Fender Bass VI

[JakeAndAirwaves]

I'm confused about the Bass VI. It's a baritone guitar, uses thinner strings than a bass, but thicker than a guitar, but can still get into bass territories?

What I have researched confuses me. Can someone explain to me?

 

[AmadeusXeno]

This should help you.
Fender Bass VI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[CnB77]

It is not a baritone guitar, it's a six string short scale bass tuned E-e. A baritone guitar would be something like a 7 string, tuned to B

 

[JakeAndAirwaves]

It is not a baritone guitar, it's a six string short scale bass tuned E-e. A baritone guitar would be something like a 7 string, tuned to B

Thanks! So what's with the thin strings? I hear this can venture into guitar stuff. Is that what they do?

 

[JakeAndAirwaves]

This should help you.
Fender Bass VI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I looked there. Helped a bit, but not much.

 

[tkozal]

Tuned an octave below a guitar. Will sound like a short scale bass on the lower four strings. Harder to play with fingers due to string spacing

This is a video that shows one in action, sorry for the very mediocre guitar playing (not)

ALLAN HOLDSWORTH - SOFT MACHINE - YouTube

 

[Rob Martinez]

John Lennon plays one on THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD and LET IT BE, watch it on youtube.

 

[CnB77]

John Lennon plays one on THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD and LET IT BE, watch it on youtube.

Also Helter Skelter, if I remember correctly.

 

[JakeAndAirwaves]

Tuned an octave below a guitar. Will sound like a short scale bass on the lower four strings. Harder to play with fingers due to string spacing

This is a video that shows one in action, sorry for the very mediocre guitar playing (not)

ALLAN HOLDSWORTH - SOFT MACHINE - YouTube

Thanks! I may have to pick up a copy from Rondo soon!

 

[tkozal]

for some guitaristic Bass VI playing, theres a "Green Manalishi" solo by Peter Green on one of the Boston Tea Party Fleetwood Mac lives discs that is incredible.

 

[ShoeManiac]

For a more current frame of reference, you might want to check out Invalid Link Removed by Danger Mouse and Daniel Luppi. They collaborated with Jack White, Norah Jones, and a number of the italian studio musicians who did the scoring work on many of Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western soundtracks. The Bass VI played very prominently in Morricone's work, and was well represented on the Rome record.

The instrument seems to lend itself far better to a pick technique. And it seems to be enjoying a bit more popularity these days. But amazingly enough Jack Bruce played a Bass VI with fingerstyle technique in the early days of Cream.

 

[Aussie Player]

Jack Bruce also played one in CREAM in the early days before his EB3. See Strange Brew clip on UTube.

 

[tkozal]

I checked out the Rondo site, as I was not aware anyone made a Bass VI type copy. I assume its this:

Link Removed

I notice that its says it is set up to intonate what look like Baritone strings, with the lowest as an 84. That would jive with a Baritone tuning, starting at B or A above the low E of a Bass. That could be an issue.

I have a CIJ Fender Jaguar Baritone, that was sold tuned like a Bass VI, but really is better in B-B or A-A baritone tuning, the scale is like 28.75 or something like that:

 

[SLaPiNFuNK]

They arent very thin really...

Common set E-E = .026 .035 .044 .056 .075 .095

Its like a light gauge E A D G with a B E added...

 

[Mr.Fingers]

I used mine for both...

as a low tuned guitar
as a bass

It's al dependant on what amplifier you use. Do you play the VI in a Vox AC30 or a Twin Reverb, it will sound a lot more "twangy" than when you play in in an Ampeg SVT.

Brian Auger live at the Jazz Bilzen Festival, 1969 - YouTube
Here you can see the bassplayer of Brian Auger playing bass on a VI.

 

[JakeAndAirwaves]

I checked out the Rondo site, as I was not aware anyone made a Bass VI type copy. I assume its this:

Link Removed

I notice that its says it is set up to intonate what look like Baritone strings, with the lowest as an 84. That would jive with a Baritone tuning, starting at B or A above the low E of a Bass. That could be an issue.

I have a CIJ Fender Jaguar Baritone, that was sold tuned like a Bass VI, but really is better in B-B or A-A baritone tuning, the scale is like 28.75 or something like that:

Is Link Removed
not it?

 

[tkozal]

thats also it

 

[StephenDaRacket]

Great. Now what am I supposed to tell girls when they ask me what the difference between a guitar and a bass is?

 

[FrednBass]

Great. Now what am I supposed to tell girls when they ask me what the difference between a guitar and a bass is?

Wow, this happens to me a lot... I always say that the bass is the male version of the guitar.

 

[coreyfyfe]

I notice that its says it is set up to intonate what look like Baritone strings, with the lowest as an 84. That would jive with a Baritone tuning, starting at B or A above the low E of a Bass. That could be an issue.

That's because no one is making 0.095 bass VI strings anymore. The new fender bass VI series come with D'addarios which have an 84 or 85 as the low E. You could buy a bass set and swap the lower strings into a bass VI set, but that's a pain in the butt. You can find labellas online for like $50 or $60 but even their website doesn't list the strings anymore so I'm guessing they're out of production.