I own the fretted version for almost a year now. Beautiful instrument. You can check the way it sounds in my videos..They are home made recordings...but still..
GC carries them for $2500. Still a massive chunk of change. It's my dream come true though: a 6-string J-bass from Fender. I agree with the legend here: there's nothing like that vintage J-bass tone.
'The first ever extended range 6 string bass made by fender' Well fender obviously doesn't care enough about its artists to remember the brilliantly bizzare Tye Zamora and his custom shop Fender Oar bass.
@ scarred2112: I have this bass, and I prefer it to Warwicks in general, though I have not tried the Steve Bailey Warwick. The only bass I enjoyed playing more than the SB Fender was a Ken Smith. The Fender was well worth the sticker price and I would never sell it.
always wanted the fretted bass but what he had to say about it it was very obviously that fender cared less about showcasing or promoting their very first 6 string bass -very weird ,so you cant get neither the fretted or the fret-less anymore,you'll have to to haunt for them if you want them now ,took fender years to make this for him and it took Warwick a few days to make with all his personal specification and so well he never renewed his contract and is now with Warwick and happy.
Am I the only person who prefers the of his Fender Signature compared to his Warwick? This is a six-string fretless but still has that "Jazz Bass Growl", while he Warwick which I *just* watched had the oh-so-typical "muddiness" of Soapbar Pickups. A Jazz may not sound as "full", but it cuts through, while a good deal of Soapbars are tonally fully... but *too* full where the notes blur together. ...but at least his (huge) overuse of reverb on Bass has remained the same. ;-)
How does it play and sound to you? SB's Fender Signature always caught my eyes & ears because I'm a bolt-on/single coil pickups/Alder, Ash and traditional J-Bass tone woods type-of-Bassist. To me his Warwick sound "bloated" like so many Soapbar-equipped Basses do, but his Fender had the punch and midrange cut of a J-Bass. Easily the first mass-market production 6-String Jazz Bass... for about 5 minutes. ;-) (look up "Sadowsky TYO Modern Edge 6 String" and THEN talk about kick-ass Jazz 6s!)
Now that Steve has gone over to Warwick and has a Signature Series with them (not just 6s, but 5 and 4-string fretless & fretted versions) I can only hope than Fender will get rid of the remaining stock at a Clearance Price around the range of 2K or lower - I've purchased multiple *fine* instruments than way, and I actually prefer the "Extended J" tone of his Fender model as opposed to the Bassline Soapbar-equipped Warwick model.
to me steve, this sounds like your dr heartfield and the aria signature u had prior. i dont really hear a tonal difference yet. maybe if u can post vids of you playing this bass in the lower register ill hear its true meaty tone come out ? it does LOOK cool as heck! =) thanks - nice to see u again at namm. peace. alan
@Nacho66 No way. String trees are only found on instruments with flat headstocks, like Fenders. This is to simulate the headstock being angled so the strings press firmly against the nut like they do on Gibsons, Ibanez, etc with angled headstocks. What happens before or after the nut and bridge shouldn't make a difference - there won't be one ounce more or less tension.
@Volodjah you cant jaco started it and you cant compare anyone to the guy who started the ball rolling steve has developed it to the level of a true art form we dont have jaco anymore so now its up to bailey to see where it is headed i personally hope it doesnt ever stop growing from everyones contributions i, dont think anyone is better than the other just different and thats a whole new world when you look at it that way
You think so? I'm certainly not going say your "opinion" is wrong, but to my ears his Warwick signature has the "Full, fat & overly-midrangy" tone of Soapbar pickups while his Fender had a much more cutting, but classic punchy Jazz Bass tone and midrange. Perhaps it *is* "prettier played solo, but to me the Fender would work much better in band context, which is why I personally play bolt-on/single-coil pickup Jazz & Jazz-type Basses. If I could have either, it would be the Fender.
Tony Franklins signature P-Bass fretless is SOOOOO much better. I love Baily but the 6 string fretless is going to appeal to about 3 people. And I am one of those 3. Lmao Ive been playing Fender Jazz fretless basses for 20 years.
Not true. A string tree makes for a 'clean break' in the tension of the strings. I have a Fender Roscoe Beck V that has a string tree on only the A, D, and G strings. This means I have to be very careful how I wind the E and the B for an even 'break' at the nut. The better the job I do, the better and more even the string tension is on the whole bass. This also makes for better sustain.
the amount of strings any one bassist uses compared to the amount any other uses is totally irrelevant to anything.... it's just a matter of personal preference. i personally love 4,5, and 6 strings.
