Click here for a picture of the rear of this bass.
The DR basses were one of two lines of basses produced by Heartfield. DR-xC variations were neck-through models made in the Hirooka factory, the others were made in the Matsumoto plant (both in Nagano). There were various 'lesser' custom options as well, of which custom colour and gold hardware have also been seen in 'regular' DR models. The DR-4(C) had 4 strings, the DR-5(C) had 5 strings and the DR-6(C) had 6 strings. They all had active electronics and additional "Low Z Output". The Heartfield pickups were made by EMG and also used in Ibanez 886 basses. They are called IBZ LO-J6. They are split pole pickups and thus, like a Precision bass, hum-cancelling.
The DR-4 had an alder body with a tri-lam maple/graphite/rosewood (graphite on headstock and beneath fretboard) bolt-on neck. It had sealed/cast Gotoh tuners, 33.858" (860 mm) scale length, 12" (305 mm) neck radius, chrome hardware and 2 single-coil pickups.
The DR-5 was basically the same as the DR-4, with a different neck radius of 19.685" (500 mm) and 24 frets. And 5 strings, obviously.
The DR-6 offered 6 strings, gold-plated hardware, hum-cancelling pickups and a 12" radius fretboard.
The DR-xC versions of these basses had neck-through body design, gold hardware, hardwood bodies, fancy laminated tops and different available colours.
The DR-4 used to sell at $999.99 (110,000 Yen), the DR-5 at $1099.99 (120,000 Yen), the DR-4C at $1699.99 (160,000 Yen), the DR-5C at $1799.99 (170,000 Yen) and the DR-6C at $2099.99 (180,000 Yen).
DR-4 first documented month of manufacture: December 1988 (serial number L89238, not pictured on this site). Last documented month of manufacture: October 1991 (serial number J10969, not pictured on this site).
DR-5 first documented month of manufacture: March 1988 (serial number C88122, not pictured on this site). Last documented month of manufacture: April 1991 (serial number D10378, not pictured on this site).
DR-6 first documented month of manufacture: August 1990 (serial number H90511, see bass below). Last documented month of manufacture: October 1991 (serial number J10969, not pictured on this site).
DR-4C first documented month of manufacture: May 1990 (serial number E90515, not pictured on this site). Last documented month of manufacture: October 1992 (serial number J92278, not pictured on this site).
DR-5C first documented month of manufacture: December 1989 (serial number L89526, see bass below). Last documented month of manufacture: February 1992 (serial number B92051, not pictured on this site).
DR-6C first documented month of manufacture: Somewhere in 1988 (serial number ?88001, see bass below). Last documented month of manufacture: October 1992 (serial number J92004, not pictured on this site).
All DR and DRC basses appeared in Fender Frontline first in spring 1990 and last in summer 1993, with the exception of the DR-6 which didn't appear until winter (i.e. early) 1992.
Heartfield colour codes available for the regular DR basses: MYW-Mystic White (589), BPB-Blue Pearl Burst (590), BKB-Black Pearl Burst (591) and RPB-Red Pearl Burst (592).
Heartfield colour codes available for the custom DR-C basses: NAT-Natural (521), ATB-Antique Burst (537), CRS-Crimson Stain (538) and EBS-Ebony Stain (539).
A note on fretless DR-XC instruments: The regular public was not able to order factory fretless instruments. Only people who worked for Fender, or who endorsed Heartfields, could get them. The endorsees were Steve Bailey and John "Fleetwood Mac" McVie. All fretless basses were made without fretlines, except for F92217 (shown below), for which a special deal had to be made. Also, the fingerboards were not finished over, and they were most likely all made of ebony.
Click on a serial number to view an instrument's known history.
