The Mystery of the Fender Bass VI 

OK, sounds like you dig the visual spectrogram comparison vibes. What else do you want to see?

The bass VI champion has been and still is Robert Smith of The Cure. In some of their songs there are two bass VI’s plus a regular bass playing at the same time. Not only in studio recordings but live in concert too. They are currently playing shows in Latin America.

This is amazing! I’d love to see other spectral comparisons. Round vs flat vs tapes, pbass muted vs unmuted, jbass with fingers at neck vs bridge pickup… wow!

Cure’s in between days Is a great example of a bass and bass vi having their own space.

The low E on an electric bass is actually 41hz and the first interval is an octave, its hard for pickups to accurately pick up (if you will...) those sub frequencies which is why you see the peak at 82hz (first order harmonic) of what you are playing. Thanks for covering the Bass VI as it is a weird forgotten about piece of history!

I would recommend adjusting the tone knob in conjunction with the strangle circuit. Fender doesn't tell you this in the specs, but the strangle circuit actually inverts the tone knob, making it more effective at cutting bass frequencies.

Fascinating! I recall seeing Cream on tv doing Strange Brew and Jack was playing a Fender 6. This is all in the 60s. In my naïveté I thought it was an in-joke within the band, him playing a ‘guitar’. Basically, I do want a Fender 6 … as predominantly a guitar -player it just makes sense to me. Loving the spectral stuff, Philip.

The analysis of the way the Vl couples with a standard bass explains the raison d’être for Vl perfectly for me. Nice one, Philip.

I've been curious about the Bass VI for a while now, and this video has convinced me to pick one up.

I wish people would use the spectrogram when comparing/demoing literally everything. Guitars, amps, pedals, basses, pickups, whatever! I just got a Bass VI and I love the thing. I'm so happy Fender brought it back in the Vintera II series.

This was super cool man. Love this. Cool to see the colors and to hear the isolated overtones. Really appreciate how you break it down and explain things too!

Super interesting, I always look forward to your videos. I love how you've added a visual aspect to the way we describe basses. "fuller, thinner, meatier etc...'' now has a visual description. That's awesome

You articulated a lot of thoughts that I've been mulling over for awhile now - I'm fascinated with the idea of a "secondary bass" instrument in arranging, and I think the concept is criminally underutilized. As a bass player, I've personally been pushing lower and lower into the zero octave and finding some really fun applications for that super-deep rumble. But I often find that the low-end extension comes at the cost of losing the low-midrange character of the bass guitar in the mix, and so it needs some other instrument to fill that hole between sub-bass and the rest of the arrangement. A Bass VI seems like a really good solution, slotting perfectly into that baritone range that's deeper than keyboards and guitars, but higher than the kick drum and low bass.

I own a Bass VI (and a precision bass). This video made me want a Mustang bass.

I actually love playing my Bass VI live for this reason. I love to EQ like a four string and get it to sound like a regular bass, then I have the strangle switch for chimey guitar parts.

You mentioned The Beatles already but what's interesting in that is that it was John and George who used it when Paul wasn't on bass and it makes so much sense considering it is more familiar to them, just fits in to this unique role you are talking about!

To go to your players in the 60s. In the U.K. our bass 6 pioneers were Jet Harris ex Shadows and Eric Haydock of The Hollies.

Thoughtful and insightful. Thanks for the always great content. These are such cool instruments and seeing/hearing the spectral analysis comparison with the other basses was a real treat!

Super quality content as always. Inspiring a crowd of smooth bass enjoyers to expand their knowledge evermore. Keep up with the vibes.

I love how you nerded out on the science of the fundamental timbre of each bass. Actually a super cool demonstration and I totally agree with the mustang, I feel like all short scales kind have that HUGE attack and just a slow fade to that fundamental note. I get something similar with a Squier Bronco with a Curtis Novak Music Master pickup in it. It's so cool

Guitar? Bass? My experience over the last 30 years owning a VI is, that it depends a lot on what strings you use! With flats it sounds much more like a bass! I play my VI in an acoustic trio because the lows don’t disturb the guitar sound compared to a normal bass guitar.

