Erik's "Third Bridge" Bass VI / Baritone Guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Whoah! Who would do something like this to an unsuspecting Jazzmaster body?

Erik explains:

About a year ago you showed my 'plank guitar' on your blog. I have been building some more strange guitars and here are some pictures of the last project. It is a so-called third bridge guitar with baritone neck and Bass VI strings. Those were the only strings I could find with sufficient length. With a circular saw I cut the body in two pieces, add some wood and glued it all together. The extra wood was necessary to get enough length. There's a slight nod in the body to get enough tension on the strings. In the end I have to say: it plays and sound a lot better than I had previously thought!

Greetings, Erik
Groningen, The Netherlands

Thanks Erik! I'm sure the Guitarz readership would love to hear how it sounds. Do you have any sound clips?

G L Wilson

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Possibly unique left-handed Rickenbacker 4005/6 semi-hollow Bass VI

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Andrew K writes:

What we have here is a Rickenbacker 4005. If that was not rare enough already, it is a lefty. Even rarer than that, it is also a Bass VI. Apparently the 4005 was introduced in 1965 and remained in production until 1984. This also applies to the 4005/6 model seen here, although perhaps the 4005 was never a production model as much as a custom model, so lord knows if any were made after the late 60s. It is a guitar very much of its time, appearing in the tiny gap of time between the rise of the humbucker and the fall of clean tones as well as the only time when bass VIs were 'relevant'. Unlike the Fender Bass VI which was a stand-alone design, or the short scale basses turned VIs made by Gibson, this appears to be the full 33 1/2 inch 4000 series bass scale, meaning chords are a distant memory here. The price here is steep, but seemingly justified. I can't say another of these will EVER see the light of day, especially not in Left handed spec.

Other weird 4005 basses to look out for are the 8 string version, the lightshow edition, and the 8 string lightshow edition.

Before I go I'd like to talk about the unfortunate tale of this bass for a second. Given the extortionate cost of the 360 model guitar in the late 60s, we can only imagine the cost of the 4005. This obviously hurt sales, and the lack of any real big names behind the model didn't help. The model is also unique in being an early example of an actual semi-hollow body bass, rather than the mis-named EB2 and violin body hollowbodies. But as 1970 approached, the disastrous pickup placement (on some bass models, the bridge pickup touches the bridge) and hollow body were seen as outdated and the thin sounding pickups were too weak for the in-crowd. By the early 80s they were so utterly worthless that the bassist for one of Steve Albini's groups, and the bassist for the Replacements, Tommy Stinson, were easily able to afford them. The closest shot at fame the bass had was with Mani from the Stone Roses (who later ditched it in favour of the underrated 3000 series bass), and only rare appearances since.

This sad history means what is a very unique design of bass basically languished in obscurity before becoming so valuable no-one can buy them. Ricks are called semi-hollow for want of a better description, but the body top is thicker and a solid piece of wood, routed out from the rear with the neck set under the pick-ups creating a union of centre block and neck rather than the slim tenon joint used on the laminate Gibsons. This basically means the body isn't going to thump like a violin bass or EB2 bass, and is likely to be far more piano like. The only basses with similar construction not custom made are the small-bodied G&L ASAT and the Gibson Midtown bass, both of which have their own tone as well. I honestly think Rick need to reissue this thing, it may have failed first time round, but times have changed, and this bass is primed to be a hit. The world has changed! We're mature enough to realise our stupidity now! We'll burn all the P-Basses if you just put this back in production!

Thanks Andrew, I've been meaning to feature a Rickenbacker 4005 bass for a long time and you managed to find a lefty Bass VI version. Very cool. I've also been meaning for a very long time to mention a really fantastic book, The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom by Paul D. Boyer and published by Hal Leonard. Although you might think that as the book covers a very specific niche subject that it would only appeal to the real fanatics, it is so well written and beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout that I think it would keep ANY guitar enthusiast enraptured for hours, and not just the bass players and/or Rickenbacker enthusiasts.

Here, by the way, is what Paul D. Boyer has to say about the Rickenbacker 4005/6 (page 42):

The 4005 served as a baseboard for some interesting variations. The first of these was the six-string 4005/6. Similar in purpose to Fender's "Fender VI," the instrument  was strung EADGBE, but an octave lower than a standard guitar. Both rounded-top and WB [i.e. non-rounded top "with binding"] versions of the 4005/6 exist, and at least one leftiy4005/6 was made. While the six-string bass was offered on price lists from 1967 to '78, very few were made.

The book also shows a photo of a 4005/6 (very possibly the very same example that we have been looking at here) being examined by David Jones of True Tone Music.