|
Type: 1988 DR-6C | |
| Serial #: ?88001 | ||
| Remarks: A natural finish beauty of a bass with burled maple top. This is the oldest DR ever seen, though unfortunately the initial character of the serial number isn't known at the moment. | ||
| Above photo credits: A 'for sale (sold)' page somewhere. John Simmons found it. | ||
|
|
Type: 1989 DR-6C |
| Serial #: G89507 | ||
| Remarks: Magnificent burled maple on this bass. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Bob Willocks. | ||
|
|
Type: 1989 DR-5 Bass |
| Serial #: H89028 | ||
| Remarks: Blue Burst finish. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, John Simmons. | ||
|
|
Type: 1989 DR-5 |
| Serial #: J89021 | ||
| Remarks: Red Pearl Burst. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Bob Willocks. | ||
|
Type: 1989 DR-5 | |
| Serial #: J89054 | ||
| Remarks: The colour is Red Pearl Burst. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Alan. | ||
|
|
Type: 1989 DR-5C |
| Serial #: L89526 | ||
| Remarks: Look at the burled maple top on this bass! One tross rod. Click here for a shot of the rear, showing the dark burled maple is just a top. It is not a factory fretless, as the fingerboard was finished over and made of rosewood, plus it shows signs of frets having been pulled. | ||
| Above photo credits: An Ebay auction. | ||
|
|
Type: DR5C |
| Serial #: L89531 | ||
| Remarks: Very nice bass with pretty unique wood grain. One truss rod, Heartfield brand, neck through construction. | ||
| Above photo credits: An Ebay auction. | ||
|
|
Type: 1990 DR-6C |
| Serial #: C90525 | ||
| Remarks: Natural Bees Wing Bubinga Top. It was originally returned to Fender with a broken truss rod and lay in storage for years as they thought it to beautiful to toss away. In 2007 it was bought by Bob Willocks. After three more years, the bass had been repaired, fingerboard milled off and replaced to replace the truss rod (now 34" scale and 15" radius ebony fingerboard), extra steel support rods added, new graphite nut. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Bob Willocks. | ||
|
|
Type: 1990 DR-5C Bass |
| Serial #: E90502 | ||
| Remarks: An Antique Burst finish instrument. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, John Simmons. | ||
|
|
Type: 1990 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: H90506 | ||
| Remarks: The colour is Antique Burst. John (the owner) noticed that this one has one truss rod in the neck, as opposed to two truss rods in bass B92024, below. This would seem to indicate that early versions of this bass have one truss rod, which Fender ultimate believed wasn't good enough so they improved it in later models. Click here for a picture of the rear of this bass. |
||
| Above photo credits: The owner, John Simmons. | ||
|
|
Type: 1990 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: H90511 | ||
| Remarks: The colour is Antique Burst. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Alain Leneutre. | ||
|
|
Type: 1990 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: K90520 | ||
| Remarks: Another one of those natural finish beauties. Controls and pickups are no longer original. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Jeff Wonsook. | ||
|
|
Type: 1990 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: K90600 | ||
| Remarks: Very nice bass, which the owners says has never needed to be adjusted. One truss rod. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Myron Harris. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: A91719 | ||
| Remarks: A natural finish bass with Bertolini replacement pickups installed. Also note the absence of dot markers on the fretboard. Also, it has got a brass nut instead of the normal graphite, and brass position markers on the side of the neck instead of the normal white dots. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, John Simmons. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-5C Bass |
| Serial #: A91739 | ||
| Remarks: A natural finish bass with Bertolini replacement pickups installed. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Pedro Rivera. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: B10229 | ||
| Remarks: Refinished in satin mandarin orange transparent with gold hardware, replacement red copper Q tuner pickups. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, David Holbrook. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-4 Bass |
| Serial #: B91407 | ||
| Remarks: The colour is Red Pearl Burst. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, John Simmons. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6 Bass |
| Serial #: D10346 | ||
| Remarks: It has a non-standard colour (black) and gold hardware. Click here for a detail of the headstock or here for a detail of the body. | ||
| Above photo credits: The previous and current owner, Scott Harper and John Simmons respectively. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6 Bass |
| Serial #: D10371 | ||
| Remarks: It has a non-standard colour (midnight blue) and gold hardware. | ||
| Above photo credits: The current owner, Paul Abrams. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: D91873 | ||
| Remarks: Light Natural finish. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Jose Medina. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: D91891 | ||
| Remarks: Antique Burst DR6C with nice through neck. | ||
| Above photo credits: The current owner, Slawomir Sobczyk. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-6C |
| Serial #: F91966 | ||
| Remarks: Probably a canary top. Even the rear looks beautiful! | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Alvaro L. Torres. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-4 Bass |
| Serial #: I91786 | ||
| Remarks: Ebony Stain bass. Beautiful-looking, IMO. | ||
| Above photo credits: The current owner, Mad Madhouse. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-4 Bass |
| Serial #: J10044 | ||
| Remarks: This is a Black Pearl Burst DR-4 bass. Fender-labelled. | ||
| Above photo credits: An Ebay auction. | ||
|
|
Type: 1991 DR-5C |
| Serial #: J91963 | ||
| Remarks: Aged Cherry Sunburst. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Bob Willocks. | ||
|
Type: 1989 DR-5 | |
| Serial #: J10988 | ||
| Remarks: The colour is Black Pearl Burst. This bass was bought for US$ 40 in a yard sale in 1999... | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Johnny Demonic. | ||
|
|
Type: 1992 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: B92024 | ||
| Remarks: This colour is Crimson Transparent. Click here for a picture of the back. | ||
| Above photo credits: The Guitar Base and the owner, John Simmons. | ||
|
|
Type: 1992 DR-6C Bass |
| Serial #: D92202 | ||
| Remarks: This colour is Ebony Stain. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Lee-Ping Jiang. | ||
|
|
Type: 1992 DR-6C |
| Serial #: F92217 | ||
| Remarks: Fretless Aged Natural Figured Maple Top (special ordered fretless from the factory). It has a 7-piece(!) neck with wide walnut stringers. Amazing instrument. | ||
| Above photo credits: The owner, Bob Willocks. | ||
|
Type: DR-6C | |
| Serial #: Unknown | ||
| Remarks: The colour is champagne. Probably a refinish. | ||
| Above photo credits: Thomas Wagner told me about this bass, which was available at www.cricketscorner.com at the time. Took the picture from there. | ||