Jamerson's '62 Precision - Most Valuable Electric Ever?

[Chebass88]

This is an interesting question. What about the $100k Ritter that was featured in Bass Player magazine a couple of years ago?

McCartney's bass would be far more valuable than any other one, and not necessarily to the bass community, but mainly to the general public (except they'd call it a GUITAR). I vote McCartney's Hofner is most valuable electric of all time.

ian

 

[Bass Viking]

Except Jimi just threw them into the audience or left them squealing and burning on stage

My favourite is the end of the Isle of Wight concert when he just drops it on the stage and walks off.

 

[Bass Viking]

Anyone know the whereabouts of Danny Partridge's bass?

 

[Alex E]

Jamerson was incredible on the bass. I don't think McCartney is that far behind, but JJ just astounds when one tries to learn his stuff and then realizes he was just using the "hook".

Having said that, Macca's Hofner wins hands down. I wish I could remember which music magazine was estimating the auction value of famous guitars and basses in the not-too-distant past and the Hofner, which still has the '66 set-list from the Beatles' last tour taped to it, was rated the highest at about $2,000,000....? Some ridiculous number like that. The next highest valued guitar was Jimi Hendrick's strat.

Jamerson is the king from that era..... if not from all eras, yet it's an unfortunate shame that the man never got his due in terms of recognition by the general public. Even Motown didn't take care of him after they moved operations to LA. What an injustice. The man's playing was crucial to propelling that company to greatness. I just recently discovered a lot more of the scope of JJ's work and thinking about how he was treated makes me mad.

Anyway, the funk machine would be valuable indeed, but not in the dollar amount of the Hofner.

 

[GianGian]

Jamerson was incredible on the bass. I don't think McCartney is that far behind, but JJ just astounds when one tries to learn his stuff and then realizes he was just using the "hook".

Having said that, Macca's Hofner wins hands down. I wish I could remember which music magazine was estimating the auction value of famous guitars and basses in the not-too-distant past and the Hofner, which still has the '66 set-list from the Beatles' last tour taped to it, was rated the highest at about $2,000,000....? Some ridiculous number like that. The next highest valued guitar was Jimi Hendrick's strat.

Jamerson is the king from that era..... if not from all eras, yet it's an unfortunate shame that the man never got his due in terms of recognition by the general public. Even Motown didn't take care of him after they moved operations to LA. What an injustice. The man's playing was crucial to propelling that company to greatness. I just recently discovered a lot more of the scope of JJ's work and thinking about how he was treated makes me mad.

Anyway, the funk machine would be valuable indeed, but not in the dollar amount of the Hofner.

I didn't know about the setlist...do you have any pics??? Is it the same bass that he used for the Let It Be sessions and the rooftop concert?

 

[duckbutter]

John Entwistles' Frankenbass went for $77,959.30 USD

 

[DeliriumTremens]

Paul McCartney's Hofner would probably fetch a lot of money too.

yeah I reckon that'd be the one. Sure us bassists know about JJ but to a millionaire collector Macca's violin bass has gotta be #1

 

[Alex E]

I didn't know about the setlist...do you have any pics??? Is it the same bass that he used for the Let It Be sessions and the rooftop concert?

I can't reference you a website or book that has pictures of the Hofner with the '66 set-list from the Beatles last tour, but the information is fairly easy to find on the net.

Happy Hunting, and yes, that is the same Hofner that was used on the Let It Be album, the rooftop concert, and all of McCartney's tours since '89

 

[GianGian]

I can't reference you a website or book that has pictures of the Hofner with the '66 set-list from the Beatles last tour, but the information is fairly easy to find on the net.

Happy Hunting, and yes, that is the same Hofner that was used on the Let It Be album, the rooftop concert, and all of McCartney's tours since '89

I sure look for it. Do you know what happened to the original bass?

 

[Kgoodrich]

John Entwistles' Frankenbass went for $77,959.30 USD

I was just about to post this, god was it a sweet bass too.

 

[Brad Johnson]

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 error you're making is in thinking that the the person who would be a prospective buyer would be a collector with only general public knowledge. Someone truly interested in collectible basses would know the backstory behind any instruments they'd consider buying... or they wouldn't consider them.

That's what makes the last couple of sentences so odd. Would the general public be in the market? You say no... yet you think general public knowledge of the bass is relevant?

A collector would know. And you clearly seem to have no idea how many Motown fans there are.

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.

Most famous does not equal most valuable. Only to casual collectors. Not the ones who pay big bucks.

