It has been found...

Dord

...what, you may ask?

THE BASS OF DOOM! :eek:



Jaco's famous fretless bass is reported to have been found in NY and in safe hands at present. Apparently its due to be in a major bass magazine next month (possibly bass player?). I can't fooken wait!!

I read it on a forum run by Ingrid Pastorius (Jaco's wife). Apparently it was found a few months ago, she was told to keep quiet about it.

http://pub40.bravenet.com/forum/3399669569/show/511838

Mr. CooL ICE

What??? I saw that about a year ago, lying in a ditch. And to think I could have made money from it...

feylya

Cue Fender doing sig models...

Rustar

Poor Jaco.....couldn't afford a new bass, so he had to buy one of those "pre-vintaged" knockoffs.

Dord

feylya wrote: »

Cue Fender doing sig models...

They already make two!

Dord

Rustar wrote: »

Poor Jaco.....couldn't afford a new bass, so he had to buy one of those "pre-vintaged" knockoffs.

:rolleyes:

[sarcasm]

Yeah,....thats it...

[/sarcasm]

Doctor J

Meh, it'll be nice as an heirloom and if it reawakens some more widespread interest in Jaco that's good too. Too many people will get caught up in the instrument and lose sight of what made it special in the first place. The magic was in his fingers, not the bass. The tone came from Jaco, he could play any bass and sound like Jaco.

Besides, this is what the bass of doom supposedly looked like in the 80's



and then this...

Kevin recalls a huge repair job he did in the mid-’80s after Jaco had apparently smashed the Bass of Doom in an argument. Kaufman and fellow repairman Jim Hamilton painstakingly glued together what remained of the ’62—15 large chunks and several small pieces (the hardware and electronics were still functional.) They inlaid wood where fragments were missing, laminated a figured-maple veneer on the front and back, and repaired the shattered headstock by laminating an ebony/maple veneer to hold it together. Refinished in a two-tone sunburst, it was returned to Jaco in New York. Kevin says it still sounded great.

so it's not really the same bass he made his name on.

The amount of threads on talkbass with spanners asking what kind of rig they need to get to get the tone of whoever is ****ing depressing. Too many folks are getting caught up in the tool and not the operation of the tool.

I remember seeing Rory Gallagher's strat at that exhibition last year. It was just a regular strat, but Rory played the **** out of it and made it the legendary instrument it was. So yeah, cool for what it is and it's cool to see an instrument someone has poured their soul into, but the mojo, the magic, the tone or whatever came from Rory playing the bejesus out of it and, to my mind, the same goes for Jaco's bass.

Rustar

Doctor J wrote:

Too many folks are getting caught up in the tool and not the operation of the tool.

Hear, Hear, Doc.
Bravo.
Author.

Dord

Doc, I agree with you on the TB threads. I don't really like that place much, I prefer HCBF.

As I said over there, I realise that using the same instrument and gear will not get the same sound. Its such an iconic instrument that such beautiful music was written and played on. I thought it deserved a mention here.

As for that bass above, its not the bass in question. The actual bass apparently doesn't look the same as the pictures that are around. Apparently Jaco threw it up in the air at a Japanese gig and it fell and broke. Rumour has it that Ibanez Japan put it back together and put a flamed maple top on it to cover the damage. We'll see soon.

Doctor J

Joe Robot wrote: »

put it back together and put a flamed maple top on it to cover the damage

Isn't that what I said... almost?

There are so many stories and contradictions about this bass, for example

The 1962 "Bass of Doom" was sent to Kevin Kaufman in Florida for repair. When Kaufman and his assistant unpacked it, they discovered it had been painted purple and it was in dozens of pieces. Apparently, it had been smashed in a fight or something... it was in 15 large pieces and a whole bunch of smaller ones.

Kaufman and his assistant went to work on it; putting it back together and fixing it up. They used some kind of wood compound to fill-in any missing splinter-sized pieces. I believe they had to replace the headstock. The bass was also given a sunburst finish. Kaufman says it still sounded great, and he shipped it back to Jaco in New York. It was then allegedly stolen in Central Park.

I'm more inclined to believe Jaco would use his long term tech than Ibanez, but as there are so many stories and made up ****e about Jaco and that bass, until the day comes when Kevin Kaufman says "this is the bass" then I won't get too excited.

There is too much money to be made off the real thing that I remain sceptical about it turning up to be honest. Some dude finds it in Central Park, sells it, pawns it, whatever, some other dude paints it luminous yellow and pimps the ****e out of it cos it's 1987... etc

Anyway, I'll believe it when I see it, around the same time Ishibashi post me the Funk Machine by mistake

Dord

Doctor J wrote: »

Isn't that what I said... almost?

There are so many stories and contradictions about this bass, for example



I'm more inclined to believe Jaco would use his long term tech than Ibanez, but as there are so many stories and made up ****e about Jaco and that bass, until the day comes when Kevin Kaufman says "this is the bass" then I won't get too excited.

