Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI
Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI
Sunday, October 9, 2016
I’ve always been on the lookout for unique and unusual instruments, ones that have a unique look, sound or tone, ones that allow an player to multitask on several instruments at once, that solve a problem or annoyance in the studio or onstage, or that have an interesting story or history to share. The Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI, a reissue of the Fender Bass VI of the 1960s, fits several of these criteria.
To describe what a Bass VI is, we first have to describe what it’s not. The Bass VI is not a baritone guitar; it’s tuned down an octave, rather than a fourth, from a standard guitar tuning. It’s also not a 6-string bass, as most people would envision it. Most six-string basses have the regular EADG bass strings in the middle, with a low B below and a high B above.
The Fender Bass VI, introduced in 1961, is modeled after the Fender Jaguar and Jazzmaster, although it’s not identical to either model. It’s tuned an octave below a standard electric guitar at EADGBE. The strings are spaced similarly to an electric guitar, not like a bass, which pretty much dictates you’ll be playing with a pick, rather than your fingers. The neck scale is relatively short at 30” from nut to bridge, and it’s got three single-coil pickups like you’d expect on a Stratocaster. It’s also one of the very few bass guitars you’ll ever see with a tremolo bar.
So as you look at this odd duck of an instrument, you might ask yourself just exactly what it might be useful for? You can’t really strum chords on it, and you can’t play an intricate fingerstyle bass line on it. You don’t have extended low-end range like with a traditional 5- or 6-string bass, and the pickups are intended for use with a guitar amp, not a bass amp. What is this creature’s intended purpose in life?
Early on, Nashville players would use a Bass VI to double an upright bass, adding more attack, punch and definition to the mix. This “tic-tac” bass eventually became a style of its own, most notably in the surf music that was becoming popular at about the same time. Guitar players liked the Bass VI because it felt more like their guitar than a regular bass guitar did, and they didn’t need an additional amp to play it through. It also allowed them to play some melodies, chords or leads on the treble strings as the arrangement might call for.
My own personal interest in the Bass VI came from watching John Lennon use it when the Beatles recorded the song “Let It Be.” In footage from the 1970 film “Let It Be,” bassist Paul McCartney is singing as he plays piano. Lennon, normally the rhythm guitarist, usually moved to bass for situations like this, and he chose a Bass VI for this particular recording. Since Lennon (and McCartney too) usually played bass with a pick, the close string spacing felt normal and natural for John.
Bass VIes were also used prominently by musicians and bands like Glen Campbell, Cream, The Cure, The Who, and Aerosmith. But in the greater music industry, the Bass VI was kind of an outlier. It didn’t sell well, and Fender discontinued the model in 1975. Reissue models started appearing as early as 1995 (Fender’s Japanese custom shop), with others arriving in 2006 (US Custom Shop) and 2013 (Fender Pawn Shop Series and Squier Vintage Modified Series).
My model is from the Squier Vintage Modified Series, and most closely matches Lennon’s 1960s-vintage Fender Bass VI. It’s got a 30” scale neck, 3 single-coil pickups controlled by three switches on the pickguard, a bass cutoff switch, and main volume and tone. The tremolo bar is removable, although I usually leave it in place, whether I’m using it or not, to prevent losing it. The 3-tone sunburst finish give it a vintage look, and it’s fun (although sometimes a little awkward) to play.
The Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI carries an MSRP of $449, but I was able to get mine for $329 at Professional Music Center here in the Des Moines area. I’d expect that you can find it under the retail price at more locations than not.
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John Lennon would have turned 76 years old on 09 Oct 2016.
Photo by Donna Jo Wallace