Really interesting, I especially enjoyed your analysis with the spectrogram.

Great content as usual. I have a Classic vibe bass VI and I love the inspiration it gives to play different things.

I really enjoy all of your videos but this one was especially great! Learned a lot from the frequency/amplitude visualization breakdown.

This is top notch info...the spectral analysis is the kind of info that really brings home the differences between the instruments. The visual with the audible makes everything clear!

That’s super cool. I teach HS physics and we do sound and waves, and I’m going to show some of this to help illustrate how music is mixed to blend frequencies from the different instruments. Very nice demo!

Excellent information. Thanks! Fender also developed and sold at least two other basses. Neither caught on. A "Bass V" 5 string bass with a high C string in the '60s. Also a "Performer Bass" 4 string instrument in the '80s.

Been waiting to hear your opinions on the bass VI! this video is so cool with all the science of the overtone science. so cool, man!

Cool. Love the spectrum analysis!

VERY INFORMATIVE PHILLIP

Would absolutely love to see yiu do this overtone comparison with other basses/pickups like Semi hollows, MM, HH

Thank you for this video. This is literally the most informative and interesting music video I've watched over the past 6 months. Do you have other videos that convey information about the ranges of sound?

I don't have the Fender, but a Schecter that's also a Bass VI and it's one of the coolest guitars I have due to its versatility. It'll do everything from baselines to djent riffs. Just don't expect to play a lot of chords unless you have some huge hands

Soooo cool! From the thousand videos like “P bass vs J Bass” type this is the best one!!!

Thank you for creating this video on an often overlooked bass critical for the “tic tac” sound popularized in the 1960’s on many country and pop recordings. (Lineman of the County) If you are ever able to source a Fender Bass V, you might consider a video on it as well. It is a 15 fret, 5 string bass traditionally strung EADGC. It predates the Mustang bass by one year, coming out in 1965. Though it never caught on, it was made known by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and Walter Becker of Steely Dan.

phil always with the killer vids

Not a bass vi but same philosophy: I’ve been double tracking my 5 string bass with a baritone guitar tuned BEADF#b with pretty awesome results. I put effects like delay, reverb, trem, and OD on the bari and run the 5-string DI’d in and it’s been a ton of fun.

Super cool video man! What shocked me was how different the Mustang was on the spectrogram from all the others. Much more fundamental than even the p bass which was surprising.

The best explanation I've heard about this amazing instrument. Just wish we could see it more frequently

Seeing the differences in the Jazz Bass and Fender VI tones, really contextualizes why the Beatles experimented with layering them on top of one another during the White Album. Most notably in Back In The U.S.S.R. and While My Guitar Gently Weeps (mostly during the bridge sections + the Guild Starfire 12-string). It gets such a uniquely textured bass sound that kind of has a modern sound for the 60s, before roundwound bass strings became the norm. It had a very aggressive and thick tonal range.

I love your passion for the science in our art!

Very impressive and instructionnal video ! Thank you !

Great video! I’ve been wanting a bass VI for awhile. The Cure has some great examples of bass VI tones over the years in more of a rock context

Very informative thanks

Great video! Would love to see this using flats and rounds on the same bass

Good description on the different basses, I like the mustang of all , since I have a 1966 Epiphone hollow body bass

I just found out you had a RU-vid and your videos are looking amazing. Keep it up man, I also have wanted a bass 6 since I saw one because of my baby hands 😂

Thank you for showing the work. You got a sub

holy shit that natural finish P bass is a BEAUTY

So cool, thanks Philip!

Thank you, very interesting, love hou you present the sound of those basses next to each other! Another interesting instrument in this spectrum is the “ jaguar bass” which has a different recognizable timbre again!

