2020 Squier Bass VI (Baritone Guitar Setup)

Tone: It's clean, growly, and tic-tac-ready. The "hot rod" of this Squier Bass VI is that Micah Plante over in Bristol, VT wound and installed completely new Jaguar-style pickups for its owner -- thus transforming this into an instrument with much more character than it would otherwise have stock. 

Feel: The neck is pure vintage Fender in feel -- slim C with a 9 1/2" board radius (well, '70s Fender anyway) and with a 1 5/8" nut. It "feels like home" to a guy like myself. It's got a short scale bass scale length, however, and due to the bridge position that "pushes the neck out" farther -- so it's a little more like holding a long scale bass in orientation.

Interesting features: I have worked on a good half dozen Squier Bass VIs in the last few years and it's my opinion that the necks are not happy with bass-gauge strings on them. They tend to want to warp and twist with all that tension and they're much more relaxed with guitar-like tension on them. I like them a lot better as long-scale baritone guitars capable of ADGCEA or BEADF#B tuning -- something that's achievable on a 30" scale bass-6 like this with 54w-12 gauge strings.  That scale, with those gauge strings, with the Jazzmaster-style whammy, and growly Jaguar-style pickups... it's pretty magic when you've got this plugged into a big-sounding amp. Anyhow, that's why we've got it strung-up and setup as a baritone (BEADF#B at the moment) this way.

Repairs included: Jose gave it a heavy-handed level/dress job on the frets to remove any twist or ski-jump -- something that has been in evidence on every Squier Bass VI we have had in the shop. After that we tag-teamed the setup a bit to dial it in -- adding ferrules for the bridge posts to "lock them" for better tuning stability -- and giving it a good setup. It now plays spot-on and has been stable in service since work was done nearly a month ago.

• Maker: Fender/Squier
• Model: Bass VI
• Body style: almost Jazz Bass-like
• Weight: 8 lbs 14 oz
• Scale length: 30"
• Nut width: 1 5/8"
• Neck shape: slim C
• Board radius: 9 1/2"
• Body width: 13 3/4"
• Body depth: 1 5/8"
• Body wood: basswood, maybe?
• Bridge: Mustang-style
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: maple
• Pickups: 3x Micah Plante Jaguar-style
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32" bass and 1/16" treble overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 54w-12
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium

Condition notes: It's a relatively new instrument but the finish has already UV-aged a bit aside from its factory-sprayed "aging toner" on the neck. It's in good order but the hardware does show a little wear from use and there's a bit of pickwear on the pickguard and handling wear evidenced in the body. It looks more or less "shopworn" rather than "played out a ton."

It comes with: Sorry, no case.

Consignor tag: WH