Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Can anyone tell me if the 4005/6 is considered to be a baritone guitar?

If not, what is the difference?

Is it just the string gage?

How is it different from the Fender baritone VI?

See the "Pix of that 4005-6 MG" thread down the page. A 4005/6 has a 33 1/4" scale, which I believe is too long for a baritone.

A baritone typically has a scale of 30" or so, which means it can be strung and tuned E - E as a six-string bass, or, with lighter-gauge strings, it can be tuned A-A as a baritone (between guitar and bass). Make sense?

Jack Bruce played one of those on Fresh cream and it sounds like a regular bass.

I was under the impression that a Fender Bass VI was tuned exactly the same as a guitar, but an octave down (that's what The Beatles and Jack Bruce used), whereas a Baritone guitar had the bottom four strings of a regular guitar with two more added below. ARGH! Too many variations!

The 4005-6 is a 33 1/4" scale bass ... a baritone guitar is under 30" and I think the fender VI is a 30" or 32" scale ... the fender VI is tuned EADGBE as is the 4005-6 but the baritone guitar that I played was tuned BEADF#B ... so when you play an E chord it is a B chord ... I think the baritone guitar is about 26" to 28" scale and the strings are fatter ...

I hope I got all of that right ... I played a fender short scale 6 string bass in the 70's ... it had fatter strings than the Danelectro baritone that I played ... did Fender make a 6 string bass and a baritone guitar?

No, Fender only made the Bass VI. I have one downstairs (only on loan, sadly) and I'll check out the scale tomorrow. I'm pretty sure it's a 30" though. That's standard for baritones; I have a few others kicking around and I believe they're all 30", or in the ballpark.

And yes, baritones can be tuned anywhere around the A-A range (or A-whatever, I suppose). I just called out that tuning because it's what I'm most familiar with.

A 4005-6 is a 6-string bass, not a baritone.

A 6-string bass is tuned EADGBE, an octave below guitar, so the bottom 4 strings are like a normal bass. It can be full scale or short scale. A baritone OTOH is in between guitar and bass, typically has a scale of 28", and is usually tuned A-A or B-B.

BTW the guitar in the picture is not a Bass VI, it's a Baritone Jaguar. A Bass VI has 3 pickups (that look like Jag pickups but are wound differently), 4 switches, and a trem arm. Fender made one 6-string bass (the VI) and two baritones - the Baritone Jag (in Japan it's called "Bottom Master"...) and the Bajo Sexto, basically a baritone Telecaster.

String gauges should be like a normal bass with the same scale. I don't know about a 4005-6 but the VI came originally with flats, the 1998 MIJ reissues had Fender roundwounds (low E=.095) which don't sound right, I used LaBella medium flats made especially for the Bass VI.

The main differences between a Bass VI and a 4005-6 are 3 pickups vs 2, bass choke switch (also sometimes called "baritone switch") vs none, solid vs hollow body, 30" vs 33¼" scale, trem arm vs fixed bridge.

damn, I thought the VI was a piccolo bass...

Figured I'd chime in - I own a Fender Japan Jaguar Bottom Master. Whether it's technically a "baritone" is debatable - although it has a 28 1/2" scale length, it's tuned just like a Bass VI - EADGBE - with the bottom four strings matching a regular bass guitar (which is an octave below a regular guitar, by the way). I consider it to be a bass guitar that has an extra couple of high strings. I think because of the shorter scale length, the Bottom Master/Jaguar Baritone Custom strings have a slightly lighter string guage, starting at .090.

Oh, and one other significant difference between the Bottom Master and the Jaguar Baritone Custom is that the Bottom Master has built-in fuzz!!!

Thanks for the correction Ilan, I've seen the recent Fender offerings but was referring to "classic" (pre-1980?) Fenders. Just a snob, really!

A shorter scale bass should have heavier strings not lighter to compensate for the short scale.

Although I use cut down standard gauge RIC round-wound nickels on one of my 3000's, most short scale basses tend to use a lighter gauge string.

"damn, I thought the VI was a piccolo bass..."

Jared, they are opposites. A piccolo is a 4-string long-scale bass tuned to guitar pitch; a VI is a 6-string short-scale tuned to bass pitch.

Guys, all this talk of Baritone Guitars really makes me want to buy one.

I refuse to buy a MIJ Fender.

What else can I get?????????????

Makes me want a piccolo...