Fender should build a 60's "slab" body Precision ala J.A.E.

godofthunder · April 25, 2013, 05:16:26 AM

I have no idea I know someone I can ask.

Quote from: Iome on April 25, 2013, 04:19:39 AM
What's the third knob for?

Lightyear · April 25, 2013, 06:10:43 AM

Quote from: Dave W on April 24, 2013, 10:04:47 PM
Would they need to modify the body shape? Isn't it the same as the '51 style slab body but with '57 features?

They would need to omit the forearm and belly cuts as well as reduce the edge radius I believe. Seems like everything else would be the same.

nofi · April 25, 2013, 07:31:07 AM

larry taylor of canned heat played a slab for awhile. that's one more accounted for.

Dave W · April 25, 2013, 08:52:40 AM

Quote from: Lightyear on April 25, 2013, 06:10:43 AM
They would need to omit the forearm and belly cuts as well as reduce the edge radius I believe. Seems like everything else would be the same.

What I meant was that they already have bodies like that, for the '51 Precision RI. Or at least Fender Japan does. They would just have to combine the programming for that body with the programming for the '57 (and later) electronics and bridge routing and drilling.

godofthunder · April 25, 2013, 09:19:21 AM

Quote from: nofi on April 25, 2013, 07:31:07 AM
larry taylor of canned heat played a slab for awhile. that's one more accounted for.

Cool I never knew that!

godofthunder · April 25, 2013, 09:54:45 AM

Andy Babiuk bassist for the Chesterfield Kings owner of Fab Gear and also wrote the book Beatles Gear is a good friend of mine he is going to ask Alan Rogan (guitar tech for the Who since '74) about the Slab basses and the third control.

John Schoen · April 25, 2013, 10:51:29 AM

I hope your friend can give the definitive answer about that knob. I went Googling and found two possibilities: one of them is that the bass was rewired for stereo output and the other is that Peter Cook had added a phase switch and a bass boost from a Gibson EB2 or Epiphone Rivoli. When you look at the picture below there could be a toggle switch between the tug bar and the first knob. A bass boost seems a little bit unlikely to me though because he was trying to get a more trebly sound around that time, using roundwound strings.

Pilgrim · April 25, 2013, 02:55:24 PM

Quote from: Iome on April 25, 2013, 04:19:39 AM
What's the third knob for?

That's the "Awesome" knob. Turn up for maximum awesomeness.

godofthunder · April 25, 2013, 02:57:31 PM

I wonder if he had a onboard distortion? Not unprecedented, Jim Lea of Slade had a onboard distortion circuit installed by John Birch on his '65 EB3. Jim Lea was certainly influenced by Entwistle and John was a big fan of Jimmy.

godofthunder · April 25, 2013, 03:02:44 PM

Quote from: Pilgrim on April 25, 2013, 02:55:24 PM
That's the "Awesome" knob. Turn up for maximum awesomeness.

John didn't need a awesome knob............................ though I could certainly benefit from one.

godofthunder · April 25, 2013, 03:14:03 PM

I am struck while digging through The Who tabs site (I have viewed this site many times but it has been a while) just how quickly John's gear changed and how far he was trying to push the envelope of the bass guitar and amplification, especially in the early years. He would try most anything, the most glaring obvious dead end is that Grestch bass. I have played one of those...................................what a dog you may as well play a upright. Just bringing this topic up reinforces what a innovator he was.

John Schoen · April 25, 2013, 03:59:46 PM

He was definitely an innovator. I could not find better pictures of the bass so I went through my Who DVDs and found this on Amazing Journey. The three knobs are clearly visible and so is the switch that I thought I saw in the other picture. He is even using a wireless system here, imagine that in 1966.

clankenstein · April 25, 2013, 05:04:12 PM

perhaps the switch is series/parallel for the pickup.

eb2 · April 25, 2013, 08:32:02 PM

Independent coil contols?

John Schoen · April 26, 2013, 04:03:52 AM

I posted the question on another forum and got an answer. There is book about these basses: 'Fender Bass For Britain -The History of the 1966 Slab-Bodied Precision Bass' written by Barry Matthews.

QuoteA tech suggested John's recently-bought slab bass have an extra jack socket and volume control fitted so John could dispense with his split lead and have control over his two Sound City stacks from his bass. He agreed - and, 'it sounded awful'. John asked him to put it back how it was. He couldn't and John bought his second slab soon after, which he then smashed at a gig at The Cow Palace in San Francisco. The neck from this bass was later used to make Frankenstein.

The thingy that I mistook for a switch is actually the second jack socket.