Fender Jazz bass with flats...examples?

[raul]

any recorded examples of a Jazz bass with flats? would love to hear some great tone with flats and a Jazz bass...

who played/plays a Jazz with flats?

 

[portlandguy]

I do, I play a 4 string Fender american jazz fretless with dadarrio chromes

 

[jallenbass]

Invalid Link Removed

 

[bthiemann80]

Ben Shepherd from Soundgarden used a Jazz bass w/ flats for a long time. If you listen to Badmotorfinger and Superunknown, those would be good examples.

 

[JTE]

Everything Joe Osborn recorded. That's a 1960 Jazz bass with the same set of LaBella flats for the entire recording career. Google Joe and check out his discography. Some of it includes:

"Aquarius- Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension
"Bridge Over Troubled Waters", "Only Livin' Boy In New York", "America", "Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkle

Another example would be Jerry Jemmott's work with King Curtis as jallenbass linked. Get the live Aretha Franklin album recorded at the Fillmore. That's Jemmott with King Curtis' All Stars, his Jazz bass, old flatwound LaBellas, and an Acoustic amp. And that Jazz bass/flats is also on Aretha's version of "The Weight" (which also features a killer Duane Allman slide part), "Think", and several other middle-period Aretha.

And, search the strings forum. There was another thread about a year ago I think for exactly this. Tons of suggestions there, and some that surprised me.

John

 

[old-fashioned]

Aston "Familyman" Barrett
Aston Barrett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Batmensch]

Didn't J.P. Jones use flats? I'm askin'.

 

[aus_bass]

who played/plays a Jazz with flats?

Raises hand. Chromes all the way, baby.

 

[My name is Mudd]

Didn't J.P. Jones use flats? I'm askin'.

IIRC, most of Zoso was recorded with JPJ using Roto 77's and his Jazz.

 

[20db pad]

 

[JimmyM]

JPJ claims that he never used flats for Zeppelin stuff.

 

[Stick_Player]

McCartney, White Album. George, too.

 

[One Drop]

Aston "Familyman" Barrett
Aston Barrett - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is just all-time get on your knees and weep reggae tone (headphones required for these youtube clips). Fat but clear, punchy, articulate, gritty but smooth, vocal and extremely expressive. I've had the sublime experience of hearing this exact tone reproduced perfectly live on a Nexus line array PA at very high SPL, in a great clean mix.

‪Burning Spear - Call On You‬‏ - YouTube

There is finesse and delicacy in a J with flats that makes it an extremely expressive instrument in the right hands.

 

[One Drop]

JPJ claims that he never used flats for Zeppelin stuff.

I honestly don't think he remembers what he used when anymore. Contemporary interviews don't jive with his recent interviews, for example.

Early Zep sure sounds like flats to me, but who knows?

 

[billgwx]

I thought JPJ used rounds too.

How about Noel Redding with the Jimi Hendrix Experience?

 

[JTE]

I thought JPJ used rounds too.

How about Noel Redding with the Jimi Hendrix Experience?

Noel would have used rounds, Rotosound RS-66. He and Hendrix went to a Who concert. Jimi heard Entwistle's sound and said that's the sound he wanted. That led to Redding getting the Jazz, Rotos, and Sunn amps.

John

 

[Batmensch]

JPJ claims that he never used flats for Zeppelin stuff.

Ah. I was really only guessing, as it sounded like flats to me, but I wasn't sure. Thanks, JM (et al) for clearing up a long held miscocnception.

 

[Batmensch]

I honestly don't think he remembers what he used when anymore. Contemporary interviews don't jive with his recent interviews, for example.

Early Zep sure sounds like flats to me, but who knows?

OK, now I'm confused again.

 

[JimmyM]

It sounds like flats on the first 2 albums to me, too, but definitely rounds from III onward. Still, I think it's entirely possible he's using rounds on those first 2 albums, since he's most definitely using them on the live album "The Song Remains The Same" and the bass sounds pretty similar to the first two albums when they play a song from those albums.

 

[My name is Mudd]

Somewhere. I've got a print article/interview with JPJ where he says that Zoso and parts of Physical Graffiti were recorded w/Roto 77's as an experiment; he later decided that he preferred rounds, especially with a pick. If I can find that article I'll scan it and post.

TBH, I tend to agree with One Drop on not remembering what was used when, string-wise.