Baritone Telecaster vs. Fender Bass VI: which one and why?

[Honga Man]

Ever since Fender came out with the Blacktop Baritone Telecaster, I've been wanting to buy a Baritone neck for a loaded body I have sitting around from a previous parts-caster. Apparently the regular eBay sellers of new Fender parts don't have any more of these because I've been looking daily for a couple months with no luck.

I have considered buying a finished Warmoth Baritone neck. Add tuners and a bone nut by a pro tech and I'm in a higher price bracket than the Fender Baritone neck + tuners + nut that might be okay out of the box.

Now I see Fender is coming out with the Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI. This instrument costs about as much as three Fender Baritone Tele necks or two Warmoth necks + tuners + nut.

Yet, it's a Bass VI! How cool.

A little about me to help you guys help me decide:

I have Fender 34" scale basses so I don't need a Bass VI to be used as a bass only. I'd rather use it for the same kind of things I imagine using a baritone for: low-down twang for home recording and looping. I can see taking it out to a jam now and then for variety but when playing with others I play guitar or bass and can't imagine a baritone or a Bass VI ever being much more than a specialty instrument for home use.

I think either would be great fun because I think I could play both bass and guitar parts on the same instrument. I realize neither replaces a Tele/Strat or a Precision/Jazz Bass, but either would be fun to own and bring different voices to my small collection of instruments.

Music I like to play (or attempt to play):

Classic rock
Country-rock
Classic country
alt.country / Americana
Surf / Spy / Hot Rod instrumental stuff
And sometimes Blues but rarely unless I'm on bass at a jam

Baritone pro: Already have a loaded body. Fairly inexpensive to buy a neck of one brand or another. Can use a Hipshot B-Bender that I already own.

Baritone con: I can't think of any.

Bass VI pro: Cool instrument that is rare on the used market (previous versions, I mean). Likely to be available new for a couple years and then be discontinued, based on Fender's history with similar variants over the years - Performer/Katana/Cyclone/Toronado/Aerodyne - just to name a very few that come to mind. Likely to retain good resale value for this reason.

Bass VI con: Expensive to me, as a hobby player. Limited color choices (no big deal, but I always enjoy griping about Fender’s limited colors).

Bass VI pro or con - I don't know which: Whammy bar, assuming it's easy to set up and not have to be adjusted constantly. I'm only familiar with Strat bridges but have heard Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridges can be a pain. I supposed this is a neutral feature to me and wouldn’t prevent or encourage the purchase.

Opinions?

Thanks.

 

[kenstee]

To be honest save yourself some money and get a less expensive VI from Rondo/Agile or Schecter. That should provide you with all you "need" for your needs.....Agile Argus Toast Extended Scale Guitar or Agile Harm 1 Extended Scale guitar. GC is selling the older version of the Schecter Hellcat VI for $360 or so. Amazing deal. But, pups are not all that great.

 

[Doug 54]

Really save money and get a 30" short scale bass with at least a 1 5/8' nut width.

This can be done just under $200 new, or $150 or less used.

...2 extra tuners, a Tele top load bridge, a new nut... and if lucky the existing pups MIGHT work!

Even if you have to throw in other pups, the sound will be worth the cobbling!!

.

 

[mefgames]

I built a Bass VI and right you are, it is cool and great fun. I can play std guitar, but am mostly a bass player. The VI is more of a bass with the b and e added. You can play chords, but they are better on the higher strings. It really needs to be played through a bass or keyboard amp because the lower strings will shred the speakers on most standard guitar amps.
The Baritone would be, IMO, a much better choice if you're looking for versatility, Granted, you will not get as much bass, but tuned down to B will get some really good lows, and not sacrifice the highs. You should be able to play it through a standard guitar amp.

There are pros and cons for both, but seeing as you have a loaded body waiting for a Bari neck, you can get there for a lot less money. In answer to resale, just because something is produced for only a couple years doesn't mean it will hold its value.

Try the Baritone option, then if you still think you want a VI, maybe a used Pawn shop will come up. Or as kenstee said, try the schecter.

Have fun, Mike

 

[Honga Man]

Thanks guys.

Random throughts: I've seen all the non-Fender alternatives (I think). I realize I'm limiting myself, but I'm such a Fender fan that even if it's a non-Fender (Warmoth, Allparts, or even DC Kunkle on eBay), I like instruments that look and feel like Fenders, as opposed to Schecters and Agiles and Danelectros.

Speaking of Danelectros, I saw a copperburst '90s MIK 6-string baritone on craigslist recently. It looked to be in excellent condition and the seller was asking $300. I probably should have pounced on it, but I assume it's gone now.

So I'm not completely opposed to non-Fenders - I'd just rather explore all Fender and Fender clones options before going elsewhere.

And I've seen some cool conversions of 30" 4-string basses to 6-string instruments at this very forum and on eBay. I like 'em, for the most part, and have the skills to do basic assembly and soldering...assuming no major woodworking needs to be done. About all I can't do (or choose not to attempt) is making a nut, but I know a good professional guitar tech for that.

