An auction of "James Jamerson Owned and Played 1961 Fender Precision Bass..."

#61
40Hz said:
I'd demand indemnification if I was going to buy it (not that I could afford to.)

Last thing I'd want is one of Jamerson's descendants filing a suit to get it back "for the estate" since it apparently was "borrowed" and never returned per the story given by the auction house.

The higher the money it sells for, the greater the likelihood a relative or former SO will emerge out of the woodwork with an attorney and legal papers.
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Good point. It also galls me a little bit for Mr. Hayes or his estate to be making money on a borrowed instrument.
 
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#63
It is a bit like the saying 'if the garden is good enough, why pretend there are fairies at the bottom of it?'.

In short I see a very nice early '60s P bass (though where is the hootenanny button?) with wacky action, but the Jamerson connection seems tenuous. It isn't the Funk Machine. A handful of scratchy black and white photos of some dude playing a similar sunburst P bass isn't 'evidence', and I don't buy the story of Jamerson simply giving it away to a guy that needed a bass on a gig. I thought the timeline of Jamerson's basses was pretty well understood, and I've never seen mention of him having a spare. Given that he never swapped strings it seems somewhat generous of him to simply give up a bass. Beyond that, a fair few '60s pickguards shed their tip on the treble side, because the plastic shrank over time.
 
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#64
FranF said:
Also, James' '61 had the broken pickguard tip in the early/mid 60s, the auction pics show the seller using the bass in '68 with an unbroken guard. Hmmm... And the auction pic bass doesn't and never had a hootenanny button. The pics in '68 of the seller show a button. Hmmmmm..... Also, 50 year old LaBellas would have fuzzy, frayed messy silks at the tuners. These look nearly new. Hmmmm....
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The missing strap button on the back of the headstock was surprising to me as well. Almost every old Fender I've seen had one. But, I didn't bother to look in that lower left photo. Definitely NOT the same bass. So much for their provenance.
 
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#65
Another thing to consider is that La Bella strings are simply strings that were available back then in the '60s. It isn't like Jamerson had the only supply. I could stick Rotosounds on a '60s P bass, but it would make it John Entwistle's. A slightly leaky analogy I know, but I'm tired!
 
#69
Axstar said:
It is a bit like the saying 'if the garden is good enough, why pretend there are fairies at the bottom of it?'.

Given that he never swapped strings it seems somewhat generous of him to simply give up a bass.
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Those guys back then never changed their strings not because they were frugal but because they wanted the sound of very old very dead strings like some of us now, Labella flatwounds sound better and better as they get older.
 
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#71
FranF said:
Bri, this is indeed interesting! But, impossible to corroborate. Impossible. James had three Ps, the black '57, the '61 (as this is), and the Funk Machine, which was a '65 or '66. If this bass was James', where's the worn off chrome and indentations in the pickup cover? His middle and fourth fingers wore divots into those covers ;-) And, the cracked pickguard tip is a malady found on probably 7 of 10 of all vintage Fenders. Another thought is the timing of the auction. Only one person could have possibly given insight, James III, and sadly, he's now no longer here.
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FranF said:
Also, James' '61 had the broken pickguard tip in the early/mid 60s, the auction pics show the seller using the bass in '68 with an unbroken guard. Hmmm... And the auction pic bass doesn't and never had a hootenanny button. The pics in '68 of the seller show a button. Hmmmmm..... Also, 50 year old LaBellas would have fuzzy, frayed messy silks at the tuners. These look nearly new. Hmmmm....
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I knew you would know better than anyone. All great points. I had the same thought about the timing with James III passing only a little over a year ago.
 
#74
FranF said:
Bri, this is indeed interesting! But, impossible to corroborate. Impossible. James had three Ps, the black '57, the '61 (as this is), and the Funk Machine, which was a '65 or '66. If this bass was James', where's the worn off chrome and indentations in the pickup cover? His middle and fourth fingers wore divots into those covers ;-) And, the cracked pickguard tip is a malady found on probably 7 of 10 of all vintage Fenders. Another thought is the timing of the auction. Only one person could have possibly given insight, James III, and sadly, he's now no longer here.
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The article says he owned it only a few years, then lent it to a friend and never asked for it back. Would that be enough time for him to wear divots into metal? I am just wondering, as I have little knowledge of James' wear and tear.
 
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#75
At least it has nice, low action!
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