Explain the Bass VI to me

[Jullecaster]

...is it a baritone? Is it a bass with more strings and a trem?
Does it have special strings? Who used it to what great effect?

I always thought they were cool but don't know what to make of them. Please help fix my ignorance...

I know they're awesome - the supremely gifted Lemmo was kind enough to remind me...

 

[hanktx]

I'm sure others will chime in with more details but is is a 6 string bass with a 30 inch scale. Tuned E-E 1 octave below a standard guitar. Early versions basically had strat pickups. Later versions and most reissues have jaguar pickups. Each pickup has an on/off switch. The later version has a fouth switch - a bass cut.

It was used in a lot of surf instrumentals and in country - think Lonely Surfer, Elvis' Little Sister. John Lennon also used one on the Let It Be sessions. Robert Smith also used one with The Cure although his signature model is a Schecter.

They can be used in a lot of different music styles. Some metal guys have used them. With the right effects you can get some pretty modern sounds as well.

Here's Dave Simpson. Music starts around 4:50.

 

[Vibroluxer]

I'm sure others will chime in with more details but is is a 6 string bass with a 30 inch scale. Tuned E-E 1 octave below a standard guitar. Early versions basically had strat pickups. Later versions and most reissues have jaguar pickups. Each pickup has an on/off switch. The later version has a fouth switch - a bass cut.

It was used in a lot of surf instrumentals and in country - think Lonely Surfer, Elvis' Little Sister. John Lennon also used one on the Let It Be sessions. Robert Smith also used one with The Cure although his signature model is a Schecter.

They can be used in a lot of different music styles. Some metal guys have used them. With the right effects you can get some pretty modern sounds as well.

Here's Dave Simpson. Music starts around 4:50.

Thanks for that! Can they be used with a regular guitar amplifier or is a bass amp needed?

 

[bottlenecker]

...is it a baritone? Is it a bass with more strings and a trem?
Does it have special strings? Who used it to what great effect?

I always thought they were cool but don't know what to make of them. Please help fix my ignorance...

I know they're awesome - the supremely gifted Lemmo was kind enough to remind me...

It was fender's answer to the Danelectro 6 string bass, which was used for a technique called "tick tack bass". Tick tack bass takes two people, an acoustic double bass player, and a danelectro or fender 6 string bass playing with it. The electric plays a bright snappy unison of or variation on the acoustic bass line.

When tick tack bass was no longer popular, people used the bass vi pretty much like a baritone, and most danos got converted to baritones.

 

[Festofish]

It’s a short scale bass with six strings. Instead of adding a string outside both of the strings, they added both to the lighter side bringing it closer to guitar territory-ish.

 

[Killing Floor]

Beatles, the Cure, Joy Division for example. There are thousands of songs using Bass VI

 

[hanktx]

Thanks for that! Can they be used with a regular guitar amplifier or is a bass amp needed?

Yes. I play mine through both. Currently plugging into a Tweed Pro. Just make sure the guitar speaker can handle the lower frequencies especially at volume. One of my cabs has an Eminence Legend 15 and it handles the bass with no issues. With lower wattage rated speakers there's more risk. I've played it through a Fender Champ before but kept the volume at bedroom levels.

 

[Vibroluxer]

Yes. I play mine through both. Currenly plugging into a Tweed Pro. Just make sure the guitar speaker can handle the lower frequencies especially at volume. One of my cabs has an Eminence Legend 15 and it handles the bass with no issues. With lower wattage rated speakers there's more risk. I've played it through a Fender Champ before but kept the volume at bedroom levels.

I'm grateful for the reply, thank you. I'm very interested in getting one of these but I'm not sure about my speakers. Maybe it's time for a Rumble too.

 

[bendercaster]

I didn't fully appreciate my Bass VI when I had it. I found the strings to feel kind of floppy when tuned as a Bass, but wasn't really sure what to do with it when I strung it up and tuned it as baritone from B to B.

Short scale basses are great fun though, even more so with a 6 string version like the Bass VI. The shorter scale can give a deeper/darker sound than a 34 inch scale too. I don't have a Bass VI anymore, but I have a Hofner Violin bass, and I love the percussive sound I get it from it. I do wish I had experimented with different strings and kept my Bass IV to use a short scale bass though. I think I would have made better use of it now than I did back then.

 

[Dostradamas]

It is a six string tuned EADGBE the octave between a bass and a guitar.

