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Today I played the bass that Ghost Town was recorded on... (and a question about neck profiles)


tredders
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Horace from the Specials recently found and bought back his '71 P bass that he used to record Ghost Town on. Was round having a cuppa and a noodle on it earlier on. It has the most amazing thin (from front to back) neck, and it's just lovely to play. It's totally different to my '73 P bass neck, and much nicer. Yes, I have P bass envy!

The point of this post is as follows: Mine has a B profile, and I assume that this one has a standard C neck (although that is just an assumption). I've played a few early 70's Precisions in my time, but can't remember one that had a neck quite as good as this one - standard P bass nut spacing, but thin from front to back, and quite flat.. Is this a standard profile for that era? The back of the neck was very worn, and H couldn't remember whether the neck had been reshaped, or just nicely worn from lots of playing.

Can anyone who owns a late 60's / early 70's P bass with a C profile neck comment? If it's a standard profile, consider me on the lookout for one...

Picture of said bass with said Mr Panter. It's got DiMarzio pups, brass bridge, brass nut, bronze coloured pick guard, and brass knobs. Oh, and it feels like it's been painted with a thick paint brush. But it sounds bloody great, and plays even better!

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[quote name='tredders' timestamp='1501615166' post='3345992']
Horace from the Specials recently found and bought back his '71 P bass that he used to record Ghost Town on. Was round having a cuppa and a noodle on it earlier on. It has the most amazing thin (from front to back) neck, and it's just lovely to play. It's totally different to my '73 P bass neck, and much nicer. Yes, I have P bass envy!

The point of this post is as follows: Mine has a B profile, and I assume that this one has a standard C neck (although that is just an assumption). I've played a few early 70's Precisions in my time, but can't remember one that had a neck quite as good as this one - standard P bass nut spacing, but thin from front to back, and quite flat.. Is this a standard profile for that era? The back of the neck was very worn, and H couldn't remember whether the neck had been reshaped, or just nicely worn from lots of playing.

Can anyone who owns a late 60's / early 70's P bass with a C profile neck comment? If it's a standard profile, consider me on the lookout for one...

Picture of said bass with said Mr Panter. It's got DiMarzio pups, brass bridge, brass nut, bronze coloured pick guard, and brass knobs. Oh, and it feels like it's been painted with a thick paint brush. But it sounds bloody great, and plays even better!


[/quote]

I've no idea if it will be the same, but Nate Mendel's '71 Precision has an 'A' neck on it, which although is a 40mm nut width, feels much slimmer than a 'standard P'. His 'signature' bass has the same profile, but doesn't seem to have the rounded off fretboard edges.

It also happens to be my favourite neck profile too, which also appears on my '76 Matsumoku precision bass. Could this one be similar?

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Great stuff! I'm envious that you got to play the bass that was used on such a great record!
I'm amazed at just how much P bass necks seem to vary. But is it possible that a pro luthier has slimmed this one down a bit?
Would be great to know. I prefer a C shaped P neck too...

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[quote name='dood' timestamp='1501616497' post='3346004']
I've no idea if it will be the same, but Nate Mendel's '71 Precision has an 'A' neck on it, which although is a 40mm nut width, feels much slimmer than a 'standard P'. His 'signature' bass has the same profile, but doesn't seem to have the rounded off fretboard edges.

It also happens to be my favourite neck profile too, which also appears on my '76 Matsumoku precision bass. Could this one be similar?
[/quote]

Actually, looking closely at the picture on my small screen, the nut width does appear to look like 42mm rather than 40mm.

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Definitely not a Jazz neck - it felt much wider than my B profile neck, but narrower front to back... I am wondering if it's been professionally slimmed down now. Whether it's standard or has been altered, it's my new favourite neck profile! I'm going to have to pop back later in the week and take a tape measure and snaps some pics! I'll see if I can take some pics of his other basses too...

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[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1501624903' post='3346097']
The Nate Mendel Precision which is based on a 71 P is advertised as having a 'slim C' neck with a 41mm nut. It's noticeably shallower than the current modern C.....
[/quote]

Thanks! And thanks also to dood, who also mentioned this. Need to track down a Nate Mendel to try now...

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Does seem as though there was a short run on shallower necks in '71... Just been reading an interview with Mendel, and noticed the part below. Now I'm off to change the trades on my Variax for sale to include a Nate Mendel P bass :lol:

-------------------------------

[font=inherit]How did your Fender signature model come about? What's the history of the original?[/font]
"I found this 71 Fender P-Bass back in the early 90s and I loved it. I discovered that it was this rare model that they'd made in 1971 with a different type of neck - it was like a thinner version of the P-Bass neck, perhaps a little bit closer to the Jazz Bass. I really liked it, it was super easy to play and it was just a great sounding bass and I played it on 10 years-worth of records."

Edited by tredders
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[size=4]I recently sold my 1971 Precision that had an "A" neck, the nut width was 38mm and the radius was [/size][color=#545454][font=arial, sans-serif][size=1][size=4]7.25-inch and it felt great to play[/size]. :)[/size][/font][/color]

Edited by thebrig
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