DR Heartfield bass

[Bass Ape]

I’m visiting ATL this weekend and stopped into a local music store to get the vibe and I ran into a DR heartfeild 6C.
It played amazing and sounded nice and thumpy, even though the tonal options were somewhat one note.

Is anyone familiar with these, I had no idea DR made basses. The price is just over 1100 and looking on reverb it seems to be a fair deal.

 

[Bass Ape]

Nothing to see here, Google led me to relevant threads.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Necks were too wide, but otherwise great basses.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I just built a 5 string with Heartfield pickups and preamp and it sounds great. I haven’t had the opportunity to play one of the actual Heartfields but a wide neck sounds perfect.

 

[bgartist]

Those were made by Fender, years ago.

 

[lowendblues]

I remember those, I think they fell out of the '80's.

 

[bassyogi]

Was Heartfield a joint venture between Fender and Ibanez? I actaully have that bass saved in my favorites on Reverb. Lol

 

[lowendblues]

Not sure, I think it was Fenders attempt at the boutique market. Some kind of hook up with the Japan market. Fujigen I believe.

 

[Dark Horse]

Cool basses made by fender back in the day. They had a filter based preamp. Wide, flat necks.

 

[Standalone]

Fujigen made. Similar to the Ibanez SR886 and SR885 of 1991 and 1992 — which were also made in 1992 — note the slim Jazz pickups.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Pretty durn neat. Hate it when folks gut the stock filter preamp. There's a thin graphite sheet laminated between the fingerboard and neck. The "waist" is seemingly huge (side-to-side). If anything like mine, it has an inherent low-mid "growl" which is unsurpassed.

Riis

 

[Thumpin6string]

That would be about the only Fender I'd ever consider buying.

 

[rojo412]

These were all awesome basses stock, but many fell victim to being {{cough, slight barf}} "upgraded," with Barts and having the preamps taken out. Such a shame!

They were a little on the quiet side for output, which is fine if you wanted a great sounding bass and were able to EQ for it properly. And the sound and capability were FANTASTIC for that modern attack. But the build quality was absolute top notch. FujiGen was the factory building them and they were all expertly crafted.

The bass you're showing looks absolutely stock and in good shape. I think that price is very fair for the DR6C these days. If you're after boutique level build quality for a price that is less than what a new MIM Fender (of far less build quality) would be, then this is a good pick.

 

[Alan Ace Cooper]

Necks were too wide, but otherwise great basses.

Right!!! Odd for that era, since most other manufacturers were pretty much trying to add a 5th string to a 4 string neck. Yamaha increased the neck width on their BB5000 which I think helped the rest of the 5 string market go wider.
Did the fingerboard on that Heartfield have a radius? LOL!! It was super flat.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Right!!! Odd for that era, since most other manufacturers were pretty much trying to add a 5th string to a 4 string neck. Yamaha increased the neck width on their BB5000 which I think helped the rest of the 5 string market go wider.
Did the fingerboard on that Heartfield have a radius? LOL!! It was super flat.

It was an age of experimentation. No one really knew what would work long-term regarding 5 or 6 string basses.
Wide was popular for a while.
But the 17mm Stingray 5 seems to have massive staying power.
I don't know anyone with hands big enough for a 19mm Hartfield 6. I can barely play a 19mm 5.

 

[jtg]

I had a DR5C in the mid 90s. It was its own flavor but fantastic quality and the pre was kinda cool. Yes, it was unusual to have a 5er spaced like a real bass back then. Every now and then I yearn for another.

 

[roller]

Did Nathan East play a Heartfield live in the late 80s/early 90s?

 

[lowendblues]

Maybe Steve Bailey?

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Did Nathan East play a Heartfield live in the late 80s/early 90s?

No, but the DR Heartfield was very similar to the Yamaha TRB6p that Nathan East played then and still plays to this day.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I have a 5 in pearl white (er, yellow now). Was my #1 for quite a while. I rather liked the wide spacing. Played it in a duo, tuned D/G/C/F/A so I could comp triads when my partner soloed (we played everything a whole step down). He passed from cancer many years ago and signed that bass just before he died. I rarely play it but won't part with it.

The Bar Band Bassman