Agent 00Soul

The Melodie Nelson bass line is one of those unicorns isn't it? It's also one of those rare moments where the sound is so famous, it's a shorthand. Say Melodie Nelson bass and many people know exactly what you mean. A few years ago, I was in the studio and a song had a perfect opportunity for one. I couldn't ever sound like Dave Richmond did in 1969 or whenever, but we wanted to channel the vibe. We used a Fender Jaguar bass strung with oldish flats and played with a pick and some palm muting plugged directly (no fx for once) into a 1959 Fender Bassman modern reissue and turned it up to the edge of distortion. The rest was the bass part and the engineer's fingers - doing whatever they do. It was one of the loudest instruments in the final mix too - I think that's also one of the important things. Not nearly as special as Richmond, but the feeling and reference were clearly there. People in the know said "Melodie Nelson bass" when they heard the song.

I love this amp model. Bought one used right here on Basschat and can't imagine life without it at this point. I can't believe I never had one before.

I have a pedal board with around 10 stomp boxes. So when I am starting with a new project, it can take a while to dial everything in. And it can't really be done at home at practice volume only in rehearsal at gig level. I take pictures with my phone to remember the settings once they are dialed in. After a while, I get used to everything and it becomes default. It also means things can be tweaked on the fly in recording sessions quickly. (It's been a long time since I've played in a non-effects heavy band so I kind of forgot how to do the plug and play thing for better or worse.)

I've gotten used to instruments not being available for lefties and am normally pretty sanguine about it. But I have to admit, the look of that bass stirred covetous feelings. I'm not sure I could stay away if they made something that looked so cool left-handed.

Warmoth make better Fender-style bodies and necks than Fender does!

That reminds me of something one of my 20 year old summer interns said to me. After a few weeks on the job she turned to me and said, "Adulting is really boring, isn't it?"

10 way? Nice!

That's one nice bass! Mid 70s Fenders and their CIJ descendants are my favourite sounding of all the periods they were made. But I've never owned one because they are so heavy!

That is one of the coolest basses I've ever seen. Fender should issue it as one of the Alternative Dimension series. (or whatever it's called)

I've had this late sixties Jazzmaster since 1984. It became so infamous in my high school, where most of the other guitars were neon painted Charvel or Jackson super-strats for shredding, that it got a special farewell in the school newspaper when I graduated.

I'll definitely try one out because it's always been on the wishlist to play one. Unless they are already pre-sold to other lefties for whom this was always the one that got away and won't even be in the shops.

Makes me think of people like Billy Childish or The Kaisers.

What don't you like about Jefferson Airplane?

That's a good word for it: punchy. Also the word I would use to describe Thomas' sound on the Costello songs. Also, it's the loudest pickup out of all my instruments.

Not sure if you've ever tried one of the Precision Elites from that year. My friend had one at the time and I thought it was the coolest. Of course, I was 15 and didn't have much experience so no idea what I'd think of it now.

I most definitely did NOT know that - thanks for filling me in! All these years I thought it was the day (but I'm also a gear ignoramous). Being a Jazzmaster, not a Jaguar, I looked up the number guide from another board. Apparently 1968 Jazzmasters are 19 and Jags are 15 as you said. So either the instrument was misnumbered, unlikely as one is long-scale and one is short, or far more likely, I misremembered. Either way - 15 or 19 - is still about 3 weeks after I was born, so that didn't change.

The picture is slightly distorted. The headstock is standard CBS-era as far as I know. Jazzmasters didn't get the larger headstock that Strats did, right? The finish was never stock - it came in that sparkle green that a previous owner added. I added the targets a few years after I got it. From a chip on the lower bout after I dropped it on a concrete floor, I could see that it was originally sunburst.

Based on how often people claim they shift gear on all the boards and social media groups I subscribe to, you would think so. I'm more of an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" person, although I certainly have accumulated a few more intsruments over the years. A life of living in tiny apartments and being left-handed is great preventative medicine for GAS!

Not a bass (obviously) but: My first electric instrument was a Jazzmaster that I got in 1984. Nobody was buying them then so it was dirt cheap. A few years later, I unscrewed the neck and found out it was dated 15 June 68, three weeks from my date of birth. I still have it. I didn't know this was a thing until I read this thread!

I haven't played out in a few years, but this story is worth posting. I was in a band back in the 2000s where it got to the point that the gig itself had become just a delivery mechanism for the afterparty. We did a couple of reunion shows in 2022, in San Francisco and Brooklyn, and we picked up that tradition again for old times sake but this time we all were older and had enough money to rent out a space in a bar or hold house parties.

Getting some early 80s Cure vibes!

"We Built This City," or as my AV teacher called it when it hit number 1 in the US, "DJs and radio stations are great! We love them!" It's one of the mysteries of the universe how Jefferson Airplane, one of the best and most challenging bands of the 1960s devolved through the 70s to emerge as Starship, one of the worst and least challenging bands of the 80s.

Those are great basses for hard rock and overdrive pedals. Must be the pickups.