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This is my first bass guitar, an Ibanez SR400. I name him Akucinta 1. I decided from the looks and the sounds of the bass guitar that it should be a “him”. Of course most men refer to their bass guitars as “her”. Even a rifle can be a “her” to male soldiers cradling it.

Back of Akucinta I

I bought Akucinta 1 just before traveling to Singapore (I was away for 2 months), so I did not really get acquainted with him.  I just got back from Singapore about 10 days ago.

Head & Tuners of Akucinta I

I found Akucinta 1 for sale on craigslist and bought him from Thomas Hildebrand, who is not a bassist and does not know much about bass guitars. He inherited it from a friend who passed away.  His friend left the bass guitar at his apartment when they were trying to do some recordings. When his friend passed away (I don’t know whether his departure was sudden), his friend’s family told Thomas to keep the bass guitar. Thomas held on to it for sentimental reasons until this year. He was moving from Brooklyn to LA where is girlfriend is, and needed to sell stuff. Thomas thinks that his friend probably had it since the late 90′s. So yeah, Akucinta is an old boy kept away in a box for years.

Entire Back of Akucinta I

 The deal was US$200 for the black Ibanez SR400 (good condition), a Hard Case (excellent condition) for the bass guitar, a Wah Crybaby pedal (not tested), and a straight 1/4″ instrument cable (fairly good condition).  All in.

Thomas also gave me an acoustic guitar (fair condition) also with a hard case (good condition) for free.

Front of Akucinta I

I don’t have proper amplifiers, and probably will not be buying one for a while. I discovered that I am able to hook it up to the monitors(speakers) that I already possess. I think it is more important that I bring Akucinta 1 to the Guitar Centre for servicing. So that’s gonna cost me some. I don’t know if he’s ever been serviced since the time he was bought from a store. I got some “inlay stickers” for Akucinta 1, and will probably apply them after he has been serviced. And finally, here’s what he would probably look like:

Akucinta 1, Dressed up.

 Last but not least, let me mention about how Akucinta 1 was named. “Aku Cinta” means “I Love” in informal Malay. I=Aku, Love=Cinta. This phrase was the source for the word “Kucinta”, a nickname given to the Singapura Cat in 1991. Kucinta also sounded like the word “Kucing” which means “Cat” in Malay.

Kucinta a.k.a.Singapura Cat

Although the “Singapura” Cat is merely a name and not a breed of cat native to Singapore (it was mostly bred in America), I’m glad to name my bass guitar in tribute to Singapore anyway. Akucinta. I Love. My bass guitar. Singapore. New York. My In-law’s Cats too.

Kucinta a.k.a. Singapura Cat

If I have the chance to own other bass guitars in future (perhaps a 5 string, or even a lefty), I would consider naming them Akucinta II, Akucinta III, … I Love.

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UPDATE: Apr 12, 2010

Here’s what Akucinta I sounds like straight from its 10+ year old box. You can hear that it is not perfectly tuned, and if you look closely with some of the frets, you can see that I have not serviced it at the Guitar Centre yet.

Everything you see on this video was pure play by ear, and my techniques are just guesswork. That’s not how I would want it to be for the long run. I’m gonna find me a good teacher, and build a good foundation in bass playing, just like I built up a good foundation in Guzheng, and am able to play any song I want. I don’t want it to end up like the acoustic guitar. In reality I have no foundation in the acoustic guitar and am not able to play any other song. I am not a real guitarist if I am only able to look professional with one song. I aspire to be able to play songs on the go and improvise like a real bassist someday.