Precision Bass

25 Years Ago this past August my parents purchased for me
my first electric bass guitar. It was a brand new, American made,
Fender Precision Bass. It was black with a white pick guard and it
had a maple fingerboard. At the time I was 13 and was just excited
to have an “electric” instrument. I had no idea what the future
impacts of that

purchase
would be. I still have that bass, unmodified, and it still
plays great. I have owned several other basses over the years, but
no other bass has ever felt or sounded quite the same. That bass
became so important to me over the years that in the late 90′s I
traveled across the state to purchase one that was identical to it
to use for live shows. When my parents made the decision to
purchase that bass, they had been advised by a friend of the family
that if they invested a little more in the bass (originally they
were looking at getting me a cheaper knock-off) that I would have
the bass for years and probably never need another one. They
listened to that friend, ordered my P-Bass, and started a new
family tradition. We were now a “Fender Family”. For 25 years I
have played fender instruments and amplifiers. Every member of my
family is fully aware of the history of the Fender company, as well
as all their products. I try different brands from time to time,
but I always come back to Fender. Fast forward to this past August.
Once again my family journeyed into Pittsburgh to purchase a Fender
guitar, this time a Fender Stratocaster, American made, black and
white with a maple fingerboard, but this time the guitar was not
for me. It was for my son, who at the time of purchase was only six
months old. Why buy a guitar like that for a six month old baby?

Simple…I am leaving a legacy. I was born in 1971 and I often look for Fender P-basses from 1971 on eBay and other sites because I think it

Nicholas with his 2010 Fender Stratocaster

would be neat to have a bass (or a guitar) from the year I was
born. Every time I search I find guitars and basses and they are
normally in the $2,000 to $5,000 range. I cannot afford to spend
that kind of money on a bass, so I just window shop and
dream. When my wife and I first learned she was pregnant last
year, my mind almost immediately went to my quest for the 1971
P-Bass. I thought to myself “wouldn’t it be cool to buy our
child a guitar that was built the same year they were born?” I
talked this over with my wife and she agreed to the idea. Nicholas
will be free to play (or not play) any instrument he chooses, but I
still wanted him to have this guitar. Once Nicholas was born we
went to Pittsburgh Guitars to place the order.

It is funny how things work out sometimes. In 1985, I can remember placing the order for my P-Bass and calling the music store every couple of weeks to see if it had come in yet. Well, the same thing happened this time around. We placed the order in May,
and it arrived in August (almost the identical time frame to when

Nicholas with his Strat and Carl and the gang at Pittsburgh Guitars

the order for my bass was placed). Pittsburgh guitars is my
favorite guitar shop. They are not the largest in town, but they
are the best, and most knowledgeable staff around. And they are
really good sports. Since this was a pretty big deal to me, I took
a camera and photographed the event, including getting the staff of
Pittsburgh guitars to pose for a picture with Nicholas. So why am I
only telling this story tonight? Why not back in August? Well for
two reasons. The first is that my wife is pregnant with our second
child and I have been trying to decide what guitar to get for that
child. It has to be just as iconic as the guitar we got Nicholas. I
kicked around a Gibson Les Paul, or a Gibson SG, but as I stated
earlier, we are a Fender family. While both of those guitars are
iconic, they are not Fender. I also kicked around the idea of a
Gretsch (and since the Gretsch company is now owned by Fender, it
would still be a good choice), but the more I think about it, I
think it will be a Telecaster. Most likely black and white with a
maple fingerboard. Reason number two is this: All of this started
about 27 years ago at my 12th birthday party when my friend John
over at Iron City Rocks brought the 45 of “Heaven’s On Fire” by KISS for us
to listen to. Up to that point, I had never really listened to any
thing heavier than the Beatles. My mom raised me on the Beatles and
the Beach Boys, and the rock of the 50′s and 60′s, but I really
didn’t listen to much modern rock. Once John put that record on,
that was it. I loved that sound. It was new, it was heavier, and
there was an “energy” to it. John also put the notion in my head
that you could learn to play guitar. Up to that point, I have never
even thought of playing guitar. I learned a little bit of piano,
and I played trombone in the school band, but the idea of guitar
never crossed my mind until that day. I was persistent about
learning the guitar and finally my parents bought me a used Harmony
acoustic guitar and got me lessons. By my thirteenth birthday, I
was completely obsessed with guitar, and had a guitar birthday
cake, but I really was not that good at playing guitar. I was very
persistent and practiced and was making progress, but not enough to
play in the school rock band (which was my goal). My Guitar teacher
was also in charge of the school rock band and put the bug in my
parents ear that he needed a bass player next year and that I might
be better at bass. Well, that leads us to August 1985 and the rest
is history. So that is why I bought my six month old son a guitar
and why I will be buying a guitar for our next child once he or she
(we like to be surprised) is born. Whatever my children decide as
far as playing instruments will be up to them, but no matter what
they choose, they will always have the “legacy” that was started by
my parents.