Fender Slab Bass

[Happyrocker]

Ah right I understand now. You will have to bear with me I’m not a technical sort of guy. I’m not sure I fell confident enough to take it to pieces. Let me think about. Sorry.

 

[Lowbrow]

Popps - Rather than try to describe it here are pics of the front and back

Oh my.

 

[Hawaii Islander]

The Mike Dirnt P-bass has an ash slab body with only a slight contour on the top front for the forearm.

 

[Bassoholle]

Hi cdef
Do you know who owns this one?

Hello!

That photo was taken in Parikkala, Eastern Finland, in July 2010.

I bought my Fender Precision when I was in Stockholm in January 1967 and I've played it ever since.

I play in a band called Topmost which was founded in 1964 and was one of Finland's most popular band in 1966-67. Besides Finland, we had gigs in Sweden and Denmark.

Topmost broke up in 1968 and reunited in 1988. Nowadays we play about ten gigs per year. Please, see Invalid Link Removed (only in Finnish, unfortunately).

As a professional musician I worked years 1966-1978. Besides Topmost, I played in bands called Apollo, Hullujussi and H.E.C, to mention a few.

My Fender Precision 1966 Slab ( I call it “The Log”) is refreshed and repainted a few times and once refretted.

Best regards,
Heimo Holopainen, Helsinki (Finland)

 

[felig]

I was in London in fall of '06 & saw one of the slab body basses in a shop on Denmark st. It had been owned by a British rocker (whose name & name of the band eludes me at the minute, but they were very well known).

It wasn't in very good shape & had been routed for an installed humbucker--& the shop still wanted quite a bit for it.

 

[Scott Thomas]

This one formerly owned by Steve Currie of T.Rex?

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Tom Howland]

i always heard that they made 17 of them.

A friend of mine has one, black-maple fingerboard.
He claims maybe 30 were made.
Only 3-4 with rosewood fingerboards.
Got to play his, very punchy, and bright.
Reminded me of his 1958-P-bass.
He has a sweet collection.
Only real difference is slab body.
I loved the neck profile, big C-shape.

 

[ricca]

About 10 years ago an english magazine called Bassist made an article about slabs, They report the Ox smashed 7 of them. They also traked, if I remember well, other 8 slabs with photos, serials and names of the owners.

 

[Lowbrow]

About 10 years ago an english magazine called Bassist made an article about slabs, They report the Ox smashed 7 of them. They also traked, if I remember well, other 8 slabs with photos, serials and names of the owners.

This bit of Ox history always intrigued me. The ultimate Fender bass collector, Entwistle is also responsible for destroying so many of what is perhaps the rarest Fender bass!

 

[bassingeorge]

I think Fender made more than 17....I have the Fender Bass book, and it just shows a picture of John Entwistle playing one. No specifics, like electronics, etc. It just says they were made for the UK.

I'm not to keen to the looks of the slab p bass...I like the slab Single Coil Precision, but I think contours are a must on a split coil p bass!


Oh, and I don't meen to hijack the thread, but any of you guys have info on the Clear Plexiglass p bass on the picture of John Entwistles' bass collection?

 

[Bassoholle]

Me and my Fender Slab 1967

- Heimo Holopainen

 

[mmv]

Hey

I have one of those.

We discussed it in http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/fender-custom-shop-66-slab-precision-576493/index4.html
and there are pictures of mine there

The more I play it, the more I love it. It has a very wide neck, and is pretty uncomfortable when you're sitting down with it, but the tone and the sustain is incredible.
Mine was stripped a long time ago, but is otherwise fairly original. A couple of screws been replaced here and there.

Martin

 

[bassdude51]

I saw one up for sale on eBay about 3 years ago for a "god awful" price. Several years back, Bass Player magazine did an article on the '66 Slab P that was only sold in England. Of the 20 made, only a handful are left. The ariticle in BP said that John Entwistle destroyed 2 or 3 of them. (Yes, John did some instrument smashing too.) The one that he had that can be seen in the Rolling Stones, Rock and Roll Circus, with The Who playing, A Quick One While He's Away was made up of parts from the several that he smashed. It's a 3 knob slab body P Bass. Some kind of custom passive electronics in it.

Anyone know anything else about the '66 Slab P?

 

[Tom Howland]

Popps - Rather than try to describe it here are pics of the front and back

A true thing of beauty.
One of my holy grail basses.
Would you ever sell?

 

[BassGen]

I've come up with a plan to get one of these slab basses. Now all i need is a Delorean and a Flux Capacitor. Why doesn't fender make a John Entwistle Frakenstein sig? Or they could just make slab RIs

I mean no disrespect to JE in anyway but Fender would have a tough time getting his "Sig" on it now. They to would need the Delorean and Flux Capacitor.

ETA: fixed a really dumb typo

 

[bassingeorge]

Ok, I have some questions....

What's the radius on these??

What is the exact color? Is it blonde? Or mary kay white? I know the body is ash...that explains the "blue veins"

I read somewere that the fretboard is a veneer cap? Is the neck quartersawn?

Would this be good with a 5% overwound pup?? Say...a Fralin?

Is the bridge the same as vintage RI?

I'm looking at doing myself a parts slab p bass

 

[feelthethunder]

So what was it about the electronics that made them more aggressive sounding? Fender didn't exactly make a huge variety of bass pickups back then unless I'm mistaken. Was it just the wiring? I'd love to rewire my P to sound like more aggressive...What did Mike Lull make special about your Slab, thunder?

When we were putting it together, I had Mike listen (via you tube) to John Entwistle on the Who's So Sad About Us video (at the Marquee) and Ace Kefford on the Move's I Can Hear the Grass Grow vid..
He then had the Lindy Fralin pickup overwound, and used 500K pots instead of the 250k..The bass was made from swamp ash painted Mary Kay white with a maple on maple fingerboard. He also 'sound tested' it through his Hiwatt!
See the pictures below with my Hiwatt..I also use it through my Orange and my Marshall VBA 400 (with VBC 4x12's).
I also have an Ashdown, so I can get modern sounds out of it as well..

Mike Lull Club member #43

 

[johnk_10]

Ok, I have some questions....

What's the radius on these??

7.25"

What is the exact color? Is it blonde? Or mary kay white? I know the body is ash...that explains the "blue veins"

the one that i had was vintage white.

I read somewere that the fretboard is a veneer cap? Is the neck quartersawn?

mine wasn't quartersawn. it was a regular maple/rosewood neck, but instead of rosewood, it had a maple fingerboard.

Would this be good with a 5% overwound pup?? Say...a Fralin?

mine wasn't overwound. it was just a stock p bass pickup.

Is the bridge the same as vintage RI?

yep, just like the AV RI bridge with ribbed saddles.

 

[benjammin420]

and used 500K pots instead of the 250k..

interesting