Basses (ones in bold I still own)
1983 Westone thingy. Black, P-type pup, bit of a plank, but did the job! At the root of my current prediliction for black basses.
1984 Tokai Jazz Sound Blue, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. Swapped for....
1980-ish Guild B301 - used to be black but paint stripped off - revealing gorgeous mahogany body. Sold this for $200 in 2001 - wish I'd kept it - saw one in Ludlow Guitars in NYC for $1,400 just this year...
1980-ish Guild B302F - ebony fingerboard, Seymour Duncan J-pickup added to original Guild, great noises. It fell apart, largely due to poor care and no playing - my own fault. Still have the pickguard, pups and pots. Might used these in a Frankenbase some time.
Then a long, long gap... before.....
2005 [b]Fender USA Standard Jazz Bass[/b], black, tortoise pg, rosewood fingerboard. Stock bass - love it. Bought from Rudy's Music on 48th Street. Have put half-wounds on there. Nice!
2008 [b]Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass[/b], black (of course), rosewood fingerboard, Seymour Duncan hot stack half pounder thingy PJ pickups. Visually gorgeous. Bought off a guy in Florida (on Talkbass). Have to find the right string type/weight and thinking of replacing the bridge with a Babicz. May also drop the SD pups and put in a more traditional set. But not until 2012...
[b]Squier VM Fretless ([/b]Unknown year[b])[/b] with outrageous and awful go-fast-strip paint job (done with a toilet brush, I think), EMG pickups, a Badass ][ bridge - ebonol fingerboard - does precisely what you'd expect of it. Bought of a guy in Chicago (on Talkbass too). Put D'Addario Chromes (flats) on - nicely tones down the EMG's squeakier tendencies.
2010 [b]Yamaha BB425[/b] five-string, metallic red (subtle, to a degree) - deeply discounted on Amazon/Musician's Friend (I'm embarassed to say how deep..) Pulled the trigger and have to say that, so far, I like it very much. Simple, solid, bit bright - but will put some flats on there next year. Have yet to use live or in band setting - don't know how I'll perform with 5 strings. But loving the low B so far.
[b]Hofner Siena[/b] (Unknown year) acoustic bass guitar. Bought in a guitar shop in Islamabad, Pakistan, of all places. Needs some TLC - pickup stopped working and pegs keep popping out. Am keen to keep this as I like the feel of it.
Amps/Cabs (one in [b]bold [/b]I still own)
A 1x12 combo from mid-1980's whose name I can't even remember. Did the job until I got....
Trace Elliot 4X12 Combo - workhorse for half a decade. Survived a fire in the straw-strewn trailer we used to take gear to gigs. Developed a strange fault in the preamp - never identified it, but resoldered every visible connection and it went away. Loud MF - ended the on-stage volume war - until the Drummer got a Simmons kit - but that's another story.
....a decade of borrowed gear....then...
[b]Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0T combo[/b] with the single Neo 12" cab. Light, loud, a tube for some nice edge, switchable voltage (for when I move somewhere else - i.e. any day now) Bought in Rudy's in Manhattan. First tube pre-amp - makes the most lovely noises when squeezed. Got the foot-pedal - enjoying the voicing changes this brings.