Why do People Like James Jamerson’s Sound?

[Twincam]

My favourite bass player.

Great bass lines, great tone for the time and the genre. 

 

To add in

Unusual playing style. The hook

Played with for most people a badly setup, unplayable bass, although I've heard some dispute the severity of the setup. 

Liked a drink, and had issues which really adds to the mythical musician stuff. If you like that kinda thinking.

Comes from a cool time music wise. 

Comes from a difficult time politically and ethically, that can't of been easy. 

 

 

 

 

[diskwave]

Odd thread really isnt it. That thumpy tone that sits "underneath" the band is what I was brought up to believe bass was all about. Jaco and the whole late 70's "bridge PU" fusion scene has a lot to answer for. Way to many players now want to be upfront...no problem, but get urself a mic or a Strat.

Anyway Jamerson, still is and always will be the greatest bassist other than Bach, the planet has ever seen. 

[chris_b]

6 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

Anyway Jamerson, still is and always will be the greatest bassist other than Bach, the planet has ever seen. 

 

He is the guy who single-handedly changed bass playing forever.

[Linus27]

I've always said, if I could bottle my current tone it would be a combination of Jamerson, played on a fretless bass with a smidge of double bass. That is however my current tone as the band I'm playing in is acoustic guitar, vocals, percussive drums and fretless bass. We each have our sonic space and mine is the bottom end so I need to be thumpy and fat but melodic. That tone just works for this band. For other bands then my tone might and quite possibly be different.

[meterman]

Brilliant bass player, many folks wouldn’t argue with that. He played on a LOT of great songs with basslines that caught the ear even on tinny transistor radios. Yes, the Precision bass with flats thing is done to death now but he made it work throughout his career. And no, he didn’t have an easy ride. Not in the studio at Motown at least. Try playing live alongside a drummer, two percussionists, a vibraphone player, two guitarists, piano, Hammond organ, horns, etc, and be expected to nail it first take, every time. Several tracks every day.  Day in, day out. His bass playing and sound have stood the test of time. It’s recognized as classic. The isolated bass track for “What’s Going On” is a superb example. Tone, phrasing, note choice. Brilliant 👍

 

[NAS Bass]

2 hours ago, chris_b said:

Jamerson, Babbitt, Duck Dunn and Nathan East. The sound of a bass.

 

You can sound different but you won't sound better.

Agreed and I'd certainly add Joe Osborn to that list. Outside of Motown, he was a part of the sound of American 60's pop. 

[Owen]

52 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

Odd thread really isnt it. That thumpy tone that sits "underneath" the band is what I was brought up to believe bass was all about. Jaco and the whole late 70's "bridge PU" fusion scene has a lot to answer for. Way to many players now want to be upfront...no problem, but get urself a mic or a Strat.

Anyway Jamerson, still is and always will be the greatest bassist other than Bach, the planet has ever seen. 

Bach was a total monster. 

[Beedster]

5 hours ago, How1 said:

Is it all about the actual sound or more to do with the legacy/genius side of it and people assuming if they have the right setup they can play like him?! I love James Jamerson’s stuff and play plenty of it, but I’m genuinely curious as to why people are so in love with *that* sound particularly. He’s no doubt brilliant but I think to some degree he had an easy ride - it’s not like he’s fighting three guitars and a string section.

Easy ride, seriously? 

[Reggaebass]

If you listen closely his playing , note lengths and articulation on this is amazing, when I learn something I like to play it exactly note for note ,and it wasn’t until I tried some of his basslines that I realised how good he was 

 

[musicbassman]

26 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

note lengths and articulation

 

For those still slightly bemused by Jamerson's abilities, those words are exactly what he's all about. 

