Did James Jamerson use flatwound strings on his bass when he played on all those Motown hits ?

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windmill
Wholenote

Australia

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Did James Jamerson use flatwound strings on his bass when he played on all those Motown hits ? Jul 29, 2022 20:03:52 GMT -5

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Post by windmill on Jul 29, 2022 20:03:52 GMT -5

Saw a band playing covers of the Motown hits recently. It was a good fun show.

But the bass didn't have that sound that is on the records.

Was it because flatwound strings were used on the original songs ?

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funkykikuchiyo
Virtuoso

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Did James Jamerson use flatwound strings on his bass when he played on all those Motown hits ? Jul 29, 2022 20:15:05 GMT -5

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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Jul 29, 2022 20:15:05 GMT -5

Yeah, flats. I don't know about Jamerson, but with some of those old soul players, they'd often leave on the factory strings for years, if not decades. High action, too.

He also played with the tone all the way up, so the thump/warmth wasn't artificial from just rolling off treble. Lately I've been coming to appreciate how well '60s soul mixed just with the basic instrument sounds, very often just dry tone.

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