The Fender Bass VI

In photos of Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks from 1963, Rick Danko can be seen playing a six string Fender bass. This has stirred up some curiosity about the instrument in the guestbook at this site. Below you'll find more information about the Fender Bass VI, from various sources on the net. Thanks to Serge Daniloff for the photos of Danko and the original Bass VI used by The Hawks.

Danko with Fender Bass VI

The Fender Bass VI is sometimes referred to as a baritone guitar and sometimes as a six string bass guitar. It is a fairly rare bird. From 1961 to the early '70's less than 7-800 were made, but copies / reissues are now available. In the February 1989 issue of Guitar Player it is claimed that Leo Fender intended the Bass VI to be a bass and, with its extended upper range, a baritone guitar as well. The regular six-string guitar, for example, is usually said to have the baritone voice among the plucked strings, so to speak of a "baritone guitar" is, in one sense, a redundancy.

By modern standards, a 6-string bass means large fretboards, complex onboard electronics, EQs and CGDAEB tuning. Like it's forerunner, the original Danelectro UB2 '6-string bass' of the mid-50s, the Fender Bass VI is a six string guitar with 'old-style' passive electronics, tuned a full octave lower than standard guitar tuning. This means that the low E string is the same pitch as the low E of a bass guitar. A Bass VI neck is in between an electric guitar and an electric bass guitar in length. These qualities make it truly a jack of all trades and master of none. When you play high up on the neck, it is the same pitch as the lower notes on a guitar, but the tone and timbre of the sound is quite different. The lightest string on a Bass VI is .025", and is wound stainless steel over a steel core, while the thinnest string on a guitar is .010" or so, and is plain steel wire. This makes the tone of the two very different.

Rick Danko's original Fender Bass VI, now redone in blue.

Both George Harrison and John Lennon used the six-string Fender bass on the White Album, Let It Be, and Abbey Road (McCartney stuck to the Hofner, Rickenbacker and 4-string Fender Jazz Bass.) Other notables known to have recorded using the Fender VI include Peter Green, Jack Bruce (Cream), Steve Kilbey (The Church), Eric Clapton (at least he owns one), and Robert Smith of The Cure, Listen e.g. to Smith's use of the Bass VI on several tracks on the Disintegration album from 1989, where the electric guitar only plays the off-beat chords, while the melody is played by Smith on a Bass VI. The result is a much spookier sound than provided by a guitar.

Technical Review

Bass VI reissue	Manufacturer	Fender
	Model	Bass VI (reissue)
	Price	Around $1000
	Neck Type	Bolt on maple
	Fingerboard	Rosewood with dots
	Body Type	Alder
	Finish	3 tone Sunburst
	Pickup(s)	3 passive single coil (I think)
	Controls	4 Switches (lo cut, 3 PU on-off)
	Other	Floating tremelo and whammy bar
	Ratings (0-100%):
	Construction	75%
	Playability	80%
	Appearance	100%
	Sound	80%
	Value	60%
	Cust. Service	20%
	Overall	85%

Collectors' Information

Late 1961 Bass VI specs: Slab rosewood fingerboard. 3 on/off switches for each pickup. 1963 Bass VI specs: Veneer rosewood fingerboard. Foam rubber mutes. 4th condenser switch added. Late 1964 specs: Plastic pickguard replaces celluloid. Late 1965 Bass VI specs: Bound fingerboard. Mid 1966 Bass VI specs: Block fingerboard inlays. 1968 Bass VI specs: Black peghead logo replaces gold logo. Polyester finishes replaces nitrocellulose finish.

1961 Model Fender Bass VI

1975 Bass VI Discontinued. Re-introduced Japanese 1962 reissue in 1995.