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| The '''Fender VI''' was a six-string ] developed by ] in 1961 as Fender's take on ]'s 1956 concept. In essence, it was a ] tuned down an ], featuring a floating ]. Unlike normal 4-string bass guitars, the strings on the Fender VI are thinner (like a guitar) and thus do not give as deep a bass sound as 4-string basses. |
The '''Fender VI''' or '''Bass VI''' was a six-string ] developed by ] in 1961 as Fender's take on ]'s 1956 concept. In essence, it was a ] tuned down an ], featuring a floating ]. Unlike normal 4-string bass guitars, the strings on the Fender VI are thinner (like a guitar) and thus do not give as deep a bass sound as 4-string basses. It wss a specialist-type instrument and never proved popular as bassists shunned its tightly spaced strings versus a four-string bass. However legendary bassist ] of ] used one, giving it some fame. ] of ] also played one briefly in the early '60's. | ||
| The 1961 Fender IV was based on the ], but with three pickups. The third pickup was accomodated by a third pickup on-off switch, making four switches on the lower switch plate. The body was otherwise closely modelled on the Jaguar. There was no bridge mute, but the ] was retained, making the Fender VI one of very few bass guitars to have one. Jack Bruce had the whammy bar removed from his, and sometime in the 1960s it was removed from the production Fender VI, giving better tuning stability. | |||
| A Fender VI can also be seen on ]' videos for "Hey Jude", "Let it Be", and "The Long and Winding Road". It was played by both George Harrison ("Hey Jude"- though ] played bass on the single version) and John Lennon ("Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road") when the band's bass player, McCartney, played piano. Years later, the Fender VI was embraced by ] from ]. Originally a guitarist, Smith uses the Fender VI as a lead instrument, playing phrases and even chords on it. The Fender VI can be heard on songs such as "Pictures of You" and "Lullaby". It was also used by Saul Davies of the band James, as a lead instrument. It can be seen in the concert video "Getting Away With It" on the song "Someone's Got It In For Me". ] from ] also used a Fender VI on their untitled CD. | A Fender VI can also be seen on ]' videos for "Hey Jude", "Let it Be", and "The Long and Winding Road". It was played by both George Harrison ("Hey Jude"- though ] played bass on the single version) and John Lennon ("Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road") when the band's bass player, McCartney, played piano. Years later, the Fender VI was embraced by ] from ]. Originally a guitarist, Smith uses the Fender VI as a lead instrument, playing phrases and even chords on it. The Fender VI can be heard on songs such as "Pictures of You" and "Lullaby". It was also used by Saul Davies of the band James, as a lead instrument. It can be seen in the concert video "Getting Away With It" on the song "Someone's Got It In For Me". ] from ] also used a Fender VI on their untitled CD. | ||
| The original Fender VI was discontinued in 1975. | |||
| In 2005, a new Fender VI was released as the '''Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom'''. The Baritone Custom is made in Japan, and has two pickups and no ], but is otherwise a Fender VI both in appearance and specification. Its electrics are similar to the ]. | |||
| {{musical-instrument-stub}} | {{musical-instrument-stub}} | ||
Revision as of 04:00, 26 December 2005
The Fender VI or Bass VI was a six-string electric bass developed by Fender in 1961 as Fender's take on Danelectro's 1956 concept. In essence, it was a guitar tuned down an octave, featuring a floating tremolo arm. Unlike normal 4-string bass guitars, the strings on the Fender VI are thinner (like a guitar) and thus do not give as deep a bass sound as 4-string basses. It wss a specialist-type instrument and never proved popular as bassists shunned its tightly spaced strings versus a four-string bass. However legendary bassist Jack Bruce of Cream used one, giving it some fame. John Entwistle of The Who also played one briefly in the early '60's.
The 1961 Fender IV was based on the Fender Jaguar, but with three pickups. The third pickup was accomodated by a third pickup on-off switch, making four switches on the lower switch plate. The body was otherwise closely modelled on the Jaguar. There was no bridge mute, but the whammy bar was retained, making the Fender VI one of very few bass guitars to have one. Jack Bruce had the whammy bar removed from his, and sometime in the 1960s it was removed from the production Fender VI, giving better tuning stability.
A Fender VI can also be seen on Beatles' videos for "Hey Jude", "Let it Be", and "The Long and Winding Road". It was played by both George Harrison ("Hey Jude"- though Paul McCartney played bass on the single version) and John Lennon ("Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road") when the band's bass player, McCartney, played piano. Years later, the Fender VI was embraced by Robert Smith from The Cure. Originally a guitarist, Smith uses the Fender VI as a lead instrument, playing phrases and even chords on it. The Fender VI can be heard on songs such as "Pictures of You" and "Lullaby". It was also used by Saul Davies of the band James, as a lead instrument. It can be seen in the concert video "Getting Away With It" on the song "Someone's Got It In For Me". Mark Hoppus from blink-182 also used a Fender VI on their untitled CD.
The original Fender VI was discontinued in 1975.
In 2005, a new Fender VI was released as the Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom. The Baritone Custom is made in Japan, and has two pickups and no whammy bar, but is otherwise a Fender VI both in appearance and specification. Its electrics are similar to the Fender Jaguar.
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