What you're contending is like the Batmobile fetching more than an early Bugatti because more people know about the Batmobile.

 

[PRUNEFACE]

I think Entwistle's original Buzzard or Alembic would sell for the most. Those were already very very expensive basses, and the fact that they were Entwhistle's favorites would like make them worth a fortune, as he is the Godfather of Rock 'n' Roll.

I think they were auctioned a while back -anyone remember prices?

 

[Brad Johnson]

Jamerson was incredible on the bass. I don't think McCartney is that far behind, but JJ just astounds when one tries to learn his stuff and then realizes he was just using the "hook".

Having said that, Macca's Hofner wins hands down. I wish I could remember which music magazine was estimating the auction value of famous guitars and basses in the not-too-distant past and the Hofner, which still has the '66 set-list from the Beatles' last tour taped to it, was rated the highest at about $2,000,000....? Some ridiculous number like that. The next highest valued guitar was Jimi Hendrick's strat.

Jamerson is the king from that era..... if not from all eras, yet it's an unfortunate shame that the man never got his due in terms of recognition by the general public. Even Motown didn't take care of him after they moved operations to LA. What an injustice. The man's playing was crucial to propelling that company to greatness. I just recently discovered a lot more of the scope of JJ's work and thinking about how he was treated makes me mad.

Anyway, the funk machine would be valuable indeed, but not in the dollar amount of the Hofner.

Did they estimate what Jamerson's bass would be worth if it were ever found? I think many seem to be missing the fact that the bass has been missing for decades.

 

[corinpills]

McCartney's Hofner is one of the most iconic instruments in all of music- as in, you could show a violin bass to a large percentage of non- musicians and they would call it a Beatle bass or a Paul McCartney bass. the same way you could show them Eddie Van Halen's old frankenstrat and they'd know what it was. Jamerson's P bass, as much as any bass player would be overwhelmed by it, looks just like a P bass. Maybe someone would say "Is that the Beach Boys bass?".

The reason non- musicians are important in this equation is because those are the people who actually buy really expensive collectible guitars. It's never a Berklee freshman who comes up with the dosh for Clapton's guitar auction. In fact, Paul McCartney is probably the only musician in the world who could actually afford his bass if it were for sale.

 

[duckbutter]

I think Entwistle's original Buzzard or Alembic would sell for the most. Those were already very very expensive basses, and the fact that they were Entwhistle's favorites would like make them worth a fortune, as he is the Godfather of Rock 'n' Roll.

I think they were auctioned a while back -anyone remember prices?

I'm pretty sure his Frankenbass fetched more money due to the "mojo" factor.

 

[Siegy]

The error you're making is in thinking that the the person who would be a prospective buyer would be a collector with only general public knowledge. Someone truly interested in collectible basses would know the backstory behind any instruments they'd consider buying... or they wouldn't consider them.

The error you're making is in thinking that the general public wouldn't be interested in buying Paul's Hofner. If it were to go up to auction, I would bet money that the buyer would be merely a Beatles fan and not a bass collector.

That's what makes the last couple of sentences so odd. Would the general public be in the market? You say no... yet you think general public knowledge of the bass is relevant?

Before I came to TB, I had no idea who James Jamerson was, and my dad was in a coverband that played some motown. Meanwhile, I challenge you to find someone that's not deaf that hasn't heard of the Beatles.

Most famous does not equal most valuable. Only to casual collectors. Not the ones who pay big bucks.

Didn't say that it did. But a point I'd like to make here is this: Would you buy the funk machine, or the bass of doom, or Paul's Hofner with the intent of playing it? Probably not, you're gonna lock those babies in a vacuum chamber with laser security. And when it comes to that, you can't differentiate between a Beatles collector and a bass collector.

What you're contending is like an early Bugatti fetching more than the Batmobile because the only potential buyers would be car collectors who have no interest in Batman.


What I'm pretty much trying to say here is that the potential buyers for these big-name basses WOULD just be memorabilia collectors, and not instrument collectors.

 

[Bass Viking]

The error you're making is in thinking that the general public wouldn't be interested in buying Paul's Hofner. If it were to go up to auction, I would bet money that the buyer would be merely a Beatles fan and not a bass collector.


Before I came to TB, I had no idea who James Jamerson was, and my dad was in a coverband that played some motown. Meanwhile, I challenge you to find someone that's not deaf that hasn't heard of the Beatles.



