Is there really a market for the 1966 slab Precision clone?

[Lowbrow]

Cabronita body refinished off white, rout, add black p pick guard and classic 50s p neck. Substitute a DiM model p pup for aggression per JEs many assessments of the 66 slab sound. That is my often-mulled fantasy of 66 slab recreation. Truth is the Squier Cabronita body with the belly rout is preferable as it makes me look less fat (I own one of those).

 

[SJLee]

$5,000 would these be Masterbuilt?

 

[Slab66]

Yes I did. However, The grip that FCS has on this is hard to break! Nevertheless, great discussion. Must be 15-16" fingerboard radius slab neck too!!! Oh, that noise!!!!!

Let's not forget Larry Taylor's slab at 'Monterrey' in 67. He hated the thing apparently and gave it away.

 

[grrg63]

In my experience, you really miss those contours when they're not there.

 

[SJLee]

So, what do we mean by, 'master built'!! You'd think they would get the edge countours right for $5000!! $500 worth of bass and $4500 worth of bull ****!!

You might want to visit the CS section of Fender's website if you're not familiar with the term Masterbuilt.

 

[Space Pickle]

What is a slab bass? One without a tummycut? Because I would actually really like that.

 

[SJLee]

Correct, slabs IMO are cool looking but very uncomfortable to play.

 

[GregC]

Yes I did. However, The grip that FCS has on this is hard to break! Nevertheless, great discussion. Must be 15-16" fingerboard radius slab neck too!!! Oh, that noise!!!!!

Really? First time I've heard that the radius on these was so radically different than the standard.

 

[kohntarkosz]

What is a slab bass? One without a tummycut? Because I would actually really like that.

Fender made some low-budget Precision basses in 1966, primarily for exporting to the UK. For some reason Rickenbacker also shipped the budged 1999RM bass to the UK at the same time; I guess we were cheap back then. I guess the economy was so wrecked after WW2 that it took a while to recover, there was a trade embargo on US goods until the early '60s...

The Slab bass is exactly as you describe. It has all the fixtures and fittings of a post-1957 Precision bass, but without the tummy and forearm contouring. I can only guess that they took the body blanks, routed them for a neck pocket and electronics cavities then chucked them straight over to the paint shop rather than spend the extra time giving them a nice round-over or contouring.

The pickguard isn't the usual Tortoiseshell affair either... apparently they sound different to a stock Precision bass. I'm not entirely convinced, given that they share the same circuitry, and I think that because the bass is synonymous with heavy players, such as Ace Kefford and John Entwistle, people perceive them to have a more aggressive tone. In the case of John Entwistle, he used a different bass at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival (a stock, black, Precision bass) and it sounds different on the recording. Because the recording was captured in the (muddy) field there is a certain element of uncertainty to the proceedings. It could be that John had to borrow the bass, or had bought it that day, and therefore not set it up accordingly.

When I think of the classic 'Slab' tone, to me it is all about having stupidly low action. With an overdriven tube amp, what is usually classed as undesirable fret buzz becomes a wall of musical and tightly marshaled upper-harmonic content.

 

[Lowbrow]

JAE also had some mod on his slab that I never heard an explanation for-find a good pic and you'll see a third knob and something resembling a toggle.

 

[Mark Nye]

.... give working bassists $5k to spend on a single instrument and I wager they will not darken the doorways of any Fender dealers.

Give me $5K and I'll buy a killer bass, a killer rig, and a car to haul it all around!

 

[kohntarkosz]

JAE also had some mod on his slab that I never heard an explanation for-find a good pic and you'll see a third knob and something resembling a toggle.

I hope these help!

I've read two stories about this;

1) He had a roadie rewire it so that each half of the pickup went to a different output, and therefore he could run it in stereo. It didn't work.

2) He had a roadie fit a crude 1-knob fuzz unit out of a Vox bass. It didn't work.

 

[ukulelelab]

$5k is just silly. I did my own little slab project last year with quality parts and pro nitro finish for a grand total of $1.5k.

 

[godofthunder59]

On board distortion seems to have been a thing with UK players. On Live at Leeds you can hear John kick in distortion at certain points. I have always wondered if this was a pedal or a on board unit. Entwistle held Jim Lea of Slade in high regard. Jim had a on board distortion built in to his Gibson EB3 by John Birch. This circuit was also duplicated in his John Birch EB3 style bass.

 

[smcd]

Fender's custom shop is, dare I say, not catering for musicians. Lawyers, dentists and plastic surgeons can afford $5k Precision basses.... give working bassists $5k to spend on a single instrument and I wager they will not darken the doorways of any Fender dealers.

Nothing wrong with catering to lawyers, dentists confused and plastic surgeons. I welcome anyone with money to buy things from me.



I'd guess that .0000000001% of the bass market wants a slab body Precision. Entwistle fanboys and Fender collector completists are the only ones who would buy such a thing. If it were released by Fender in their American Standard model line, it would be discontinued in less than a year due to poor sales.


But I do disagree with your contention that working bass players would shun Fender if they had $5grand. I'd say the VAST majority of working bass players would buy a vintage or custom Fender if that kind of fun money dropped in their laps.

 

[CiceroProfundo]

For the full story on the UK slab basses you could read this Invalid Link Removed

 

[Lowbrow]

Anyway, regarding OP I think the short answer is probably no.

 

[FrednBass]

http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6066.html

"John owned (and trashed) three of 20 total made by Fender, which were made specifically for the UK market.
Slab (squared off) body, split pickup, maple neck, black scratch plate.
Finish is called “White Blonde” by Fender, and “See-Through Blonde” or “See-Through White” colloquially. John describes it as, “...what looked like blue veins coming through the white paintwork.”"

 

[kohntarkosz]

Nothing wrong with catering to lawyers, dentists confused and plastic surgeons. I welcome anyone with money to buy things from me.

Absolutely! If it wasn't for the lawyers and dentists lining Fender's coffers they probably wouldn't have the necessary finance to reintroduce the Coronado or Starcaster basses. They took a gamble there both in revisiting old designs and moving construction to China. I don't see Rickenbacker, for example, taking such risks.

I'd guess that .0000000001% of the bass market wants a slab body Precision. Entwistle fanboys and Fender collector completists are the only ones who would buy such a thing. If it were released by Fender in their American Standard model line, it would be discontinued in less than a year due to poor sales.

Again I agree. They wouldn't be anybody's first Fender. They might sell a few (~20) to guys that owned an original, or had contact with one...

But I do disagree with your contention that working bass players would shun Fender if they had $5grand. I'd say the VAST majority of working bass players would buy a vintage or custom Fender if that kind of fun money dropped in their laps.

I thought they would have flocked to Fedora et al if given that much money...

 

[kohntarkosz]

They used the maple capped necks because they were at hand.

Would these be 'old' necks? I thought Fender had largely gone over to rosewood by 1966?