Hi Aaron,
I'm one of those old farts that played bass in the 50's. I have to agree with everything that Ken said above. I played on guts until around '65 when I came across my first set of steel strings, and never went back. I was told that steels came out in 58 or 59, but I don't really know if that is true or not. I never played with a band in those days that had a PA system of any kind. The only mike on stage was for the vocalist and was run thru a combo amp on stage. Bands in those days were a lot more sensitive to dynamics, and didn't play nearly as loud as they do now. In the better bands, you could actually hear the bass, but the sound was not up front like it is today. And then in a lot of bands, you just couldn't hear it at all. A lot of band leaders used to buy a bass to provide to whoever they hired to play. It was usually the cheapest piece of crap they could find. Strung with guts with broken windings and action so high that it took 2 hands to stop a note. I have also known some of those band leaders, when they couldn't get a bass player for a gig, to hire a trombone or trumpet or guitar player and tell them to muffle the strings and thump on the bass. Turned it into the worlds most expensive bass drum. Hell, you couldn't hear them anyway, apparently stage dressing was important too. As far as pickups and amps go, the endpin mike that Ken mentioned is probably the oldest. I bought a used DeArmond pickup in 58 that I think was made in the late 40s. It made the bass sound more like a bad tuba than a string bass. I still have that pickup in my junk drawer where it belongs. I finally found a cheap microphone in 59 that worked pretty well thru an Epiphone 15 watt guitar amp. I have no idea who made this mike. It was in a circular semi-soft rubber case, with a red foam rubber filter over the element. The element was square, about an inch square and was all metal of some kind. It had an 8 foot cord on it with a 1/4" plug and was impervious to feedback. I just jammed it between the tailpiece and the top plate, and it served me well for many years until the Underwood came out. I don't know if this post will be of any help to you, but it's allowed me to reminisce a little bit
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