Fender Bass VI

File:Bass VI.JPG

A Fender VI on a stand

The Fender Bass VI, originally known as the Fender VI, is a six-string electric bass by Fender.

The Fender VI was released in 1961, and followed the concept of the Danelectro 6-string bass released in 1956, having six strings tuned E-E, an octave below the Spanish guitar. Its other ancestor was the Fender Jazzmaster, with which it shared many styling and technical details. Its body and electronics so closely matched those of the Fender Jaguar, released the following year, that in all but name the Fender VI was the first model of the Jaguar line released.

It departed from the concept of the Fender Precision Bass not only in having six strings, but also in having a shorter scale and thinner strings.

The original issue had similar body, electronics and whammy bar to the Jaguar (released in 1962), but three pickups as opposed to the two of the Jaguar. The third pickup was accommodated by using three pickup on-off switches rather than the more conventional three-position switch. Later a fourth bass cut (strangle) switch was added.

Like the Jaguar, the Fender VI had a pronounced curve for such a wide fingerboard, which made them all tricky instruments to set up without buzzing, and required some adjustment of playing technique. The electronics and extra strings were ideal for a soloist, but in the 1960s few electric bass players played solos. The close string spacing and light strings might have made guitarists more comfortable, but were an annoyance to string bass players.

For whatever reason, the Bass VI never caught on to the extent that the four string Precision Bass and its derivatives did, even among surf music and country and western bands for which its tone colours would have seemed ideal.

The original Fender VI, along with the Jaguar and Jazzmaster, was discontinued in 1975.

In 2006, Fender reissued the original Bass VI as a custom-shop model. Based on the early-60s VI model, it has three single-coil pickups and identical electronics.

Related Instruments

In 2004, Fender issued the Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom (later renamed "Jaguar Bass VI Custom"), which is more or less a combination of the Bass VI and the Fender Jaguar. The Jaguar Baritone Custom uses the same string gauges and tuning as the Bass VI, but differs in that it has a Jaguar-shaped body, two pickups with Jaguar-style switching options, a fixed bridge, and a shorter 28.5" scale length.

Specifications

Fender Bass VI string set.

• Solid body (alder) fretted electric bass guitar, 6 strings in 6 courses tuned E-A-D-G-B-E an octave below the normal guitar tuning.
• Scale length 30” / 762 mm (as opposed to 34” / 864 mm for the Jazz and Precision basses)
• Curved fingerboard (rosewood), radius 7.25” / 184 mm, 21 frets
• Standard strings .095 .075 .055 .045 .035 .025 inches, Fender stainless steel, P/N 073-5350-000.
• Fender floating tremolo arm.

Electronics

All passive electronics, with three single pole magnetic pickups. There were two different types of pickups used on different models: Early models had three Stratocaster type pickups which were mounted in special chrome rings and were controlled with three slider switches. Later, Jaguar type pickups were used, and a bass-cut switch was added to the controls.

• Three pickup on/off slider switches.
• Tone control slider switch (bass cutoff, also known as "strangle") (not on very early models).
• Volume control potentiometer.
• Tone control (treble cutoff) potentiometer.

Tremolo arm

The tremolo arm was the "floating" type with a locking device. This mechanism was developed for the Fender Jazzmaster, and also used on the Fender Jaguar. It was more elaborate than the synchronised tremolo of the earlier Fender Stratocaster, and was claimed by Fender to be superior, but it failed to achieve the same popularity. Unlike the synchronised tremolo, it was rarely copied by other makers, and disappeared from the Fender catalogue with the withdrawal of the Jaguar line in the 1970s. It has since appeared mainly on Fender reissues.

Players

The most famous exponent remains bassist Jack Bruce of Cream. John Entwistle of The Who also played one briefly in the early '60's. Eric Haydock of The Hollies is another famous Fender Bass VI user.