 

[milocj]

I didn't fully appreciate my Bass VI when I had it. I found the strings to feel kind of floppy when tuned as a Bass, but wasn't really sure what to do with it when I strung it up and tuned it as baritone from B to B.

Short scale basses are great fun though, even more so with a 6 string version like the Bass VI. The shorter scale can give a deeper/darker sound than a 34 inch scale too. I don't have a Bass VI anymore, but I have a Hofner Violin bass, and I love the percussive sound I get it from it. I do wish I had experimented with different strings and kept my Bass IV to use a short scale bass though. I think I would have made better use of it now than I did back then.

Depending on when you got yours (or the strings) may have something to do with that floppy feel. I have a Fender J-Craft model from around 2012 and the low E and A were too thin and floppy. At that time I pretty much had to order a "make your own set" to get a normal sized short scale E and A that fit the VI tuners. There are quite a few sets out there now with a .095 or larger and it makes a big difference.

Heavier strings may have been out there at the time but they weren't easy to find, especially since a lot of 6-string bass sets at that time

weren't meant for a 6 in-line headstock.

 

[kbold]

It is a six string tuned EADGBE the octave between a bass and a guitar.

The Bass VI is an octave below a guitar.
So, the EADG strings are the same as a 4 string bass (which is also 1 octave down).

In my experience, the Bass VI works well with flat wounds.

 

[hanktx]

When I first built mine, there were no Bass VI sting sets available so I had to assemble one from single strings. The lower strings were indeed floppy and made it no fun to play. Now there are several good sets available.

La Bellas are great for flats or round wounds. I just strung mine with the Fender Set which are .24 - .100 gauge. Plenty of tension on the lower strings and it gets nice and thumpy.

 

[screefer]

Here is the master himself...
Solo starts at 2:36

 

[Jullecaster]

I didn't fully appreciate my Bass VI when I had it. I found the strings to feel kind of floppy when tuned as a Bass

That's what I thought, must feel weird with the low tuning but light-ish strings? I will definitely try to play one next time I'm in a store...

Also, must be weird to pluck with your fingers with the narrow string spacing? Do people normally use them with a pick or a finger style technique more akin to guitar?

 

[bottlenecker]

I didn't fully appreciate my Bass VI when I had it. I found the strings to feel kind of floppy when tuned as a Bass, but wasn't really sure what to do with it when I strung it up and tuned it as baritone from B to B.

Short scale basses are great fun though, even more so with a 6 string version like the Bass VI. The shorter scale can give a deeper/darker sound than a 34 inch scale too. I don't have a Bass VI anymore, but I have a Hofner Violin bass, and I love the percussive sound I get it from it. I do wish I had experimented with different strings and kept my Bass IV to use a short scale bass though. I think I would have made better use of it now than I did back then.

I have and like short scale basses, but I don't think of a bass vi as one. It was made to play low notes, but sound trebly doing it. My short scale basses are both 25.5", but sound like bass instruments. My danelectro baritone (reissue of 6 string bass) is 29.something" and sounds like a low (A to A) twangy guitar.

 

[Rickman365]

It is hard to beat a Fender Super 60. They are cheap these days, 1x12 speaker. If you shut it all the way down you have, like 2 watts . If you want to gig and turn it up, that is also there. Add a couple of twelves or ten and you have a rocking amp. Do not know how they fell out of favor.

 

[Jullecaster]

It is hard to beat a Fender Super 60. They are cheap these days, 1x12 speaker. If you shut it all the way down you have, like 2 watts . If you want to gig and turn it up, that is also there. Add a couple of twelves or ten and you have a rocking amp. Do not know how they fell out of favor.

Not familiar with those, they're for guitar, right? You're saying suitable for bass, too?

I just checked and even in Germany they are available used for low prices, especially considering they're Fender and tubes. What's the difference to the 112, just size/2 speakers? And what's the catch?

 

[4Teles]

Jack Bruce used one early on with Mayall, Manfred Mann, Graham Bond, up until prior to Cream recording their 2nd album Disraeli Gears. This was when he and Clapton got the psychedelic paint jobs on their guitars. Jack hated how the bass VI felt after that.

 

[ashtone54]

Hendrix used one on Electric Ladyland on the song “1983”. It’s best heard at 9:00 when it gets a bit of a solo. Unmistakeable sound all its own.