Hello all!
I have a bizarre obsession with this ugly duckling. I'm trying to find out more about it, but information is scarce, and whatever I find only tells me things I already know.
Can anyone shed some new light on the Fender Bass V? How does it play, feel, and sound? Does anyone here own one, or know of anyone who does/did (famous or not)? Any relevant stories, anecdotes, sound clips, or pictures would be swell, too. It'd be cool if this turned into a sort of "Unofficial Fender Bass V Thread."
So far, I know:
- it was sold from 1965-1970
- designed just prior to Fender's sale to CBS
- 34" scale, but only 15 frets
- same nut-width as the 4-string Precision Bass, resulting in closer string spacing
- fifth string was a treble C
- played by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin during their 1973 tour; James Jamerson apparently owned one; Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson used one at least once (he was photographed with a Fender Bass V circa 1980)
- style of pickup probably influenced the design of the Mustang bass pickup
- available in same finish options as Precision, Jazz, and VI basses, including matching colored headstock
- fingerboard options were rosewood/dots, and rosewood/blocks/binding (I've heard maple was available, but I've never seen an original maple Bass V fingerboard)
- thru-body bridge with the usual chrome Fender pickup/bridge covers; used Fender amplifier knobs instead of chrome Precision-style or Jazz-style knobs for its single tone and volume controls
- "5-in-a-line" headstock was elongated to accomodate fifth tuning machine (distance between string posts is the same as the 4-string Fenders, as opposed to today's more scrunched-up 5-string headstocks), making the overall instrument 3 inches longer than the Precision or Jazz Bass.
- some Fender Five-Strings made in 1966 had round-shaped tuning keys, like the Jazz, Mustang, Telecaster I, and Coronado basses, but most have the standard short-clover type machines used on Gibson EB0, EB2, and EB3 basses of the time; to my knowledge, these have never appeared on any other Fender bass. Bass Vs with round keys seem to be especially rare even for Bass Vs, I've only known of one example
- instrument resembles a full-scale five-string Mustang Bass
- approx. 200 ever made? (unconfirmed)
- leftover Bass V bodies were used to make the "franken-fender" guitars (Musiclander/Swinger/etc)
- most Fender Bass V instruments seem to have been made in 1965 and 1966; instruments made in 1967 and 1968 seem to be exceedingly rare, and I've never even known of any that were made in 1969 or 1970.
- people often think it's a Jazz Bass for some reason
Thanks in advance!
I have a bizarre obsession with this ugly duckling. I'm trying to find out more about it, but information is scarce, and whatever I find only tells me things I already know.
Can anyone shed some new light on the Fender Bass V? How does it play, feel, and sound? Does anyone here own one, or know of anyone who does/did (famous or not)? Any relevant stories, anecdotes, sound clips, or pictures would be swell, too. It'd be cool if this turned into a sort of "Unofficial Fender Bass V Thread."
So far, I know:
- it was sold from 1965-1970
- designed just prior to Fender's sale to CBS
- 34" scale, but only 15 frets
- same nut-width as the 4-string Precision Bass, resulting in closer string spacing
- fifth string was a treble C
- played by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin during their 1973 tour; James Jamerson apparently owned one; Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson used one at least once (he was photographed with a Fender Bass V circa 1980)
- style of pickup probably influenced the design of the Mustang bass pickup
- available in same finish options as Precision, Jazz, and VI basses, including matching colored headstock
- fingerboard options were rosewood/dots, and rosewood/blocks/binding (I've heard maple was available, but I've never seen an original maple Bass V fingerboard)
- thru-body bridge with the usual chrome Fender pickup/bridge covers; used Fender amplifier knobs instead of chrome Precision-style or Jazz-style knobs for its single tone and volume controls
- "5-in-a-line" headstock was elongated to accomodate fifth tuning machine (distance between string posts is the same as the 4-string Fenders, as opposed to today's more scrunched-up 5-string headstocks), making the overall instrument 3 inches longer than the Precision or Jazz Bass.
- some Fender Five-Strings made in 1966 had round-shaped tuning keys, like the Jazz, Mustang, Telecaster I, and Coronado basses, but most have the standard short-clover type machines used on Gibson EB0, EB2, and EB3 basses of the time; to my knowledge, these have never appeared on any other Fender bass. Bass Vs with round keys seem to be especially rare even for Bass Vs, I've only known of one example
- instrument resembles a full-scale five-string Mustang Bass
- approx. 200 ever made? (unconfirmed)
- leftover Bass V bodies were used to make the "franken-fender" guitars (Musiclander/Swinger/etc)
- most Fender Bass V instruments seem to have been made in 1965 and 1966; instruments made in 1967 and 1968 seem to be exceedingly rare, and I've never even known of any that were made in 1969 or 1970.
- people often think it's a Jazz Bass for some reason
Thanks in advance!
