"In the 40s and 50s, it was common for guitar players in groups to double on bass. My concept of an electric bass arose in response to some important needs. First, it was impossible to get a Dog House' bass around. Second, the bass player had to sing, and it was hell to try and get the bass up to center stage to the microphone. There was a screaming need for a portable bass that could be amplified and with frets so that the guitarist wouldn't have to struggle to stay in tune."
"The only bass strings we could make were made of gut, and they wouldn't work on an electric. To get workable strings, we had to wrap iron wire around the gut strings, which was a miserable job." - Leo Fender
( Once sales of P-Bass took off, V.C Squier made electric bass strings for Fender. Donald Duck Dunn giving the P-Bass a workout. - Ed )
the biggest mistake of my life was pawning my 1952 fender p bass #169 for $50 cause I needed money to get to my next gig. My band was re booked for an extra week and I was 4 days late on my payment to the pawn shop.. Thinking the pawnbroker was my friend and he'd NEVER sell it.. When I came home and went to pick it up he said "sorry Frank, I sold it"!! I've been crying for 25 years about it and still look at pictures of me playing that beautiful bass, tears whelling up in my eyes....These day's you can't find a pre CBS fender in a pawm shop for less than 3 grand, never mind #169 from the first production run of an electric bass... Frank Dziedziak....
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