VLVL2 (12): Fender P-Bass

[Tim Strzechowski]

223.36:  "Tonight all he'd brought was an ancient Fender Precision bass that he'd taken the frets off of himself back around '76, when he heard about Jaco Pastorius doing the same to a Jazz Bass."


Leo Fender introduced the legendary electric Precision Bass in 1951 as an alternative to the upright bass, which up until then was the only stringed bass-range instrument available to musicians.  The P-Bass had frets (unlike an upright), which enabled the bassist to hit precise notes; the comfortable size (unlike a cumbersome upright) and the guitar-like appearance made the instrument an immediate favorite amongst early rock and roll musicians (The Ox) as well as jazz (Monk Montgomery) and blues artists.

The Jazzmaster appeared in 1958, featuring a narrower neck width for faster playing.  It also had slightly modified hardware (pickups, mute, controls, etc.), and the body design had a noticable difference. Most importantly, the Fender jazz basses (marketed in the early 60's) were fretless, enabling the player to get the same tonalities as s/he would an upright, but with greater ease and dexterity.

The trademark Fender P-bass headstock:

http://guitarauction.com/pics/fenderph2.jpg

An older model (note the pickup guard and thumb rest, two features that would eventually be discontinued), perhaps the sort that Van Meter had:

http://www.bobdaisley.com/guitars/Bob%20&%201964%20Candy%20Apple%20Red%20Fender%20Precision.JPG

A thing of beauty is a joy forever:

http://www.guitarstop.com/Fender/pbsp.jpg

And a great book for Fender bass enthusiasts:

J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro, The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History.  Hal Leonard: Milwaukee, 2001.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0634026402/qid=1074832253/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-6532510-9921606?v=glance&s=books

Also see:

http://www.fender.com/home.html



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