bass used on George Baker's Little Green Bag

Yeah, I've always wondered that too! It sounds to me like it could be a short scale bass, or a bass with realllly low action.

 

Guys...that is unmistakeably THE sound of a Jazz bass with flats ,played with a pick, neck PU on full...bridge PU rolled off

 

Alansan...definitely not too twangy. It has the classic rubbery 'bite' that you get with a jazz bass...strung with flats,played with a pick with the neck pickup soloed. Listen to some of Joe Osborns stuff, particularly with the mamas and the papas... Joe is one of the absolute giants of session bass and probably THE most well known exponent of the 'jazz bass with flats, flat pick, neck PUP soloed' sound.

Joes bass sound (especially on cuts like 'this is dedicated to the one I love' and dream a little dream of me' ) and the bass sound on 'little green bag' are identical.

Sure its a little different than the typical jazz sound with both PUPs on full or the bridge PUP soloed (ala Jaco) but a Jazz bass nonetheless.

Have your self a listen...no doubt you'll enjoy the educational experience of delving into the sounds of Joe Osborn...an absolute master with the jazz bass and flat pick.

 

You bet...I live in a small country town 2 hours south of perth

 

Just found this via a google search had to add a late update. Just dumb luck that LGB came on the radio while I was playing with an ultra-short that I just built, a repurposed Peavey Raptor fat-strat with a piezo bridge and a set of Road Toad's Pahoehoe 24" bass-uke strings tuned EADG. The tone is FRIGHTENINGLY close to the bass tone on LGB...so much so that I half expected to learn that it was actually a nylon-string ultra-short-scale.

 

I always had a hunch it was a Fender Bass VI personally.

 

It may have been an early 50's Precision. I found this picture from 1970, bass players didn't carry around lots of different basses then.

 

My band does LGB, I use a jazz bass with labella flats and a pick, pretty much nails it, or darn close enough.

 

Sorry for necromancing this thread, but does anyone here have some new info on this? Just talked about it with a friend yesterday and neither of us would have guessed a JB or a PB - not even a very old one like the bassist plays on the pic.

 

Doesn't sound like Osborn's J tone to me, really reminds me of a short scale HB.

 

Don’t know if this photo of George Baker Selection helps