I can`t think of any muscial style in which this bass doesnt fit perfecetly. Of course its mainly for jazz, fusion or funk..but it can also deliver a low punchy sound required for rock or metal music.
I play prog and doom metal on my Jaco and Tony Franklin fretless basses.....and I can get DOWNRIGHT EERIE sounding with it. They are AMAZING basses for experimenting with downtuned and strange metal music.
I think its so funny that this Fender representative made a big deal out of the string retainer. He spent time marketing a $5 part on the headstock. Any real bass player wouldn't buy a bass simply because of a string retainer.
This is a really badass bass - too bad they didn't spend any time talking about the compound fingerboard radius. However, how in the world do string retainers help string tension? Tension is a ratio between scale lenth, string gauge, and pitch. What happens before or after the nut and bridge is pretty irrelevant as far as tension is concerned.
You would have thought that a company like "Fender" would have a decent portable recording kit and camera to make a quick behind the scenes video. The sound quality on this vid is rubbish...
@scarzz86 Its not just expensive, just like all fenders (with 2 pickups) when you use the bridge pickup alone you get that horrible buzz that makes you wanna ask for your money back. Its a shame I always wanted a fender but i'll stay on other brands for that price.
Fender can also make a crappy bass...lots of them. I would consider a fender as a run of the mill bass...a cavalcade of mediocrity...only 21 f**king frets?! horrible life decision. And, Warwicks...growl, growl, growl. Junky? not at all, my bass is a 97 Thumb bolt on...still sounds great, and no intonation problems... I can't tell you how pitchy fenders get after the 15th fret. And, I assume you play a Jazz....you don't like thick necks like the P bass or a Warwick.
Fretless is supposed to have that strange sound but you can get a regular sound out of a fretless, I've played them and I can get them to sound "normal". Fenders can make some nice basses, Warwicks are junky and there's no real feel put into them. Victor Wooten is just all over the place, Steve doesn't always have to play fast and crazy which is good. Wooten isn't bad he's just always doing too much, I'm not dissing him though. You obviously don't understand fretles or talent.
Well bailey did say that part of his playing style is not always being in tune, but if you ask me it really does sound stupid, fretless bass already strikes out enough of a unique tone without playing out of tune. And yeah, those basses are disgusting, the 4 strings are almost bearable but this model is as you say an ugly melting blob.
Baileys bass playing allways sounds kinda "out of tune" and I think Wooten blows him outta da water. Plus Fender Basses have allways been ugly to me I mean whats with that old car interior, wood look, piontless pickguard and the melting blob head stock look that they have?. They are terrible basses!. Give me a Warwick, Ken Smith, Alembic, Fodera or almost any other for that matter over a Fender any day. I build basses and Fender is entry level for the most part. Needless to say I hate Fenders.
It was his life long dream he said. Two years later he switched to a Warwick.
Words of steel Steve.
steve is such an awesome guy and im really glad i had the chance to meet him. i learned so much from him
I own the fretted version for almost a year now. Beautiful instrument. You can check the way it sounds in my videos..They are home made recordings...but still..
Awesome!!! I am going to check out right now!!!
GC carries them for $2500. Still a massive chunk of change. It's my dream come true though: a 6-string J-bass from Fender. I agree with the legend here: there's nothing like that vintage J-bass tone.
'The first ever extended range 6 string bass made by fender'
Well fender obviously doesn't care enough about its artists to remember the brilliantly bizzare Tye Zamora and his custom shop Fender Oar bass.
I think he means production bass.
Also this one is fretless, the Oar is fretted.
My guitar teacher is an 8 string bass player. he can do some amazing stuff with it!
So stoked I went to Warwick...
@Nacho66 To clarify, string trees are only there to keep the strings from flying off on an instrument with a flat headstock.
@ scarred2112: I have this bass, and I prefer it to Warwicks in general, though I have not tried the Steve Bailey Warwick. The only bass I enjoyed playing more than the SB Fender was a Ken Smith. The Fender was well worth the sticker price and I would never sell it.
always wanted the fretted bass but what he had to say about it it was very obviously that fender cared less about showcasing or promoting their very first 6 string bass -very weird ,so you cant get neither the fretted or the fret-less anymore,you'll have to to haunt for them if you want them now ,took fender years to make this for him and it took Warwick a few days to make with all his personal specification and so well he never renewed his contract and is now with Warwick and happy.
