Saw the post today on Facebook. I so thought the bass was stolen from him long ago, never to be seen again. Is this for real? If so, this may be the most valuable bass guitar in the world...
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Jameson's funk machine at the Musicians Hall Of Fame
- Thread starter SwitchGear
- Start date
Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville says they have the original 1961 p bass player by James Jamerson.
Home - Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum
Home - Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum
Looks a lot like mine except mine says funk in back.
So they just found it?
So they just found it?
Incredible news,
The Funk Machine was stolen in july 1983 and i think was lost forever
Really want to know the story behind this ....
The Funk Machine was stolen in july 1983 and i think was lost forever
Really want to know the story behind this ....
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
At the very least, I'd like to see the back of the body and what provenance they have.
BIG, if true. Cool to know it's in a place where people can see it and make the connection.
Article from No Treble from 2017. It's the same one in the HOF picture.
James Jamerson Bass Sold at Auction – No Treble
James Jamerson Bass Sold at Auction – No Treble
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Because, this isn't the funk machine
Yeah, same. Seems like a museum display. If the original was recovered it would have made its way into music news somehow.
Here’s McCartney’s Hofner
Attachments
See? Even a great like McCartney was able to get by on eastern import, budget basses
I have always heard that he had two Hofners...one was stolen during the Let It Be or Abbey Road Sessions. He has the other and has been using it again for the last several years-this is the one with the Shea Stadium set list taped to it.
I am not certain where this one would fit in...
The one that was stolen didn’t have a pickguard, and the treble pickup is in the middle/neck-ish position like my Höfner.
So it is a bass he used, but not “the” bass.
It's not clear to me if this IS the Funk Machine.
Last line in the article posted by @Datsgor makes me think there's two different basses and the one at HOF is NOT the Funk Machine.
Cave Puppy
"Humph Bo, he's wond!" - John Lennon
It’s not THE Funk Machine. The article from No Treble explains it’s another, almost identical bass that James supposedly gave to a friend or something (the bass referenced in this thread). James kept the FM for himself and that’s the one we’re all still looking for.
It’s not one of his Hofners. Look at the truss rod cover.
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That Hofner shown in the display case is not what McCartney used. It's an Ignition/Icon Asian made model.
McCartney's was what is now referred to as the Cavern model, left-handed, German made. By the time it had been stolen from the Let it Be sessions, it had been refinished and pickup surrounds had been modified.
McCartney now has several old and new left-handed German made 500/1 basses according to his guitar technician, and a former Hofner employee who had actually worked on and researched his instruments.
McCartney's was what is now referred to as the Cavern model, left-handed, German made. By the time it had been stolen from the Let it Be sessions, it had been refinished and pickup surrounds had been modified.
McCartney now has several old and new left-handed German made 500/1 basses according to his guitar technician, and a former Hofner employee who had actually worked on and researched his instruments.
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Jamerson himself is the funk machine. Whatever bass he played was like the candy wrapper to a candy bar. So, reasonable facsimiles of his performance bass (or another musician's "tool of the trade") are acceptable to me in a museum setting.
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