FENDER PRECISION FRETLESS BASS

Fender Precision Fretless Bass
The third bass that I owned was a Fender Precision Fretless Bass which I bought in Morganton, NC at Tommy Parker's Music Store. The Fender Fretless basses first came out in 1970 and the one I have is a 1972 model. I purchased it in 1973 used for $250.00. I guess the guy before me didn't know how to play it. With a fretless bass you can get a different sound and play a lot jazzier style than a regular electric bass. I played it for about 10 years before I bought my fourth bass guitar. I use Fender flatwound strings on it and it came with Fender Black Nylon Tape Wound Strings on it. It is a real joy to have this instrument as a part of bass guitar history.

THE BITTER END NYC

The Bitter End NYC
In 1973 when I graduated from Starmount High School my good friend David Tenery and I took a trip to perform at the famous Rock Club The Bitter End. This was a real adventure for a 17 year old country boy to see The Big Apple and to get to perform on the same stage as Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan and many others. We drove all the way to NYC in David's Ford Econoline van and stayed at a Hotel right off off fifth avenue called The Arlington Hotel. New York is not like the country where I came from. There was no service stations as we know it in the city. We had to park a long way in a parking deck and walk to our hotel. The Bitter End is in Greenwich Village and is one of the oldest rock clubs in America. It was Rob Conrad on electric guitar, Paula Dagenhart on drums, David Tenery on acoustic guitar and myself on the bass guitar. Our original band which was suppose to go, backed out the week before we were suppose to leave so we threw this band together in one week and didn't want to miss this opportunity to play.
The Trapp Brothers
Our original band had congas, fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar. I never look forward to driving in NYC again. The taxis and buses will run you off the road so be prepared to get out of their way.

BASS SPEAKER

BASS SPEAKER
There are many different bass speaker sizes in bass amplifier combos, but there is a lot of difference in the sound. You can have 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 15”, 18” and I have saw 21” bass speakers, but they are very rare. Theoretically speaking, the bigger the bass speaker the deeper and richer the sound. Bass sound waves are bigger in size and slower in vibration. The most commonly used bass speaker size in bass amp combos is the 15” speaker. I have a practice amp with an 8”’ and another amp which I use the most has a 12”. If I need a lot of power, I use a 400 watt head with an 18” black widow speaker. When performing I use a 12 “ or bigger because of the better quality sound.

DEVELOPING A STYLE