I keep coming back to a Warmoth neck with the 28-point-something-inch neck (just a bit longer than Fender) tuned A - A as the best of both worlds, instrument-wise, and the middle-of-the-road price point.

Please keep the comments, opinions, rants, and rotten tomatoes coming!

 

[Honga Man]

I also welcome any comments on whammy bars on baritones and Bass VIs.

Essential?

Trivial?

Nice to have but not a deal-maker or -breaker either way?

I haven't exhaustively searched YouTube but in some brief searches for Bass VI demos, every single video I've seen has been guitar players playing them like guitars. I've yet to see one played like a bass.

And maybe that's the whole point; I don't know. It sure would be nice if local retailers would stock Fender Blacktop Baritones and Bass VIs so I could try one or both. It's tough when all there is for decision-making is the internet.

 

[VWAmTele]

For this song alone I'd love to get a Fender VI (although the studio recording is a Dano Longhorn lent to Campbell from Carole Kaye)

 

[craigs63]

Honga,

There is a baritone "T style" neck on ebay at the moment, could be the cheapest way to go for you at this point, depending on what you spend on tuners.
I replied on a couple of previous "baritone" threads on here recently, I have a neck made by the same guy that was on a hardtail strat-style body (I put it on a different strat-ish body with a whammy bar). Plus, it's light blue instead of sunburst, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.

 

[mefgames]

Thanks guys.

Random throughts: I've seen all the non-Fender alternatives (I think). I realize I'm limiting myself, but I'm such a Fender fan that even if it's a non-Fender (Warmoth, Allparts, or even DC Kunkle on eBay), I like instruments that look and feel like Fenders, as opposed to Schecters and Agiles and Danelectros.

So I'm not completely opposed to non-Fenders - I'd just rather explore all Fender and Fender clones options before going elsewhere.

I keep coming back to a Warmoth neck with the 28-point-something-inch neck (just a bit longer than Fender) tuned A - A as the best of both worlds, instrument-wise, and the middle-of-the-road price point.

Please keep the comments, opinions, rants, and rotten tomatoes coming!

I agree totally, If if it's not what you really like, then you probably won't be 100% happy with it. It might always be in the back of your mind as, "but I really wanted a ……"

The Warmoth neck sounds like the answer...

 

[mefgames]

I also welcome any comments on whammy bars on baritones and Bass VIs.

I do not really use the whammy bar on mine, I used that bridge because it was correct for the VI.

I haven't exhaustively searched YouTube but in some brief searches for Bass VI demos, every single video I've seen has been guitar players playing them like guitars. I've yet to see one played like a bass.

As I said in an earlier post, I am more of a bass player, and I play mine like a bass with an occasional chord or two thrown in for variation. It is in fact a BASS with a b and e.

 

[Honga Man]

It is in fact a BASS with a b and e.

Your point is quite clear and much appreciated. As a gigging bass player in weekend cover bands playing crummy dive bars for 10+ years, I'm much more comfortable in that role when playing with other people than I am on guitar...yet I'm a bit of a closet lead guitarist down in my basement late at night after the wife and kids are asleep.

And I'm sure I'll be happy with whichever I end up with (bari or VI). The search is half the fun, to me. I really appreciate all you guys taking the time to discuss this with me.

RE: Glen Campell...

I remember him singing on AM radio and appearing on on Hee Haw when I was a kid in the '70s, watching with my parents on Saturday nights. I was surprised to see him mentioned several times in a book I just finished - Surf Beat: The Forgotten Rock And Roll Revolution. I didn't know he was a studio guitarist and member of the Wrecking Crew until I read that book.

I had known a bit about Kaye and Blaine and some others but always assumed Campbell was some singer/songwriter middle America rather than a professional studio musician before he became famous.

 

[kenstee]

I'm a VERY avid VIer. And I got to tell you if you never actually played any of the non-Fender VIs you really do need to try them. IMO, Fender's quality for the most part has gone down while their prices have gone up. I think, for example, the 2012 Schecter Hellcat VI sounds way better than the new Pawn Shop VI as well as the reissued MIJs. The 3 Seymour Duncan SJAG-1s in the Schecter are superb and outstrip the Fender pups hands-down. The build quality is fantastic as well. So, keep an open mind and go for sound and tone rather than what decal is on the headstock. You can always order one from a Net retailer and return it if you don't like it within the return period. The only way I evaluate is to try it at home/studio with my own rig in a leisurely fashion. The only thing you'll be out is return postage. Personally, I'm a DIY idiot so making one is out of the question for me.

 

[PeterUK]

This is a great question and a journey I've been down recently so I think I can add value.

I've always wanted what I described as a baritone but I wanted, or so I thought, the capability of tuning E-E. The rationale was that I often swapped bass duties with a member of the band and the idea was to reduce guitar changes in the set.

I tried a Danelectro Baritone which sounded great B-B but I couldn't get it to work E-E and I also picked up an Epiphone Les Paul baritone with genuine hard case for an absolute song, but that wasn't right (to me) either.

