LeftyBassist.com

Ordered in late 1975 and received in late 1976! The stock pick-up died in 1985, so I modified it with: stainless steel nut (the cheap plastic stock nut was cracked); Seymour Duncan had just come out with their 'Quarter-Pounders' so I bought two pair and had the body routed. After all it was just a 9 year old CBS P, and nothing remarkable about it except it was a lefty and it was mine! Leo Quan had also just come out with the 'bolt-on' Badass II, so I had to have one for those too. Neck was shaved down to 1 5/8ths" at the nut. Much easier to play. I later put in a DiMarzio "Split-P" at the bridge position. It really compliments the 1/4er pounder well. Strung with GHS Precision Flats.

Looks great, I bet it sounds huge!
Must be nice to have such a personalized true player in your arsenal that's been with you for so long. With the recent "Vintage" craze, nobody would ever dare do something like that anymore to a 1976 Fender, but back then it was just "upgrading". Love it!

Jeroen wrote:Looks great, I bet it sounds huge!
Must be nice to have such a personalized true player in your arsenal that's been with you for so long. With the recent "Vintage" craze, nobody would ever dare do something like that anymore to a 1976 Fender, but back then it was just "upgrading". Love it!

Thank you for your kind comments, Jeroen. Yes, at that time only Leo Fender's Fenders were considered sacred vintage instruments. CBS Fender quality was very inconsistant with some good and some bad. I lucked out and got some extremely nice wood. The frets were a disaster straight from the factory and needed to be dressed & leveled right away. The pick-ups never really sounded that good and was a blessing in disguise when they died. Todays Fenders are far and away much better basses than anything from the 70's.

Yes, the sound is HUGE The extreme purcussive attack is thermonuclear in nature, and this is my World War III assault bass. The GHS Precision flats are not just some dead dull thumpers. They have a very dark tone that is tightly focused on the fundamental. Good clear sustain too. Tight authoritative mids that are never muddy.

I kinda like this monster. Not what I would do, but it's super cool! Oh, and welcome to the board.

Matt R. wrote:I kinda like this monster. Not what I would do, but it's super cool! Oh, and welcome to the board.

Thank You, Thank You!

You bet!

Nice!! Love the mirror pickguard so Phil Lynott(R.I.P) And i'm so interested and what it would sound like when plugged into a decent amp as stated before must sound huge! it's gotta have a nice deep thump to it!

PunkRockBassist wrote:Nice!! Love the mirror pickguard so Phil Lynott(R.I.P) And i'm so interested and what it would sound like when plugged into a decent amp as stated before must sound huge! it's gotta have a nice deep thump to it!

Yeah well when I first modified this Precision in 1985, Phil Lynott was still alive, and yes I liked his mirrored pickguard. I switched from rotosounds to Dean Markely Blue Steels which had just come out and were all the rage. I liked 'em and played 'em for about 10 years.

My Precision as modified had literally tons of highs! {and still does!} Almost too many. BIG solid meaty mids, and of course lows for days. The original Seymour Duncan 1/4er pounders greatly expanded the Precision's tone palette in all directions.

As for a decent amp, I was in a good place financially (rare) and bought a brand new (read ordered) Fender Studio Bass amp in 1979 the first year they came out. Absolutely killler all tube 200 watt 1x15 combo. Very light weight for the time. 100 lbs. Cost $10/lb or $1,000 ( an outrageous sum in '79) I played that amp for 26 years until a lifequake hit and I had to sell. This amp quite simply slayed in the studio and in your average bar. I recorded 3 albums and some singles with that bass & amp. This was back in the all analog magnetic tape days. You went to a real recording studio and not to your laptop.

Todays version is just as radical, but just in a different direction. LOVE the DiMarzio Split P's! And also the GHS Precision Flats are the very best flat wound strings I've ever heard or played. They have real tone and are not just some dead dull thumpers. Best purcussive attack I've ever heard. In the extreme. Takes about 6 months to play them in, but once they're in, baby you got some bass balls!