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

[Brad Johnson]

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:

There are a lot more MI people with a lot more money than Berry Gordy around. Fortunately. Somehow I doubt he'd be interested in the bass.

 

[basslinejam]

There are a lot more MI people with a lot more money than Berry Gordy around. Fortunately. Somehow I doubt he'd be interested in the bass.

Such as, um, Paul McCartney?

(BErry, not Barry, thanks)

 

[Siegy]

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

Well, sir, while I may disagree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.

VICTORY IS MINE!

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well, sir, while I may disagree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.

VICTORY IS MINE!

Yay.

 

[thumpzilla]

my name is Dave.. I worked at Guitar Center in 1971- 1973 in Hollywood..
i worked on the Funk Machine.. First it was a 1966 I think because I remember the neck as being kind of beefey.. second I worked the thing for about 1 or 2 weeks trying to get the neck straight.. it was totally slack no way intonation was correct on that (when I asked James what he was using on the hits at Motown he said.. a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 bass amp with 2 12" speakers ( I asked if they were JBL's he said no just stock speakers) so I straighten the neck and give it back to him.. and he's pissed.. straightened the neck and put Labella 760s on it.. his strings were RUSTY.. when I got it it was unplayable... filthy etc.. he said "what did you do to my bass?? I cant play it like this.." he took me aside and gave me a quick bass lesson..." you got to fights the bass.. " he went on to explain how he got his sound.. its a long story.. and I got a few other lessons from James.. equally wild.. anyway he explained about how he was a standup player and wanted to fight the bass for lack of a better word.. so I took it back to the repair shop and slacked the tension on the truss rod.. but that bass was nothing special.. and the neck was GONE!!! it was James and his technique.. sorry Fender... and al you guys spending millions on trying to get James sound with a Precison and a Portaflex.. you will get close but if you listen to a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 w/2x12 cab.. it will blow your mind.. cheers.

 

[mikeswals]

when I asked James what he was using on the hits at Motown he said.. a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 bass amp with 2 12" speakers

and al you guys spending millions on trying to get James sound with a Precison and a Portaflex.. you will get close but if you listen to a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 w/2x12 cab.. it will blow your mind..

You do know that JJ was a notorious prankster, right? Seems to me he may have been pulling your leg.
The snakepit in Detroit was too small to have amps during the recording session. And several studio pictures of him in LA show a P Bass and an B15.

Now, I do think he had more than one P. Sure I think the '62 was the one on the most popular recordings. But the later pictures in the SITOM book are a transitional era P Bass (64-67), and on pg 96 you can see the pearl dot marker, they're not clay dots.

 

[vanscoy]

While I certainly recognize the historical inportance of Jamerson's Funk Machine, I believe even McCartney's Rickenbacker would fetch a higher price, being the root of some of the world's most enduring and recognizable music

 

[basslinejam]

my name is Dave.. I worked at Guitar Center in 1971- 1973 in Hollywood..
i worked on the Funk Machine.. First it was a 1966 I think because I remember the neck as being kind of beefey.. second I worked the thing for about 1 or 2 weeks trying to get the neck straight.. it was totally slack no way intonation was correct on that (when I asked James what he was using on the hits at Motown he said.. a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 bass amp with 2 12" speakers ( I asked if they were JBL's he said no just stock speakers) so I straighten the neck and give it back to him.. and he's pissed.. straightened the neck and put Labella 760s on it.. his strings were RUSTY.. when I got it it was unplayable... filthy etc.. he said "what did you do to my bass?? I cant play it like this.." he took me aside and gave me a quick bass lesson..." you got to fights the bass.. " he went on to explain how he got his sound.. its a long story.. and I got a few other lessons from James.. equally wild.. anyway he explained about how he was a standup player and wanted to fight the bass for lack of a better word.. so I took it back to the repair shop and slacked the tension on the truss rod.. but that bass was nothing special.. and the neck was GONE!!! it was James and his technique.. sorry Fender... and al you guys spending millions on trying to get James sound with a Precison and a Portaflex.. you will get close but if you listen to a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 w/2x12 cab.. it will blow your mind.. cheers.

Thanks Dave, loved reading the story. I fully accept that that bass was an unplayable mess for anyone but Jamerson

 

[RobJ]

The bassplayer (emotion/artistic) side of me says Jamerson's FM, but the more reasonable and logical side (business/investment value) of me says Sir Paul's Hofner. Now if I were rich and the opportunity ever arose to choose between the two, the bassplayer would still say FM, and the more resonable and logical side would say the Hofner. Talk about being conflicted.....

 

[SRT80]

Just browsin my local craigslist and came across this...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Think it could be Jamersons 62???

Probably not, but that's cheap if it's all original right?

Steve

 

[stewart8980]

Well seeing as the owner of the Bass of Doom said that one of his influences was the owner of The Funk Machine....you do the math.

 

[D.Don]

Unfortunately "The funk machine" was most probably jammed by some junkies, or sold by some scumbag for a few bucks in a pawnshop and then ended up with some nasty kid who painted it in some hippieish style and finally burned it to symbolize the end of capitalism...

Or something in that general direction at least...