The lefty Rickenbacker 4005/6 shown above is currently being offered for sale by Chicago Music Exchange via Reverb.com and has a Buy It Now price of $18,950.

G L Wilson

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One-off fretless baritone guitar with Kramer headless alu neck

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A fretless baritone / bass VI (depending on the strings you use - with a 78 cm scale, around 30 inches, you have the choice) is a challenging instrument, definitely one I'd love to try - though I'm really not sure I can get something good out of it! 

This one-off was built from a 1980s Kramer Duke short scale bass aluminium neck (with wooden inserts in the back and Ebonol fingerboard), modified for 6 strings, and has separate electronics and outputs for the different active and passive pickups.

Bertram D

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Mathias shows us his minimalist Fender Bass VI to baritone conversion and minimalist Jazzmaster

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Mathias writes:

Longtime (years) reader here. I've put together a minimalist baritone take on the Fender VI, with good results. Tuned A E A D F# B, huge sound, like the bottom of a piano. I use it a lot solo for melodies and chords with a bass drone, it really extends the harmonic range of the guitar. That's a Seymour Duncan '59 straight to output. Custom pickguard by Pickguardian. Including a shot of my similarly minimalist Jazzmaster. I use these with my group Sportsman's Paradise in New York City.

Thanks for sharing, Mathias. As you probably know, I'm a big fan of the Bass VI (although I do like to keep it tuned one octave below regular guitar tuning - I can always use a capo for those "baritone" tunings - but, hey, each to their own). I do like your minimalistic approach though. I never did like guitars with too many control knobs on them (and I see your baritone has none); it's so much better to let your fingers and way in which you play dictate the tone rather than farting around with pickup selector switches, separate tone controls for each pickup, etc. I remember the time I tried one of those Line 6 Variax guitars. There's just TOO MUCH choice and you end auditioning different sounds for ages rather than getting on with the creative stuff. But again, that's just me, I'm sure other people will swear by them.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Jerry Jones Danelectro Longhorn 6-string bass replica circa 1990-93

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's a Jerry Jones 6-string bass, circa 1990-93, based on the original Danelectro Bass VI model as orignally issued in 1956. Jerry Jones guitars are much sought after and are known not to be simply replicas or instruments inspired by the Danelectros of old, but to be improvements on the originals. This lyre-shaped Longhorn - a cousin of the Guitarlin - features a copperburst finish, two lipstick pickups and a 24-fret neck.

Currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,595.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Squier steps up their game with cool new additions to the Vintage Modified series

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Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Telecaster

Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Telecaster with Bigsby

Squier Vintage Modified Cabronita Precision Bass

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass V

Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI

It looks like this is a long-overdue bid for Squier to be taken seriously with these latest guitar and bass offerings, and showing that they are not just about entry-level instruments.

Me, I'm a little peeved that they brought out this new version of the Bass VI which is far more faithful to the original than the Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI released earlier this year. The Squier also retails for under half of what I paid for the Pawn Shop version here in the UK.

I'm also very interested in the Cabronita Tele with Bigsby - at last an affordable Tele... WITH a Bigsby. How cool is that?

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
Please read our photo and content policy.

Guitar review: Fender Pawn Shop Series Bass VI

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Fender's Pawn Shop series are - in their own words - "guitars that never were but should have been". The concept seems to be that these designs are influenced by weird old modified guitars that you might find in a pawn shop. Hence we see different pickup combinations and trem systems and variations on design that you wouldn't expect to see on stock Fender guitars. In some cases, the Fender Pawn Shop guitars go beyond such minor modifications and we see alterations to actual body designs, e.g. the Mustang Special has a re-designed chunkier body shape, the '72 is essentially a Thinline Strat, and the Offset Special is reminiscent of a Thinline Strat with an offset waist and equipped with a Jaguar/Jazzmaster tremolo.

The model that I was really interested in, however, was the Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI. I've been hankering after a Bass VI for years. I used to have a Hohner Hollywood (so-called) Bass VI but its 25.5" scale length meant that you couldn't really tune it down a full octave below a regular guitar, and so I had to make do with it being tuned down to G. That's still a whole lot lower than most baritone guitars which are often tuned to B or C - or A if you're lucky, but it still wasn't "bass" enough and that always really bugged me.

The Pawn Shop Bass VI, like the original, has a 30" scale and so has no such problems with being tuned to E. It differs from the original Fender Bass VI in a number of minor details: most notably it has a JZHB pickup in the bridge position - this does look a lot like a large P90 pickup but my understanding is that it is a double coil version of the Jazzmaster pickup. In the neck and middle positions are a pair of Jaguar pickups. These are all controlled by a Strat-like 5-way switch. It's a disappointment that Fender didn't use the individual pickup on/off switches plus "strangle" switch on a chrome plate as on the classic Bass VI. This doesn't seem so much like a quirky modification, rather a brazen cost-cutting exercise, which is a pity because I think Fender missed a trick here.