A Fender VI can also be seen on Beatles' videos for "Hey Jude", "Let it Be", and "The Long and Winding Road". It was played by both George Harrison ("Hey Jude"- though Paul McCartney played bass on the single version) and John Lennon ("Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road") when the band's bass player, McCartney, played piano. It was also used by Harrison and Lennon on the band's last-recorded album, Abbey Road.

Peter Green made extensive use of the Fender VI as a solo instrument during his live performances of 'The Green Manalishi' with Fleetwood Mac from 1969-1970, and also as a session musician with Duster Bennett (AKA 'Peter Blue') and Peter Bardens, among others.

Roy Babbington used a Fender VI exclusively during his tenure with Soft Machine (1973-1976), often coupled with a fuzz box and wah-wah pedal while soloing. Recordings can be heard on the Softs' albums Seven, BBC Radio 1971-1974, Bundles, Softs and Rubber Riff.

The Fender VI was embraced by Robert Smith from The Cure. Smith, primarily a guitarist, uses the Fender VI as a lead instrument, playing phrases and even chords on it. He often plays the instrument treated with echo and modulation effects to achieve an atmospheric sound. The Fender VI can be heard on songs such as "Faith," "Pictures of You," "Closedown" and "Lullaby" - the latter three songs from the album "Disintegration," on which it is used heavily.

Jet Harris used a Fender Bass VI as a solo instrument on a string of British instrumental singles like "Besame Mucho" and "Main Title Theme" (from "The Man with the Golden Arm") in 1962. Although it is sometimes claimed (even by Harris on his website!) that he used it as lead instrument on his hit record "Diamonds" with Tony Meehan in 1963, the instrument used was in fact only a Fender Jaguar tuned down a tone.

Rick Danko of The Band made use of a white Bass VI while backing Ronnie Hawkins in The Hawks, though by the time the Hawks were with Bob Dylan, Danko had switched to a Fender Jazz Bass.

John Entwistle of The Who is also seen with a Bass VI in pictures around 1965.

It was also used by Saul Davies of the band James, as a lead instrument (visible in the concert video "Getting Away With It" on the songs "Someone's Got It In For Me," "Getting Away With It," and "Vervacious").

During the infamous "Don't touch it" scene of This is Spinal Tap, Nigel's extremely special guitar is actually an original foam green Fender VI.

It is the only bass John Lowery plays on his solo works (though guest musicians often play their own).

Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal of Placebo were inspired to buy Fender Bass VIs with Molko commenting "Playing the Fender Vi is like playing two instruments in one, it can be treated as a guitar and as a bass. When Stefan is playing lead parts on the Fender VI, he's also using his feet to play a bassline with Taurus pedals. I think if Stefan were an octopus, he'd be playing even more instruments."

Joe Perry of Aerosmith used the Bass VI extensively on record in the mid 70's to achieve a heavier "ballsy" type of sound. It can be heard on such songs as, "Back in the Saddle", "Combination" and "Draw the Line". He sometimes used it tuned to an open A chord.

Joe Adducci of Chicago experimental/alt-country band Souled American used the Bass VI throughout their recording career.

Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 used this bass on many different songs on the bands self-titled album and while playing live on the tour for the aforementioned album.

Duncan Goddard of Radio Massacre International has been seen using a Bass VI apparently fitted with midi pickups.

Heike Rädeker of 18th DYE plays the fender VI (the 90íes reissue) in her own special version, with other pickups plus other modifications and the younger fender jaguar bariton bass.

Japanese guitarist/singer Miyavi used the Bass VI when playing live in Las Vegas. Video can be found on youtube.

External links

• Fender - Manufacturer's official site.

• History of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar lines, including the Fender VI.

• Unofficial Danelectro page, showing their 1957 model six-string bass.

• Offset Guitars A discussion forum dedicated to Fender Bass VIs, Jaguars, Jazzmasters and other offset-waist guitars

• The Fender Discussion Page - An online community and information source.

• The Fender Bass VI BBS - A forum and gallery dedicated to the Fender Bass VI

• Bass VI files: including orginal Bass VI notice (in english), all original colors used, Bass VI composition, available strings, famous users (useful, even in French language), etc.