DAKAR Records Bassist

[JSngry]

Is it just me, or does the bassist on some of those early Tyrone Davis DAKAR sides, especially "Can I Change My Mind?", sound like James Jamerson?

Some questions - DAKAR was a Chicago-based label, right? Did they record there? Is it Jamerson on these records, Carol Kaye (a noted Jamerson inflencee) or somebody else? If so, who? Anybody know? Anybody care?

Whoever it is, the cat is GROOVIN'!

[Harold_Z]

It's not Jamerson. Whoever it is out of the Jamerson school plays and plays that bag really well...well enought for me to have bought Can I Change My Mind as a single and then grabbed the album when it came out. He's got his bass set up in a similar fashion with flatwound strings and the bridge cover mute that a lot of guys used at that time....espescially when recording, but it's definitely not James.

I checked the Dakar lp and it says recorded at Universal Recording Studios, Chicago. I suppose that puts Louis Satterfield or Phil Upchurch in as strong possibilities and eliminates Carol Kaye .

Wanna hear a great Jamerson record? Home Cookin' by Junior Walker.

[Harold_Z]

I'll say it quick, before I get flamed. There's about a zillion great Jamerson records. Home Cookin' is one of my particular favorites, along with Gladys Knight's version of Grapevine.

[JSngry]

...the bridge cover mute that a lot of guys used at that time....

Yeah, what's the deal with that, anyway?

[Harold_Z]

Up until maybe some time in the late 70's or early 80's Fender Precisions and Jazz Basses came with a metal bridge cover and also a pick up cover. The bridge cover had a piece of black rubber (it was actually weather stripping. I bought Frost King weather stripping and it was exactly the same thing) stuck of the inside of it. This pressed down on the stringst and muted them - it cut the sustain way down. It really gives you that "thud". I still toy with it now and then on the bass I keep flats on. It takes getting used to for a player not used to it, but it can sound great in certain circumstances. i.e. Jamerson and Motown.

Almost all of l the 60's recording bassists used it. Some guys would loosen and tighten the screws to get the pressure just right - or you could stick it further forward or back to vary the muted effect.

Jamerson always used it

I think Fender sells the pieces as an option now.

[JSngry]

So what was the deal with the pickup cover?

[AfricaBrass]

So what was the deal with the pickup cover?

The very first electric guitar pickup was the Rickenbacker Horseshow pickup back in 1929. Maybe the cover was in response to the look of that pickup. The Rickenbacker pickup wrapped around the strings, making it look like it had a cover. Rickenbacker basses today have a cover over the pickup that emulates this look. They also have a built-in mute on the bridge itself.

In the 50's, Fender put covers over the bridge and pickup of Telecasters. They also put a cover over the bridge of the Stratocaster. They did it with both the P-bass and the Jazz basses. My guess is that they did it to make the instrument look cleaner and more stylish. More space-age.

:rsmile: