“The original owner was a schoolteacher. It had been under her bed for 15 years in its case”: How a forgotten 1969 Jazz Bass became the go-to studio instrument for one of London’s top session bassists

Sam Dixon’s talent pool as a gifted bassist, writer and producer has been tapped by the likes of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, David Holmes, and Corrine Bailey Rae. Beyond his session work, he’s also maintained a long-standing songwriting partnership with fellow Australian Sia Furler.

Together, they co-wrote and produced Christina Aguilera's Bound to You, which earned a Best Original Song nomination at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards. He also received a Grammy Award for his contribution to Adele's 25, which won Album of the Year in 2017.

When Bass Player last caught up with Dixon in March 2021, he attributed his success as a session player to an ability to leave his musical ego at the door.

“As a bass player, it’s rarely about you. You’re there to do what’s right for the artist and the material. It’s like being an actor, knowing how to play that role.”

Having arrived in London with just his mainstay Fender Jazz Bass, Dixon now has a studio’s worth of vintage gear, including a Silvertone, and a Harmony H2.

“I’ve always wanted to have a selection of basses to be able to recreate different sounds from records or players I love. I always say, ‘Look, you’re a musician and this is your craft, it’s what you do! You need to have good instruments to do your job.’ That’s always been my justification anyway!

“I’ve been lucky to be in the right place at the right time and I’ve been able to snag some great basses at reasonable prices. So it’s just kind of happened.”

Going back to his main bass, a 1969 Fender Jazz … “The original owner was a schoolteacher and it had been under her bed for 15 years in its case!”

“I’d started out on some cheaper Japanese-made basses, but was going out in Sydney and hearing other gigs and knowing that my sound wasn’t anywhere near as nice as some of the other players.

“I was really into Bootsy Collins when he was playing with James Brown and the sound of his Jazz Bass on those recordings was just awesome. I was lucky enough to have a friend who worked in a bass guitar store in Sydney – this was 1994 – and he found this bass guitar for me.

“It’s so versatile. You can make it sound like a P-Bass if you want, or really zingy. It responds to different playing styles. It sounds great with flatwounds too – like on this track called Little Black Sandals.

“There’s just something about that bass: it can sound really modern and clean and new, but at the same time it can sound like what it actually is, an instrument that’s been around since the late ’60s.”

Little Black Sandals - YouTube

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Despite the Precision Bass having earned iconic status, Dixon believes the Jazz Bass remains the go-to choice for generations of recording bassists.

“Sometimes I get the impression that a Jazz Bass isn’t as cool as a Precision and that it’s sneered at a little, but it’s such a versatile instrument and there’s a lot more of them on record than people think.

“I’m pretty sure it’s what McCartney played on almost all The White Album, and there’s Joe Osborn who played on all those great records. He did all of his playing with a Jazz with the back pickup and tone control rolled off – that was his sound.

“I played my ‘69 on Sia’s Clap Your Hands and Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On - YouTube

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“It’s funny because it’s the one bass I keep coming back to all the time. I’ll have periods away from it, and it might not always be the most appropriate bass for a track recording-wise, but I always find myself playing it again.”

That said, there are sessions where only a P-Bass will get the job done. In those moments, Dixon reaches for a pre-CBS 1960 Precision.

‘It’s beat to death but has that amazing played-in feeling that only beat-to-death Fenders can seem to get – especially the worn-down back of the neck. It’s not a pristine collector’s guitar, but it’s perfect for life on the road. It’s also blessed with the thick slab rosewood fretboard which Fender used from 1959 till mid 1962.”

Other firm favourites in Dixon’s collection include a 1969 Fender Mustang, a 1967 Silvertone Dolphin Bass and his 1964 Harmony H22.

Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Live on Letterman) - YouTube

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“That’s a fantastic bass. There’s some ridiculous statistic that in the ’60s the company behind Harmony made more guitars than Fender and Gibson combined. They were made to be sold in supermarkets and department stores, and when you pick them up they kind of feel like that.

“Compared to a Fender or a Gibson from that period, they feel a bit flimsy and really light, but it’s great to have something that’s not your typical Fender or Music Man tone, something really different.

“I used it on tracks like Ludlow Street by Suzanne Vega and Sing Me To Sleep by Fran Healy.

“The Silvertone brand was used by the Sears chain for their line of instruments, amps and hi-fis from the 1930s through to the early ’70s. Harmony, Kay, National, Teisco and Danelectro all made instruments for Sears, which would be then badged ‘Silvertone.’

“My one was made by Danelectro and its semi-hollow masonite body, wood saddled bridge and lipstick pickup give it a really honky, resonant tone. It’s also short-scale and I’ve got reasonably light strings on there, making the tension quite slack, so it’s great fun to play.”