The James Jamerson Motown Bass Sound | Reverb Bass Tricks
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ส.ค. 2024
- It is hard to speak of the bass guitar without mentioning the Motown recordings of the 1960's and 70's and their most famous session bassist, James Jamerson. Jamerson played on dozens of number 1 hits and changed the way bass was applied to pop music forever. In this edition of Reverb's Bass Tricks series we explore how to replicate Jamerson's infamous thumpy tone. First there is the ACME Motown D.I. WB-3 (bit.ly/2cOJ4KA) which was designed to closely replicate the D.I. units Motown had specially made. Then there is how to set up a Fender P-Bass to Jamerson's specifications. Lastly, there is the picking method that completes the picture.
Read more about James Jamerson's tone and the gear used in this video at bit.ly/2dwevtG.
Performed by Jeremy Kay
Gear used:
Fender Precision Bass: bit.ly/2dVV0t2
ACME Audio Motown D.I. WB-3: bit.ly/2cOJ4KA
Ampeg Portoflex B15n: bit.ly/2dVVyix
La Belle 760 FL Strings: bit.ly/2cEYmhB
0:00 - "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations
0:59 - Signal Chain
1:57 - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
2:41 - Bass Set-Up
3:55 - "Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
4:30 - Picking Technique
5:40 - "Reach Out, I'll Be There" by the Four Tops
6:33 - "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye - เพลง
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Fun fact: Jamerson recorded the bass line for "What's Going On" drunk and lying on his back on the studio floor. They talk about it in the documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown". The man was a master.
Eli Berdinner he wasnt drunk. He had a back pain and was suffering. Thats why he was lying.
Either way that's crazy, there is a lot going on on the bass in that tune.
The way Jack Ashford explained the story was that he was at the jazz club blasted. He also had back pain.
Eli Berdinner - DAMM RIGHT
I don't think it was What's Going On. Too complicated to play on ones back. Now, Flying High In The Friendly Skies might have been done on one's back!
this is pretty much the most legit explanation of the jamerson tone i've ever seen, it's perfect.
Something more. John Entwhistle of The Who declared once: "in the old days we were all trying to play like that Motown guy". They didn't knew his name. No credits for the musicians on those LP records. The same happened wiht Carol Kaye and many studio musicians: nobody knew who they were and only recently their names are being known, although in many songs they were the real "makers" of endless hits. Once again, excuse my english.
The great session musicians toiling at Motown and Stax-Volt were quite surprised when the British Invasion hit in 1964 and the Beatles and other British performers came to the 'States, they wanted to meet these heretofore unknown players. In those days, it was uncommon for labels to credit studio musicians in album liner notes, so it took a good bit of effort and luck to track down who these great, but hidden, musicians actually were. For all of the wonderful things Berry Gordie did, his treatment of his studio musicians and production crews was pretty lousy. It's really a shame the Funk Brothers didn't get some credit and publicity while it would have done guys like Jamerson some good. Booker T.and the M.G.'s became stars in their own right, recording hits on their own when they weren't backing other artists - whereas Jamerson and the rest of the Funk Brothers had to sneak around town and record outside work under pseudonyms because of how controlling Gordy was.
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 The funk brothers were working and recording all the time- at least 2 or 3 sessions per day M-F, playing clubs and tv shows (Soupy Sales), sessions at other studios (jingles, commercials, pop songs) - that sprung up as a result of Motown's success. Thanks to Earl Van Dyke's efforts and the AFM local 5 the funks were paid when tv shows (China Beach) and films (The Big Chill etc.) used Motown songs. Imagine if Berry Gordy had not taken the risk to launch Motown... no Marvin Gaye no Smokey Robinson no Four Tops no Supremes no Temptations no Vandellas no Stevie Wonder no Contours no Jr Waller and the Allstars no Marvelettes no Gladys Knight no Velvelettes no Jackson 5 no Funk Brothers no post at TH-cam praising Jamerson and criticizing Berry Gordy.
@@geraldjensen9399 - Re: "Imagine if Berry Gordy had not taken the risk to launch Motown... no Marvin Gaye no Smokey Robinson no Four Tops no Supremes no Temptations no Vandellas no Stevie Wonder no Contours no Jr Waller and the Allstars no Marvelettes no Gladys Knight no Velvelettes no Jackson 5 no Funk Brothers no post at TH-cam praising Jamerson and criticizing Berry Gordy."
The point isn't to criticize Berry Gordy, who deserves all of the credit he is due for the risks he took, the hardships he endured, and all of the rest of the struggles inherent in starting Motown. It is to note that he made a serious mistake in not giving credit to the people behind the scenes who had so much to do with the success of his enterprise. Not just the Funk Brothers, but Cholly Atkins and all of the choreographers, producers, technicians, sound men, arrangers and so forth - who made Motown what it was. No man is an island, and few business enterprises succeed without a lot of teamwork. Gordy's mistake was not to be freer in acknowledging those whose cooperation and hard work helped make the success of Motown possible. Remember, Gordy's success as a performer/songwriter, while real - was modest. He wasn't down in the "snake pit" playing drums on the Temptations latest hit or bass on the new Four Tops song. Others did those things. And should have received credit for them.
Bassist Bob Babbitt was terrific on numerous Motown recordings and hits. No matter which instrument, there was always more than one “Motown Guy”.
James Jamerson was McCartney's bass Hero
All the Motown bass parts were DI by late 1964. Motown engineers also built a one inch 8 track by late 1964 when most studios were still using Ampex half inch 4 tracks. And they went 2 inch 16 track in late 1968 when most studios were still using 8 tracks. And up until 1973 the drums at Motown were miked with only two microphones: one on the kick and one overhead. So even when Motown went 24 track in 1971 the drums were still only on TWO TRACKS - Kick and overhead. For those who are curious about that side of things. And motown cutting engineers HALF SPEED MASTERED their records until 1969!
thats awesome info! Where did you get it? I love that the drums were just kick and overhead, and it sounded better than Neil Peart. At least imo.
🤓 I love it!
What do u mean half speed mastered?
Wow that bass sounds beyond divine.
Having the pickup cover in place is the final "Nth" degree, as it helps to keep your plucking finger located in that specific area. Jeremy mentions that in the video, but for 98% of the playing, he is directly over the pickups. It is amazing what a difference in sound there is when playing just an inch or so forward of the pickups. Also for those REALLY interested in perfecting (or approximating as closely as possible) the Jamerson sound, a bridge cover with the medium-density foam is important. Strings muted from direct pressure above have a different feel that when foam is wedged in underneath. It makes them slightly more taught, and with all the other pieces of the puzzle involved-including employing "The Hook"-you will be amazed at the bounce and lift that is suddenly there to match the tone. Regardless of whether you go to my crazy lengths with all of this ... try some of it ... and ENJOY!
Patrick "Daddy O" Rowling knows bass tone. True.
I’m obsessed with learning the Jamerson sound and technique, so I will take your advice! Thanks!
Jeremy didn’t mention The Hook. 😬
🤔 Blues Traveler was right, The Hook brings you back every time. 😂
not even a bass player and could watch this for hours
I vote for more sound like bass vids too. Dude did a great job. Thank you.
Man, this was great. I don't even play bass but I love Motown. A Motown guitar lesson would be killer
Thanks, that's a great idea.
I jammed with Joe Messina 12/28/16 look on my FB Danny Tune Jones
@@Reverb but it is not found :(
@@Reverb where is it
James Jamerson will live forever in his unforgettable basslines that made great songs become classics.
6:15 the entire video is about James technique but there is no mention to his single finger picking style, that's how he got his nickname The Hook. Huge sound and tone difference that made it so unique.
All the gear stuff is a great introduction to his sound. I might have to look into that DI box. But his technique is the main thing that makes Jamerson sound like Jamerson. He played almost exclusively on the first four frets, linked most of his notes chromatically, and constantly raked between two strings for say the root and fifth below, and made frequent dramatic rakes down three or even four strings. It can be very difficult to get your head and hands around Jamerson's playstyle. It's hard to break out of playing the 5th and 7th fret type two-finger pumping stuff that most players do. But it's a very rewarding thing when it becames natural. Some great ways to get into this is to play Jamerson's chromatic warmup routine and to transcribe his playing making sure to always use open strings and the first four frets (apart from when it's obvious he's playing higher). The other side of Jamerson's sound is of course his melodic and rhythmic choices, and while I've definitely picked up some of his feel and ideas, that's a whole other thing I'm not quite qualified to talk about.
"There's no money above the fifth fret." - Jamerson (have also heard that quote credited to Donald "Duck" Dunn)
Radial Engineering make incredible D.I. boxes. Check them out.
A cool dude with good explanations and demonstrations.
Man this is really great, you got all the little bits that make Jamerson!
what a good dude explaining this stuff too!!
Really outstanding tutorial. Thanks for a great vid!
These videos are so relaxing.....
Thank you!!!! Great video. I really didn't learn nothing I already didn't know but it gave me a nice feeling watching it.
My favs of Jamerson's is. I was made to love her and Bernadette! He was the greatest!
Great video - love the playing and tone!
Good video huge Jamerson fan and the reason I picked up the Bass...well done
Wow an awesome video! Great tone, it's a real experience to listen to this!
Great tone. Try using “the hook” technique a bit more exclusively for these lines. I think it changes the mind state a bit, helps you find the zen between his simplicity and his nuance.
superb video. do more like it, please.
Great video - love the playing and tone
Great video! I just missed one point of his unique right hand technique: The Hook. Jamerson played close to the fretboard with his index finger only (wich was bowed and twisted a little bit like plucking on an Upright Bass). Nevertheless he was able to play really fast and tight 16th notes - beside of the ultra-fat and brutally strong .110-.055 LaBellaFlats this was the main key to his unique sound and groove in my opinion.
You really nailed the Jamerson tone. Well done!
With the Acme gear lying around I was expecting the Road Runner to appear in the video.
Meep Meep!! 😆👍
Doc Brown: “No wonder your bass sounds like dog crap, this thing is made by ACME.”
EXCELLENT WORK MY MAN, SOUNDING GOOD!!!
Great tips on looking for that groovy motown sound. Thanks a lot!
that Acme DI really nails that tone! Great stuff
ALL BASS AND GUITARS AT MOTOWN WENT DIRECT AFTER LATE 1964. THAT INCLUDES BABBIT AND CARL KAY (SHE HAS A LOT OF NERVE CLAIMING JAMES BASS LINES!)
The legend says that carol Kaye is still trying to play all Jamerson basslines to this day!!
God that DI sounds brilliant! When acme was on the sound just blew me away!
Great video and really well explained/played.
Back then Flat Wound is all Music Stores Carried until RotoSound came along !
Great Job!! I've studied Jamerson for years. Jeremy is" spot on" with every bit of it in this video. Including the playing! Informative, concise, and correct. Nice job.I'll be looking for more videos with Jeremy Kay.
Wrong
beautiful sound great job man! from argentina! nice video
Excellent playing!
Love that tone!!
Cool, I learned a lot watching this.
Thanks for this. You have the JJ sound down really well.
Just amazing...thank you
Amazing video all around
Awesome job! Really enjoyed it! I get paid to mostly play guitar and sing but love playing bass and studying Jamerson and McCartney lines! Have a 61 EB2 bass that kinda gets Motown tone,a 74 P-Bass and 08 Ric which was redesigned and is very versatile with push/pull knob! Highly recommended!
Great video I heard Marvin Gaye and The Temps singing over top of your bass playing in my head.
