new Bass VI reissue in the US?!!

hieronymous · December 08, 2012, 11:17:17 AM

As some of you may know, I am a Bass VI aficionado - not in terms of knowledge, I just love them! The only one I have ever played is my CIJ reissue from the batch they released around '96. Fender Japan has re-reissued them, this time in more colors - in addition to the 3-tone sunburst, they also have candy apple red and vintage white. I saw a few of them in stores when I went to Japan back in June of this year, but didn't have the funds available to grab one.

Well, now it looks like they are becoming available here! The Music Zoo has the white one. The wording is interesting - in the description it says, "Unless you live in the right place in the world, or scour the Internet looking for one, you're not going to find many stateside; a Fender Made in Japan Bass VI." But the title calls it the Fender Classic Series Bass VI. It looks like an official US release, though it's not listed on the Fender website yet.

drbassman · December 10, 2012, 06:37:57 AM

Very cool, I'm probably only one of a few a folks here who want one!!! In white too! I'll have to call the HOG today and see if they can get one for me.

stiles72 · December 10, 2012, 09:18:35 AM

I've ordered some different Fender Japan basses that were not available here in the US direct from Ishibashi. Great customer service and no hassels with international shipping. http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/eng/

drbassman · December 10, 2012, 09:36:30 AM

Quote from: stiles72 on December 10, 2012, 09:18:35 AM
I've ordered some different Fender Japan basses that were not available here in the US direct from Ishibashi. Great customer service and no hassels with international shipping. http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/eng/

I ordered a couple from them a few years ago and it worked out really well. Are they still shipping to the US? I thought I had heard they weren't doing that any more.

Dave W · December 10, 2012, 09:41:49 AM

Ishibashi is well known among Japanese Fender fans. Harry's point was that an MIJ version of the Bass VI is apparently now officially available in the US.

drbassman · December 10, 2012, 10:27:51 AM

Quote from: Dave W on December 10, 2012, 09:41:49 AM
Ishibashi is well known among Japanese Fender fans. Harry's point was that an MIJ version of the Bass VI is apparently now officially available in the US.

I know, but the discussion veered into the direct order route. I did call Curt at the HOG about it and he was surprised since he hadn't heard anything about it and the Fender rep was just there the other day. Ooops!

drbassman · December 10, 2012, 10:33:53 AM

Well, if the bass is available in the US, no one seems to know about it. I checked all of the big online sellers and none, except the Zoo, have one. Again, nothing on the Fender site either. So, it's still fuzzy regarding its US status.

hieronymous · December 10, 2012, 03:46:19 PM

Quote from: stiles72 on December 10, 2012, 09:18:35 AM
I've ordered some different Fender Japan basses that were not available here in the US direct from Ishibashi. Great customer service and no hassels with international shipping. http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/eng/

I thought that a few years ago the Japanese retailers like Ishibashi were requested by Fender USA to stop selling unauthorized Fender Japan stuff to the US. It could have changed since then, but looking at the website they are only pushing used Fender Japan stuff.

Quote from: drbassman on December 10, 2012, 10:33:53 AM
Well, if the bass is available in the US, no one seems to know about it. I checked all of the big online sellers and none, except the Zoo, have one. Again, nothing on the Fender site either. So, it's still fuzzy regarding its US status.

Isn't this part of the fun?

I hope you do end up with one - I enjoy my '96, even though it has its issues...

hieronymous · December 10, 2012, 06:09:00 PM

It was a beautiful sunny day here in the SF Bay Area - 65 degrees! So I thought I would snap some pics to feed the VI GAS!

Often said that these were made in '95, I always wondered if mine was a '96 due to the sticker on the back of the headstock...

Now if you want to kill some of the GAS, I can list out some of the problems I have with mine!

drbassman · December 11, 2012, 10:04:21 AM

Do tell!!! What are the warts you've found on yours?

Highlander · December 11, 2012, 02:01:44 PM

Quote from: hieronymous on December 10, 2012, 06:09:00 PM
... So I thought I would snap some pics to feed the VI GAS!

Harry...! Shame on you...

ilan · December 11, 2012, 03:01:58 PM

I had a MIJ '96 like that. They had tort guards... Did you replace the guard? Sure looks nice with the b/w/b.

hieronymous · December 11, 2012, 06:52:08 PM

Quote from: drbassman on December 11, 2012, 10:04:21 AM
Do tell!!! What are the warts you've found on yours?

The worst part is the bridge. In order to intonate the low E properly, you have to have the saddle all the way back, but then the screw tilts up and interferes with the string movement!

I finally figured out that I can pull the bridge towards the nut and it shifts to where it is less tilted and it works fine. I think it's related to the way the tremolo unit works. Supposedly I should be able to set the tremolo so it won't move (there's a little screw) but I can't get it to work. One big question is whether the new ones have the same bridge or a more authentic Bass VI bridge - apparently the one on the '90s ones are Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridges?

Quote from: ilan on December 11, 2012, 03:01:58 PM
I had a MIJ '96 like that. They had tort guards... Did you replace the guard? Sure looks nice with the b/w/b.

The tort guard it came with was HORRIBLE! Here it is with the original guard:

You can kind of see a splotch of yellow, and up close it looks like a badly printed image. I had Chandler make a replacement, but it didn't fit at all! So I had someone else - I think the guy who does the Rickenbacker stuff - that one didn't fit completely - had to file the holes the the bridge posts go through, and the screws around the switches didn't match up, but at least I could get it on!

eb2 · December 12, 2012, 11:50:52 PM

I had a 62 years back, and it was a lot of fun but I sold it off when I need some cash. I don't entirely regret it, but the MIJ ones back 15 years ago were fairly affordable at the time. So, I might pick one of these up. Eventually they will probably make a 62/strat pup version, or a block inlay version too.

drbassman · December 13, 2012, 05:45:01 AM

I found out the one at Music Zoo was a special run. A batch of sunbursts are due next year. Not a bad price, but I have a project on hold to build a Bass VI clone anyway. So, what the heck!