THE FENDER BASS VI AND THE FENDER SURF LEGACY

In the early 1960’s, Leo Fender released a flurry of new products that presented variations on the Jazzmaster guitar. The Jazzmaster was designed to have a mellower tone than the Stratocaster but jazz musicians never took to the guitar. Instead, surf bands such as The Ventures and The Fireballs brought attention to the Jazzmaster which was higher priced and had more tone shaping options than the Telecaster line.

The Fender Jaguar family, to which the Bass VI most rightfully belongs, was designed to update the Jazzmaster design with increased RF shielding and smaller single coil pickups. The scale was shortened to 24 inches and the Jaguar become the first Fender guitar to have 22 frets. The electronics where upgraded with a more complex lead circuit containing three switches on the lower bout: two on/off switches for the neck and bridge pickups and the third a high pass filter which gives the guitar a unique treble sound that fit perfectly in the tonal palette of surf music.

The same lower bout electronics scheme was used in the Bass VI which was released in 1961, one year before the Jaguar guitar. The Bass VI was a six string variation of a baritone guitar tuned to E-A-D-G-B-E and was designed to compete with the Danelectro six string bass that had found popularity amongst musicians following the “Nashville Sound” legacy. With a smaller string gauge than the Precision Bass and a string spacing more similar to a guitar, the Bass VI functioned well as a lead instrument. Sadly, few bass players took leads at the time or the Bass VI may well have gained the fame of some of its renowned Fender cousins. Along with the Jaguar and Jazzmaster, the Bass VI was discontinued in 1975.

The Bass VI is not completely with out rock glory though. Most famously, Jack Bruce of Cream and John Entwistle of The Who were wielders of this strange baritone instrument. A Bass VI can also be seen on the Beatles' videos for “Hey Jude” and “Let it Be” played by George and John respectively. In the now legendary rock spoof “Spinal Tap,” Nigel‘s “extremely special” guitar which he implores Rob Reiner not to touch is a foam green Bass VI. Fender Japan reissued the Bass VI in limited quantities from 1996 to 1999 and an American custom shop reissue was done as a limited run in 2006. Even the reissues are difficult to come by and we are very happy to have one of the MIJ Reissues in the store. Price is $1900. For more info on the Jazzmaster/Jaguar/Bass VI line visit The Jaguar and Jazzmaster Page.