Fantastic keep up the good work.
He's going for that James Jamerson sound, but he's also going for that George Harrison look - that Abbey Road/Concert for Bangladesh look.
Elliott Christ 8
...dare I say it could be the Charles Manson look as well...? :-O
@@adamlewis1961 well more like Dennis Wilson
Don't forget tone knob rolled right off...
This is a great video.. thanks bro !
AFAIK, Jamerson rarely changed strings... so old, well-used (and probably rusty) strings are a crucial part of the equation.
Yes but he didn't leave the same set on for ten years like stupid Metal bass players today do. He changed them once every 2 or so years.
@@JohnMorris-ge6hq pretty sure he never changed the strings on his bass unless they broke
Great video, thank you
These videos are great, fantastic playing! I love that classic, vintage Motown bass sound from Jamerson, Kaye, Babbitt, etc.
This guy is great, do more videos with him
Great! Thanks for this!
Great video!
The one advantage to playing with one finger is that it is easier to play behind the beat. Whereas with two or more fingers you're already setting up to the next note, the one finger keeps you playing one note at a time, creating a bit of drag in your timing.
yeah I saw a 'play like jameson' dude, and he wasn't in the pocket, and like the guy here, he's rushing and doesn't dig in enough, strings also ring too much...
"Doesn't have to be vintage, although... It doesn't hurt"
XD
One more key ingredient about Jameson's sound he failed to mention is, "The Hook". Jamerson plucked only with his index finger, which gave his sound a consistent, even attack.
He does mention it at 5:17. This technique was brought over from Jamerson's upright bass technique. Back in those days the electric bass was rarely used in popular music and Motown only began using it because it was extremely cheap and easy to record in the studio - one less mic. So there wasn't any standard electric bass technique at the time and Jamerson had to invent his own.
Jamerson played upright bass - mostly in jazz bands - for a long time before switching primarily to electric bass while at Motown. That's probably where he learned to rely on that strong index finger the way he did. If you watch a proficient acoustic bassist, he/she will often use the index finger (usually supported by the middle finger) to play passages not requiring exceptional dexterity or speed. Better intonation and attack that way....
I've played one of those B15 amps in person and they sound absolutely incredible. Unfortunately, they costs thousands of dollars (especially the ones from the 60s).
Excellent tone!
Excellent, thanks
Well done and right on the money!
I love this!
killer bass tone!!!
Wonderful!!
awesome video! :) I love this guy
Super awesome!
Fantastic!
Thx for this video .
great video !
great job!
I really like that D.I.
Enjoyed this. Would like to see getting the sound of Kim Deal, Tina Weymouth, Carol Kaye! It might be cool to hear something different too like reggae or Afropop styles, as a lot of guys in the US don't learn those setups.
Carol didn't have a style. (Except playing with a pick) She played what was best for the song. Check out the bass line from the Wonder Woman TV series (1978-1981). FUNKY HAS HELL. That's Carol Kaye. But at other times like on a Country record, she is playing pretty much the root note.
The P Bass pick up cover was used commonly as a thumb rest...
A P-Bass into a B15 is a beautiful thing.
Aiden Bradley - i have a fender jass bass, and a ampeg b-25 amp
thanks this is helpful
Good work Jerry
One little observation. Jamerson used only the index finger of his wright hand to pluck. Not two fingers. That index was known as "The Hook. He played with a stock sunburst P bass with an ink inscription in the back of the headstock: "funk machine", always with flatwounds, he refused to use rounds when they became popular (there's an old Bass Player mag refering all this). In any case it's fantastic that young fellows like you can recognice great players like Tina Weymoth, Carol Kaye or James Jamerson. They were not just fast fingers champions, but real musicians. And your videos show it. Thanks and regards from Argentina. Excuse my "english".
For all his live gigs, Jamerson only used 15" speakers. For the very large concerts, he used a 2x15.
