I've always been a big fan of TB, (and I'm an instrument customizer nerd) and have read over the years that he customized his Fender basses. The youtube Ed Sullivan "You Keep Me Hangin' On" vid shows him playing what appears to be one of those customized basses. The body looks to be a blond Fender Telecaster guitar (not the late 60's Tele bass body) w/pickguard/control plate & knobs and chrome bridge cover from that same Tele guitar body with a chrome humbucker in the neck position. Fender's Tele bass, essentially the first RI of the 51' P-bass that came out in 1968 didn't come w/the chrome humbucker installed until 1970. This vid was from 1968, 2 years earlier. It looked to have a mid-placed Tele bass single-coil pu, but it was hard to make it out exactly. There also was a switch on the lower (only) body horn, which was most likely a pu selector switch. The bass had an early Tele bass production maple neck w/no skunk stripe & rosewood fingerboard w/old-style cloverleaf tuning pegs, but a brief close-up of the back of the headstock showed a strap peg installed under the A string gears, something no stock Fender bass w/that style headstock ever came installed with, and frankly were seldom if ever really used to actually hold a strap. So... if anyone has any information or pics related to Tim's bass customizing - as a kindred spirit I would be eternally grateful.

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