Schecyer Nikki Sixx bass

[Red_Merkin]

Originally Posted by the wako kid

yeah,didn't know they actually decided to come up with a name for that thing.

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet

[mournblade]

I like it, though I would have preferred a 4 inline headstock, and it says it also available in vintage burst according to the link. The acess to the upper frets (and the inclusion of upper frets!!) is nice. While not as sharp as the TBird ( one of the classic shapes IMO) I look forward t trying it out at a GC near you! (LOL sorry )

As far as the Nikki bashing, whatever, I like his tunes.
And he IS the reason I started playing bass (he made a big impression on me in the early 80's). SATD FTW

[Snakeman1066]

Originally Posted by Red_Merkin

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet

T-Bird did already on page 2

Originally Posted by TBird1958

Here's Nikki playing a T Bird with one, as you can see he hooks his pinkie finger into it. I've alway thought it rather toungue -in- cheek fun as the name comes from the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk". Thunderbirds do sound good when played with a pick near the bridge, I find my picking hand in the same position.
I've owned both a Blackbird and the more recent RedBird, the latter being a nice variation on the Thunderbird because it uses different woods and has a noticably tighter, slightly darker tone than the standard model.
I don't mind saying I like a lot of what he's done musically and can always admire his sucess - tho definately not his lifestyle!

[ibateur]

Looks painful.

[WOLFTOWER5]

Originally Posted by SDMFJay

I'm actually surprised Schecter got him on their artist roster. The bass probably sounds good with the emg p/j configuration. It will probably end up costing consumers about $300-$400 less than a Thunderbird and in a better price range of those Sixx fans out there. I will say I'm not a fan of that headstock with that body shape on a Schecter, but it's different. Out of all the companies he's worked with I really would have expected another Sixx/Spector era since the Forte-4x came out a while back. From my experience, Schecter builds quality instruments at acceptable prices and I only see them getting bigger and better from here on.

As a Spector player (not a professional or anything, I've always jut loved the feel and sound IMO for some it doesn't work and believe me that's cool too, we can all find the bass of our dreams) and Spector club member, there is one thing that sums up why he didn't return to Spector..... MONEY. Spector artists are endorsed but not compt'd. My understanding from other Spector Club Members and people who are in the company is that Every Spector endorsed artist has to still purchase their basses and wait in build line like everyone else. I believe someone earlier pointed it out, he was on tour with Gene and Paul for 15 months. I'm sure he learned every way to sell and make a dime at everything from endorsing basses to selling toilet paper.

While I think the bass looks hideous, it's really about playability and sound. If it fit's you and your ear then great, if not, it's just another piece of artist endorsed wall art.

[LiquidMidnight]

It looks like one of those really cheap knock offs of more expensive instruments that you can get off of Ebay.

Schecter has always had some solid offerings, but I've been really underwhelmed with what they've been putting out the past couple of years as far as basses go.

[Fresh Eddie]

Originally Posted by wvbass

Removing all controls but a kill switch is probably what killed sales of the old signature models.

I really liked the simplicity of my Blackbird. At first when I started playing it, I would reach down to make sure my tone knob or one of my volume knobs didn't get bumped and was still on "11" but quickly learned that if the bass was making noise, it was "on." Haha.

Not a lot of flexibility, but the one sound it had was a great one!

[stiles72]

I agree with Mark, this was probably just a cash grab for Nikki. Ehh, why not. Nikki has played Gibson T-birds pretty faithfully for the last 20 years or so, and has (to his credit) proably done more to keep the Gibson T-bird in the public's eye than anyone else. So much so that a lot of "civillians" at my shows often refer to any T-bird I have as a "Nikki Sixx Bass". Who knows, maybe he just wanted to try something a little different and more Spector-ish, and couldn't work a deal with Spector. In the meantime, I'll keep enjoying my modded Blackbird. It's still the loudest and best sounding 'Bird I've ever played and has the thinnest neck out of all of them. This is the bass I'll run back in and grab when the house catches on fire...

[Geroi Asfalta]

When I first saw the OptiGrab thing I thought you loop your cable through it. Turns out you break fingers with it. It looks like the totally wrong angle to jam a finger in there....but then again I cant use a pick

[dwh87]

I have always wanted a Blackbird. They sold poorly and got discounted just to get them out of stores but now the used market is crazy. Saw one for sale in less than clean condition last year for £1500.

