Ryan's Gig Guide - May 2019

Something rather peculiar has been going on at the Fend- er factory. Age old models that have withstood the test of time have begun to cross-pollinate. Fender have been revealing new concoctions of old ideas, creating instruments that have not yet been seen by this world. One by one they descend upon music stores across the world.We did not ask for them, but we are glad they are here. They are the Alternate Reality Series. The latest addition to the madness is the Sixty-Six.The concept sees a shrunken down Jazz bass body reima- gined as a standard electric guitar. This model sticks his- tory and conventional design in a blender and makes something new, unique and beautiful. Yet not so far away from normality it will leave tra- ditionalists con- fused and angry. The resulting blend is a tasty tonal smoothy. As odd as it may sound, the longer you look at this guitar, the less weird it gets. If you forget that the Sixty- Six is the result of a three way gui- tar orgy and look at it as a stand alone instrument, it looks really good. Thanks to its bass ancestry it feels like a solid piece of kit. Send this busty lass hurtling into a drum kit and the drummer wouldn’t stand a chance. A broad boned woman, a hearty home cooked meal, an unexpected surprise at a stag do. This guitar has balls! Maybe someone slipped the R&D depart- ment something special from their exotic phar- macist, or Fender felt like spicing things up. Either way, their creation could potentially stand the test of time. It will be inter- esting to see whether the guitar community will welcome it or shun it. The Sixty-Six comes in three col- ours. A laid back Sun- burst, an eye popping Daphne Blue, and Natural. The Natural finish best shows the prominent grains that come with the Ash body. Obviously each cut of wood has its own finger print and it is safe to say there will be some pretty pieces of wood sitting on the shelves waiting to grab your attention. This guitar’s body isn’t just a pretty piece of Ash, it is a tonal Shangri-La where high and low mid frequencies resonate and reside. This rich harmonic playground is trans- ported to your amp through the Player series Humbucker and Single Coil Tele pickups. A superb selection for the final piece of the tone pie. The controls that are given to manipulate your sound from the guitar are as follows: 5 way pickup selector, master vol- ume and master tone. What more do you need? Trying to control your sound from your instrument can be like trying to sharpen your pencil and draw a picture simultaneously. Sometimes it is nice to be able to just get a good sound and focus on what your are playing. The Sixty-Six name is a subtle nod to the origins of the Jazz bass from which it originated. Born in 1960, just in time to help aid a revolutionary few decades of music, the Jazz bass is still a recognisable gig tool that lives in the hands of thou- sands upon thousands of play- ers today. Perhaps then, its shrunken body will not be too abnormal for people to fall in love with its new form once again. Its Modern C neck profile is an- REVIEW: Fender Sixty-Six Alternate Reality Series By Adam Roberts Local stockists... www.ryansgigguide.com 28 rgg May 2019