I thought I posted in this thread but I guess not. I have one of the Fender Japan Bass VI reissues. Mine is from about 1996. It has an issue with the tremolo bridge - the spring is too strong or too weak, so the bridge is tilted all the way back, so the screw that holds the bridge saddle on the E string interferes with the string's vibration. Also, I didn't like the tortoise shell pickguard - it looks like a low resolution scan or something - so I had a black replacement made. Here's a couple of pics, one with the old pickguard (and my old cat Sadie admiring it), one with the new:
I don't play it much because of the E string issue, but I pulled it out today and played it through my amp - it sounded great! I want to get it fixed now. I consider this a short-scale, extended range bass guitar. I would play it like a bass, probably with pick but fingers is possible, though the string spacing is very narrow.
One player who plays the Bass VI like a regular bass, and with his fingers no less, is Rob Babbington of later Soft Machine fame. Here's a pretty good video:
http://youtu.be/3ws8TqsX2nM