John Schoen Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 One of John Entwistle's '66 slab basses had a knob and a switch added. I have searched and found two explanations for that: - The bass was rewired for stereo - The bass had the tone circuit of a Gibson EB2 or Epiphone Rivoli installed for bass boost Can anyone here tell me for certain what the functions of the knob and the switch were? I suppose the mod didn't get him the result that he wanted because I haven't seen it on his other Precisions. [URL=http://s5.photobucket.com/user/John_RSC/media/Bas/screen_slab_zps354ac825.jpg.html][IMG]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y151/John_RSC/Bas/screen_slab_zps354ac825.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Sod the extra knob ... maple board with a white jacket - eugh! Everyone knows you can only wear a white jacket with a rosewood board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 [quote name='John Schoen' timestamp='1366959248' post='2059355'] Can anyone here tell me for certain what the functions of the knob and the switch were? [/quote] This from 'Fender Bass For Britain -The History of the 1966 Slab-Bodied Precision Bass': A 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 Entwistle's famous 'Frankenstein' P-Bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 It would help with the sound if he'd plugged it in. Silly Sod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 [quote name='Old Horse Murphy' timestamp='1366965453' post='2059474'] It would help with the sound if he'd plugged it in. Silly Sod [/quote] [size=4] It's as I suspected - anyone who uses a P-Bass is miming![/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Schoen Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Always the pioneer, he was probably trying out a wireless system. Thanks for explaining that third knob, the thing that I mistook for a switch would be the second jack socket then. A bit of a strange place to put it, maybe chosen because it has the least amount of work involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Not working very well in the pic, forgot to plug any of them in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horton Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Rick , where are you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horton Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 (edited) Nice picture of a rare bass though Edited April 26, 2013 by Chris Horton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 When I finally get around to putting together a slab 'tribute', it will have an extra knob and switch, just like JE's. They won't do anything though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 [quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1366995556' post='2060134'] Rick , where are you ? [/quote] Hi Chris, What discreet said above is all I know about this. Although it's the first time I've seen a pic of the configuration. Its odd that the other jack would be there though, I always assumed, wrongly obviously, that it would be adjacent to the other one, like on a stereo Ricky?? Odd. Great pic though!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Schoen Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 The picture is a screenshot from a fragment of a TV show on "Amazing Journey - The story of The Who". I could not find any good pictures of that bass and went through my DVDs to find this. I want to build a replica with that extra knob and socket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 [quote name='John Schoen' timestamp='1367077940' post='2061063'] The picture is a screenshot from a fragment of a TV show on "Amazing Journey - The story of The Who". I could not find any good pictures of that bass and went through my DVDs to find this. I want to build a replica with that extra knob and socket. [/quote] Great find, good work fella!!!.........Doesn't have the extra knob/jack, but this is my recent tribute slab build diary; [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187288-66-slab-precision-build/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187288-66-slab-precision-build/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted April 27, 2013 Share Posted April 27, 2013 Still with a (rather tatty looking) bell housing as well! But not the bridge one. I would have thought he'd need them both off for his style so am surprised to see it's still there. I have often wondered why these basses came about and whether Fender did them in order to get Entwhistle to use a Fender - in which case is it really the forerunner of a signature model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted April 28, 2013 Share Posted April 28, 2013 (edited) [b] From [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6066.html"]http://www.thewho.ne...s/bass6066.html[/url][/b] [b] 1966 Fender Precision Bass (slab) in White Blonde, with maple neck (three of this model)[/b] 1966 Fender Precision slab bass, from side.[list] [*]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.” [*][b] From January 2009 Vintage Guitar article: “The Four-String White Whale: Fender/Arbiter’s 1966 Slab-Body Precision Bass”[/b] In the world of the Fender bass, few instruments have engendered more lore or legend than the 1966 slab-body Precision. Long rumored, occasionally sighted, and often misunderstood, this is the great white whale of Fender bass collecting! While at first glance having the appearance of a standard ’66 Precision, the instrument has the crucial difference of the uncontoured Telecaster-style ash body; its neck is built with a laid-on maple fingerboard, a seldom-seen custom-order feature at a time when Fender no longed offered maple necks as a stock appointment. While never cataloged or formally advertised, at least two very small batches of this instrument were to have been made in ’66... The U.K.