YES HE SAID IT!
"It's jus like a human voice"
THAT is exactly how I explain them! It really is like, and close to, the human voice.
Am I the only person who prefers the of his Fender Signature compared to his Warwick? This is a six-string fretless but still has that "Jazz Bass Growl", while he Warwick which I *just* watched had the oh-so-typical "muddiness" of Soapbar Pickups. A Jazz may not sound as "full", but it cuts through, while a good deal of Soapbars are tonally fully... but *too* full where the notes blur together.
...but at least his (huge) overuse of reverb on Bass has remained the same. ;-)
How does it play and sound to you? SB's Fender Signature always caught my eyes & ears because I'm a bolt-on/single coil pickups/Alder, Ash and traditional J-Bass tone woods type-of-Bassist. To me his Warwick sound "bloated" like so many Soapbar-equipped Basses do, but his Fender had the punch and midrange cut of a J-Bass. Easily the first mass-market production 6-String Jazz Bass... for about 5 minutes. ;-) (look up "Sadowsky TYO Modern Edge 6 String" and THEN talk about kick-ass Jazz 6s!)
I agree. I just want to try it out to see if the neck is comfortable.
Now that Steve has gone over to Warwick and has a Signature Series with them (not just 6s, but 5 and 4-string fretless & fretted versions) I can only hope than Fender will get rid of the remaining stock at a Clearance Price around the range of 2K or lower - I've purchased multiple *fine* instruments than way, and I actually prefer the "Extended J" tone of his Fender model as opposed to the Bassline Soapbar-equipped Warwick model.
1:43 is the FREEDOM JAZZ DANCE WOOOW!
You and me both, buddy. I love warwicks. Granted, i appreciate fretless "pitchy" tone...but for a growl tone....Warwick
Great Bass!!!
to me steve, this sounds like your dr heartfield and the aria signature u had prior.
i dont really hear a tonal difference yet. maybe if u can post vids of you playing this bass in the lower register ill hear its true meaty tone come out ?
it does LOOK cool as heck! =)
thanks - nice to see u again at namm. peace. alan
I just bought one of these. It has a high pitch buzz all the time. It only goes away when I use the mute switch. Got any suggestions?
Literally my first thought when he said that.
@Nacho66 No way. String trees are only found on instruments with flat headstocks, like Fenders. This is to simulate the headstock being angled so the strings press firmly against the nut like they do on Gibsons, Ibanez, etc with angled headstocks. What happens before or after the nut and bridge shouldn't make a difference - there won't be one ounce more or less tension.
@Volodjah you cant jaco started it and you cant compare anyone to the guy who started the ball rolling steve has developed it to the level of a true art form we dont have jaco anymore so now its up to bailey to see where it is headed i personally hope it doesnt ever stop growing from everyones contributions i, dont think anyone is better than the other just different and thats a whole new world when you look at it that way
JACO just needed 4 string and He really was killer
Play berimbau you ill love
I wonder what's the measurements of the Neck Pocket on that Body?
..i bought it yesterday. Black fretted model.
nice bass
nice sound !!!
@essna keep the front pickup pot just cracked enough so you dont change the phasing and it doesn't color the sound of the back pickup
What will it take to put these back on the market 🤔?
You think so? I'm certainly not going say your "opinion" is wrong, but to my ears his Warwick signature has the "Full, fat & overly-midrangy" tone of Soapbar pickups while his Fender had a much more cutting, but classic punchy Jazz Bass tone and midrange. Perhaps it *is* "prettier played solo, but to me the Fender would work much better in band context, which is why I personally play bolt-on/single-coil pickup Jazz & Jazz-type Basses. If I could have either, it would be the Fender.
Tony Franklins signature P-Bass fretless is SOOOOO much better.
I love Baily but the 6 string fretless is going to appeal to about 3 people. And I am one of those 3. Lmao
Ive been playing Fender Jazz fretless basses for 20 years.
SB have muchbetter woods. SB its CS.
I have one of these and love it, but you can hear how noisy it is from this footage. Sounds and plays great though if you can tolerate the hum.
fender did the tye zamora 6 string before this though
list, at least on most sites....
I remember fender made a 6 string bass for Roscoe Beck alittle earlier than this one
...and how *was* the neck? If Fender ever drops the price to remove however many remain in stock, I just might pick one up...
$3,000 vs $15,000 could explain a lot of that.
Not true. A string tree makes for a 'clean break' in the tension of the strings.
