It's Baaaack.....

[D.M.N.]

I'll be honest, I came in here expecting the Mothman.

 

[P. Aaron]

I'll be honest, I came in here expecting the Mothman.

This thread harshes.

Massive sadz all around.

 

[wvbass]

I was sure this thread was going to be about the McRib.

 

[retslock]

Every few years my white whale bass pops up on Reverb again and it drives me freaking INSANE.

But even for a master-built CS, the $$ is just stupid. So stupid I consider selling my car to buy it.

Fender Custom Shop 2009 Master Built ‘66 Precision Bass. | Pre CBS Slabs-R-us | Reverb


View attachment 4244607

That’s a pass from me and I love Precision basses. It’s only 12 years old. No way the price is justified.

 

[Killing Floor]

I have an Oly white slab Tele. I get it. That looks tempting.
And a lot better price than a true 66 P.
Go get it. Clean the strings by the bridge and post pics.

 

[cnltb]

and I thought it was going to be this!

View attachment 4244612

...as did I.

 

[cnltb]

Every few years my white whale bass pops up on Reverb again and it drives me freaking INSANE.

But even for a master-built CS, the $$ is just stupid. So stupid I consider selling my car to buy it.

Fender Custom Shop 2009 Master Built ‘66 Precision Bass. | Pre CBS Slabs-R-us | Reverb


View attachment 4244607

That's a 'british' P. right?

 

[Daniel Piper]

Came to see the mothman.

We used to be a people of culture.

 

[bigswifty1]

I picked one of these up because I loved the ZZ Top, Dusty bass look. I like everything about it, except the slab body. I have to wear a wrist sweat band when I play it for any length of time. That slab hard edge digs into the side my wrist.

I'm with you. If you're playing for hours slab basses are a pest IMO. Heavier than they need to be and edges digging into you here and there. I love my Stingray Classic, I play it a lot at home and enjoy it. Every time it goes to a gig about the end of the first set I'm thinking "Why?"

 

[beaglesandbass]

$80 for shipping? too rich for me.

 

[Lowbrow]

That’s a pass from me and I love Precision basses. It’s only 12 years old. No way the price is justified.

I think I remember the price being pretty much the same when these were available on MF some years ago — which suggests that they didn’t appreciate at all. But then, how could it? And yet the recent Lynnott CS Precision was priced over $12k, and that’s a lot extra for a mirror pickguard.

 

[South Mad Sab]

I have a hard time seeing that kind of money, even if it were the original, ... but this is a 2009 reissue. 2 Grand... tops! I'll pass.

 

[wvbass]

I know some people love them, but I'm not a fan of slab cut bodies. They are more-or-less fine on a strap, but I find them uncomfortable to play sitting down when you rest your arm on the body. Still, that doesn't keep me from owning a couple...

 

[sleddogn]

I'm a huge fan of fender slabs. Mustangs and precisions in slab form are crazy awesome imo.

 

[micguy]

Have you priced building a Warmoth clone?
Could probably do it for 1200 or so.

It's a freaking Fender bass - yes, it may have been built by someone that knows what they're doing, but I agree that a Warmoth build is a great alternative. You can get EXACTLY what you want - you just have to know someone who knows what they're doing to assemble the thing. I build my own, and oddly, after having done a number of builds, I know exactly what I want - there is noone on the planet that knows what I like better than me, so for me, a Fender Custom shop instrument couldn't top what I make for myself. If you can find a luthier that knows what he or she is doing, and you know what you want, the parts Warmoth makes are better than what Fender makes, and you have a wider array of wood choices, etc. - it's a no brainer IMHO.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Every few years my white whale bass pops up on Reverb again and it drives me freaking INSANE.

But even for a master-built CS, the $$ is just stupid. So stupid I consider selling my car to buy it.

Fender Custom Shop 2009 Master Built ‘66 Precision Bass. | Pre CBS Slabs-R-us | Reverb


View attachment 4244607

The day I spend $9,000 on a bass is the day a dollar won’t buy you more than a dead fly. Agreed, crazy asking price, but a really nice bass.

 

[Marlon Carbone]

For that kind of money, you could order a custom instrument.

 

[ebo]

And probably cheaper for Fender as well ... in fact I believe the non-contoured body was specifically meant to reduce production costs.

and I thought it was going to be this!

View attachment 4244612

I think I just turned to stone. (Medusa lives!)

 

[bigtone23]

It's a freaking Fender bass - yes, it may have been built by someone that knows what they're doing, but I agree that a Warmoth build is a great alternative. You can get EXACTLY what you want - you just have to know someone who knows what they're doing to assemble the thing. I build my own, and oddly, after having done a number of builds, I know exactly what I want - there is noone on the planet that knows what I like better than me, so for me, a Fender Custom shop instrument couldn't top what I make for myself. If you can find a luthier that knows what he or she is doing, and you know what you want, the parts Warmoth makes are better than what Fender makes, and you have a wider array of wood choices, etc. - it's a no brainer IMHO.

Same, I know what I like, so I can tweak a bass into my personal, favorite feel and tone.
I'm not a P bass guy, but ya gotta have one, so I assembled one several years ago on an extreme budget to see what I could make happen on the cheap. Built this with Squier parts--51 CV neck (which is quite nice), stock tuners and agathis Dirnt body (slab with forearm contour and split pickup rout). Run of the mill 2004-ish US Fender P pickup and CTS pots, Schaller bridge, super played in Chromes.

Are the woods as nice as this Fender or a Warmoth build? No. Are the electronics and hardware as nice? Different, but not really fancy at all.
Does it play incredible? Yes. Does it sound like a typical P? Yes. Is it fairly light and balanced? Yep. (8.5#)
Was it $300 total to build? Yes. This is key--I personally can't imagine $9k for a P bass that isn't actually old. It's certainly a cool replica of a cool bass, and I'm sure it's a killer bass, indeed, but realistically worth more like $3K on the used market. To each their own.