There is too much money to be made off the real thing that I remain sceptical about it turning up to be honest. Some dude finds it in Central Park, sells it, pawns it, whatever, some other dude paints it luminous yellow and pimps the ****e out of it cos it's 1987... etc

Anyway, I'll believe it when I see it, around the same time Ishibashi post me the Funk Machine by mistake

You wish!! (and me too )

I agree, so many stories going around about it, as there is so many other famous instruments. We'll just have to wait and see if it does appear in a magazine.

Doctor J

feylya wrote: »

Cue Fender doing sig models...

Funnily enough, the expensive supposedly accurate relic'd ones were made despite no-one from Fender touching the bass since it left the factory in 1962

Dord

Doctor J wrote: »

Funnily enough, the expensive supposedly accurate relic'd ones were made despite no-one from Fender touching the bass since it left the factory in 1962

LOL yep. F€nd€r love making signature models. :rolleyes:

eoin5

Doctor J wrote: »

Too many folks are getting caught up in the tool and not the operation of the tool.

True, but you have to love the magic of it all. The images and the storys about instruments always have a hint of Spinal Tap about them. Things like Jaco ripping the frets outta his bass and Brian May's ancient mahogany mantlepiece and Jimi's upside down strat. I name all my instruments, I cant help myself I'm a sucker for all this stuff .

fourmations

ermm...who is jaco?

Doctor J

Simple answer: the bass equivalent of Jimi Hendrix

Full answer: Get yourself to wikipedia and youtube

Dord

fourmations wrote: »

ermm...who is jaco?

A jazz bassist, he played with Weather Report originally then went on to solo and also play with artists such as Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheni and Herbie Hancock to name a few...

Some say he was one of the pioneers in electric fretless bass, if not he certainly brought it to the masses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJfiYdQcQtc

Funnily enough I'm actually working on learning this song at the moment.

eoin5

fourmations wrote: »

ermm...who is jaco?

Even if you dont have much interest in bass you wont regret taking the time to check him out.

Dord

eoin5 wrote: »

Even if you dont have much interest in bass you wont regret taking the time to check him out.

I agree.

Rustar

fourmations wrote:

ermm...who is jaco?

<gasp>
In the bass world, that's almost like saying, "Who is Clapton" to guitarists. He's just one of the Ancient Gods of bass style & technique.

Tell me you know who Stanley Clarke is.....


Edit: Yay! My 1000th post! Money will fall into my lap! Chicks will (finally) dig me! The power I wield will be immense! I'm like an Ancient God myself!!!!

feylya

Who is Clapton?
















...

Rustar

Come ON, Feylya...you know! Neil Clapton, the sound man for Bananarama!

Rustar

Joe Robot wrote:

LOL yep. F€nd€r love making signature models. :rolleyes:

......That look exactly like all the other signature models.

Wouldn't mind having a Buddy Guy Strat, tho.....

eoin5

Has anyone seen the Cort sig models...

Who is Neil Zaza?

I'd say these guys are deadly in their own right but dont you have to be at least hero status, maybe even demigod, to have a sig model made of your guitar?

Dord

eoin5 wrote: »

Has anyone seen the Cort sig models...

Who is Neil Zaza?

I'd say these guys are deadly in their own right but dont you have to be at least hero status, maybe even demigod, to have a sig model made of your guitar?

Nope. You don't.

I've no idea who Neil Zaza is.

EDIT: just googled him and looks like he's a Vai-type guitard. His signature model looks surprisingly like the Ibanez SZ. No wonder, I think Cort actually make them for Ibanez...lol

Gaspode

fourmations wrote: »

ermm...who is jaco?

+1. Playing bass a long long time and I've never heard of him either.

Rustar wrote: »

<gasp>
In the bass world, that's almost like saying, "Who is Clapton" to guitarists. He's just one of the Ancient Gods of bass style & technique.
Tell me you know who Stanley Clarke is.....

At least I've heard of Clarke!

I've never been one for watching/listening to a lot of other bassists, I tend to just do my own thing. (Hmmmm, that in itself could explain a lot....)
Also, I just dont see the point of bass soloists. The bass IMHO is there as part of the back line/rhythm section, its not meant to be doing the melody lines. These guys that do fantastic solos and tunes on the bass always strike me as guys who wanted to be lead guitarists but didnt make the cut.

eoin5

deswalsh wrote: »

These guys that do fantastic solos and tunes on the bass always strike me as guys who wanted to be lead guitarists but didnt make the cut.

I respect your view on this, but youre wrong

Dord

deswalsh wrote: »

+1. Playing bass a long long time and I've never heard of him either.



At least I've heard of Clarke!