So I dropped the plan for a while until last year when I chanced on a new Danelectro Bass VI neck which would fit my Dano Pro 56 which I (rarely) used for slide and created a Danelectro Bass VI. It was everything I wanted and I can play tic tac bass, some chord shapes (but you need hands like the Hulk to play some of the open chords) and it sounds like a church organ when strummed.

Because I picked up the Bass VI neck so cheap (thanks to Tim Armstrong for arranging to ship it internationally) I had enough cash to experiment with a baritone and bought a T-style DC Kunkle neck from eBay. To cut a long story short, it arrived damaged because it was woefully packed and it was unusable. Fortunately, a local guy was attending a new luthier school close to me so I had him produce a neck based on the damaged one and used the DC Kunkle neck as a green bean stake in my garden.

So for not a lot of cash, some tweaking and twiddling I've got a Bass VI tuned E-E and a baritone which I just discovered B-B tuning (see this thread).

They are both highly useable and useful and both great fun. The Bass VI is a great instrument for either bass duties or tic tac and sounds great for low down fills and solos (Bill Kirchen used it last summer on his UK tour) and the baitone adds richness to the mix and I'll use it more now I've discovered B-B.

Would I love a Fender Bass VI and/or a Baritone Tele? Maybe, because the guitars I have now are wonderful to play and sound GREAT, but I also think that Doug 54 has nailed it when he says look around for a shortscale bass and convert it to a Bass VI.

With caution, I would also suggest you check out DC Kunkle's necks on eBay. Now he screwed me over and failed to put right his mistake of poor packaging, but apart from the splits at the neck and heel because of rough handling and woeful packaging, the baritone neck he supplied was well made and nice and chunky. I've given him so much grief on various forums that I believe he now packs adequately; and his prices are really competitive.

So there you go. An inexpensive way to baritone and Bass VI.

Here are my two:

I wrote up my story of the two for the letters column of UK Guitar and Bass magazine and they printed my letter and I "won" a top quality gig bag.

Hope this helps.

Peter

 

[jesslm02]

I have one of the blacktop baritones tuned to B. I have to say I really like it. It gives me something different to play and can really add to some songs. Only thing is, I did have to change the bridge humbucker. I didn't care for it at all. I don't really like the neck or middle pickups either but I never seem to use them so I'm holding off on changing them for now.

 

[JohnnyMagic]

Tried out the Fender VI, Schecter Ultra VI, along with a baritone Tele and a "Special baritone".

Was also trying to decide wether to build a 30"scale Bass VI, or just go for a baritone.

Also play bass and guitar.

They all felt different, kinda weird. DEFINATELY have to have one!

The Fender VI had a horible set-up.
Would still choose the Fender VI over the Schecter. Didn't really have alot of time to really test them.
Can't really say why I liked the Fender better. If the Schecter was 400 less? (it was the same price as the fender). Didn't like the 3 switches for the pups.
It didn't take long to decide the VI with 30" scale would be built first.
Baritone will be down the road a ways.
They felt like guitars with HEAVY strings.
The VI felt like a cross between guitar and bass. This will be a fun jamming and noodling tool.

String choice is proving to suck.

JM

JM

 

[Doug 54]

Cheapist would be to buy a used 30" scale bass with at least a 1 5/8" nut and convert to a bass VI.

Did mine for around $220
.

 

[Thudstaff]

New member...with interest in this specific thread.

I'm in a power trio. I'm the bass player but write my tunes on a telecaster. We're thinking of writing a couple of tunes that will be guitar/guitar/drums. I realize that a baritone is a guitar and a bass vi is a bass. I'm on the fence on which way to go though. My tele is currently tuned GGDDD#D# (think Sonic Youth). I'd like to use this tuning on either the baritone or bass VI and play up to 6 note chords.

Baritone or Bass VI?

 

[Jim W]

Jack Bruce used a Fender Bass VI as did Eric Haydock of the Hollies. John and George also used one.

 

[mudbelly]

I have an Eastwood bari tuned B-B
I sometimes play in a small band that might have a variety of members but not always lead guitar. I switch from lead to bass with the bari. Works well with musicians that think out side the box. If they thinking a band has to have this or that they won't play to the strengths.

I do use the whammy.

It is great for looping at home.

The tele was not out at the time. I usually am a Fender guy but I do like the Eastwood.

 

[jorgercrosa]

With caution, I would also suggest you check out DC Kunkle's necks on eBay. Now he screwed me over and failed to put right his mistake of poor packaging, but apart from the splits at the neck and heel because of rough handling and woeful packaging, the baritone neck he supplied was well made and nice and chunky. I've given him so much grief on various forums that I believe he now packs adequately; and his prices are really competitive.

Hi Peter!

I am doing some research on DC Kunkle necks and your story was the only thing preventing me from giving it a shot. This comment right here was just what I needed to take my chances. Mine will also be shipped international (Brazil) so let's hope for the best hahahaha.

Take care,

Jorge