The Last Bass Outpost

I've had a few people ask me that before. The only thing I can work out is that people are so used to hearing about Geddy Lee's bass that the pearloid block ones  have been less noticed.  I have seen/played a couple of other early 70's Jazz basses with pearl blocks and the guy I bought this one off back in 1979 was the original owner. I'm still in contact with him and  he said he bought it here in Australia new in 1973.

Over the years I have contacted Fender asking questions and the most common response has been that in that era a lot of the parts (Necks/Back Plates, etc) were kept in drums or bins and sometimes the dates on different parts where quite different.

The serial number should give you a definite answer. What kind of headstock logo does it have? The TV type ot block font? Also, if Fender were using old parts, then a late black block neck in the pearl block era is possible, but not vice versa, because the black blocks predated the pearl inlays in maple neck J's. But as we all know, with Fender, never say never!

I'm a Gibson guy so I don't know if it is a A, B,C neck

Measure the nut width: A = 1 1/2", B = 1 5/8", C = 1 3/4". No C necks in the 70's so this is either the standard (for a P) B neck or the more rare A width.

Nice bass but shouldn't a '72 have black blocks?

"The seller ended this listing early because of an error in the listing."

The system of the bridge of my '64 Burns seems to work the same as the bridge pictures above. One proble. If you are putting on and tuning new strings, the 'saddles' ofcourse move sideways over the screw thread, and the string spacing changes:) In the end I have four strings with three different spacings between them   Very irritating. I have to roll the saddles a bit to the side and hope they don't move to much by the sliding string.

Not a problem with the ol' Gretsch... First of all I never change strings  and even if I did, 44 years of corrosion ensure that it takes more than just changing strings to move those ring saddles sideways.

$7,777 BIN!

Roger Glover's Ric tone on Pictures of Home.

Since we're posting youtube links... this one was posted on the FDP today (solos at 1:30 and 2:36):

I owned two - a MIJ bass VI reissue, and a 1960 Danelectro shorthorn 6 string ("tic tac bass"), both 30" scale. At first I played them a lot but when the novelty wore off, and I realized they don't get played at all, I sold both.

The Fender VI was far better than the Dano. Although the Fender is shaped like a guitar and feels like a guitar, it can sound like a standard bass. The Dano was more like a low-pitched guitar.

In my experience, the first thing you should do when you buy a Fender VI is dump the stock roundwound strings and get a set of LaBella flats:

http://www.juststrings.com/lab-767-6f.html



By the way, the black VI in the first post is from the first year of production, when it had the pickup surrounds and 3 on-off switches. Later versions had Jag pickups and a 4th switch (bass cut "baritone switch").