From Bass Player - December 2006 Interview of Lonnie Turner (Steve Miller Band)
Is it true you changed basses right before these sessions?
Yes! I had been playing a 1957 Fender Precision—and I loved it to death—but I started to feel like it didn’t really sparkle, like it didn’t have the punch I wanted. So I took it into the shop and found out the pickup windings had gotten pretty thin. The guy offered to replace the pickups, but then he told me, “Wait, a guy here was just at the NAMM show, and he saw a whole new line of basses Leo Fender is getting ready to release through his new company, Music Man.” So I got my hands on one right away, and it was a thing of amazing beauty—except, what’s with the battery? I had no idea. But then I hit a G, and then an F#, and then an F—and you could actually hear the difference!
Unfortunately, this new miracle bass was $600—without a case—and I had never paid that much even for a car. But I decided it was worth it, and I’ve never regretted it. I still own that bass; it’s serial number B002-123, so it’s the second-ever Music Man bass. I used it to cut all of Eagle and Book of Dreams, as well as the first couple of Eddie Money albums.
Lonnie Turner, Gregory Isola