I've been playing bass since forever, but I didn't really 'get' Jamerson until I was in my 40's............ 🙂

[How1]

1 hour ago, meterman said:

Brilliant bass player, many folks wouldn’t argue with that. He played on a LOT of great songs with basslines that caught the ear even on tinny transistor radios. Yes, the Precision bass with flats thing is done to death now but he made it work throughout his career. And no, he didn’t have an easy ride. Not in the studio at Motown at least. Try playing live alongside a drummer, two percussionists, a vibraphone player, two guitarists, piano, Hammond organ, horns, etc, and be expected to nail it first take, every time. Several tracks every day.  Day in, day out. His bass playing and sound have stood the test of time. It’s recognized as classic. The isolated bass track for “What’s Going On” is a superb example. Tone, phrasing, note choice. Brilliant 👍

 

 

52 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Easy ride, seriously? 

I was being flippant with the easy ride part, but the way a lot of the songs are mixed though gave him a lot of focus, nobody is having to work very hard to pick out his bass lines. They were obviously working around him with the mix. The bass line to What’s Going On was pretty much written for him specifically. It’s just as prominent as the strings and guitar in the mix for example if not more so. It should stand out, it’s brilliant I’m not arguing otherwise. His tone and playing style was obviously a big part of it.

 

I’m not questioning his playing abilities at all, it’s pretty much impeccable and way ahead of anybody else at the time and still up there now.  I’m just saying the bass is treated differently and given more relevance than it possibly would have if it wasn’t Jamerson. Although soul is like that anyway.

Edited April 14, 2023 by How1

[Steve Browning]

I'm not aware any bass lines were written for him.

[iconic]

As above. There's lot of things going on to give it that tone, flats, the windings/wire thickness on the pups, producing a darker sounds etc. 

 

Not mentioned do often so often, are recording techniques regarding the sound mix on older 50s and 60s records. 

 

Most were mixed very light on bass as it tended to make needles skip...lest we forget in our digital age. 

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, NAS Bass said:

Agreed and I'd certainly add Joe Osborn to that list. Outside of Motown, he was a part of the sound of American 60's pop. 

+Carol Kaye

[Burns-bass]

16 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

I'm not aware any bass lines were written for him.

Chord sheets and treble clef melody parts they suggest on the Stabding in the Shadows film.

 

One suggestion I’ve read was that he was a massive jazzer and treated the pop stuff with a bit of disdain. So the lines were all a bit overblown and grandstanding because he could.

 

What’s most impressive isn’t the note choice so much, but the confidence he has when playing and how unhurried it all is. 
 

Most of us can play the parts given a bit of time, but it’s all about the feel and the way he pushes and pulls the beats. Ghost notes and rhythmic embellishments too.

 

If that wasn’t enough, you’ll find yourself humming the bassline for hours when you’ve finished playing.

[Damnthatlazlo]

To answer the question. He just grooved man. 

[How1]

49 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

I'm not aware any bass lines were written for him.

I’m guessing this is the exception rather than the rule though. And it doesn’t really matter either way considering the rest of his work:

Edited April 14, 2023 by How1

[Ricky 4000]

51 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Chord sheets and treble clef melody parts they suggest on the Stabding in the Shadows film.

 

Do you have a cold? 😄

[Steve Browning]

1 hour ago, How1 said:

I’m guessing this is the exception rather than the rule though. And it doesn’t really matter either way considering the rest of his work:

 

Really interesting. Thank you. Funnily enough, I had always thought that was a slightly 'un bass-player like' bass line.

[How1]

2 hours ago, iconic said:

As above. There's lot of things going on to give it that tone, flats, the windings/wire thickness on the pups, producing a darker sounds etc. 

 

Not mentioned do often so often, are recording techniques regarding the sound mix on older 50s and 60s records. 

 

Most were mixed very light on bass as it tended to make needles skip...lest we forget in our digital age. 

Interesting. That probably helped the bass stay audible on the radios etc of the time (as someone else noted above).

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by How1

[Lozz196]

I don’t know if it’s specifically his sound that I like, but it’s definitely his playing.