• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Jameson's funk machine at the Musicians Hall Of Fame

#41
derlewine said:
Isn’t that crazy to think about? It’s probably sitting in somebody’s grandpa’s closet, like they bought it cheap at a pawn shop as a neat bass and then stashed it away. At least that’s the idea I like to keep in mind, it gives me hope one day it’ll be found :)
Click to expand...

More like gave it to some drug dealer or sold it for $50 for a heroin fix. There’s no such thing as buying cheap at an L.A. area pawn shop. I’ve seen cheap Squires selling for $600!
 
  • Like
Reactions: SwitchGear and P. Aaron
#46
Smooth_bass88 said:
The original Funk Machine will probably never ever be recovered. Think of how many sunburst/rosewood P basses there are in the world. It’s lost forever… or maybe someone has it and doesn’t even realize what they have.
Click to expand...
Or, some junkie stole it, sold it to some dunce who thought; "I gotta refinish this disaster. Who the HELL would carve funk machine into their bass?! What an freakin' idiot!"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Smooth_bass88 and HaphAsSard
#48
Always found that chip on the pickguard interesting. It’s not a glare, I’ve seen it in other Jamerson photos and on other photos of the bass in the case.

There is certainly a lot of mystery surrounding the “Funk Machine”. A lot of it is based on hear say since no photos exist of the word “funk” carved into the heel of the neck and he supposedly owned a few p-basses over the years. Some folks on TB are convinced “Funk Machine” isn’t/wasn’t a 1962 but perhaps a 64 or 65…which is plausible. I started a thread a few years ago basically asking everyone what they think happened to the bass after it was stolen. A lot of folks wrote back saying it was probably pawned for drug money, picked up at the pawn shop by someone having no clue what they had, added a jazz pickup, refinished it and possibly added a new neck. I find that very believable…and unfortunate if true.

I also think it’s possible he carved “funk” into another part of the neck, somewhere not immediately visible. Perhaps the bottom, or perhaps in the neck pocket (although unlikely since he was not known for his frequent truss rod adjustments). Also, few if any people are still alive who would be able to identify the bass if presented to them. Jamerson Jr always said there were a few identifying marks that only he would recognize, and now that he’s passed, we may never know.

Either way, this is definitely one of Jamerson’s basses that I’m sure we’ve enjoyed listening to, and that’s cool enough for me.


E7293869-A9CB-48ED-AB26-D913AC68605B.jpeg
 

Attachments

  • A5E8C132-843B-45B8-9666-DAAA02E3C010.jpeg
    A5E8C132-843B-45B8-9666-DAAA02E3C010.jpeg
    102.1 KB · Views: 26
  • Like
Reactions: SwitchGear
#49
Big deception
What an incredible story if his bass will be here 40 years later.

For me this bass is in private collection of someone who exactly knows what bass is

There is no hundred solution
The bass is destroyed or totally refinished or in a non musicien room
But if it goes in the musicien circuit, it was identified for sure
I have see a lot of basses in my life but never with funk carved wood
 
  • Like
Reactions: SwitchGear
#50
Maestro29 said:
Always found that chip on the pickguard interesting. It’s not a glare, I’ve seen it in other Jamerson photos and on other photos of the bass in the case.

There is certainly a lot of mystery surrounding the “Funk Machine”. A lot of it is based on hear say since no photos exist of the word “funk” carved into the heel of the neck and he supposedly owned a few p-basses over the years. Some folks on TB are convinced “Funk Machine” isn’t/wasn’t a 1962 but perhaps a 64 or 65…which is plausible. I started a thread a few years ago basically asking everyone what they think happened to the bass after it was stolen. A lot of folks wrote back saying it was probably pawned for drug money, picked up at the pawn shop by someone having no clue what they had, added a jazz pickup, refinished it and possibly added a new neck. I find that very believable…and unfortunate if true.

I also think it’s possible he carved “funk” into another part of the neck, somewhere not immediately visible. Perhaps the bottom, or perhaps in the neck pocket (although unlikely since he was not known for his frequent truss rod adjustments). Also, few if any people are still alive who would be able to identify the bass if presented to them. Jamerson Jr always said there were a few identifying marks that only he would recognize, and now that he’s passed, we may never know.

Either way, this is definitely one of Jamerson’s basses that I’m sure we’ve enjoyed listening to, and that’s cool enough for me.


View attachment 5042977
Click to expand...

The broken pickguard tip is not conclusive of much as this was/is very, very common on the celluloid guards. Note the same in the following photo and that the bass is clearly a curved board meaning mid '62 at the earliest and not the same bass as the OP which is a slab board.

James-Jamerson.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: SwitchGear
#52
Ben Esparza said:
More like gave it to some drug dealer or sold it for $50 for a heroin fix. There’s no such thing as buying cheap at an L.A. area pawn shop. I’ve seen cheap Squires selling for $600!
Click to expand...

Though somewhat different in the pre-internet age in 1983. Deals could certainly be found then - and The Recycler back then... I bought an original black '61 P with the brown case and covers in '83 for $450.

Interesting L.A. side note is I worked at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica in the mid 80's and the legend was that the old Motown L.A. studio was a couple doors east on Pico. There was no sign but the door handle was an old guitar neck - and there was a snake running from the McCabe's stage to the studio.

nixdad said:
TB Members -
My 2017 posts from the thread below may be of interest, starting at post #112. This describes my possible sighting of the mid-60’s P-Bass that was stolen from JJ in ‘83.

James Jameron's Funk Machine - Wrong Year
Click to expand...

Great thread and very interesting sub topic. The pics taken by Sievert for Dan Forte's interview (so far as I know, the only journalist who had the foresight to interview him) sure look like very late '64 through early '66 (pearl dots, transition logo).
 
  • Like
Reactions: FranF, nixdad and SwitchGear
#58
Another interesting point: IF it is floating around somewhere, in original condition, I doubt it would actually be playable. His overall neglect of the instrument has been pretty well documented. Never cleaned it, never had a setup, rarely changed strings and the neck was allegedly bowed like a banana. I doubt any of these issues have improved with age. Although I'm sure Dan Erlewine could do a complete overhaul.

I also wonder IF it actually still exists, if it would just sound like a plain old P-bass or if it would have some special little somethin' to it. I remember when Jaco's bass finally cropped up and Wooten, Bailey and Will Lee played it. It definitely had a certain mojo that no other j-bass seems to have.
 
#59
Maestro29 said:
Another interesting point: IF it is floating around somewhere, in original condition, I doubt it would actually be playable. His overall neglect of the instrument has been pretty well documented. Never cleaned it, never had a setup, rarely changed strings and the neck was allegedly bowed like a banana. I doubt any of these issues have improved with age. Although I'm sure Dan Erlewine could do a complete overhaul.

I also wonder IF it actually still exists, if it would just sound like a plain old P-bass or if it would have some special little somethin' to it. I remember when Jaco's bass finally cropped up and Wooten, Bailey and Will Lee played it. It definitely had a certain mojo that no other j-bass seems to have.
Click to expand...

It doesn't look in that bad condition. This was taken not long before it went missing and his death:

Jamerson_zpsuse7zfwr.jpg
 
#60
Which were the rosewood slab board versus the rosewood capped board years? My ‘73 TV logo board is capped.

Apperently, the story goes that Leo Fender preferred the maple board tone so the capped boards came into being in order for the fret tangs to in the maple to best capture the maple tone.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back