'66 Slab Precision...Anyone seen one/got one?

[Rick's Fine '52]

I'm curious to see if anyone either has one/has played one/owned one/knows someone who has one etc??

There's a few known examples, and the chances are that someone on here has had some contact with, or knowledge of, one of them?

I was offered Steve Curries a few years ago, but passed on it because of all the mods it had, one of the few 'serious' vintage basses I've been offered, that I [i]don't[/i] regret passing on.

Other than that, I played one in a New York Vintage store about 3 years ago, although it was the rosewood version (Doesn't count in my book!!), that's as close as I've got.

Any other stories? (Real ones please! )

(Sorry if this has been posted before, i did a quick search and couldn't find another?)

[Cosmo Valdemar]

"The Holy Grail"

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1332192891' post='1584726']
"The Holy Grail"
[/quote]

Wow, that was a quick response, less than a minute!!

[Cosmo Valdemar]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1332192960' post='1584729']
Wow, that was a quick response, less than a minute!!
[/quote]

I find myself mysteriously drawn to any talk of the fabled Slab Precision...

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1332193221' post='1584735']
I find myself mysteriously drawn to any talk of the fabled Slab Precision...
[/quote]

Me too, I've been on here for about 10 months now, and not seen any reference, so thought I'd ask??

Do you have any personal experience of this rare bird??

[discreet]

Me too!

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1332193569' post='1584743']
Is this the one Entwistle had made of tulip wood or something?
[/quote]

Err, no(?), but he owned, and indeed smashed, a few of them!!

[EssentialTension]

I think someone here was once in possession of one, maybe The Bass Doc.

There have been threads before.

Edited March 19, 2012 by EssentialTension

[EssentialTension]

Here you go: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/133166-i-miss-my-66-slab-precision-so-much/page__p__1210198__hl__slab%20precision__fromsearch__1#entry1210198"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/133166-i-miss-my-66-slab-precision-so-much/page__p__1210198__hl__slab%20precision__fromsearch__1#entry1210198[/url]

...and here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/113225-hens-teeth-1966-slab-bodied-precision-rears-its-head/page__hl__slab%20precision"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/113225-hens-teeth-1966-slab-bodied-precision-rears-its-head/page__hl__slab%20precision[/url]

[skankdelvar]

I'm sure someone here wrote and published a book about the slab P.

Thread maybe 3 or so years ago.

[color=#ffffff].[/color]

Edited March 20, 2012 by skankdelvar

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1332196888' post='1584816']
Here you go: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/133166-i-miss-my-66-slab-precision-so-much/page__p__1210198__hl__slab%20precision__fromsearch__1#entry1210198"]http://basschat.co.u..._1#entry1210198[/url]

...and here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/113225-hens-teeth-1966-slab-bodied-precision-rears-its-head/page__hl__slab%20precision"]http://basschat.co.u...lab%20precision[/url]
[/quote]

Thanks, great Who clip on there!

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1332198160' post='1584838']
I'm sure someone here wrote and published a book about the slab P. Thread maybe 3 or so years ago.
[/quote]

Yeah, Barry Matthews, its not a bad book, but it could have been sooo much better, missed opportunity if you ask me, but contains some decent info.

[EssentialTension]

Barry Matthews, [i]Fender Bass for Britain[/i]:

[dlloyd]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/dlloydbass/slabP2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/dlloydbass/slabP1.jpg[/IMG]

[Kiwi]

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1332193569' post='1584743']made of tulip wood[/quote]
Otherwise known as poplar. Always interesting to note the use of labels by wood suppliers to describe otherwise fairly non-descript woods! Basswood is known as lime to horticulturalists...agathis is fijian kauri - grown in massive plantations across Asia...

[dlloyd]

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1332224196' post='1584964']
Otherwise known as poplar. Always interesting to note the use of labels by wood suppliers to describe otherwise fairly non-descript woods!
[/quote]

Tulip wood is wood from the tulip tree, Lyriodendron tulipifera. It's sometimes called "poplar" but it's only distantly related to the tree that we (in the UK) most commonly call "poplar".

While tulip wood is often called "poplar", not all poplar is "tulip wood".

[The Bass Doc]

I've owned two slab-bodied Precisions. One was bought from Cassmusic in Eastbourne for £165 - openly advertised in the Melody Maker as 'Ex John Entwhistle'

Can't remember how I acquired the other one.

The one presently with Barry Matthews used to be mine but I didn't get a mention in the book

The other was sold to Adam Clayton via a guitar tech friend of mine while working for a support band on a U2 tour.

[jezzaboy]

Doc, could you post the pics of the copy you made from the 1st post in April 2011? The attachments have dissapeared and it would be good to see it.

Jez

[discreet]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' timestamp='1332230114' post='1584995']
I've owned two slab-bodied Precisions.[/quote]

Wow, that's sooooo cool!

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1332240783' post='1585225']
...could you post pics of the copy you made..?
[/quote]

Yes please!!

Edited March 20, 2012 by discreet

[Rick's Fine '52]

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1332204561' post='1584929']


[/quote]

Is this yours, or just a pic of one??

[BigRedX]

What's the big deal about this bass - just the rarity?

I would have thought that if it was actually any good there would have been a re-issue (probably from Japan).

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1332257916' post='1585680']
What's the big deal about this bass - just the rarity?

I would have thought that if it was actually any good there would have been a re-issue (probably from Japan).
[/quote]

It's been said they had a more aggressive tone than other Ps. I have no idea if that's true, and if so why.

As for a reissue... there's been a custom shop RI. Apart from that, I suppose it's just too obscure to be worth it.

Besides, who would want a slab P? It would be uncomfortable...!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1332258161' post='1585690']
Besides, who would want a slab P? It would be uncomfortable...!
[/quote]

Why? Because of the lack of belly cut and forearm contouring? Few of the guitars and basses that I use regularly have any contouring and those that do have a lot less than the typical Fender. Recently I've been playing my Reverend Rumblefish a lot, which has no contouring at all. I can't say I've noticed it as being any more uncomfortable than my other basses from the body PoV. The bulky Fender-style neck joint is a completely different matter though!

[discreet]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1332258556' post='1585694']
Why? Because of the lack of belly cut and forearm contouring?
[/quote]

If you have a beer gut then a slab can be quite uncomfortable. So I've heard.

[Low End Bee]

I really miss the forearm contour when I'm playing a bass without one. I will concede that many years of playing a Precision have probably shaped my playing position. Especially as I'm a plectrum jockey. I wouldn't be comfortable with a slab body at all.
I don't worry about the neck joint. I never get up that far. There are more than enough notes for what I play on the low side of the 12th fret.