Gear tip: raise your action, and use heavy gauge flats. Pluck by the end of the neck ( tasto zone ). Not that I do this, but that's how he played.
Nice ... James Jamerson was a hero to me.
A BASS GOD.
Same here, but I've found that I don't play much like him. Nuances.
Nailed it with the DI
amazing! Could you please make one of these videos on paul mccartney?
Nice job
Well, the funny thing: Jamerson told Dan Forte from Guitar Player Magazine in 1979 that "Bass players call from all over, wanting to know what type of equipment I use, what type of bass, what kind of strings-- things like that. I'll tell them, but that's not what's important; it's the feel. The strings don't make the sound, it's the feel. It's all in here, in the heart."
Finally I listen a demo of this device with the perfect amount of crunch and smooth distortion... At what stage is this actually happening? How easy / hard is to drive this Acme unit to get a more crunchier or clean sound? We listen some classic motown records with plenty of more crunch and distortion (even still sounding round and smooth but crunches) I am looking where and how to achieve that
I really enjoyed this. I’m a drummer who occasionally plays bass. I also have a couple of isolated Motown tracks and by soloing the bass I was shocked @ how distorted the bass sounds, hideous really. However, when you hear it with the other instruments it sounds brilliant. The bass sound I heard here is great, the playing is wonderful, but it does not sound at all like the isolated tracks I have of Jamerson.
Watch what you hear in those isolated tracks; a lot of them filter out other sounds and bite away at a lot of the upper harmonics on bass tracks. It can cause a weird sound, some of the nuances are clipped, other low harmonics from elsewhere added in.
Great explanation and demo! Just wondering what was the signal chain for the recording?
Nice job! Very good approximation. I play with The Miracles and getting just close to JJ’s tone isn’t good enough. I swear by the Acme DI and use it in live performances as well. I do play the heavy gauge and do find it does make a difference as opposed to the lighter strings. As an upright player as well I’m not bothered by the higher tension or high action required to get the sound.
I just got the Acme D.I.
How do you use yours (the signal path)?
God Bless you.
I'm not even a bass player ,great video . I assume that box can be used for a electric guitar too?
Great review of Motown / Jamerson tricks. I always wondered how come there is no video of JJ playing live or in studio? I only found live audio preformances.
Any info on that?
Berislav Pavišić There is footage of him and Marvin Gaye playing live, search "Whats going on live"
Very clear low noise thru the di. 👍😎🇨🇦
If anyone is interested in the 60's flatwound tone, just try some Pyramid Flatwounds, long and short scales available.
My first Alembic came with a set of Pyramid Flatwounds and I've been a fan ever since 1980. I've never found a warmer sounding tone and they feel silky smooth. I like Roto's for their growl and twang but if you want that McCartney tone, try Pyramids.
Him And Louis Johnston are my favorites
Great video...two questions though: 1) Did Jamerson wedge the foam under the strings or on top and held in place by the bridge cover? And 2) does anyone what is the small silver box that looks like it’s attached to Jamerson’s bass near the bridge? It’s a little smaller than a pedal.
jamerson played w/ 1 rh finger called "the hook " above the bridge cover and near the end of fingerboard depending
Maybe I should try flats. Not into really high action though. Slows me down big-time along w the wide necks that are on especially vintage P-basses.
Only thing missing is a pickup cover and play above the cover with index finger to complete the “ultimate” Jamerson Motown money sound. Close enough though. Good job on demonstration. 👌😁
Mono Bass havent watched the video till the end have you?
also gotta play w one finger
Not really, Of course that’s what James Jamerson preferred, He would tell you to do what you feel. Do what comes natural
I never knew Motown (Jamerson) went direct. James Jamerson and Carol Kaye are some of the two most listened to bassists in recorded history. If you watched TV in the 60's and 70's, then you've heard Carol Kaye a million times.
Add Leland Sklar to that list, at least a little later in that period.
🔥🔥🔥