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" Jaco's bass of doom"

descendent22

descendent22

Jul 29, 2015
1,543
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Connecticut
#1
I want to know the whole story on this bass on the present day. I know Robert Trujillo has it currently but that's all I know. Can someone please tell me that that's not the bass of doom he has all refinished and restored. What's the facts and story on the bass
 
#2
descendent22 said:
I want to know the whole story on this bass on the present day. I know Robert Trujillo has it currently but that's all I know. Can someone please tell me that that's not the bass of doom he has all refinished and restored. What's the facts and story on the bass
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Quick rundown from memory...

Rob didn't refinish it. Jaco had his luthier rebuild it after he smashed it to pieces. I think that occurred at a Japanese show (open to correction). He subsequently lost the bass or it was stolen. Couple of decades later someone spotted it. Big legal battle with the person possessing it and the Pastorius family. Rob stepped in and helped them out financially. He also provides a secure place to keep the bass. He allows the Pastorius family access to it when they wish. Jacos son Felix played it live and on recordings since.

Bass player had an article back when the story broke. Might be useful to find it.
 
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#3
Shortly after I posted this bread, I found some info. Jaco originally threw it down some concrete steps in some kind of argument. Called his tech up and chuckled and asked him to fix his bass as he couldn't get it to sound good. He sent it to his tech in a shoe box size box in a bunch of pieces, as so I read. It was restored and awesome as ever and then when jaco was homeless, he set it down on a bench and walked away for a few seconds only to come back to it being stolen
 
#5
Malak the Mad said:
There's a documentary on Jaco that's currently awaiting release and distribution.

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This book details a lot of Jaco's life. A very interesting read! I believe it has some info on his basses, but I'm not so sure. It's been six years since I read it.
 
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#8
descendent22 said:
Shortly after I posted this bread, I found some info. Jaco originally threw it down some concrete steps in some kind of argument. Called his tech up and chuckled and asked him to fix his bass as he couldn't get it to sound good. He sent it to his tech in a shoe box size box in a bunch of pieces, as so I read. It was restored and awesome as ever and then when jaco was homeless, he set it down on a bench and walked away for a few seconds only to come back to it being stolen
Click to expand...

Kevin Kaufman rebuilt it, you might find some more info searching for him. I assume you have read this.

Metallica's Robert Trujillo: How I Helped Recover Pastorius' Infamous 'Bass Of Doom' - Blabbermouth.net
 
#9
A friend saw him at a bar gig a few months before his death, too drunk to play and belligerent, noodling incoherently on a borrowed fretted bass. What a sad way for him to end. The Bass of Doom is an interesting historical artifact, but it wasn't the bass, it was his fingers and mind. The fetish-worship of his old wrecked bass creeps me out a little somehow. I'm sorry I never got to see him play live.
 
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#10
I saw JP the summer after he joined Weather Report. Fresh, vital, positive - a beautiful player. The DVD of WR from around that same time and with Joni Mitchell (Shadows and Light tour in Santa Barbara CA) for me are the Jaco I think of when I think of him.
 
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#12
stacker said:
Thrown down stairs? So what's the story about it being run over by a taxi? Is that BS? The bits I saw looked like they'd been on fire, too!
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:laugh: There's probably dozens of stories explaining it's 'smash-up'. I think the official one related to a planned 'stunt' of throwing his bass over the amps after his solo and his tech being there to catch it - unfortunately he was on the other side of the stage and watched it flying through the air out of reach...
 
#13
Similarly, Bill Monroe's famous Lloyd Loar Mandolin was smashed to bits with a fire Poker and the late, great Charlie Derrington (Chief Gibson Repair Luthier for the Acoustic Division at the time of the incident) full restored and resurrected it.

Both instruments: Jaco's Bass of Doom and Bill Monroe's F5 Mandolun are significant in the annals of American Music History...

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#16
Gilmourisgod said:
The Bass of Doom is an interesting historical artifact, but it wasn't the bass, it was his fingers and mind. The fetish-worship of his old wrecked bass creeps me out a little somehow.
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I can see where you're coming from, but if I may impose a little bit of perspective?

Think about what he did for the bass-playing, by elevating the instrument to "Lead Status" and showing future generations that they don't have to be lost in the shadows of their bandmates. Add to that the "Rock n' Rolla" story…his rise, fall and the tragedy that makes it all the more poignant, much like many other legends who also snuffed-it early on in life. Then there's the whole mystery surrounding the disappearance, and subsequent reemergence, of his rather-unique instrument.

Bear all this in mind, then imagine you and I are standing a few feet away from the Bass of Doom itself. I'd turn to you and utter a quote from one of my all-time favorite movies;

"…you and I are merely passing through history. This…this IS history!"

…and SCENE! CURTAINS!! :woot:
 
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#17
I happened to be in Kevin Kaufmans shop the day the BOD was delivered, it was wrapped in bubble wrap, the body in one package, the neck in another and a box of parts. Kevin seemed pretty exasperated by the whole thing, not sure what he was going to be able to do with it if anything, as you can see he found a way, which is a credit to him as a craftsman. He told me a few Jaco stories back in the day when I lived there and would bring my stuff to him for setups.
 
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#20
descendent22 said:
Get a new bass? Obviously your not attached or haven't found that one instrument that no other can even come close to
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An understatement considering that this specific bass/collection of wood and metal was the medium of his message to the world of electric music - there's testimony of how even reconstructed that this instrument has something special going on. So much for the naisayers of 'mojo'.
 
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