"Had a blast visiting the current home of John Entwistle's "Frankenstein" Fender Precision Bass...Wow! ...what tone! And what a privilege to spend some time playing that legendary instrument.... #theOx #FenderPbass #Frankenstein #thewho #Tommy #liveatleeds #wontgetfooledagain"

“Frankenstein”

1965 sunburst (refinished in the mid-’70s to Fiesta Red/salmon pink) “Frankenstein” Fender Precision Bass with maple neck.

Assembled from various basses, including the chrome pickup cover from a Fender Jazz Bass; the neck pickups and circuitry from two of John’s three “dead” slab basses.

Serial no. 13081, stamped on neckplate.

Used beginning 1967.

[J.E.]: "I put this together in San Francisco on a day off part way through a Who tour. It’s the remains of five smashed basses hence the name ‘Frankenstein’. In the mid 70’s it was retired from stage work so I had it refinished from sunburst into its present pink colour. I used this baby from 1967 onwards through ‘Tommy’ and all the tours up to ‘Quadrophenia’... The neck, pickups and circuitry are from a ‘dead’ slab bass, the tailpiece from a Jazz bass, the pickguard from a black P bass and the machine heads from 2 white P basses...Two hours with a Phillips screwdriver and a soldering iron and I was ranting around my hotel room screaming 'It’s alive! it’s alive!'"

Quote from April 1994 Bassist interview:

[Q]: "Which sound was responsible for that amazing sound on ’Won’t Get Fooled Again’?"

[J.E.]: “That was Frankenstein, which I made from dead parts. I had a day off in San Francisco once and spent it screwing a bass together from five smashed Precisions including a couple of slab ones of which they only made about 20. I took the pickup and scratch plate from one of the slab Precisions, the neck from another, machineheads from a Jazz Bass, the body off a sunburst Precision and the tailpiece from another. The slab Precisions were like white, squared-off Telecasters, with a split pickup, a maple neck, black scratch plate and what looked like blue veins coming through the white paintwork. I don’t know what they used on them but those basses had a sound of their own, really raunchy with more of a growl than a regular Precision. I have about 35 Precisions, all with different colours and from different eras, but I always go back to Frankenstein."

[J.E.]: “I used Frankenstein through Hiwatts for the whole of ‘Tommy’, ‘Live At Leeds’ and ‘Who’s Next’ but by ‘Quadrophenia’ and ’Who By Numbers’ I was playing Gibson Thunderbirds. I felt I was getting stuck in a rut, using all the treble.

This Bass was sold in Sotheby’s May 2003 auction: estimated £5,000–£7,000; sold for £62,400.