I've never been one for watching/listening to a lot of other bassists, I tend to just do my own thing. (Hmmmm, that in itself could explain a lot....)
Also, I just dont see the point of bass soloists. The bass IMHO is there as part of the back line/rhythm section, its not meant to be doing the melody lines. These guys that do fantastic solos and tunes on the bass always strike me as guys who wanted to be lead guitarists but didnt make the cut.

If you listen to some of Jaco's tracks then you'll realise that its not just "Vai-type" wankery on bass. Its not bass alone either, the majority of the tracks he has a big band behind him. Some of his songs don't even have bass, they're just his compositions. I'd recommend picking up his album "Word of Mouth". You can buy it in Tower Records, Wicklow st. (its upstairs in the jazz section )

Patricide

No, just no. I will say no more but god, just no.

kawaii

eoin5 wrote: »

Who is Neil Zaza?

He's one of those big virtuoso chaps. Apparently he's big in asia (who isn't?! oh, ho!) - you can see a lot of vids on youtube of koreans and taiwanese and the like playing his songs to show off their super amazing skills.

Oh, and you should check out Jaco's song "come on, come over." It has the best bass line ever!

Doctor J

kawaii wrote: »

He's one of those big virtuoso chaps. Apparently he's big in asia (who isn't?! oh, ho!)

Uhhh... you?

fish-head

I can picture the article now...

'Jaco wrecked his bass, he took of all the frets and now it's all hard to play and stuff!'

Rustar

deswalsh wrote:

The bass IMHO is there as part of the back line/rhythm section, its not meant to be doing the melody lines. These guys that do fantastic solos and tunes on the bass always strike me as guys who wanted to be lead guitarists but didnt make the cut.

<gasp again>
Not only blasphemy but dead wrong as well!

Since great bass is actually harder to play than great guitar, that "failed guitarist" thing just doesn't fly.

Any instrument in the band is a lead instrument in the right setting, and any instrumentalist has to know how to be support when he's supporting, and lead when he's leading. There are a great many people in the world who don't have a clue about that whole 'support' thing.

Doctor J

James Jamerson played some of the most unbelievably inventive and melodic basslines ever heard and he was also part of one of the tightest rhythm sections ever. They're not mutually exclusive. Jaco kicked open a lot of doors as to what a bassist could do in a band as well as solo. He knew when to sit back but he could also play the most beautiful melodic lines. The issue is not playing ****, the issue is playing what is appropriate and that's a lot harder to learn than playing fast or playing complex lines. That we suffer an incredible amount of people with chops but no substance should not turn you off enjoying the people who can play and also know where and what to play. The fact we're talking bass should not be viewed as a restriction, but rather as an enlightened choice with endless grooves and opportunities

Doctor J

and here it is...

Patricide

Looks a bit too flashy'ly(if thats a word) redone for my liking...for some reason i couldnt imagine jaco playing it.

Doctor J

Apparently there are a few pics of him with it. Looks like a modern Jazz now, not a 62. Still, the magic died with the man, the bass is just a bass.

punchdrunk

it looks crap now :mad:

Dord

Thanks for posting that Doc, what mag is that in?

Funnily enough the work was actually done back in the 80's on it. It does look a good bit like the new MIK Fender Jazz 24 though.

Doctor J

Bass Player - should be available next week over here, I think - it's been a long time since I bought one, but I'd be interseted in reading the article. Seemingly everyone but Wooten goes nuts over it and Wooten is in the "just a bass" camp

Stompbox

Doctor J wrote: »

Apparently there are a few pics of him with it. Looks like a modern Jazz now, not a 62. Still, the magic died with the man, the bass is just a bass.

Testify.

Dord

I think the same as Wooten, it is JUST a bass albeit one with an interesting history. That's why I'm interested in it.

I'll keep an eye out for it in Easons.

Doctor J

Ah yeah, I think anyone with any interest in bass will be interested in it, just to what degree

Dord

Hahaha, apparently there's a video due to be uploaded on bassplayer tv about it. I can't wait to watch it.

Doctor J

And more...

Dord

This is the best one.

Jaco, the bass and the luthier.

Dord

So if that was in February '86 he must have had it for over a year before his death. He died in September '87, right?

Doctor J

Uh huh, but I don't think he was in such good health for the last period of his life, so he may not have spent much time with it at all.

Dord

Yeah I guess, but I checked on Wikipedia and he played on numerous albums in 1986. But none in '87 apparently. I also just ordered two of them from Amazon. I didn't have them

He released 4 solo albums and played on 5 other albums in '86. That's a LOT of work.

Doctor J

By all accounts he was in a real bad way at the end. Do you have the "Modern Electric Bass" video? Even in 85, his playing has deteriorated somewhat...


...it's still ****ing amazing, but not as unbelievable as in the late 70's.

Dord

Nah, I haven't bothered getting it. I heard that there's not much actual bass content in it. I dunno, I found a load of Jaco transcriptions on the net so that'll keep me happy for the moment. I need to work on my reading.