• 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.

Larry Graham's "Sunshine" bass

#2
Marc PG said:
Does anybody know from which year is the iconic white Fender Jazz Bass called "Sunshine" that Larry Graham has used the most?

I know it is a 60's J-Bass, but not exactly the year...

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Are you referring to his signature Moon Bass or the white Fender jazz with maple neck and pearled blocks and binding and mirror pick guard like the one Marcus Miller became famous for?
He also had a red Fender Jazz with blocks and binding and rosewood fingerboard.

Post pics of the bass you are inquiring about. :snaphappy:
 
#3
LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
Are you referring to his signature Moon Bass or the white Fender jazz with maple neck and pearled blocks and binding and mirror pick guard like the one Marcus Miller became famous for?
He also had a red Fender Jazz with blocks and binding and rosewood fingerboard.

Post pics of the bass you are inquiring about. :snaphappy:
Click to expand...

I can't find photos. It's the one he used with Sly & The Family Stone and then with Graham Central Station. Not the completely white with golden knobs called "Moon bass" or something... A Fender Jazz Bass with three traditional knobs, white pickguard and I think that without color. I mean, the body is the wood, not refinished. Maple neck.

But I don't know if that "Sunshine" is the bass I'm talking about... Anyone knows if the bass I'm trying to describe is that "Sunshine"? And does anyone have a photo of that Fender Jazz Bass called "Sunshine"?
 
#4
Marc PG said:
I can't find photos. It's the one he used with Sly & The Family Stone and then with Graham Central Station. Not the completely white with golden knobs called "Moon bass" or something... A Fender Jazz Bass with three traditional knobs, white pickguard and I think that without color. I mean, the body is the wood, not refinished. Maple neck.

But I don't know if that "Sunshine" is the bass I'm talking about... Anyone knows if the bass I'm trying to describe is that "Sunshine"? And does anyone have a photo of that Fender Jazz Bass called "Sunshine"?
Click to expand...

Edited after posting: I found a photo! Is that J-Bass the "Sunshine"?
 

Attachments

  • larry-graham-bassman-gary-k-morgan.jpg
    larry-graham-bassman-gary-k-morgan.jpg
    81.3 KB · Views: 387
#10
Thanks a lot to all of you.

Do you know if one of those basses is the "Sunshine"? Let's remember he called "Sunshine" to a Fender Jazz Bass from mid 60's...

Anyone knows about a J-Bass he used in the sixties? That could probably be the "Sunshine".
 
#17
Here is a picture of LG with what I believe to be the Jazz Bass I believe is often referred to as 'Sunshine'. My guess is it's one of his favorite late 60s-early70s J Basses that he had custom painted White, then added the Gold hardware and ornamentations for flash. I also see now where Marcus Miller got the idea for the Sadowsky-modded control plate on his iconic 70s J. Bass; it was clearly inspired by the Graham mods.
Larry Graham_Sunshine Jazz Bass_Pic 2.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: LadyLoveStingRay5
#18
Deleted member 96522 said:
Here is a picture of LG with what I believe to be the Jazz Bass I believe is often referred to as 'Sunshine'. My guess is it's one of his favorite late 60s-early70s J Basses
Click to expand...

I'm hardly enough of a Larry Graham aficionado to be able to claim this with any degree of confidence, but fwiw I was always under the impression that the white bass with the XLR mic input on the upper bout was a Moon, not a Fender.
 
#19
Bob_Ross said:
I'm hardly enough of a Larry Graham aficionado to be able to claim this with any degree of confidence, but fwiw I was always under the impression that the white bass with the XLR mic input on the upper bout was a Moon, not a Fender.
Click to expand...
You're talking about a much 'newer' bass. And by newer, yes the Moon has been around since like 1988/89 onward.

But in the 60's and 70's he was playing mostly block inlay Jazzes. One of the very earliest videos of Sly Stone shows Larry playing a P Bass at first, but seems by around 67/68 he changed to Jazzes, and I think that red one was the first J.
But he also had lots of J's throughout the 70s if you go watch all the vids you can find of Graham Central.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MarshallAC50Stack, LadyLoveStingRay5 and Rezdog
#20
mikeswals said:
You're talking about a much 'newer' bass. And by newer, yes the Moon has been around since like 1988/89 onward.

But in the 60's and 70's he was playing mostly block inlay Jazzes. One of the very earliest videos of Sly Stone shows Larry playing a P Bass at first, but seems by around 67/68 he changed to Jazzes, and I think that red one was the first J.
But he also had lots of J's throughout the 70s if you go watch all the vids you can find of Graham Central.
Click to expand...

Right...so my question is: Did any of Larry's white Fender Jazz Bass' from prior to '88/89 have that XLR microphone input on the upper bout near the cutaway?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back