That mustang is so 60s sounding! Love it!

i learned so much from this video, but mostly that your mustang bass is really really great

Oddly, the most common genre I’ve seen it in is darker music - The Cure, The Church, Horse Girl. So much so that the Fender website actually list the Cure and The Church as some of the biggest users of the Bass VI. And it if you listen to The Church’s album Priest=Aura, it’s on every song as the main bass. If you listen to The Cure’s Disintegration, it’s on Lullaby and Pictures of You playing the lead melodies. It’s really versatile.

This was excellent 👏🏿

Good video. Need to talk more about pickup selection/balance and what eas used. Particularly with multi pickup instruments.

7:46 *Plays Open E* "It's beautiful" This is how we know Philip is a bona fide bass player.

this is one of the coolest videos on the internet....but like nerdy too. I love being into this stuff

Great video!

I have a Squier Bass VI from years back (before the Classic Vibes, sadly). Even with the quirks of the model and this line in particular, I just love this thing. So weird and fun.

Really useful insights! 👍

The Bass VI for me sits exactly how described; Between the guitar and the bass, meaning you can sit it in a mix by having it play the same notes as the bass, and sometimes doubling the guitar.

Very informative thank you I have a short scale 6string bass tuned to to E. Not at all marketed as a bass vi, but that how I use it.

Fricken phenomenal video!!!

Really great video 🙏

I wish you were a guitar player...I experienced this "frequency exception" in a band in the early 2K's. We had the song writer playing a Strat and I played a hollow bodied (solid block) D'Armond (poor man's Guild...both owned by Fender since the 90's). There is a similar way to approach guitar frequencies. I own a Squirer Bass VII as well as a Jazz....I choose my weapons well. Thanks for enlightening us.

I thought the Jazz came close to the VI in sound character but there is something magical about the VI sound. The Mustang was a surprise, a very woody sound. Adding a VI and a Mustang to your collection would be a good idea.

This is such a cool bass!! I like the detailed history on it!! If you ask me my favorite recording of one is joe Perry of Aerosmith using it on the song back in the saddle while the main bassist in the band is playing a 4 string!! I also like that it was also on the song let it be

Man I gotta try me one of these. Such a cool tone, random question but what’s your thoughts on ric’s? I’d be interested to hear your opinion on them.

Nice work did you use a capture to another computer or just one computer

Fender Worked around the Floppy Low E String problem by bumping up the gauges of the 3 Lowest strings a little bit so now we have a 24-100 Gauge set.

That was interesting! Would love to know what my bass looks like. Sire M7.

that was cool man,

Interesting, I've never heard of the Fender Jagwire. I may get one of these things.

great video

What a great video

I always see the bass 6 as a guitar instead of the bass, while yes, it is tuned to the same range as a 4 string bass, but it sounds way better thru a guitar amp filling out a different sonic space than a standard guitar or bass, i want one so bad ever since i played a squire bass 6 thru a vox with some tremolo... its so stunning sounding!

Thanks for doing this! I have some q’s that I’m hoping you can address in a future video. Which pickup did you use to record the BassVI, JBass and Mustang? I’m just curious since the PBass only has a single option, VI has THREE pickups, and the others have two. How did you decide which pickups to use? Likewise, how did you set any tone/volume knobs switches? Did you go by ear to make them sound as even-keeled as possible? Did you set everything to ten, lol? Just curious how you made those decisions to set up this comparison. Maybe you can talk more about that in the future. Would also be cool if you found a BassVI type guitar with humbuckers. What would that do as compared to single coils - like would it beef up the overtones to be more similar to a JBass and bridge the gap even more? I’m sure there’s a brand out there that makes a version with humbuckers or that someone has converted a single coil BVI to humbuckers. Using a humbucker might beef up those overtones to sound more similar to a JBass, I’d imagine. This was really cool. I’d love for you to dive deeper, as others suggested! It’s funny, as a guitar player, I preferred the BassVI tone - but each one of these basses has its place. And I agree that a BassVI is a bass guitar. It’s not the number of strings that defines the instrument (such as excessive multiscale guitars with like 30 different strings . . . show offs, loll). 😊

Fantastic content. I wonder where a baritone guitar fits? A Bass VI is its own instrument and is almost always listed as such.

