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The Fender VI or Bass VI is a six-string electric bass by Fender.
Model history
The Fender VI was released in 1961, and followed the concept of the Danelectro 6-string bass released in 1956, having six strings tuned E-E, an octave below the spanish guitar. Its other ancestor was the Fender Jazzmaster, with which it shared many styling and technical details. Its body and electrics so closely matched those of the Fender Jaguar, released the following year, that in all but name the Fender VI was the first model of the Jaguar line released.
It departed from the concept of the Fender Precision Bass not only in having six strings, but also in having a shorter scale and thinner strings.
The original issue had similar body, electrics and whammy bar to the Jazzmaster (released in 1958), but three pickups as opposed to two for the Jazzmaster. The third pickup was accommodated by using three pickup on-off switches rather than the more conventional three-position switch. Later a fourth bass cut switch was added. Following the example of Jack Bruce, the whammy bar was removed sometime in the 1960s, giving better tuning stability.
Like the Jaguar, the VI had a pronounced curve on the fingerboard, which made them all tricky instruments to set up without buzzes, and required some adjustment of playing technique. The electrics and extra strings were ideal for a soloist, but in the days that few electric bass players played solos. The close string spacing and light strings might have made guitarists more comfortable, but were an annoyance to string bass players.
For whatever reason, the bass VI never caught on to the extent that the four string precision bass and its derivatives did, even among surf music and country and western bands for which its tone colours would have seemed ideal. This was especially true of the early models with a whammy bar, a feature unique in the history of electric bass.
The original Fender VI, along with the rest of the Jaguar line, 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.
Players
The most famous exponent remains legendary bassist Jack Bruce of Cream. John Entwistle of The Who also played one briefly in the early '60's.
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.
Peter Green made extensive use of the Fender VI as a solo instrument during his live performances of 'The Green Manalishi' with Fleetwood Mac from 1969-1970, and also as a session musician with Duster Bennett (AKA 'Peter Blue') and Peter Bardens, among others.
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, and Stefan Olsdal of Placebo as a regular bass. 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. During the infamous "Dont' touch it" scene of Spinal Tap Nigel's extremely special guitar is actually an original foam green Fender VI.
External links
- History of the Jazzmaster and Jaguar lines, including the Fender VI.
- Unofficial Danelectro page, showing their 1957 model bass VI.