Vintage bass collectors, have a good cry with me.

[Johnnysonic]

Steve,

When did you own e Slab Body P Bass no 138700? I bought it from Andy's in Denmark St - sometime in the late 1980s I think. Is that where you sold it? I owned it for about fifteen years. Great bass!

Johnny

[Johnnysonic]

Bit of a corrective to that last post. I seem to have bought it (No 138700) from Andy's in the early 90s and sold it later in the decade. J

[Big Baz]

Interested to know when you had this bass, as I have it now! In 2000 I took it to USA to the Fender factory when I was writing the book "Fender Bass for Britain ...." and they used it to base the reissue on. They photographed it and measured it. I have located a sequence of these slab basses, 8 with almost consecutive serial numbers. 138711 I purchased recently for my son. I would be interested to chat with you about it if that's ok. My number is 07890903419.

[Steve Browning]

Interesting to meet previous owners of the slab. Strange how these things happen.

I mentioned some of the story of my 66. As I said, I bought it in Tiger Musoic and financed the purchase by selling a 78 Stingray to a guy that had, as it turned out, been the previous owner and had put it in the shop to sell. The bass had the initials SD scratched onto various metal parts and I was gigging (in Worthing) when a guy I knew, who followed the band, came up to me and said "that used to be my bass". The guy was Steve Davey and he played it in a band called Steampacket. They had had some success in the 60's and he had played it with the likes of BB King and many other of the Blues greats.

The slab, I think, I had put for sale in Vintage and Rare. I sold the slab and the 53 through them. I won;t again. I got the minimum I had said I would accept and the 53 was featured in another book with a photo credit for them (and some money presumably) which never came my way. I have maintained an embargo against them since then.

I didn't gig it because I found the body would cut into my forearm after a while but I did record a song with it during my time with the Pretty Things.

I know there is much debate over these basses. Having had this one I can certainly say it seemed to have more 'oomph' than my other Precisions but I couldn't really say why.

Thanks for the number Baz. I will contact you soon and you can really rub my nose in it!! :-)

Steve

[GregBass]

I bought a Rickenbacker 4001 new in 1973 from Power Music in Leicester for the princely sum of £232. I sold it two years later to raise the deposit for my first house. Last year, I met the guy who bought it - and he offered to sell it back to me! Needless to say, I took him up on it although it had gone up in price a little. Still, at £800 for one of the best basses I have ever played, it was a bargain.

On the other hand, in 1974 I sold a 1960s Hofner Violin Bass for £15 - including its original case. It played like a dog and sounded like someone kicking a dustbin. Why do people value these so highly???

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1491462916' post='3273148']
I didn't gig it because I found the body would cut into my forearm after a while but I did record a song with it during my time with the Pretty Things.
[/quote]

When were you with The Pretty Things? and what song did you record with the Slab?

I'm a massive Pretties fan (my first band was even named after one of their songs).

[Steve Browning]

About '89 to '95 roughly.

There's a story to this. I used the slab on Play With Fire while in the band but, they got the 70's lineup together after recording was finished and dumped those of us making up the numbers. Wally redid all my bass parts and so my version is not on the album.

If you have seen the video for Eve Of Destruction, that's me sporting an Epiphone Rivoli poncing around on Dungeness beach!

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1491467428' post='3273200']
About '89 to '95 roughly.

There's a story to this. I used the slab on Play With Fire while in the band but, they got the 70's lineup together after recording was finished and dumped those of us making up the numbers. Wally redid all my bass parts and so my version is not on the album.

If you have seen the video for Eve Of Destruction, that's me sporting an Epiphone Rivoli poncing around on Dungeness beach!
[/quote]

Thanks for that. I've not seen the video and it doesn't appear to be on YouTube. I do however have the single on 12" vinyl. Are you on the cover?

[Steve Browning]

I am, leaning nonchalantly on a wall at said seaside town.

I think the video was pulled from YouTube for some reason.

[Big Baz]

Hi Steve , your bass the 66 slab 138700 started life in Up north a young fellow who bought it in Leeds past it on to Clive brown the man who can refin a bass like no other he can re-fret give you a new finger board, also vintage bass expert Howard satterley had the bass for bit and re-fin it. Then John Ludlow bought it after your episode took place. Can you give me your contact details. Bazza

[tom1946]

In the 60's there was a Bells shop in Newton Aycliffe Industrial estate and I bought a brand new EKO Ranger 12 guitar there for £49.99, bargin.

[Maude]

In my younger days I bought a no name SG bass for five quid, I later burnt it on the living room fire. That bass today would change hands for maybe five pounds and ten pence but the price of logs has rocketed.
There are some winners.

[gareth]

Here is a 20 year old Music Ground advert taken from page 28 of the bassist magazine August 1997

[IMG]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r100/garethadavies/image_zpsdzxfsduk.jpeg[/IMG]

Pre CBS fenders for just over a grand!

[gareth]

[quote name='Big Baz' timestamp='1491484221' post='3273409']
Hi Steve , your bass the 66 slab 138700 started life in Up north a young fellow who bought it in Leeds past it on to Clive brown the man who can refin a bass like no other he can re-fret give you a new finger board, also vintage bass expert Howard satterley had the bass for bit and re-fin it. Then John Ludlow bought it after your episode took place. Can you give me your contact details. Bazza
[/quote]

[IMG]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r100/garethadavies/image_zpsqqgawaqu.jpeg[/IMG]

[RhysP]

[quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1491464924' post='3273170']
Why do people value these so highly???
[/quote]

It must be the McCartney connection.

[pete.young]

[quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1491464924' post='3273170']

On the other hand, in 1974 I sold a 1960s Hofner Violin Bass for £15 - including its original case. It played like a dog and sounded like someone kicking a dustbin. Why do people value these so highly???
[/quote]
Some famous bloke had one, name escapes me.

Same thing with my Vox Wyman​, around about the same time. I can't believe people are asking 1500 quid for them now, i wouldn't give you 15p for one.

[4000]

I sold my Wal Custom, which I never really got on with, to a mate for £599 in approx '95 or '96. Living with that in view of what they go for now is difficult enough, but I used the money to buy a Marshall Dynamic Bass 200 head and matching 1x15. Ouch. The upside is it's been his main bass ever since and he still has it.

The other downside is it that when I bought it (from Music Ground IIRC), in a moment of madness I px'd my Pedulla MVP, which remains one of the nicest basses I've ever owned, against it for a paltry £475.