Imagine all the things you could do with one of those! Wanna play a guitar solo? Sure Wanna play big chords? Sure Wanna play the guitar part of Ano Bando but likes bass more? Go on! That thing is amazing

u make great vids thank you

Being a big Beatles fan for years, and now a big Cream fan, I've always admired Bass VI's, even if from afar. I knew that getting one would be a pipe dream, mainly due to no lefty versions offered, aside from rare custom shop models. But now that I've found the Eastwood TB64, hope still exists!

This video is so awesome. I think you accidentally cut out part of the beginning though

been waiting for this video for weeks lol,

Nice, merci.

You can easily let the VI become a proper bass instrument if you aren't shy about string gauge. I had a .025-.105 set of flatwounds on mine, it worked great. Only reason I don't have it anymore is because it was a Squier that I could never quite get to play with action as low as some of the Fender Japan and Custom Shop instruments I tried. Of course, now what I've ended up with are a bunch of Bass VI copies that are four string and 34'' scale, which has ended up being the best of both worlds for me. I love the look and sound of the VI, but 4 strings and 34'' scale does give that little bit extra when what you want is bass. So, I went with a "Bass IV" instead.

This is a great video. I'm a bass player, but i have recently started trying to play guitar. Having issues with the smaller scale and playing chords. I have considered a baritone guitar, but many people are saying it's not much better and i should stick with the guitar. You said this is for guitar curious bass players, but still only played it like a bass. I would assume that it's tuned like a guitar so that guitar players would have an easier time, but is it meant for chord playing as well? Could this be played that way? Should it? A 6 string bass is tuned only in 4ths without the weird 5th string deal, but this has it. Very curious to me.

I think what makes it a Bass, or what makes it "not" a bass, is intent. The band Failure has used it (One Fender, one other) both live and in recordings as either a lead instrument or as a bass. In fact, in 1 song, both players are using a like instrument to great effect. One as a bass and the other as the melody / lead instrument. The band Quicksand uses it as the bass in their current recordings and live. It's an instrument with great range.

Jack Bruce played one fingerstyle on Creams first album, 😉. 🖖

Awesome videoi

Fantastic video! How is the VI different than a baritone guitar?

Very interesting video-I learned a lot. I don’t own any bass guitars. I’ve been interested in getting a Bass IV to use for both guitar and for occasional bass parts. Still not sure if that is a good idea for me. Can you use standard guitar amps with the Bass IV? Alternatively, I could get a P bass and a bass amp.

Would love to see different based on the spectral stuff. Rickenbacker please. Lol Also like someone mentioned flats and rounds

how did you have the Bass VI set up (and I guess the other basses too)? Which strings, and which set of pickups/low cut switch configuration as well as the tone knob settings? It has such a cool set of ways to tweak the tone and that should be reflected in the spectrogram. I think that would be a cool video (though probably of interest to a tiny number of Bass VI/baritone geeks)

4:10 [Bass Low E comparisons!]

Good stuff Philip, worth its place in history just for Wichita Lineman if nothing else. Gud Vid

The series/parallel mod from the neck+middle pickups makes a huge difference.

Nice

Don't forget, Bass VI gives you a vibrato bar too. Listen to Pictures of You by the Cure. The lead melody is all Bass VI. It gives a wonderful, round tone to the leads because they are so muted in comparison to a normal guitar. Also, IIRC, wasn't tic-tac bass them playing a bass line on the Bass VI doubling a melodic guitar part on those old country songs?

Super cool and fascinating deep dive on what makes a bass sound like a bass. I want to see someone put lighter strings on the Bass VI and get into some chuggy high gain drop A or drop G riffs.