James Jamerson

James Jamerson bought his "Funk Machine", a Fender Precision, in 1962 and played that bass for most of his career.

"I have an old German upright, a Fender 5-string, a Hagstrom 8-string, and the Precision."

"I have an old German upright, a Fender 5-string, a Hagstrom 8-string, and the Precision."

In many books and films they discuss the importance of the B15 Portaflex as part of his tone

According to Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Jamerson used a B-15 live (and occasionally in the studio), sometimes with an extension cabinet; the amp would be set with the bass knob all the way up and the treble knob on half.

During Motown’s heyday, a major technical component of “The Detroit Sound’ was the direct input box (DI). Designed by a young Motown audio engineer in the early 1960s, the musicians plugged straight in and achieved a distinct, colorful distortion that would become recognizable all over the world. The DI box was adopted by such Motown greats as James Jamerson Sr., Dennis Coffey and Bob Babbitt, who defined the sound of a generation with their soulful playing and crisply captured notes.

The strings are La Bella Heavy Guage Flat Wounds.