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Jamerson's '62 Precision - Most Valuable Electric Ever?
- Thread starter basslinejam
- Start date
X
X Wolf
Guest
I think more info has come to light sice that was written, and photo comparisons, etc show he had a different bass later on.
Sorry, I have no documentation but I'm sure others can kick in, it's an interesting but ultimately unimportant detail.
For me, the funk machine would be more valuable albeit jamerson's obscurity in comparison to paul mccartney
one people get familiar with what songs the funk machine churned they'll understand why is this the case
one people get familiar with what songs the funk machine churned they'll understand why is this the case
Interesting. I'll need to look into that. I don't think it diminishes the funk machine's value either though. Was the second bass a stock sunburst p too?
I found this for a reference point on famous guitar value - Clapton's Blackie strat sold for almost a million at the Crossroads charity auction in 2004.
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Also, thinking about the fates of the Bass of Doom and the FM, I remembered that the summer Stevie Vaughn died, his #1 - the brown 59 "SRV" strat - had it's neck broken in half by a piece of falling scenery at the NJ Performing Arts Center. I guess the moral is if you pour your soul into an instrument, make sure you keep it safe, or else you might be next!
The problem with claiming that Jaco's bass was stolen is that by that point in his life his mental problems were so escalated that he'd often just toss his bass away or leave it somewhere. So it wasn't a question of someone sneaking into his home and stealing it, for example, he probably just left it on a park bench, as he was prone to do. The family would have to show that he didn't have his wits about him to make sound judgments at that time, otherwise the new owner could claim that Jaco just threw it away and could therefore be claimed by anyone. Regardless, you have to wonder what gesture of "friendliness" the new owner offered the family: "Hey, I've got Jaco's bass, and I thought the family should have it....for $75,000."
hmmmm, i wonder which bass sold the most records? jamersons may have more clout, he used the same one all the time... how many did jaco have? how about the basses from spinal taps ' big bottom' , talk about legendary ! 
johnny a staind
johnny a staind
Jamerson's bass. If you look at it objectively of course
1. It's missing and it's been missing for a long time.
2. It's on a ridiculous number of hit records not by just one artist or group but several. That changed the face of popular music. Played by a pioneering bassist who still tops many people's lists... and influenced generations of electric bassists. Including Jaco and Macca
3. The general public may know more about McCartney but what does that have to do with the bass' value? Practically zip. The general public wouldn't be in the market for the bass.
I'd put the Funk Machine at #1 and since the BOD has been found and heavily modified, not sure if it would be #2 or not. Macca's Hofner would definitely be up there.
1. It's missing and it's been missing for a long time.
2. It's on a ridiculous number of hit records not by just one artist or group but several. That changed the face of popular music. Played by a pioneering bassist who still tops many people's lists... and influenced generations of electric bassists. Including Jaco and Macca
3. The general public may know more about McCartney but what does that have to do with the bass' value? Practically zip. The general public wouldn't be in the market for the bass.
I'd put the Funk Machine at #1 and since the BOD has been found and heavily modified, not sure if it would be #2 or not. Macca's Hofner would definitely be up there.
One Drop said:
basslinejam said:
basslinejam,
All you need to look at is the Standing in the Shadows of Motown book. It obviously explains about Jamersons early gear; the '57 that got stolen, and it seemed he went through a couple burst 60/61's which were also stolen before getting the infamous '62 FM. But in the early 80's pics he's holding an entirely different bass by then...seems to be a '65-like transitional era P Bass complete with different headstock logo.
The book explains he always had problems of his gear gettin stolen, especially B15's.
I disagree, it has EVERYTHING to do with the bass's value. It's because he's well-known that his bass would be worth a lot. Meanwhile, how many people outside the bass community know about Jaco and Jamerson? Not many besides Jazz fans and Motown fans. Would the general public be in the market for their basses? Doubt it.
The sad truth is, the expression "standing in the shadows" is probably the most accurate description of the bass position. Not many people outside the bass community appreciate the position much.
And when it comes to questions of "most valuable" or "most famous" etc, etc, in terms of basses and bassists, the answer will ALWAYS be McCartney.
Boombass76
Commercial User
Hm... maybe there is a connection between common fame and the price of an instrument after all...? Otherwise, I don't see how Claptons guitar could reach such an unbelievable price... (BTW, does anybody know how much Hendrix's axe went for?)
Not that I have anything against Clapton (on the contrary), but I just find it hard to believe that Pat Metheny's or John Scofield's guitars could ever reach that level - and I kinda like them too!
On the other hand, McCartney is probably best known to the masses as "a Beatle", who was capable of singing and writing nice songs - not as the bassplayer from The Beatles (if that makes any difference?) I mean, a collection of his hand written drafts for classic Beatles tunes (had he been able to write the notes himself, of course) would probably have been worth more than his bass to some maniac Beatles collector.
Not that I have anything against Clapton (on the contrary), but I just find it hard to believe that Pat Metheny's or John Scofield's guitars could ever reach that level - and I kinda like them too!
On the other hand, McCartney is probably best known to the masses as "a Beatle", who was capable of singing and writing nice songs - not as the bassplayer from The Beatles (if that makes any difference?) I mean, a collection of his hand written drafts for classic Beatles tunes (had he been able to write the notes himself, of course) would probably have been worth more than his bass to some maniac Beatles collector.
The bass alone would be valuable, even if it was not played by him...a 57 it is right? But he has not played it for that long time, so I don't think it would be that valuable and also, McCartney is much more famous than Sting.
I only have looked at the text of the Gear section in S.I.T.S.O.M. I'll definitely look over the pictures more closely. Is the 65ish one you're talking about the bass he has in the pic of him sitting on the black leather couch? I'm definitely not saying he didn't have any other instruments, only that the FM was on virtually all his recorded output and to me must be the most mythic and valuable electric bass guitar ever.
Hendrix liked to play a new guitar every week from what I've read, but I would love to hear otherwise! AFAIK He did not have any consistent identifiable "Hendrix" guitar, (like blackie for clapton). This is somewhat similar to Carol Kaye, mentioned earlier, who traded in her Fenders every year or so... Except Jimi just threw them into the audience or left them squealing and burning on stage