D.Don

 

[D.Don]

my name is Dave.. I worked at Guitar Center in 1971- 1973 in Hollywood..
i worked on the Funk Machine.. First it was a 1966 I think because I remember the neck as being kind of beefey.. second I worked the thing for about 1 or 2 weeks trying to get the neck straight.. it was totally slack no way intonation was correct on that (when I asked James what he was using on the hits at Motown he said.. a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 bass amp with 2 12" speakers ( I asked if they were JBL's he said no just stock speakers) so I straighten the neck and give it back to him.. and he's pissed.. straightened the neck and put Labella 760s on it.. his strings were RUSTY.. when I got it it was unplayable... filthy etc.. he said "what did you do to my bass?? I cant play it like this.." he took me aside and gave me a quick bass lesson..." you got to fights the bass.. " he went on to explain how he got his sound.. its a long story.. and I got a few other lessons from James.. equally wild.. anyway he explained about how he was a standup player and wanted to fight the bass for lack of a better word.. so I took it back to the repair shop and slacked the tension on the truss rod.. but that bass was nothing special.. and the neck was GONE!!! it was James and his technique.. sorry Fender... and al you guys spending millions on trying to get James sound with a Precison and a Portaflex.. you will get close but if you listen to a Gretsch bass and a Kustom 100 w/2x12 cab.. it will blow your mind.. cheers.

Isn't babbitt hangin around on TB? He's imho one of the more reliable sources in this matter...


D.Don

 

[double-muff]

The funkmachine is probably modified as hell right now, refin, j in the bridge, EMG´s and a badassII and it is probably in some basement collecting dust alongside some 80´s hairmetal records.

so basically worth nothing.

 

[Jim C]

One of the baddest vintage guitar dealers on the planet is Gill Southworth of Southworth guitars who has been a close friend for over 20 years.

It is surprising how little celebrity ownership adds to an instruments' value unless it is one of the top few players in the world.

I was blown away that Mick Ralph's fully documented 50's Les Paul sunburst that was used on Bad Company's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" was sold for about the same price as other non celeb equals.

Anybody want to make an offer for Danny Gatton's signature Tele; we have the prototype that Fender built for approval?

He used it, but it's no better than the new ones.

 

[basslinejam]

The funkmachine is probably modified as hell right now, refin, j in the bridge, EMG´s and a badassII and it is probably in some basement collecting dust alongside some 80´s hairmetal records.

so basically worth nothing.

Ah yes, dreaming about what happened to the funk machine...

[Fade in] Camera moves silently through interior of a ramshackle house. The camera descends a narrow stairwell to the cellar. A tea pot whistle goes off and continues as the camera edges ever closer to the ground sliding toward a dark corner full of rusty lawn furniture. We see dimly the glint of metal in the shadows and water drops flit past from a hot water pipe above. Camera zooms and stops on the mold covered headstock of a Fender Precision Bass laying flat on the concrete floor in a pool of oily water.

[Off screen] Honey! Tea's ready!

FIN

Too arty?

 

[landry.bass]

Ah yes, dreaming about what happened to the funk machine...

[Fade in] Camera moves silently through interior of a ramshackle house. The camera descends a narrow stairwell to the cellar. A tea pot whistle goes off and continues as the camera edges ever closer to the ground sliding toward a dark corner full of rusty lawn furniture. We see dimly the glint of metal in the shadows and water drops flit past from a hot water pipe above. Camera zooms and stops on the mold covered headstock of a Fender Precision Bass laying flat on the concrete floor in a pool of oily water.

[Off screen] Honey! Tea's ready!

FIN

Too arty?

Actually, this just makes me want to cry...

 

[stflbn]

Seriously doubt it, only bass players knew who Jaco was. Really, someone from the general public would have to be a jazz/fusion fan to know about Jaco.
But Jamerson's bass...is still being heard by millions of people everyday on the radio...I'll hear 20-30 songs a day featuring Jamerson, but the only song with Jaco I ever hear on the radio is Birdland about once a week.

Agreed. I always think this when people talk about Jaco like he's a mass consumer product like Elvis or Michael Jackson, etc.

Many many more collectors would be interested in Jamerson's bass just because of the Motown connection and all the hits it was associated with.

 

[stflbn]

The funkmachine is probably modified as hell right now, refin, j in the bridge, EMG´s and a badassII and it is probably in some basement collecting dust alongside some 80´s hairmetal records.

so basically worth nothing.

Covered in stickers with an SX neck on it hanging in a pawnshop with bad humidity... traded in to buy something cool and pointy.

 

[Jim C]

It's cool to preserve history and those basses should be in the Smithsonian.
Chances are none of thos basses are super special.

Jamerson good have got that tone and cut those hits on a bass that will be made tomorrow; it's all about the player. Same with Sir Paul. Of course the engineer, producer, and other players could have ruined the mojo, but in those cases, they were surounded by the best.

Always figured that Lance Armstrong could have won the Tour de France (in his day) on a Schwinn Stingray.

Let me put it this way, how many of you think you could capture that Motown groove if you were in the original studio, with his equipment, and the original master tapes?

The instrument is just a tool in the mechanics hands.