I have a Fender Roscoe Beck V that has a string tree on only the A, D, and G strings.
This means I have to be very careful how I wind the E and the B for an even 'break' at the nut.
The better the job I do, the better and more even the string tension is on the whole bass. This also makes for better sustain.
yah the mexican jazz basses are like 700 bucks now , i got an old one from when they used american parts for 300
Steve Bailey is the biggest dwarf I've ever seen
According to the Fender website, this monster retails at $3,130.00.
the amount of strings any one bassist uses compared to the amount any other uses is totally irrelevant to anything.... it's just a matter of personal preference. i personally love 4,5, and 6 strings.
Nice eh, I'd buy one now... but 3k?
Wooten on a Fender J bass? Wow
You can hear the buzz from the single coil pick-ups! I love this bass, but boy are those pickups noisy.
sure
I can`t think of any muscial style in which this bass doesnt fit perfecetly. Of course its mainly for jazz, fusion or funk..but it can also deliver a low punchy sound required for rock or metal music.
I play prog and doom metal on my Jaco and Tony Franklin fretless basses.....and I can get DOWNRIGHT EERIE sounding with it. They are AMAZING basses for experimenting with downtuned and strange metal music.
" the first ever fender 6 string bass"
and now it's gone.
Tye Zamora: Fender, Am I a joke to you.
the body its sabe look aria pro II
I think its so funny that this Fender representative made a big deal out of the string retainer. He spent time marketing a $5 part on the headstock. Any real bass player wouldn't buy a bass simply because of a string retainer.
This is a really badass bass - too bad they didn't spend any time talking about the compound fingerboard radius.
However, how in the world do string retainers help string tension? Tension is a ratio between scale lenth, string gauge, and pitch. What happens before or after the nut and bridge is pretty irrelevant as far as tension is concerned.
You would have thought that a company like "Fender" would have a decent portable recording kit and camera to make a quick behind the scenes video. The sound quality on this vid is rubbish...
@scarzz86 Its not just expensive, just like all fenders (with 2 pickups) when you use the bridge pickup alone you get that horrible buzz that makes you wanna ask for your money back. Its a shame I always wanted a fender but i'll stay on other brands for that price.
@lummond
@thecrashinghighways mike marning has 4 hipshot de-tuners on his 4 zon so how bad is he cheating???
Lol at these guys complaining about the Jazz Bass...
If it wasn't for Fender, Warwicks would probably not exist.
lol good luck with that
SOLO THE BRIDGE OR NECK PICKUP = NOISE FOR DAYS. STEVE AND JAY WERE TOO ASHAMED TO LET US HEAR THE NOISE.
$2,499.99
dude has anyone ever noticed that goofy face that bassists get when they're in the zone?
Shame I wish you continued this 6 strings fl bass with different name.
Fender can also make a crappy bass...lots of them. I would consider a fender as a run of the mill bass...a cavalcade of mediocrity...only 21 f**king frets?! horrible life decision.
And, Warwicks...growl, growl, growl. Junky? not at all, my bass is a 97 Thumb bolt on...still sounds great, and no intonation problems... I can't tell you how pitchy fenders get after the 15th fret. And, I assume you play a Jazz....you don't like thick necks like the P bass or a Warwick.
1:42 OMFG, Victor Wooten playing a Fender? Get outta here.
Fretless is supposed to have that strange sound but you can get a regular sound out of a fretless, I've played them and I can get them to sound "normal". Fenders can make some nice basses, Warwicks are junky and there's no real feel put into them. Victor Wooten is just all over the place, Steve doesn't always have to play fast and crazy which is good. Wooten isn't bad he's just always doing too much, I'm not dissing him though. You obviously don't understand fretles or talent.
where do these nasty players come from?...and why do they come to intimidate players like me :P
CT or GTFO
Well bailey did say that part of his playing style is not always being in tune, but if you ask me it really does sound stupid, fretless bass already strikes out enough of a unique tone without playing out of tune. And yeah, those basses are disgusting, the 4 strings are almost bearable but this model is as you say an ugly melting blob.
Baileys bass playing allways sounds kinda "out of tune" and I think Wooten blows him outta da water. Plus Fender Basses have allways been ugly to me I mean whats with that old car interior, wood look, piontless pickguard and the melting blob head stock look that they have?. They are terrible basses!. Give me a Warwick, Ken Smith, Alembic, Fodera or almost any other for that matter over a Fender any day. I build basses and Fender is entry level for the most part. Needless to say I hate Fenders.