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70s Fender, what should I look for?

#142
StarscreamG1 said:
And this all sounds like I won't do that great P any justice. I play rock and rather slow dark stuff. The poor thing....:hiding: Its going from having backed one of Country musics best to being a moody dark rock lowender. I hope thats not going to be too much of a disservice to it. :ninja:
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You can't do it justice. Very few of us can -- that bass got to play some special stuff with some special players.

That said, just take that bass and play it with everything you've got in your soul. It's a tool, and tools used in honest service never really die.


StarscreamG1 said:
And I was reading up on Haggard a bit the other night and I found it interesting. I also downloaded a clip to listen to and he has a really really great voice I thought. I guess its time to open my mind and check him out more thoroughly. I am generally a REAL ANTI country music person but I am willing to check him out.
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I was pretty much ANTI-country until I got asked to do a fill-in gig for a friend of a friend. That led me to two major runs with some local bands that were good players and gigging a lot. I learned A LOT by learning how to play country properly -- and my first country gig was after I'd been playing for more than 20 years.
 
#144
duke12 said:
You can't do it justice. Very few of us can -- that bass got to play some special stuff with some special players.

That said, just take that bass and play it with everything you've got in your soul. It's a tool, and tools used in honest service never really die.
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I agree. And this baby will be played. Its too good to just let it sit in its case all the time. I am very happy with the core of my inadvertent collection and when this one came along I figured I would get it and just put it up for posterity sake. That was until I finally got to pick it up and play it. That changed real quick when I got my hand around that neck. Of course I can't say for sure until I've put a few hours play time on it but the thought has crossed my mind that I might just end up parting with a fair number of my basses once I get it. As I have said before my first bass was a lawsuit copy of this Precision. I came home when I got my first Peavey back and with this P its like Im right back where I started when I was 13 and it feels good. I love my Peaveys and thanks to this board opening my eyes/mind, I love my Fenders. ^_^

I was pretty much ANTI-country until I got asked to do a fill-in gig for a friend of a friend. That led me to two major runs with some local bands that were good players and gigging a lot. I learned A LOT by learning how to play country properly -- and my first country gig was after I'd been playing for more than 20 years.
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The only player I ever had exposure to when I was a kid starting out was a country bassist. He showed me a couple of licks and at the time I thought it was real boring (he was the one I later bought his bass from, it was a 1964 Gibson EB0 which I don't have anymore and the only one of my original 3 basses I have not replaced getting back into it.), but when I was listening to the Haggard vids last night I can hear some fundamental things that I would like to learn more of, if that makes any sense. I know all my basses can help me on that journey to learn some country bass, but this P would be even more appropriate I think.
 
#146
BTW, I wasnt talking about Devil Went Down To Georgia! I was talking bout Birmingham Blues and No Place Left To Go. Those tunes are different. B Blues is pure minor speed walking on bass and No Place is very jazzy. Unbelievable musicians!
 
#147
dch0719 said:
Durham played last month with Albert Lee in Tuscon

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Music/Content?oid=oid:117105

and here's his myspace

Link Removed

Dan
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Ok that doesn't make any sense. Im on the opposite side of the country and this Durham lives just a few houses away from me and he is in really bad health right now. Mmmmm I will be so glad when I meet him when I pick up the bass so I can find out what /exactly/ his connection is/was with Merle.
 
#149
Andrew Jones said:




It's a big job just gettin' by with nine kids and a wife
I been a workin' man dang near all my life
I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I'll drink my beer in a tavern,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

I keep my nose on the grindstone, I work hard every day
Might get a little tired on the weekend, after I draw my pay
But I'll go back workin, come Monday morning I'm right back with the crew
I'll drink a little beer that evening,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Sometimes I think about leaving, do a little bummin around
I wanna throw my bills out the window catch a train to another town
But I go back working I gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues
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We open every show with this song...have for years.
 
#154
check to see if

truss rod works and has room to adjust
neck isn't bowed
neck is straight
electronics/pickup works
tuners are working
nut is original or if not correctly installed
bridge is original or if not correctly installed

bass has a decent playability (even with a bad setup you can tell if its a keeper or not)
tone of the bass (plug it in and hear if that's the tone you want)
 
#155
Well I wasn't able to check most of that out when I finally saw it. The neck and body are fine on it but I didn't have a way to plug it in and test it. The knobs though turned freely, not too loose, not too tight. I did start to tune it and the machine heads were fine on it but I had no truss rod wrench to see if that was ok. Considering the year of it, what it is and what Im paying for it. If it does by chance need some electronic or truss rod work, I think its more then worth it. ^_^
 
#156
Update:

My friend thats buying my Brownsville Bat is going to spot me the money for the Precision. Hopefully I won't jinx it by talking about it LOL But if everything goes how its looking, I bring that Precision home this weekend. ^_^ I did have to give up the amp for it though and thats just fine with me cause I really didn't want it anyway. But the bass goes to me, the amp to my friend to go with the Bat and then I pay him back. We have done business like this before and it must be a strange friendship cause its always worked out well (you know the saying never do business with friends but its always worked between us). And some of what I owe will be deducted when I give him the amp. Yea a little less then I wanted but no biggie. At least Im bringing that bass home soon. Which is a good thing cause the mans health is getting so bad his nephew told me there is a fair chance he might not even live long enough for me to get him the money at the rate I was going (mid next month on it). O_O

So wish me luck! And hopefully I can get some stuff documented from him when I pick it up this weekend.
 

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