There's another chrome plate missing beneath the volume and tone controls and output jack. Here on the Pawn Shop Bass VI the pickguard has been extended to include this area. Other than that, it's a pretty faithful reproduction of the original. The neck is unbound, but then not all the "originals" had bound necks anyway. Interestingly the headstock bears the legend "Fender VI" (as used on the very first Bass VIs rather than the later "Fender Bass VI") with "Electric Bass Guitar" in smaller lettering beneath.

Part of the reason that I wanted a Bass VI was so as to encourage me to play more melodic parts and lead lines, as so often in a band situation I find myself ending up playing rhythm guitar which - although I am happy to do - I want my share of the limelight too. I also have an album to record and I was looking for new "voices" to use in my music, and decided that a Bass VI could be the very thing.

So, how does it play and sound? Well, the first thing that struck me was that it packs a punch as a bass. Some uninformed people insist on calling the Fender Bass VI a "baritone guitar". Believe me, it is nothing of the sort; indeed I'd go so far as to say that to call it a baritone guitar is an insult. It's as much of a bass as a Fender Precision or a Jazz Bass. Other people say that it's a "bass for guitarists", but I don't think this is so much of an insult - there's a lot of truth in the statement. It has six strings, it is tuned like a guitar only an octave lower, and the string spacing is like that of a guitar. It even has a tremolo (but I'll talk about that some more later). A bassist friend of mine tried out the Fender Bass VI and commented, "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to play it. Do I play it as a bass or as a guitar?"

For the most part I do play it like a guitar, although I expect I'll end up using it for bass lines too. The one thing that took a little getting used to was the extra stretch on a 30" scale. It didn't feel too bad, but when I changed back to playing a regular scale guitar again, that felt really awkward. However, having been changing back and forth between guitar and Bass VI for a month now I have gotten used to the differences in scale length.

It is possible to play guitar chords, but open chords can sound muddy; you wouldn't really want to strum on a Bass VI, but careful arpeggiation of chords can be quite effective. Barre chords are possible too - they sound better the higher up the neck you travel. I've even played the Bass VI using a capo on certain songs so as to put me into baritone guitar range - that has proven to be quite effective.

Initially I was underwhelmed by the JZHB pickup in the bridge position. My initial reaction was that Fender had put it there just for the sake of making it different so as to justify the "Pawn Shop" label. However, I was initially using my guitar amp but after a band performance during which the poor amp struggled, I got myself a most excellent bass amp from Roland's Cube series which complements the Bass VI beautifully. Prior to that I only ever used the bridge JZHB pickup in conjunction with the middle Jaguar pickup through the guitar amp because I thought that on its own it sounded thin and weedy, I have since found that through a proper bass amp it gives me a really usable treble sound that cuts through nicely when playing in a band situation that includes another bass player.

When playing with another bass player, I've been very conscious that I need to dial in a different bass sound so that we don't clash or else end up in one big bassy muddle. Using the JZHB pickup helps cut through, but also choice of effects helps too - and thankfully my Roland Bass Cube has a whole load on-board.

The Bass VI is an instrument crying out to be played with a chorus effect. It really does bring the sound to life. I've also found it best to scoop the middle out on the EQ on the amp, but obviously one can experiment and find out what works best for them.

I love also the sound of the Jaguar pickups, although I think perhaps I would use them more when recording rather than when in a live situation when I want my sound to be distinct from that of the (4-string) bass player in the band.

Now the tremolo... it's the same kind of Fender trem as featured on their Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars. That, for me, should be a good thing as I've never got on with Strat-style tremolos. However, with this particular instrument I cannot get the trem arm to snap into place. I really don't want to force it into position and possibly break something. I've tried asking Fender in the UK what I might be doing wrong and so far have not received any response. I did wonder if the shop may have given me the wrong arm, but seeing as it was a shop specialising in bass guitars that is rather unlikely (the only other Bass VI they had was the Eastwood Sidejack and I remember that had its trem arm installed - also that's another Fender Jaguar/Jazzmaster type system). [EDIT - 16 April 2013: Today I received a parcel from Fender containing a threaded tremolo arm for Bass VI. It fits and operates percectly. Yes, it does seem that the shop gave me the wrong arm in the first place. A big "thank you" to Michael at Fender Customer Relations for sorting this out for me.]

