"Jet Harris's Diamond" -- The Ultimate in Six-String Basses.

This December 1961 Bass VI has all of the earliest features, including three two-way selector switches and a slab rosewood fretboard. It weighs in at just 8.70 lbs. and has a nut width of just over 1 1/2 inches and a short bass scale length of 30 inches. Solid alder body, one-piece maple neck with a very comfortable medium-to-thin profile. "Slab" Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 21 frets and clay dot position markers. Single "butterfly" string with metal spacer. Headstock decal with "Fender VI" logo in gold with black trim and "Electric Bass Guitar" and three patent numbers in black below it. Small circular "Offset Contour Body" decal on the ball end of the headstock. Individual 'single-line' Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons and "D-169400 / Patent No." stamped on the underside. Four-bolt neck plate with serial number "73522" between the top two screws. Three Stratocaster-style (white six-polepiece) pickups with chrome surrounds and outputs of 6.86k, 6.88k, and 6.03k. Four-layer (tortoiseshell/white/black/white) plastic pickguard with beveled edge and thirteen screws. Two controls (one volume, one tone) and jack input on lower metal plate adjoining pickguard and three two-way pickup selector switches on metal plate inset into pickguard. Seven-sided black plastic knobs with white markings. Six-saddle bridge and separate vibrato tailpiece. The neck is marked in pencil "10/61" and the pots are stamped "304 6152" (CTS December 1961). This is one of the very best examples that we've ever seen of one of the earliest Bass VI's. Fender made only a very few Bass VI's with the original "slab" Brazilian mahogany fretboard (in mid 1962 they changed to a veneer rosewood fretboard and four selector switches instead of three). There is a small amount of belt buckle scarring on the back of the guitar, a few tiny surface marks on the top, a few small chips on the edges and some light finish checking. When we took this guitar apart we noticed that a previous owner has added a small white 'earth' wire which is soldered to the underside of the volume pot and runs through to the tremolo assembly (maybe "Christie" who has written his name in red ink on the inside of the tremolo cavity). We have decided to leave this very minor and easily reversible [sensible] modification alone. Otherwise this very rare forty-eight year-old "first generation six-string bass" is in as near mint condition as one could possibly wish for, and commands a good solid exceptionally fine (9.00) rating. Complete with the original tremolo arm. Housed in a slightly later Fender black hardshell case with black leather ends and reddish orange plush lining (8.50).