Members Doctor Morbius Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 I met Cratz2 for for lunch yesterday. Afterward we went to GC and Sam Ash. Neither of us saw anything too interesting, but on our way out I saw something hanging on the wall behind the front desk at Sam Ash. At first I couldn't make it out. I thought it could have been a Fender Marauder copy by Bilt Guitars or something like that. As I got closer I could see it was an Actual Fender Bass VI in Surf Green built by the Fender Custom Shop. I must have looked like this ... The staff took it off the wall and handed it to me and after very little convincing I took it over to where they had some Silverface Twin Reverbs and plugged it in. Oh man, what toanz! After a few minutes a sales guy brought over the case just to taunt me more. Then he hinted that they take trades and my mind went into overtime trying to figure out if I could get this without breaking the bank. However, with a $3200 price tag I just couldn't justify the purchase. That's four times what I have into my best playing Strat. They've only had it for two weeks and one of those was due to police hold. I'm sure it'll sell quickly. Cratz2 took a few pics with his cell phone. Hopefully he'll post them later. What a nice looking and great playing guitar! Here's the full description: Used Fender Custom Shop Bass VI from the early 2000's. Nitro Surf Green finish with matching headstock! Quartersawn neck. Neck had a nice chunky feel to it. Minimal wear. Some buckle rash on the back. Case was in mint condition. All case candy present. Sounded nothing short of fantastic. Three Jaguar pickups. Bass cut circuitry. Jaguar tremolo unit with bridge mute. New strings. $3200 price tag. Hopefully, something like this will find its way into the herd in the future. I've estimated it would cost about $1300 for a Warmoth Build with actual Fender hardware so that's a possibility. Also, Fender Japan has reissued the Bass VI for 2012, but they are close to $2000 after shipping and import duty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HP Hovercraft Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 $3200 seems a bit much for a used one. New, they're $3600 ($4000 if relic'd). The new Japanese ones are roughly $1600 after import duty, but have no hard case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 So it was a copy of the Spinal Tap guitar that can't even be looked at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hard Truth Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 If you want an affordable Bass VI type instrument check out the Schecter Hellcat VI for $600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 I have a Hellcat, the new one looks different then the one above. It satisfies my Bass VI needs, but it's not as cool as a Bass VI. I had a Japanese reissue in the 90s that I sold a while back. They're cool instruments but the uses for me are limited, so I'm not dropping big money on one any time soon. I wish Fender would use their lower lines to release guitars with limited appeal (Electric XII, Bass VI, etc...) rather then more Tele, Strat, Jag and JM guitars but I'm in the minority about that I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members schoolie1 Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 What a cool, cool guitar! I'd be playing spaghetti western music all day, if I owned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slushpup96 Posted April 10, 2012 Members Share Posted April 10, 2012 New, they're $3600 ($4000 if relic'd). lol Doing a Warmoth build seems cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted April 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 I have a Hellcat, the new one looks different then the one above. It satisfies my Bass VI needs, but it's not as cool as a Bass VI. I had a Japanese reissue in the 90s that I sold a while back. They're cool instruments but the uses for me are limited, so I'm not dropping big money on one any time soon.I wish Fender would use their lower lines to release guitars with limited appeal (Electric XII, Bass VI, etc...) rather then more Tele, Strat, Jag and JM guitars but I'm in the minority about that I suppose.The newer Hellcat VI is definitely a contender. It has actual SD Jaguar pickups too. Not Duncan Designed. Just wish it had a Jag trem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HP Hovercraft Posted April 11, 2012 Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 I've not seen them at those prices. Those new price is from The Music Zoo. They're the only dealer I can think of that orders them in quantity, but I recently saw a new one on eBay with a Buy It Now of $3200. The Japanese price is from a guy on OSG that recently got one (from Ishibashi). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted April 11, 2012 Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 I've not seen them at those prices. The newer Hellcat VI is definitely a contender. It has actual SD Jaguar pickups too. Not Duncan Designed. Just wish it had a Jag trem. Yeah, had I not gotten mine I would get the new one. Lack of trem doesn't bother me but you could do a Bigsby on there if you wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted April 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 Yeah, had I not gotten mine I would get the new one. Lack of trem doesn't bother me but you could do a Bigsby on there if you wanted to.A bass cut switch would be nice too, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members V-8 Posted April 11, 2012 Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 $3200 seems a bit much for a used one. New, they're $3600 ($4000 if relic'd).The new Japanese ones are roughly $1600 after import duty, but have no hard case. There have been a couple of Japanese Fender Bass VI reissues I recall seeing a while back for not a lot of money. One didn't have the tremolo, one did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted April 11, 2012 Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 The one without the trem was probably the Jaguar Baritone which is not a bass and doesn't have the 30" scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted April 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 The one without the trem was probably the Jaguar Baritone which is not a bass and doesn't have the 30" scale.Actually, the Japanese Jaguar baritone did have a 30" scale and could be tuned B to b or E to e. It had 2 Jag pickups with a TOM bridge. The Japanese models even had a built in fuzz, but the USA import versions didn't. I had a lead on one at a good price from a fellow forum member, but unfortunately they backed out. It would have complimented my new Strat baritone nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted April 11, 2012 Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 cool, i had only seen the 28" one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kenstee Posted April 11, 2012 Members Share Posted April 11, 2012 Just a heads-up that the new 2012 Schecter Hellcat VIs are fantastic! The authentic Seymour Duncan SJAG-1s are IMO superior to the pups that Fender is using on their CS Bass VIs and totally blow away the MIJ Bass VIs. I'd have to say that the CS VIs are not 5 or 6 times better than the new HCVIs. ($3,500 vs. $600 or so.) Schecter did an amazing job supplying a Bass VI at an affordable price. Yes, there's no trem. But, for me that's a positive. I prefer the better tuning and intonation of a hard tail TOM. If you really want one you can install a Bigsby. In all honesty, these days Fenders and Gibsons are for the most part way overpriced while brands like Schecter often give you twice the guitar at half the price. Their QC and fit and finish is excellent as all their guitars are examined and set-up in their LA facility prior to shipment. Try one. You'll be quite surprised. But, as always...YMMV... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted April 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 12, 2012 Just a heads-up that the new 2012 Schecter Hellcat VIs are fantastic! The authentic Seymour Duncan SJAG-1s are IMO superior to the pups that Fender is using on their CS Bass VIs and totally blow away the MIJ Bass VIs. I'd have to say that the CS VIs are not 5 or 6 times better than the new HCVIs. ($3,500 vs. $600 or so.) Schecter did an amazing job supplying a Bass VI at an affordable price. Yes, there's no trem. But, for me that's a positive. I prefer the better tuning and intonation of a hard tail TOM. If you really want one you can install a Bigsby. In all honesty, these days Fenders and Gibsons are for the most part way overpriced while brands like Schecter often give you twice the guitar at half the price. Their QC and fit and finish is excellent as all their guitars are examined and set-up in their LA facility prior to shipment. Try one. You'll be quite surprised. But, as always...YMMV...Thanks for the info. I'm definitely going to check out a newer Hellcat VI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted April 12, 2012 Author Members Share Posted April 12, 2012 Here are a couple pics of the Bass VI I got to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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