I've seen the opinion expressed elsewhere thay the tremolo on the Bass VI is no great shakes anyway and is more of a gimmick than a usable trem, but I would like the opportunity to find out for myself. (Earlier I mentioned the Hohner Bass VI I used to own. That had a Wilkinson trem that was very effective in use).

Having seen comments on forums such as offsetguitars.com it seems that some people are buying these Pawn Shop Bass VIs and modifying them to look and function like the originals, which is an irony seeing as the whole point of the Pawn Shop series was to present ready "modified" guitars. I think Fender should have done a straight reissue of the Bass VI rather than a Pawn Shop version. A little bit of chrome shouldn't hike the price up very much.

I know it sounds like I have a few niggles with the Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI, but despite the unnecessary Pawn Shop accoutrements, despite the mix-up with the trem on my example, I do love my Bass VI dearly. I feel as if it might be the perfect instrument for me and can honestly say I haven't been as excited about a guitar purchase as much since I bought my first ever Fender Stratocaster circa 1987.

The Bass VI is a Made in Mexico Fender, which is something a few years back might have caused some to view it with concern, but Fender Mexico have really got their act together now and this is a quality-made and beautifully-finished instrument. Retails in the UK at prices between £601 and £755 so shop around. Colours are black with tortoiseshell pickguard (i.e. mine), sunburst with tortoiseshell pickguard, and candy apple red with matching headstock and white pickguard.

Just DON'T call it a baritone guitar, OK?

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!
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Fender reissues the Super-Sonic as part of its Pawn Shop series

guitarz.blogspot.com:

The new Super-Sonic now has the Fender logo on its upside-down head rather than the Squier logo, but of course the irony is that the Squier version would have been Made in Japan rather than in Mexico, which is where I believe the Pawn Shop Fenders are now being produced, and of course as every level-headed Fender fan should know by now the Japanese-built Fenders really are the dog's what-nots. Nevertheless, it's nice to see it back; it's one of the Fender designs that I really enjoyed and of course is based on a flipped Jazzmaster/Jaguar outline. It's like a left-handed guitar built for the right-handed. Although, having said that I recall seeing Gruff Rhys from Super Furry Animals playing one several years ago, and he always plays left-handed but tends to use right-handed guitars because he keeps the stringing the same as for a righty.

The Pawn Shop series from Fender supposedly "mashes up" old Fender designs, although the only differences I can see with the new Super-Sonic are that BOTH pickups are angled rather than just the bridge unit and that it comes in a nicer range of finishes.

For those wanting more info, here is the full press release from Fender:

FENDER® INTRODUCES NEW ADDITIONS TO PAWN SHOP SERIES

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (January 10, 2013) — The Pawn Shop Series introduces yet another pleasingly unconventional assortment of "guitars that never were but should have been," in which new models take the stage and long-vanished classics return in modern form. Fender is excited to welcome four new, out-of-the-ordinary models to its innovative and popular Pawn Shop series–the Pawn Shop ’70s Strat® Deluxe, Pawn Shop Super-Sonic™, Pawn Shop Mustang® Bass and Pawn Shop Bass VI.

The Pawn Shop ’70s Strat Deluxe is one of the most unusual takes ever on the world’s most archetypal electric guitar, with a pronounced 1970s style and vibe. For tonal versatility, its alder body houses a Telecaster® single-coil neck pickup and an Enforcer™ humbucking bridge pickup with a smaller Wide Range chrome cover. Other distinctive features include a "U"-shaped maple neck with 22 medium jumbo frets, 9.5" radius and "bullet" truss rod; four-ply white pearloid pickguard; three-way blade pickup switching and two Jazz Bass® control knobs (master volume, master tone); ’70s-style hard-tail Stratocaster® bridge and vintage-style "F" tuners. Available in 2-Color Sunburst, Black and Vintage White.

The Pawn Shop Super-Sonic model resurrects an unusual, short-lived and increasingly collectible ancestor of the late 1990s, the Squier® Vista Series Super-Sonic guitar. Very little about the Pawn Shop Super-Sonic isn’t highly distinctive—from its diminutive offset "reverse" body (resembling an upside-down Jazzmaster® or Jaguar®) and upside-down headstock to its short scale (24") and dual canted Atomic™ humbucking pickups (only the bridge pickup was canted on the original Squier models). Then there are the controls--neck pickup volume and bridge pickup volume only (no tone control), which are reverse-wired like the Squier original, meaning that the bridge pickup volume is the one closest to the bridge and the neck pickup volume is the one farthest from it. Other features include a "C"-shaped maple neck with "bullet"-style truss rod, 9.5"-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets, three-way toggle pickup switching and dual Jazz Bass control knobs, three-ply parchment pickguard, vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners and new Super-Sonic four-bolt neck plate. Available in Apple Red Flake, Dark Gun Metal Flake and Sunfire Orange Flake.

