This bass is presented in partnership with our friend Patrice Blanc, the well-known luthier from Nantes, France, who examined and authenticated every detail of the instrument. We at Brussels Vintage have likewise inspected it carefully in hand. It can be purchased either from us or directly from him, and serious potential buyers are welcome to view and test the instrument in Nantes — by appointment only.
Original über rare one-owner 1967 Fender Slab Body Precision Bass
We are delighted to offer an exceptionally rare Fender — roughly 50 examples ever produced, fewer than a Flying V : “A 1967 Fender Slab Body Precision!”.
Model history
The story begins with Arbiter, Fender's UK distributor, who sensed a growing appetite among British musicians for 1950s instruments and asked Fender to bring back the original Precision of that era. Rather than restart production of a model discontinued some ten years earlier, Fender settled on a compromise: the current Precision, stripped of its body contouring. With a blonde finish, a maple-capped neck and a black pickguard, it would read as a convincing look-alike.
A first batch was built to those specifications around May 1966, followed by a second one later in the year with a tortoiseshell pickguard and a rosewood fretboard — precisely the specification of the instrument offered here. Although the model was conceived in 1966, this example is a 1967 bass: the original pickup with original untouched soldering which is dated May 1967 places it firmly in the following year.
Famous players
The Slab Body Precision's most famous champion is John Entwistle of The Who, who owned several examples and was photographed with a blonde one during the model's brief heyday — images that did much to secure the bass's place in the story of British rock. He was not alone. The instrument drew a remarkable concentration of UK players: Steve Currie of T. Rex, Bob Daisley, Eric Haydock of The Hollies, Chip Hawkes of The Tremeloes, Ace Kefford of The Move and John Springate of The Glitter Band. That roster is the clearest proof of what the Slab actually was — not a collector's curiosity but a working bass, taken up by the bassists of the day precisely because it looked like the instrument they had grown up wanting.
This Bass
This bass was not sold new in the UK but in France, as was the example we sold in 2020. It was bought directly from a travelling sales truck operating on behalf of a long-established music shop in Tours. Serge, its original owner, received it as a gift from his parents in 1967 (see picture of original owner with the bass in 1969. He played it for around five years, then set it aside until he decided to sell it in 2026.
The bass is 100% original, with no modification and solder joints untouched. The body is uncontoured swamp ash in a blonde finish, fitted with a tortoiseshell pickguard. The pickups are original dated 5-17-67 (May 1967), which makes this the latest Slab Body Precision we have documented. The pots are dated 6631 (31st week of 1966), and the neck date is OCT66, consistent with every instrument from the second batch. It comes with its original European export case, as was often the case.
With about fifty ever made and a single owner from new, an opportunity like this is unlikely to come round again!
Specifications
Serial number : 198642
Body : swamp ash
Neck stamp : 5OCT66C
Pickup : original dated 5-17-67
Pots : original Stackpole dated 6631 (31st week of 1966)
Case : original European case
Accessories : original bridge and pickup covers