Jamerson Bass Auction

[acidbass]

My oh my 😮😯😯

https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/entertainment-and-music/james-jamerson-owned-and-played-1961-fender-precision-bass-serial-number-60228-with-strap-case-and-photo-archive/p/7161-48001.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

[geoffbassist]

Wow!

[silverfoxnik]

Wow! 😎

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

Its not the funk machine which was a '62 with the work 'funk' carved into the neck heel & filled with ink. Before that he had a black '57 and after that a mid 60s one with a later version of the Fender logo which he used in LA. All were stolen from him and not recovered. Never saw any mention of him owning & playing any other basses in that period, and never heard any mention of him ever owning another 61/62.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Jean-Luc Pickguard

[Cato]

It's not exactly cast iron provenance.

The guy may well be telling the truth about where the bass came from, but there's no bill of sale or any documentation linking the bass to Jamerson, no pictures either.

Edited May 20, 2017 by Cato

[Beer of the Bass]

If it was loaned and never returned, how certain is the ownership of it? Could Jamerson's estate have some claim to it? You would hope this was sorted out before auctioning it.

[TheGreek]

[b]Sweepstake on the sale price?[/b]

A '61 FenderP would probably sell for around £5k?

With proven provenance I reckon this would sell for around [b]£30K.[/b]

[Grangur]

Shame there's no serial number in the letter. Also, can you be sure the letter is authentic?

If I was writing a letter of authenticity I doubt I'd forget to identify the bass with a serial number. (If only that were a potentially realistic situation)

[ped]

Check out the action on the bass!!!!

[KK Jale]

Weirdly, it's not even the bass the SELLER is photographed with back in the day (it's never had a headstock button, but the one in the photo has).

Bizarre.

[JimBobTTD]

I don't play 4-strings, I am not obsessed with Jamerson or Mowtown, I have read on this thread that there is question over its providence...I still want it.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1495358096' post='3303148']
I don't play 4-strings, I am not obsessed with Jamerson or Mowtown, I have read on this thread that there is question over its providence...I still want it.
[/quote]

[Robert Robinson] Ah, but how much are you willing to [i]pay [/i]for it, eh..? There's the rub..!' ([i]Taps side of nose knowingly, one eye half-closed[/i]...)[/Robert Robinson]

Edited May 21, 2017 by Dad3353

[JimBobTTD]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1495358706' post='3303156']
[Robert Robinson] Ah, but how much are you willing to [i]pay [/i]for it, eh..? There's the rub..!' ([i]Taps side of nose knowingly, one eye half-closed[/i]...)[/Robert Robinson]
[/quote]
[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1495301460' post='3302859']
[b]Sweepstake on the sale price?[/b]

A '61 FenderP would probably sell for around £5k?

With proven provenance I reckon this would sell for around [b]£30K.[/b]
[/quote]

Not £5k, not £30k either. How does £500 sound? Cheap at half the price, all these bananas - one pound, can't say fairer than that, I'm basically giving it away.

[Cairobill]

*cough* needs a shim

[Dan Dare]

Just don't get this "owned by (insert famous name)" guff. It's a mass produced instrument. The magic was in JJ's fingers and brain, not a piece of wood with bits of metal stretched along its length. JJ would have made magic with a Satellite copy. The only good thing is that a famous player's family sometimes gets to make a bit out of these sales. Other than that, it's bullshit.

[PawelG]

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1495362760' post='3303184']
Just don't get this "owned by (insert famous name)" guff. It's a mass produced instrument. The magic was in JJ's fingers and brain, not a piece of wood with bits of metal stretched along its length. JJ would have made magic with a Satellite copy. The only good thing is that a famous player's family sometimes gets to make a bit out of these sales. Other than that, it's bullshit.
[/quote]

Theres this "ex Pino Palladino" precision or jazz hanging on eBay for like £15k... waiting for "the right buyer" I guess :-)

Edited May 21, 2017 by PawelG

[AndyTravis]

Unless the bass/guitar is the one...

Like "blackie" or the "bass of doom"

I sort of don't get it.

Wasn't Jaco's #2 bass up for sale for $49,000 a few years ago?

Edited May 21, 2017 by AndyTravis

[ambient]

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1495362760' post='3303184']
Just don't get this "owned by (insert famous name)" guff. It's a mass produced instrument. The magic was in JJ's fingers and brain, not a piece of wood with bits of metal stretched along its length. JJ would have made magic with a Satellite copy. The only good thing is that a famous player's family sometimes gets to make a bit out of these sales. Other than that, it's bullshit.
[/quote]

Exactly.

There's more to sounding like someone than owning the same bass.

[EBS_freak]

There's only a few instruments that I would have a big interest in their auction price...

And thats -

Brian May's original Red Special
Macca's Hofner (both current and the original stolen one (although this one has significantly less history))
Macca's LH '59 LP

Anybody want to add any extras to the list...?

[KK Jale]

Honestly, JJ's actual P-basses are some of the very few star instruments I have any interest in.

I mean, the bass that was played on THIS... c'mon!

(And if anybody here's never seen this, it's well worth a few minutes of your life, especially with headphones on).

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPkM8F0sjSw"]http://www.youtube....h?v=fPkM8F0sjSw[/url]

Edited September 5, 2017 by KK Jale

[Dad3353]

[quote name='KK Jale' timestamp='1495642652' post='3305563']...it's well worth nine minutes of your life...
[/quote]

+1 Thanks for sharing.

[scalpy]

This seems to go against the grain but I love instruments and gear that come with some provenance. There have been one or two opportunities for me in the past to play significant kit and I get a buzz out of knowing that somebody who had an imagination and ability greater than mine was able to make it do something that means something to a lot of people. I know if I played this bass I'd not unlock its potential like JJ could but it was a cog in the wheel of something really important and to me that's worth cherishing.

[ivansc]

FWIW. Is it a 61 or a 62? Seems to be a typop or some confusion going on here
And I actually owned a 62 Precision that I bought in 62. Also played several others both new and old over the years. I now have a USA 62 reissue.
I was looking for a neck that closest to the very wide incredibly thin one on my original 62.
The only one I found that came close was my buddy Mark iN Nashvilles 62 tcb rosewood board which even thirty odd years later was incredibly close to the sound and feel of mine.
Once you discount the historical player connection, whilst they were kinda mass produced, there is a vast variety of different original rosewood board 62 P-basses out there. Some I have played I wouldnt give you $50 for. For exzample, Rich Wright of the pink floyd had a 61 stack knob jazz bass which, unless Guy Pratt has had some major surgery done on it since Rick died, was the biggest dog I have ever played from that era of Fender production.

[oldbass]

If it could be proven beyond doubt that he recorded 'Darling Dear, 'Bernadette' etc etc on it then it could be argued that historically it's a pretty cool instrument but without the proof.....

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='KK Jale' timestamp='1495642652' post='3305563']
Honestly, JJ's actual P-basses are some of the very few star instruments I have any interest in.

I mean, the bass that was played on THIS... c'mon!

(And if anybody here's never seen this, it's well worth nine minutes of your life, especially with headphones on).

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iDj1D2OimM"]http://www.youtube....h?v=2iDj1D2OimM[/url]
[/quote]

Fabulous music, voice, bass playing and song! Unbelievably poignant too, this week especially.

Thanks for sharing...