With its racing stripe (305) and short scale (30"), the new Pawn Shop Mustang Bass authentically evokes the original "competition" Mustang Bass of the early 1970s. This time, though, you get the huge bass sound of a single humbucking pickup (the original had a single-coil pickup) and several classic Fender finish options. Other features include an alder body, "C"-shaped maple neck, 9.5"-radius rosewood fingerboard with 19 medium jumbo frets, four-ply white pearloid pickguard, two Jazz Bass control knobs (volume, tone) and a string-through-body bridge with four adjustable saddles. Available in 3-color Sunburst, Candy Apple Red with Olympic White stripe and Olympic White with stripe.

The Pawn Shop Bass VI marks the return of a historic Fender instrument, the Fender Bass Guitar (also known as the Bass VI). This updated version of the baritone classic features the short scale (30") and is armed with Special Design Hot Jaguar single-coil neck and middle pickups and a powerful JZHB humbucking bridge pickup. Other features include a "C"-shaped maple neck with 9.5"-radius rosewood fingerboard and 21 medium jumbo frets, five-way pickup switching, four-ply tortoiseshell pickguard (3-Color Sunburst and Black models) and three-ply parchment pickguard (Candy Apple Red model), two Jazz Bass control knobs (master volume, master tone), vintage-style adjustable six-saddle bridge with "floating" tremolo tailpiece, and vintage-style tuners. Available in 3-Color Sunburst, Black and Candy Apple Red.

For more information, go to www.fender.com.

It's nice also to see a non-Custom Shop reissue of the Bass VI at last, although it's a shame that the individual pickup on/off switches and strangle switch have been replaced by a bog-standard Strat-like 5-position selector.

G L Wilson

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!

Shergold Marathon Bass VI left-handed 6-string bass circa 1986

guitarz.blogspot.com:

We looked at a Shergold Marathon Bass VI earlier in the year, but the example now pictured here is even rarer simply because it is a left-handed version. I'm particularly pleased to feature this instrument on the blog as I am always on the lookout for interesting guitars and basses that might appeal to our left-handed friends. This is definitely "Left-handed guitar of the week", I'd say "...of the month" even, and a contender for "of the year"!

The Marathon Bass VI features a single pickup - a humbucker with 16 pole pieces which can be switched between humbucker, single coil and phased options, thus allowing for a whole palette of tones. (Whilst we're looking at this instrument, I do feel the need to rant once again how much I loathe people referring to these Bass VI guitars as "baritone guitars". They are NOT baritone guitars; baritone guitars are not tuned as low as a bass's low E, but instead occupy a tuning somewhere in-between a traditional guitar and a traditional bass. The mix up in the nomenclature comes from people not wanting to confuse a Bass VI with the modern 6-string bass which has a different tuning and string spacing; however these people are just creating confusion elsewhere instead. Prats.)

This left-handed Shergold Marathon Bass VI is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $2,799. That's not quite as outrageously priced as the last (right handed) example we looked at ($4,500), but I'm still amazed that these basses can command even half of that. I'm sure they are quality instruments, all I'm getting at is that originally they were priced quite moderately; you'd get a lot of guitar for your money whereas now it's a case of a LOT of money for your guitar.

More photos here.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - 10 years and counting!

Burns of London Custom Shop prototype Jet Harris Barracuda Bass VI

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The eBay UK seller claims that this is:

"...the prototype for Jet Harris Barracuda six string bass. It was handmade at Burns London custom shop and is a one off. I bought it from Barry Gibson's personal collection. It is absolutely immaculate condition with case strap and spare strings..." 

We previously looked at the production version here. Note how this prototype has the Burns Rez-O-Tube bridge and vibrato, unlike the example we previously looked at, and which surely must be much more useful on a guitar of this type.

This guitar is currently listed on eBay UK with a starting price of £1,500.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Vintage & Rare Guitar of the Week: 1965 Koontz tripleneck 12-string guitar, 6-sting guitar and 6-string bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:  

I'll allow the extensive description on Vintage & Rare to give you the necessary info about the above-pictured beast:

This is a one-of-a-kind Custom Triple-neck guitar was specially built by New York Luthier Sam Koontz between 1965 and 1967. Unique triple-cutaway, multi-bound flamed maple, chambered body with 'Florentine' cutaways measuring 19.50 inches in width and just under 1 3/4 inches in thickness. This 'monster' guitar weighs a healthy 19.20 lbs (definitely not for a six-stone weakling) and has three (bolt-on) one-piece mahogany necks. All three necks have individual Grover 'Rotomatic' tuners with kidney-shaped metal buttons. The three headstocks are all multi-bound with black laminate faces. The six-string guitar (in the center) has "Koontz" and a nine-piece decoration all inlaid in mother-of-pearl. The twelve-string and the six-string bass necks just feature the nine-piece decoration. All three necks have 'dome' shaped black plastic truss-rod covers, each with two screws.

