John Paul Jones

"Bought for $250 to keep up with his heavy load of work as a session musician, Jones’s sunburst 1962 Jazz Bass was his main axe for his work with Led Zeppelin.

Jones used this bass on almost every Led Zeppelin track live and in the studio up until 1975, where he had to retire the instrument due to issues with the action and electronics.

Later on, JPJ would revive his love affair with the Jazz Bass for his work in the studio with Them Crooked Vultures, and would occasionally bring it out for live appearances."

Source: https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/gear-rundown-john-paul-jones/

Jones confirmed that he used a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass in an interview with Vintage Guitar, stating "I was just never that particular about keeping things original. Even my old Fender bass that I used in Zeppelin has gone through many re-sprays and this and that. I probably shouldn’t have, but it’s a ’62 Jazz Bass which I bought new. I bought it to play, not to hang on the wall; I hate instruments hanging on walls. They’re hanging on all my walls, but I use them all."

Source: https://www.vintageguitar.com/2898/john-paul-jones/

Jones used this bass during his time with Seasick Steve. In this photo, he is pictured in Reading Festival 2011, on day two (August 27, 2011).

In 1969, Led Zeppelin rented a number of Guitars Basses and Amplifiers from Rickenbacker for a total price of $12,492.

Among this equipment, there was a Prototype version of the 4001S Bass. This Bass was equiped with 4005 model bass hardware and electronics in a 4001S model body, these electronics included 2x Volume knobs, 2x Tone knobs, a smaller Blend knob, a 3-way toggle switch, 2x 4005 "Toaster Pickups" in the 4005 positions, aswell as a 4005 style pickguard.

Jones used this Bass at least once in Detroit, January 1969.

In this photo, a young John Paul Jones can be seen playing a Fender Bass VI.

According to Getty Images, here is the origin of the photo.

Session musician and future member of Led Zeppelin John Paul Jones holds a Fender Bass VI guitar in a London recording studio circa 1965.

In this concert photo, J.P. Jones can be seen using a Gibson EB-2 bass.

Manson created this bass guitar for the Led Zeppelin/Them Crooked Vultures bass player John Paul Jones back in the year 2010.

In this photo, you can see John Paul Jones with this bass.

Also when Led Zeppelin played "In My Time of Dying" live in 2007, Jones is seen playing a fretless Precision Bass.

In this image of J.P. Jones playing live, he is using a 10-string bass known to be custom-made by luthier Hugh Manson. We can see it is wired in stereo, supposedly sending two signals to separate amps/rigs.

John Paul Jones uses this peculiar lap-steel bass for a few songs with Them Crooked Vultures. This bass can first be seen at :54s and features an XY MIDI control pad. The bass has 8 strings and the neck covers 3 octaves. A Fernandes Sustainer is fitted in neck position and a Hipshot bridge tuning system enabling 3 different open tunings by moving levers. More information about this bass can be found here.

In this photo, Jones can be seen playing a Fender Bass V.

Jones can be seen in this photo playing an Alembic 8-string bass.

"John Paul Jones is seen playing a four-string Alembic Series II Bass in several user-uploaded photos."

On this interview for elixir strings, from minute 2:00 JPJ explains that the Dallas Tuxedo was the first bass he bought when he was a teenager after convincing his father to be the guarantor of the purchase. Then he tells that in 2009 he bought another one off ebay.

In a live performance in Milan on July 5th, 1971, John Paul Jones played a sanded Fender Telecaster Bass, as seen in the footage from Led Zeppelin Boots on YouTube.

John Paul Jones can be seen playgng Yamaha SA-70 at 0:01 in this video.

In a YouTube video titled "Led Zeppelin - Live Aid 1985 - Full Show - 4K AI Enhanced," John Paul Jones can be clearly seen playing an Ibanez RB650 Roadstar II Bass in white at the 3:21 mark during the Live Aid performance. The video is provided by Pure Frosting HD Archives.

In a photo from the 2007 reunion show at O2 Arena, John Paul Jones is seen using a Fender Fretless Precision Bass, likely for the performance of "In My Time of Dying," which was originally recorded with a fretless bass guitar. Jones can also be seen using this model of bass in a recorded concert performance of "In My Time of Dying" at Earl's Court in 1975, recognizable from the lack of frets and the two metal, knurled knobs.

In this photo from https://www.talkbass.com/threads/my-favorite-john-paul-jones-bass.1494463/#post-24765857, they talk about John’s ‘51 P Bass. You can see him use it on popular songs like Immigrant Song