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Spectacular! That's the best way to describe this Vintage Pre-CBS 1962 Fender Bass VI. The Turquoise sparkle finish is really amazing-combined with that killer Tortoise shell pickguard and you are talking a Double T extravaganza. I'm trying to remain calm, but the flame in the pickguard is overexciting-just look at it. I've never seen another original Fender Tortoise shell pickguard that looks this good in 40 years. Incredibly, it is also in excellent condition, with no shrinkage or cracks...it's also perfectly flat. Ok, thanks for letting me get the out of my system...lets move on.
This is easily the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Oh, sorry-let me try again.
This Bass VI was produced at the original Fender factory in Fullerton California U.S.A. in 1962. It is very clean and solid. The finish is amazing and looks good enough to be original-but I think it was sprayed over the top of a sunburst finish. A black light doesn't do much good to verify sparkle finishes. The neck finish is definitely original front and back, as is the logo decal. The fingerboard is an amazing slab style of Brazilian Rosewood and it is dark with a very tight grain. The guitar has obviously been very well cared for its entire life and fully functional. A vintage Bass VI is a rare Fender guitar for sure-and this one has the early features including pickup rings, flat top screws on the control plate as well as the 3-way pickup selector switch. Add that up with the fact that this one is a Pre-CBS version and still has the original Brown tolex hardcase and you have a winner.
The body is a really nice offset contour design with beautiful lines. The finish is a beautiful hue of Turquoise sparkle. It is glossy and looks killer. There are two small line checks in the clear on the side of the guitar. It certainly looks like a factory original finish-but I have no confirmation of that. I'm guessing the finish was applied in the early 1960's. It is really striking and goes well with that fire tortoise shell pickguard. The neck joint is solid and an excellent fitment.
The neck is straight and super smooth. The neck has a factory pencil date of "2-62" making it a very early production Bass VI. As previously noted-the finish on the neck is verified to be factory original. The neck has a great vintage C-shape profile and feels perfect. It is really smooth. The neck is 1.57" wide at the nut. The neck depth measures .822" at the 1st fret and .986" deep at the 12th fret. The tuners are very early examples that have the top post slotted. The tuners all function well. The headstock and logo display excellent. The fingerboard is a slab-style Brazilian Rosewood piece with very tight grain. It is dark and beautiful and feels so smooth. It represents an excellent example of why these Pre-CBS "slab board" fingerboards are so desirable. The fingerboard is super clean, as are the frets. The bass has always had this set of flat wound strings on it-according to previous owner. The high string is separating-so I removed it but it is included. Because the flat wound strings don't really wear the frets at all-the frets are in excellent condition-I would call them 'like new'. They are crisp and clean and shine like new-see photos. The action is low and the bass plays like butter. It has an easy touch and is lots of fun to play. The string heigh is .010" at the 1st fret and .085" at the 12th fret. Of course you can raise or lower the string height with the bridge-it is easy if you should choose to do that.
The Pickups all function excellent and have a strong signal. The neck measures 6.20 ohms, the middle position 5.92 ohms and the bridge measures 6.28 ohms. They are well balanced and sound killer. All of the electronics function smoothly and quietly. The potentiometers date to the 12th week of 1962-which lines up perfectly with the neck date. The bridge and tremolo function nicely and are both in excellent condition.
The bass is very well balanced and it is a lot of fun to play. It feels like an elongated jazzmaster and only weighs 9.03 lbs.-so it is very comfortable. It's so much fun and steals the show from all other vintage guitars-I mean, just look at it. The original Brown tolex hard case is included for safe keeping. It is in very nice condition as well.