[Fresh Eddie]

Originally Posted by dwh87

I have always wanted a Blackbird. They sold poorly and got discounted just to get them out of stores but now the used market is crazy. Saw one for sale in less than clean condition last year for £1500.

I bought mine off of eBay for $700 and sold for double that on eBay a couple of years later.

[TBird1958]

Originally Posted by Geroi Asfalta

When I first saw the OptiGrab thing I thought you loop your cable through it. Turns out you break fingers with it. It looks like the totally wrong angle to jam a finger in there....but then again I cant use a pick

As I said very tongue -in- cheek..........
I had mine chrome plated, I play with a pick near the bridge but my pinkie is too short
BTW it's a great Thunderbird!

[the wako kid]

Originally Posted by Snakeman1066

Really Nikki Bashing?

Never understood why other players feel the need to bash each other..

After all it's not like HE HASN'T SOLD OVER 80 Million records!..lol

While I'm not a huge fan...HE IS the principal songwriter for Motley Crue...was also for the Brides of Destruction and the principal song writer behind the SiXX A.M. project...

If you think he only plays root notes you obviously are not listening to the music...

That said the bass is kinda bland...

but this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone!

Nikki didn't like the neck dive from T-Birds...so he and tim luzzi came up with the "opti-grab" to counter balance the issue..

Nikki was a big fan of Pete Watts (Mott the Hoople for you youngins' Google it) who was a bit infamous for playing T-birds

Nikki had Hamer Make the Firebird...then the Spectorbird...then back to Gibson

He played Stingrays out on tour with the Brides...

In the early days of Motley he used B.C. Rich and Rickenbackers

which is all moot as he commonly uses a 1959 P Bass in the studio..lol

I'm talking about his work with motley crue. his bass lines are bland and I don't like them. get over it. that being said, I think some of his songwriting is decent. it just doesn't make sense to me to put out a signature model for someone(actually about 5 models) when their basslines are totally forgettable. it makes sense for geddy lee and marcus miller to have signature basses,but not nikki.

[madbassplaya]

Nikki has also played T-Birds by Spector as well.

This may be a cash thing for him, only Nikki and Schecter know for sure. I do like the p/j pickup option more than the double humbucker the Gibson/Epi offered. But hey, I'm not a T Bird enthusiast!

[smcd]

How much cash could Nikki Six make from an endorsement deal with Schecter? The guy has performing and songwriting royalties from a band that sold 80 million records. Do you actually think that the pittance thrown at him by Schecter for this signature bass is going to amount to a hill of beans? He's doing this because it's an effortless ego trip.

This bass has an MSRP of $1,400, which will amount to a street price of $999. A grand for an import bass?? How many do you think will sell at this price point? This bass will be dropped from the Schecter line in under a year.

[jlane72t]

looks very, very "First Act" to me.

[Kmonk]

Originally Posted by smcd

Boring and cheesy. Just awful.

Pretty much sums up how I feel about the bass and his playing. I like Motley Crue's music but not a fan of them individually.

[bassgod76]

Originally Posted by the wako kid

I'm talking about his work with motley crue. his bass lines are bland and I don't like them. get over it. that being said, I think some of his songwriting is decent. it just doesn't make sense to me to put out a signature model for someone(actually about 5 models) when their basslines are totally forgettable. it makes sense for geddy lee and marcus miller to have signature basses,but not nikki.

I respect what you're saying, but sometimes a band doesn't need a busy style like a Geddy or Marcus Miller.

That aside, The body is okay to me, but the headstock seems underwhelming.

I always scratch my head when a rock artist uses EMG's, and doesn't use something beefier in the bridge, like a 35DC.

I know this may be wrong, but while I will always associate the T'Bird with him, I think the Spectors he played were the coolest.

Funny enough, I saw one of his Spectors at the HRC in Miami. The bass had an octa grab. I also thought it was some fancy cable holder.

Interestingly, the loop part was wrapped with some sort of cloth covering.

[mjac28]

Zzzzzzzzzz

[hover]

Originally Posted by smcd

How much cash could Nikki Six make from an endorsement deal with Schecter? The guy has performing and songwriting royalties from a band that sold 80 million records. Do you actually think that the pittance thrown at him by Schecter for this signature bass is going to amount to a hill of beans? He's doing this because it's an effortless ego trip.

This bass has an MSRP of $1,400, which will amount to a street price of $999. A grand for an import bass?? How many do you think will sell at this price point? This bass will be dropped from the Schecter line in under a year.

Exactly.

Originally Posted by jlane72t

looks very, very "First Act" to me.

Agreed!