Fender Vintera II ’60s Bass VI | Demo and Overview with Mason Stoops

Get your very own Fender Bass VI at Guitar Center:
www.guitarcenter.com/Fender/V...
The Fender Vintera II ’60s Bass VI celebrates the instrument that followed the legendary Precision Bass and Jazz Bass models. The original Bass VI was a bit of a surprise when it was released in 1961. Featuring six strings, the Bass VI was a different kind of bass beast, but it found scores of low-end disciples-first with former Shadows bassist Jet Harris, and then getting some iconic screen time in the Beatles’ original promo videos for “Let It Be” and “Hey Jude.”
“The Bass VI is not a bass, and it’s not a guitar, but at the time of its introduction, it ended up being on tons of early recordings by everyone from the Beatles to the Beach Boys,” says session guitarist Mason Stoops (Jackson Browne, Mumford & Sons). “It’s a unique and versatile instrument that always finds a place in a recording. In the studios, for example, they would often use the Bass VI to double the bass line-resulting in what was called a tick-tack bass sound-but there were also some great solos taken with it, such as Glen Campbell’s on ‘Wichita Lineman.’”
The Fender Vintera II ’60s Bass VI evokes the hitmaking days of the 1960s and ’70s with an alder body, a mid-’60s C-shape maple neck, early-’60s-voiced single-coil pickups and a vintage-style floating tremolo.
Learn more about the Fender Vintera II series: www.guitarcenter.com/riffs/pr...
Follow Mason Stoops at: / masonstoops
Chapters
00:00 - Intro with Mason Stoops
00:27 - Overview and Features of the Fender Vintera II ‘60s Bass VI
00:51 - A Quick History of the Fender Bass VI
01:56 - Demo: Bridge Pickup
03:22 - Demo: Middle Pickup
03:55 - Mason On the Unique Voicing of the Fender Vintera II ‘60s Bass VI
04:45 - Demo: Neck Pickup
06:23 - Demo: Neck and Bridge Pickups
07:28 - A Closer Look at the Vintera II Bass VI’s Low-Cut Switch
09:09 - Mason’s Final Thoughts on the Fender Vintera II ‘60s Bass VI
09:40 - Outro

[@guitarcenter]

What do you think of the Fender Vintera II '60s Bass VI? Let us know in the comments below! 👇

[@matthewheinecke2621]

Nice to hear someone demo this as it's own instrument instead of trying to just make it be a traditional guitar or bass.

[@JimmyGallowayGuitar]

Finally a GC video with someone that can actually play the instrument they're demoing. Who ever called this guy- put them in charge of future video content.

[@Αδιάφθορος]

The neck pickup demo was chilling..

[@lordgeronimo72]

This is one of the better demos made during this recent reissue cycle. Kudos to Mason Stoops for actually having a command of this incredibly unique (but approachable!) instrument. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@remingtoncooney5625]

Best demo of this instrument.

[@franksmith6871]

Just as Jack Bruce of Cream used his Fender Bass VI as a BASS GUITAR on their Fresh Cream album, I used my 1963 Fender Bass VI as a BASS GUITAR in a band, and it sounded GREAT! Deep and powerful! Nothing wrong with using it as demonstrated here, but know that it CAN be used as a legitimate sounding bass guitar!

[@zazz63]

jack was in competition with the other two for recognition and saw the bass vi as a way of bringing him forward in the mix, the other two vetoed the bass vi for tonal reasons so he then jumped onto a short scale eb and then finally onto long scales for the remainder of his career ..to use jack to endorse the bass vi as an equivalent of a long scale is a stretch to say the least.

[@mainmaines]

Just here to say that Mason is the man

[@AlexNiedt]

Bought this blue one last week. Absolutely gorgeous instrument

[@frodeandersson9211]

Best VI demo ever! Ordered one! :))

[@lukevloops5906]

Excellent demo, great playing. I love mine and you made yours sing. Keep rockin

[@b3pahunter546]

Exactly what I need! ❤

[@mrgrinch14]

Absolutely killed that neck pickup demo. Good lord.

[@briannolan]

Fantastic playing 👍👍👍

[@Steve_ATL]

The Cure is who I think of with the Bass VI. It was all over Disintegration and Wish.

[@charlie6036]

wow really? that's really cool!

[@harvey1954]

John Sebastian use to play one of these like a guitar in the early 70s. Jack Bruce had one in Cream and it was painted by The Fool just like Eric's SG. However, Jack's paint never dried so he got rid of it. There is a book on The Band with an early shot of Rick Danko playing a whiter Fender VI. Jet Harris made the Fender VI his main axe once he left The Shadows.

[@1234drums]

Really need to get one of these VI joys ❤❤❤❤

[@eliasguzman1647]

Amazing demo

[@harvey1954]

The "tic tac" bass was a Dano 6 string ass used in the 50s. For some reason they would not allow a P-bass on Nashville sessions. Producers were not doubling over a P-bass with the Fender VI. They would use an upright bass, but double with the Dano 6 string because the upright was hard to hear. Fender realized they were losing out by not having their own version. Hence the Fender VI. However, it didn't take long before the P-bass took over and made the Fender VI obsolete. Japanese put out a Fender reissue in the 90s.

[@christianw6111]

6 string ass😭

[@nickspitzley8539]

Wow that is yhe best sounding thing ever

[@TheDonutDoctor]

Need!!

[@oldfriend327]

Isn't this the same bass that Slash used on the slow parts during Welcome to the Jungle? Still curious about this.

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I just had a thought (after having watched dozens of Bass Six demos). Could Rick Vito have played one on the Fleetwood Mac song “No Questions Asked”?

[@yosepfebrianotonggo6120]

Are the pickups the same as the Jaguar guitar pickups?

[@t0mpsy]

What is that haunting chord progression he plays on the neck demo passage?

[@stewmr2]

Chord progressioni seems like I Cant help falling in love...

[@arkkk1294]

Does this come with 24 Jumbo Frets, and is this suitable to play in Drop C as a guitar with distortion? Thank you!

[@raultrujillo7750]

Drop C would be a little too high and regular length guitar strings maybe aren’t long enough. You can tune it A to A with baritone guitar Strings for sure (I’ve done it) and play in Drop G

[@theiranxican7412]

You can do double drop C lol

[@MELONenSURPRISE]

The Stoops bass

[@tracychappell2029]

Sounds great! Is it difficult to mute the strings you aren’t playing?

[@Some_Cat_]

They won't answer. They don't care.

[@TCDL11]

Didn't Peter Hook use the bass VI with The Light and while he was in New Order?

[@MrTimcoronel]

Shergold six-string bass

[@nikitavoitov5564]

Completely off topic but a great player usually looks stylish aswel! Could anyone help ID his boots 😅

[@TheLordcasio]

"boop!"

[@ChrisOBrien1980]

been to two guitar centers in LA, they aint got these.

[@dorianford6227]

Yup haven’t seen too much vintera ii’s there in general

[@ZARATUSTRA8511]

I bought mine on the fender Website

[@ChrisOBrien1980]

@@ZARATUSTRA8511 yeah I got one through Reverb, just giving Guitar Center a hard time since they posted this, and have none anywhere that I could see

[@zazz63]

with a name like mason stoops you just have to be playing a bass vi.

[@samuelrey98]

That’s not a bass

[@eliasguzman1647]

You are right, it's a bass vi

[@7171jay]

@sam Definitely a bass and more. If you plug into a bass amp and stick to the lower strings you would think it was a standard four string bass.