Each neck is secured by four screws. The six-string neck has a nut width of just under 1 5/8 inches and a medium-to-thick profile. The twelve-string neck has a nut width of 1 13/16 inches and a medium-to-thick profile. The six-string bass neck has a nut width of just under 1 15/16 inches and again a medium-to-thick profile. Each of the necks has a bound ebony fretboard with pearl 'split-block' position markers. The six and the twelve-string have a 'zero' + 20 jumbo frets and a scale length of 24 3/4 inches. The six-string bass has a 'zero' + 15 jumbo frets and a scale length of 34.00 inches.

Each neck has a specially wound Koontz pickup in the neck position. The six and twelve string pickups with six individual pole-pieces, the six-string bass pickup with a single 'blade' bar. Six controls (three volume and three tone) all mounted on a metal plate behind the Bigsby tailpiece on the six-string guitar. 'Rickenbacker' style seven-sided black plastic control knobs with plain metal tops. Three-way neck selector switch mounted between the six-string and the six-string bass. Three-way 'bass-boost' switch on the six-string bass. Two separate four-layer tortoiseshell over white plastic pickguards, each secured by two screws. All three guitars have specific Koontz bridges with individually adjustable metal saddles and metal covers.

The six-string guitar (in the center) has a 'Horseshoe' style Bigsby vibrato tailpiece unit. The six-string bass and the twelve string guitar have specific metal fixed tailpieces, each secured by five screws and each with a metal cover (secured by four screws). There are some areas of wear on the body, especially on the back of the six-string where there is a fairly large area of surface loss. There are also some small areas of surface loss on the sides of the body. The top and back of the body are a wonderful three-tone sunburst with quite dazzling 'flame'. 

I have to wonder, who would ever need such a guitar? The only realistic scenario would be when one person needs to perform a song which requires them to play 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar and bass VI all within the same song. I can't imagine that scenario arises very often, and would probably require a song to be especially written for the instrument. Nevertheless, it's an interesting beastie and worthy of inclusion here on Guitarz.

It could be yours for $13,500 via Vintage & Rare.

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Shergold Marathon 6-string bass from 1978

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Yesterday we looked at a vintage guitar made by an almost forgotten American manufacturer, and today I want to show you a guitar from an almost forgotten British manufacturer.

We've looked at Shergold guitars before here on Guitarz, plus related brands Hayman, Ned Callan and Shaftsbury. Of course there's a Burns connection too, as Shergold was founded in 1967 by Jack Golder and Norman Houlder who were both former Burns London employees; also in the mid 1970s Shergold would go on to produce guitar bodies and necks for the re-launched Burns UK brand with guitars such as the Flyte.

Shergold were always a forward-looking company, keen on innovation. They are famous for their "detachable" doubleneck guitars (as famously used by Mike Rutherford of Genesis), plus guitars with modular electronics which can be swapped and changed dependent on the sound desired. They were also the ONLY manufacturer (that I am aware of) who were producing a 6-string bass back in the 1970s. This was after Fender had given up on the Fender Bass VI and a LONG time before the advent of modern 5- and 6-string basses in the mid 1980s.

The Shergold Marathon 6-string bass pictured here is currently being offered for sale on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $4,500. I can't help but feel that this price is a little steep, but maybe that's because I remember when I was working in Summertown in Oxford, there was a music shop near the office that had a Shergold 6-string bass in white marked at £199 and it was in there for ages; obviously people weren't rushing to buy it. I thought it was cool, but it was still too expensive for me at the time. This would have been in the late 1980s. Only a few years earlier, Peter Hook of New Order had used a similar Shergold 6-string bass on "Blue Monday".

Stylewise, it is somewhere between the old-fashioned Bass VI (tuned as a standard guitar but an octave down) and the modern 6-string bass (which typically have a low B string and a high C). I believe the Shergold opted for the one-octave down from guitar tuning, but the neck and string spacing is wider than you'd find on a vintage Bass VI (Fender, Danelectro) - definitely more bass-like than guitar-like; even the tuners are large-buttoned dedicated "no doubt about it" bass tuners.

