Fender AVRI Bass VI - Anyone else wish Fender would build these?

[Meriphew]

I won't spend $5k on a Fender Custom Shop Bass VI, I also don't want to spend $1400 on a Mexico made Bass VI that I'm going to want/need to do upgrades on.

I would be willing to drop $2500-$3k on a nice USA built Bass VI that will sound/play great out of the box.

[MrFingers]

Since there are no AVRI Jaguars anymore, I think the VI would rather be unlikely, since it is such a niche instrument.

I'd give money for a Vintera and AVRI Electric XII!

[Downsman]

I'm feeling cautiously optimistic they'll add one at some point. Apparently a bass VI was one of Reverb's top sellers last year. I think people are finally figuring out what they are and what they can do. I use mine to play bass in two bands and it covers that ground without compromising anything. Plus it can do so much more than that.

A Beatles style Sunburst and a matching headstock custom colour feels like a good way to test the waters.

[armensguitars]

Since there are no AVRI Jaguars anymore, I think the VI would rather be unlikely, since it is such a niche instrument.

I'd give money for a Vintera and AVRI Electric XII!

Vintage Electric XIIs can be about as much as an AVRI would be, but I guess that hasn't stopped the 73 reissues and the like, so what do I know.

[Meriphew]

A Beatles style Sunburst and a matching headstock custom colour feels like a good way to test the waters.

Yeah I'd love them to offer at least 3-4 color options.

[Jaguar018]

I wish they would make them too with the color(s) and aesthetics I want, but realistically they will not.

It's too bad really. That is sort of the curse of the Bass VI. With the right price and options it's a great buy, but it just isn't available in the upper-mid-tier the way nearly all of Fender/Squier's other models are.

Jaguars used to be this way too but for the past decade or so they have upped the variety where they cover a lot more bases.

[JVG]

I won't spend $5k on a Fender Custom Shop Bass VI, I also don't want to spend $1400 on a Mexico made Bass VI that I'm going to want/need to do upgrades on.

I would be willing to drop $2500-$3k on a nice USA built Bass VI that will sound/play great out of the box.

What are the shortcomings of the Vintera model that you'd be wanting to change?

If you’re cool to spend $2500 on a hypothetical USA model, that means you could spend $1000 tailoring a $1400 Vintera to your needs, and still come out “on top” so to speak. For that money, you could get all new electronics and a nitro finish, if that was of interest.

[Nudger]

I'd give money for a Vintera and AVRI Electric XII!

Im with you regarding XII because no reissues have the correct bodies/bridges.
Vintera VI is close to original in this regard.

[Rob]

Even those mid-2000s MIJ Jaguar Baritone Customs (renamed Jaguar Bass VI Custom for 2006 before being discontinued) disappear almost the moment they hit Reverb, and they're going for like $2K these days.

[Jaguar018]

My dilemma, as a Fender blockhead, is that none of these damn Bass VIs seem to get the blocks close enough to the vintage specs and no one is making Bass VI necks with good blocks either (that I know of... not that I'm constantly searching).

[Meriphew]

I won't spend $5k on a Fender Custom Shop Bass VI, I also don't want to spend $1400 on a Mexico made Bass VI that I'm going to want/need to do upgrades on.

I would be willing to drop $2500-$3k on a nice USA built Bass VI that will sound/play great out of the box.

If you’re cool to spend $2500 on a hypothetical USA model, that means you could spend $1000 tailoring a $1400 Vintera to your needs, and still come out “on top” so to speak. For that money, you could get all new electronics and a nitro finish, if that was of interest.

I don't want to have do drop another $1k on a guitar that I just spent $1.4k on. I also don't want to have to wait while all those mods are done. I just want to open the box, and have the guitar play/sound great and be ready to go.

Also - half of the Vintera II Bass VI's I've looked at were 10lbs plus. That's way too heavy.

[chandra]

I keep hearing about how “the bass vi needs mods” and yet, I’ve had several Squiers and now the Vintera, they’re stock aside from string changes over the years. Never had an issue with playability, and I’ve gigged with them heavy.

Not sure what a non-Custom Shop American Bass VI would bring to the table for such a niche instrument. Past experience would say that Fender would streamline the electronics and make it modern in the same way they did the Jazzmaster and Jaguar in the AmPro/Per/Ultra lines.

OP, just buy the Squier or Vintera and learn to <3.

[JSett]

Even those mid-2000s MIJ Jaguar Baritone Customs (renamed Jaguar Bass VI Custom for 2006 before being discontinued) disappear almost the moment they hit Reverb, and they're going for like $2K these days.

I Picked up a minty one for £1k just a month ago, the deals do still come up.

[dropthebeat]

Here is Sergio Vega playing what I'm fairly sure is a stock Vintera VI with Quicksand. (Sounds great, too.)

Pretty sure he used at least one stock Squier with Deftones, too.

This is a case of "if it's good enough for..." for me, at least (happy with my VM with a Staytrem for 12ish years now).

[GreenKnee]

Even those mid-2000s MIJ Jaguar Baritone Customs (renamed Jaguar Bass VI Custom for 2006 before being discontinued) disappear almost the moment they hit Reverb, and they're going for like $2K these days.

I Picked up a minty one for £1k just a month ago, the deals do still come up.

It was an OSG bro deal, but I got a Baritone Custom (the single coil version) for £750. It took about 5 years of patient waiting though, but as Johnny says the deals do crop up every now and then