Fender Bass VI
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| Manufacturer | Fender |
|---|---|
| Period | 1961–1975, 2006, 2013–present |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Scale | 30" |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck | Quartersawn Maple, C-shaped |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Bridge | Vintage-style "floating" tremolo with tremolo lock button |
| Pickup(s) | 3 single coil, originally Strat style, Custom Jaguar from 1963 |
| 3-Tone Sunburst | |
The Fender Bass VI, originally known as the Fender VI, is a six-string electric bass guitar made by Fender.
The Fender VI was released in 1961 and followed the concept of the Danelectro six-string bass released in 1956, having six strings tuned E to E, an octave below the Spanish guitar. The Bass VI was closely related to the Fender Jaguar, with which it shared styling and technical details, notably the Fender floating tremolo. The VI had an offset body similar but not identical to that of the Jazzmaster/Jaguar.
It departed from the concept of the Fender Precision Bass in having six strings, a shorter scale and thinner strings, and a mechanical vibrato arm. The Bass VI never caught on to the extent that the four-string Precision Bass and its derivatives did. The model was discontinued in 1975.
In 2006, the Fender Custom Shop released a re-creation of the Bass VI, featuring three single-coil pickups and identical electronics. This format was previously available as a 1962 vintage reissue model made by Fender Japan in 1995.
In 2013 Fender released a Bass VI model as part of its Pawn Shop series. In line with the series' purpose to reconfigure classic Fender designs, the new Bass VI has a bridge humbucker and a Stratocaster-style five-position pickup selector instead of multiple switches. There are three available colors: brown sunburst with a tortoiseshell pickguard, black with a tortoiseshell pickguard, and candy-apple red with a white pickguard and painted headstock.
Also in 2013, Squier released a Bass VI as part of the Vintage Modified series. This model was similar to the traditional Bass VI design with four switches (on/off for each pickup and a strangle switch) and a Jaguar-style control plate. It continued the trend set by the Squier Vintage Modified Jaguars and Jazzmasters of having a non-locking tremolo plate. It is available in a three-color sunburst finish, Olympic White with a brown tortoiseshell pick guard and black with a white pickguard.
Like other Fenders of the time, the Fender VI had a 7.25-inch fingerboard radius. The Fender VI, along with the Jaguar, the Jazzmaster and the Electric XII, was given a bound fretboard with rectangular block inlays in 1967, followed by a thicker black CBS-style headstock decal and polyester finishes instead of nitrocellulose lacquer in 1968.
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