Whilst I'm sure the Shergold Marathon 6-string bass has gone up in value since the example I saw for sale in the late 1980s, I find it hard to believe that it's remotely in the area that this eBay seller is asking for. It's a very cool bass, but I think it's another one to file under "Optimistic sellers".

G L Wilson

© 2012, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

1960s vintage Japanese Givtone "baritone" guitar

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here we have a vintage Japanese Givtone "baritone" guitar with three of the now legendary gold foil pickups beloved of the likes of Ry Cooder.

The Givtone name is almost certainly a department store/catalogue brandname. The seller rather lazily refers to this guitar as probably being a Teisco as if they were the only producers of Japanese electric guitars in that period. I'd say it looks more like a Zen-on/Zenon or Morales, maybe even Kawai or Guyatone, although I concede that the neck does look Teisco-like with its very narrow fretwire (maybe just a fashion of the era), but other Teisco trademarks such as offset block fingerboard inlays and striped metal pickguard are absent.

As, to it being a baritone, I feel this is unlikely. The seller states that:

Guitars like this, with a 26.5" scale, are usually tuned to Low "B" in between a guitar and bass but it'll hold up if you want to go lower or even higher.

Well, as I've said before, my understanding is that "baritone" tunings somewhere between a guitar and bass are a relatively modern concept. On a vintage guitar such as this, they'd more likely be tuned down a whole octave a la Bass VI. However, for a Bass VI, I would have expected a slightly longer scale length, maybe 28" or preferably 30". I have to wonder if this was simply a long scale guitar intended for regular tuning?

By the way, the earliest reference I can find to baritone guitars being used is in the Wikipedia entry for the Fender Bass VI, which says:

In the late 1960s some artists used heavy guitar strings with resp. length and tuned the Bass VI to a baritone guitar from 'B to b' or 'A to a'. With this 'down and dirty' sound the Fender VI enriched 'Indo-Rock' bands with their unique Rock & Roll sound. One of those players was Reggy Tielman from the 'Tielman Brothers'.

Note that whilst these guys were using baritone tunings, the instrument they were using was built as a Bass VI.

Just to confuse things, the Wikipedia entry for "baritone guitar", states that:

The Danelectro Company was the first to introduce the electric baritone guitar in the late 1950s, and the instrument began to appear in surf music, as well as background music for many movie soundtracks, especially spaghetti westerns.

The confusion comes in here because the modern name "baritone guitar" is being applied retrospectively to the Bass VI, the term being incorrectly used here so as to distinguish the original six-string bass from the modern variant typically with a low B string and high C string, 34" scale and proper bass string spacing.

But maybe you know different and there was an earlier precedent for dedicated baritone guitars being made in the 1960s. Because of the mixed terminology being used it is very difficult to find out the absolute truth of the matter.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Fender Bass VI, sunburst finish, circa 1962-63

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Those of you who fell in love with the candy apple red Fender Bass VI in our previous post here on Guitarz but didn't fancy the eBay Buy It Now price of $15,995, might want to consider this sunburst version of similar vintage and condition. This Bass VI was listed on eBay UK today with a starting price of £0.01 and with the bidding currently at £500 as I type this. I don't expect that it'll cheaply but I'd wager it'll go for a lot less than the asking price on the candy apple red example.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Fender Bass VI, candy apple red, 1963 vintage

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's an original Fender Bass VI in glorious condition - like a natural relic - but the candy apple red finish must be as vibrant as when the guitar was new in 1963. The Bass VI first went into production just two years before, in 1961, although it wasn't the first six-string bass; Danelectro got there first in 1956. The body design is somewhere between a Stratocaster and a Jazzmaster. The Jaguar, with which the Bass VI shares similar electonics, wasn't introduced until 1962.

With a 30" scale, it was designed to be tuned as per a regular six-string guitar but tuned down an entire octave so that it covered the bass range. The result was a hybrid guitar/bass - a bass in guitar format. It even came with a tremolo arm.

The four switches on this example are three pickup on/off selectors plus a "strangle" switch for bass cut.

This particular example is currently being offered for sale with a whopping Buy It Now price of $15,995.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Danelectro Convertible baritone/6-string bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Here's what the seller is describing as the "1st ever Danelectro Convertable Baritone/6 string bass" although, (a) it's actually spelt "Convertible", and (b) how do they know it's the first when anyone with access to the same parts could create the same Frankenstein job?

This hybrid has been put together using 1990s made in Korea EVETS Corporation Dano parts, most of which are pretty interchangable. (For years I had a 56 'U2 that I had assembled from the neck and body of separate guitars. The colours didn't match but I liked it.)

