Fender Bass VI Baritone

1963 vintage Bass VI baritone guitar. Blk, (refin I think, but store said no) with tortoise shell guard. 4 selector switch much like a Jaguar but one cuts all low end out for that tic-tac sound, I never use the tic-tac. The other 3 switches offer a lot of great combinations of sounds from warm to treblely, to deep. Fun. 3 Jaguar style single coil pickups, tremolo Jazzmaster/Jaguar style. Alder body, nice and light, cut away. 6 strings I gauge with the D'addario (cheaper than Fenders') bass VI replacement set and change the low E to a 95, so 95, 75, 65, 55, 45, 35 or somnething like that. Body looks like a cross btwn. a jaguar and jazz bass. Jazzmaster/ jaguar floating style bridge that is basically wider and closer on the body to the tremolo than those guitars. Has those threaded saddles we all know and love, but because the bridge sets so close to the tailpiece (tremolo) there's enough tension that this is no problem. Kluson tuners, work, no problem. Beautiful neck, closer to a Jazzmasers' in width, takes a little getting used to but roomier than I feared. Medium size frets that have already been replaced once. Rosewood fretboard, mmmmmnnnn, never been interested in any other. Had original case too.

Lots of new bands, post rock and otherwise (Paul Newman, Ativin, Blond Redhead), are using these. A long history from George Harrison / Jack Bruce, to Robert Smith (the Cure) / Peter Hook (New Order). Side note: Check out the Cures' "Carnage Visors" (usually comes with the early Faith record) features 30 mins. of Roberts' instrumental Bass VI meandering. I searched for quite awhile to find one and gave up on was in search of a reissue, but found this one, wow. Can't stop playing it. Definitely not for everybody, but if you like the bass to be up font and enjoy playing chords on the bass this is for you. I play mathy, pretty, noisy, experimental/ improv. type stuff and this thing flies. I play mostly through a GK 400RB as I like to lean towards the bassier side of the instrument, (but if you like to strum it can do that too!). It sounds much better through an SVT though (what doesn't?) and I am in search of an old one now, as the GK can kind of fizzle on the real high bright stuff, needs tubes. Also sounds good through and old Super Reverb. I use a few effects whammy, muff fuzz wah, big muff, mxr micro amp, etc... The micro amp with the GK warms it up a bit more especially when the treble peaks. Mine is very quite, sheilded well. Capable of SO many different sounds. These instruments are so underrated as players. Too bad the vintage ones cost so much to sit on someones' shelf. No likes only loves. I play an old Jazzmaster as well and to go back and forth is no problem, one only helps the other. I started as a bass player moved to guitar and always missed the low on the guitar and the high on the bass, so here I am. I could go on...

This guitar was set up amazingly well. It had definitely been through a repair shop or two, but in a good way. Some fool cut the headstock so it looked like a spear (heavy metal), this was repaired, and quite beautifully. At some distance you could never tell it was once so hideously disfigured, even the woods match. Also someone had tossed the tremolo arm and spring (?) and tossed the parts locking the tremolo in place. Fixed that, if one has a tremolo on a bass one should use...As I mentioned above the frets had professionally been redone, and may have been refinished but if it was it's nitrocellulose and as if done back at the factory. Looks excellent, always draws strares. Bridge set up in this case works well no problems. My only complaint is that the low E and A strings don't have that much tension in them, especially if you tune down to D or so. I modified this by drilling out two 1/4 wide 3/8" long pieces of high carbon steel and putting the E, A strings through them then installing them through the tailpiece. This lengthens the scale, increasing the tension. The pickups on these strings seems a bit thin as well before the mod, but sounds better now. The pickups don't allow for much height adjustment. I think this is a result of one of it's repairs.

Amazing live fun, exciting new dynamic. Holds up live as much as any old Fender. Needs a little tuning up but nothing out of the ordinary.

Long wait on the phones if you call Fender but they have been helpful and do give out parts #'s, avialabity. Too bad replacement parts can be so overpriced.

Had it a year and a half. Baritones are overlooked. Leo Fender was building a Baritone G&L when he passed. Danelectro makes one. Also the Bajo Sexto Tele. Ernie Balls' Sillouette Baritone, haven't tried those. Anybody else? Would prefer the humbuckers that Leo had for the prototype G&L.