Didn't say that it did. But a point I'd like to make here is this: Would you buy the funk machine, or the bass of doom, or Paul's Hofner with the intent of playing it? Probably not, you're gonna lock those babies in a vacuum chamber with laser security. And when it comes to that, you can't differentiate between a Beatles collector and a bass collector.

What you're contending is like an early Bugatti fetching more than the Batmobile because the only potential buyers would be car collectors who have no interest in Batman.


What I'm pretty much trying to say here is that the potential buyers for these big-name basses WOULD just be memorabilia collectors, and not instrument collectors.

+1. I'll bet even McCartney's toilet seat would fetch a few bucks.

 

[Brad Johnson]

The error you're making is in thinking that the general public wouldn't be interested in buying Paul's Hofner. If it were to go up to auction, I would bet money that the buyer would be merely a Beatles fan and not a bass collector.

IIRC Guitar Center bought Clapton's guitar. They're not the general public, not merely fans and are most definitely music related. So I'd take your bet.

Before I came to TB, I had no idea who James Jamerson was, and my dad was in a coverband that played some motown. Meanwhile, I challenge you to find someone that's not deaf that hasn't heard of the Beatles.

If we're going to base this on how little you knew, you win.

Didn't say that it did. But a point I'd like to make here is this: Would you buy the funk machine, or the bass of doom, or Paul's Hofner with the intent of playing it? Probably not, you're gonna lock those babies in a vacuum chamber with laser security. And when it comes to that, you can't differentiate between a Beatles collector and a bass collector.

What does playability have to do with this? NOTHING. Do you really know anything about the collector market?

What you're contending is like an early Bugatti fetching more than the Batmobile because the only potential buyers would be car collectors who have no interest in Batman.

No, that's not what I'm contending. It does explain why you don't get what I am contending though.


The Batmobile is a very famous, highly popular car. Would it bring as much at auction as a very rare, previously thought gone forever marque? By your logic a car collector and a Batman memorabilia collector are equals in not only what they'll buy but how much they'll pay for it.

What I'm pretty much trying to say here is that the potential buyers for these big-name basses WOULD just be memorabilia collectors, and not instrument collectors.

And you have nothing to back that up.

 

[Brad Johnson]

McCartney's Hofner is one of the most iconic instruments in all of music- as in, you could show a violin bass to a large percentage of non- musicians and they would call it a Beatle bass or a Paul McCartney bass. the same way you could show them Eddie Van Halen's old frankenstrat and they'd know what it was. Jamerson's P bass, as much as any bass player would be overwhelmed by it, looks just like a P bass. Maybe someone would say "Is that the Beach Boys bass?".

The reason non- musicians are important in this equation is because those are the people who actually buy really expensive collectible guitars. It's never a Berklee freshman who comes up with the dosh for Clapton's guitar auction. In fact, Paul McCartney is probably the only musician in the world who could actually afford his bass if it were for sale.

Because there are no wealthy musicians?

Again, people who know nothing about basses aren't the primary buyers of these collectible instruments. Neither are people who can't afford them... so yeah, it's doubtful the typical Berklee freshman... or typical Beatles fan for that matter would be in the running.

GC was buying stuff up just for advertising purposes. For that matter, Fender might buy it. Or a museum.

 

[basslinejam]

Because there are no wealthy musicians?

Maybe Barry Gordy could throw down a few ducats at the auction? I hear he's still got some dough... It's the least he could do, per this post, which I agree with whole heartedly:

Jamerson is the king from that era..... if not from all eras, yet it's an unfortunate shame that the man never got his due in terms of recognition by the general public. Even Motown didn't take care of him after they moved operations to LA. What an injustice. The man's playing was crucial to propelling that company to greatness. I just recently discovered a lot more of the scope of JJ's work and thinking about how he was treated makes me mad.

Forget about millionaire collecters and GC corporation types... Which do WE revere more, as bass players? I'll take the Funk Machine. The Beatle uber Hofner with the set list taped to the back (eek, that'll leave a mark) is another, and much respect to the Bass of doom folks too. Any more?

I suppose which historic bass we choose to place as most valuable says as much about us as players as the instruments themselves...

I still believe, even in the face of the most formidable uber Hofner, that the Funk Machine is THE seminal electric bass in history, because of the influence Jamerson had on modern bass playing (us!) in every genre: R&B, blues, funk, jazz, pop, rock. I mean, I doubt a similar McCartney tribute would have the kind of eclectic powerhouse lineup that Standing in the Shadows of Motown had, with all due respect to him as a bass player, musician and songwriter.