I can't imagine the intonation on that simple floating bridge is brilliant. Those Convertible bridges are just a piece of rosewood with three inserts for height adjustment and a piece of fretwire set into the top!

Anyway, with a Buy It Now price of $875, I think this is another case of optimistic eBayer!

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

You can never have too many necks

guitarz.blogspot.com:


I bet you thought was going to be about one of those Rick Nielson multi-neck Cheap Shot guitars eh? I should coco! This is something I haven't come across too often before. Fender is a company I don't readily associate with doubleneck guitars. In fact I don't think I've knowingly seen any before - not that I've been looking, I have to add. The only Fenderish doubleneck I've happened across recently is the handsome, though not actually from Fender per se, creation from the skilful hands of young Bertram (with a little help from one of his woodworking associates). We have a fondness for the Fender Bass VI here in Guitarzland so it's an even bigger delight to find one Siametically co-joined to another of our favourites - the Fender Jazzmaster.

It's on the Austrian eBay site and I don't speak German. Maybe Bertram can help out with some of the details. As far as I can make out, it's a newish - 2010 - model, one-off, masterbuilt by Dennis Galuska (who's probably famous - sorry Den, not terrible au fait with the world of Lutherie) for the Frankfurt Musicmesse 2010 (that's a bit unfortunate isn't it, Musicmesse? Not really encouraging, eh? Probably means fair, exhibition or show or something similar. Maybe we should let them know. Might improve attendance a bit).

By the way, the body is lightweight ash with maple necks and rosewood fingerboards with Nitrocellulose lacquer - NOS (I thought that meant New Old Stock. Probably something else in German).

Amazingly enough (to me at least) it seems Yngwie Malmsteen also played a Fender double-neck 12/6 (probably very fast and very proficiently). That sounded a bit sarcastic didn't it? At least he's not Steve Vai. No, I didn't mean it. OK, YM isn't really my cup of tea, I'll admit, but until this week I'd have said the same about Steve Vai. Until... I Youtubed some of his performances and was a little surprised. Maybe it's a big act, I don't know, but he seems a nice guy, a great showman, a big ham, doesn't take himself too seriously (for a rock star) and plays with a ferocious passion. I'm not gonna rush out and buy his back catalogue but I don't mind anyone knowing I now have one of his tracks on my iPod - the Crazy Horses/Edgar Winter tinged-one-riff-all-the-way-through "Bad Horsie". It's only Rock N Roll etc... Stupid faces and all.

Anyway, Happy New Year to all. Taken my own sweet time to get back into second gear this year, sorry all.

David in Barcelona where the weather isn't too bad although it's a bit soon for the beach.

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Burns Barracuda Baritone Guitar or VI string bass

guitarz.blogspot.com:

Well, talking of Burns, this is a coincidence. I was browsing eBay España just this morning and came across a Burns Barracuda VI string bass or baritone guitar. I'd not heard of it before and I'm in two minds about it. There are a lot of features I like about it but I am a big fan of Burns's turned aluminium knobs and I'd love to see this kitted out with those. These knobs just look too cheap.

David in Barcelona

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Conrad/Crown Bass VI (or baritone guitar if you prefer)

guitarz.blogspot.com:

One of the many things I've been learning from the years of compiling this blog is that there were a lot more companies producing Bass VI guitars in the 1960s than just Fender and Danelectro.

This particular Japanese-made example from 1965 bears the Crown brand insignia on the headstock, although the seller (lawman-mike - who certainly seems to know his stuff) tells us that it is a Conrad. It has a 27" scale length, four pickups with attendant rocker switches, a whammy bar (which looks to be all present and correct, and big pointy body horns that you might expect to see on a Burns.

He does, however, refer to it as a baritone guitar and says that: "They are tuned B to B instead of E to E". Well, that's all dependent on the strings you use. It almost certainly would have been strung E to E originally. (Unless you know differently.)

G L Wilson

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!

Jet Harris plays Fender Bass VI

guitarz.blogspot.com

We've been often showing baritone guitars and short scale 6-string basses on this blog - really exciting instruments I must say (I have a Dan'o baritone for a few months now and I start to figure out what to get out of it!)

For people of my generation, the Fender Bass VI is mostly the unique sound of the Cure in 1981, but it's not bad to hear how it was used in the early 60s when it was released. Jet Harris was the bassist of the Shadows (the first one to use an electric bass in the UK - a Framus one, yes, a German guitar) then had a short and fulgurant solo carrier. He's playing here on his Bass VI the theme of the Man with the  Golden Arm - a brilliant and catchy song.  

bertram

Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!