-market-only Arbiter-ordered basses have these very specific features; maple-capped neck, blond finished ash body, and black/white laminate pickguard. Otherwise, fittings and hardware were the standard ’66 style. Why this particular combination of features was chosen, and by who exactly, has never been fully explained. Whether the English company dictated the specifications or responded to an existing Fender prototype is unknown. [*]John: “There is something different about the sound of these Precisions…I’ve tracked it down to the pickups and tone circuit — the sound is much raunchier and gutsy and has a hint of distortion when the volume is flat out.” [*]At least one featured an additional tone or pickup control and toggle switch. [*][b] From April 1995 Bassist interview[/b] “The slab Precisions were like white, squared-off Telecasters, with a split pickup, a maple neck, black scratch plate and what looked like blue veins coming through the white paintwork. I don’t know what they used on them but those basses had a sound of their own, really raunchy with more of a growl than a regular Precision.” [*]Parts would later be used to comprise [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6768.html#frankenstein"]Frankenstein[/url]. [b] From January 2009 Vintage Guitar article: “The Four-String White Whale: Fender/Arbiter’s 1966 Slab-Body Precision Bass”[/b] Entwistle took some surviving parts from this martyr and [i]another[/i] destroyed Telecaster Bass and mounted the maple-capped neck and pickups on an older sunburst Precision body with a white pickguard. This creation, dubbed “Frankenstein,” became his main studio and stage bass through Tommy and Who’s Next, appearing most famously on Live at Leeds and the Rolling Stones’ Rock ’n’ Roll Circus film. Both in its original and rebuilt form, this bass was played many of the most influential Who recordings of all time, and has been listened to intently by countless bassists over the last 40 years! [/list] Edited April 28, 2013 by 12stringbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Schoen Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 I had read that before I posted the question here. The person who wrote it was not sure of the function of the knob and the switch. The explanation from Barry Matthews' book seems more credible to me, he has done a lot of research for that book. The side shot doesn't show clearly if it is a switch or an extra jack socket, since there is no extra socket on the side of the bass it seems more feasible to me that the "switch" is in fact that extra socket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Hadn't noticed how sharp the corners were before. Interesting about the 'capped' maple fingerboard, Fender, MM and G&L do that on all their maple fingerboards now. MM and G&L using the same piece of wood to try to mask the joint with matching grain. Surely there must be someone still around from then who could answer some of the questions of this thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 [quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1367078675' post='2061075'] ...this is my recent tribute slab build diary; [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/187288-66-slab-precision-build/"]http://basschat.co.u...recision-build/[/url] [/quote] Thanks for the link Rick - [size=4]just spent a happy hour re-reading that thread... what a fantastic job! [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bass Doc Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 The explanation for the modifications is quite easy - it made John Entwhistle as happy as a man with three knobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 (edited) [quote name='The Bass Doc' timestamp='1367228137' post='2062685'] ...it made John Entwistle as happy as a man with three knobs. [/quote] And two holes. Edited April 29, 2013 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1367228008' post='2062682'] Thanks for the link Rick - [size=4]just spent a happy hour re-reading that thread... what a fantastic job! [/size] [/quote] Thanks, it looks even better in the flesh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 ive got the parts for my slab (budget version) just need to get the body painted when i get round to it [attachment=134158:slab body.jpg] [attachment=134159:slab parts.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 although im going for the rosewood/ tortoise version as these are parts i already had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Schoen Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 Is that a Warmoth body? I am looking around for parts to build one myself and saw a slab body at guitarbuild.co.uk, it is considerably cheaper than Warmoth but I don't know how their quality is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 [quote name='stu_g' timestamp='1367755668' post='2069056'] although im going for the rosewood/ tortoise version as these are parts i already had [/quote] I'm sure I've got a black plate on a spare body, swap plates if you want? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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