Description
The Fender Custom Shop Limited George Harrison 1967 Bass VI Reissue pays tribute to one of the more distinctive instruments in George Harrison's arsenal. His sunburst Bass VI became an important studio voice, occupying the space between bass and guitar with a character ideally suited to melodic lines, layered arrangements, and unconventional textures. This limited Custom Shop recreation captures that instrument with period-minded construction, Harrison-specific details, and Relic aging that gives it the personality of a well-traveled vintage piece.
A two-piece select alder body provides the foundation, finished in Bleached 3-Color Sunburst nitrocellulose lacquer with a Relic treatment. The familiar offset Bass VI silhouette is complemented by a 4-ply brown shell pickguard, while the aged finish gives the instrument the worn-in appearance and feel appropriate to its late-'60s inspiration. It's an immediately recognizable look, but the Bass VI format makes it something altogether different from a conventional Fender guitar or bass.
Three Custom Shop Hand-Wound Flat Magnet Jaguar pickups give this Bass VI the clarity and definition needed to make sense of its unusually broad register. Each pickup has its own on/off slide switch, allowing everything from focused single-pickup sounds to combinations of all three. A separate 2-position switch engages the bass-cut "strangle" circuit for tighter, leaner sounds that can help melodic parts sit more distinctly in a mix. Master volume and tone controls keep the rest of the layout straightforward. Fender also recreates the markings Harrison made on the switch plate of his original instrument, adding a particularly personal detail to the reissue.
The maple neck uses a 1960 Oval "C" back shape and is paired with a bound 3A rosewood fingerboard. Its 7.25-inch radius, 21 vintage frets, and white pearloid block inlays reinforce the period feel, while the 30-inch Bass VI scale creates a playing experience unlike either a standard electric guitar or a full-scale bass. The relatively short scale gives the strings a more elastic response, making melodic passages, chord voicings, and bass lines all feel natural within the instrument's extended register. A 1.5-inch bone nut completes the vintage-oriented setup.
A 6-saddle vintage-style adjustable bridge works with the floating tremolo tailpiece and Bass VI mute, giving the instrument the hardware configuration central to the original design. Vintage-style Fender-logo tuning machines, nickel/chrome hardware, and Bass VI stainless steel strings complete the functional package.
This George Harrison 1967 Bass VI Reissue is much more than an artist-themed collectible. It's a genuinely unusual musical tool with a range and vocabulary all its own, recreated with the thoughtful Harrison-specific details that make a Custom Shop artist model worthwhile. For players interested in melodic bass work, atmospheric studio layering, or simply exploring a different side of Fender's history, this is a particularly fascinating instrument to have here at Cream City Music.
Specifications:
- Body Material: 2-Piece Select Alder
- Body Shape: Bass VI
- Finish: Relic Nitrocellulose Lacquer
- Color: Bleached 3-Color Sunburst
- Neck Material: Maple
- Neck Shape: 1960 Oval "C"
- Fingerboard Material: Bound 3A Rosewood
- Fingerboard Radius: 7.25"
- Scale Length: 30"
- Nut Width: 1.5"
- Nut Material: Bone
- Number of Frets: 21
- Frets: Vintage
- Inlays: White Pearloid Block
- Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style with Fender Logo
- Bridge: 6-Saddle Vintage-Style Adjustable
- Tailpiece: Floating Tremolo with Bass VI Mute
- Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
- Pickguard: 4-Ply Brown Shell
- Pickups: 3 Custom Shop Hand-Wound Flat Magnet Jaguar
- Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
- Pickup Switching: 3 On/Off Slide Switches, One for Each Pickup
- Bass-Cut Circuit: 2-Position Slide Switch
- Strings: Fender Bass VI Stainless Steel, .025-.095
- Case Included: Deluxe Black Hardshell Case
Sku: 9235700006
