The EMGs on the SRC6 are the 35HZ, which are truly bass pickups... so why wouldn't they handle drop tunings..?
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Ibanez SRC6 and other Bass VI's
- Thread starter Oneirogenic
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- ibanez
yeap... I would agree that the scale length in relation to the available thicker string gauges which just might make it won't work for drop low-C tunings. But, there was a TB member who posted his modified SRC6 with thicker gauge lowest string than what is available for this instrument w/o any mods, which seems might work for drop low-C tunings.
@Doggy79:
for what it's worth, 30" scale 5- and 6- string basses, while rare, do exist; TB member @khutch tunes his Squier VI in fifths starting from C1; even more to the point, another TBer, @AV8R, has converted his Ibanez SRC6 to BEADGC tuning. Read all about it (including needed drillages):
Ibanez SRC6 Successful Conversion
IMO the main problem is finding suitable strings: in the same thread I mentioned the DR short(actually medium, ~34"-long winding before taper)-scale .125" available at Bass Strings Online. If you're interested, grab one or four of them before BSO closes shop, which is about to happen unfortunately:
Here's a post
Alternatives by Warwick:
Ibanez SRC6 Successful Conversion
Here's a post
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Full (5-string) set options by Warwick and other brands (DR, Dunlop, I may have missed others) here - page-search for "medium scale" and take note when they're 5-string sets - where you also can find single strings for the high D:
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed by @Aidil with minimum and maximum string lengh requirements for the SRC6. It looks like this set by Pyramid should also fit, if only by a hair:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
(Could other short scale options also work? Yes, if their full winding is ≥32.5" long. That's definitely a yes for DR as said, a yes for GHS, a no for Dunlop and most others, a "no idea" for Warwick. Unfortunately short-scale strings fatter than .11" are hard to come by anyway.)
Finally, you could have either Pyramid or Invalid Link Removed wind you a custom set.
for what it's worth, 30" scale 5- and 6- string basses, while rare, do exist; TB member @khutch tunes his Squier VI in fifths starting from C1; even more to the point, another TBer, @AV8R, has converted his Ibanez SRC6 to BEADGC tuning. Read all about it (including needed drillages):
Ibanez SRC6 Successful Conversion
IMO the main problem is finding suitable strings: in the same thread I mentioned the DR short(actually medium, ~34"-long winding before taper)-scale .125" available at Bass Strings Online. If you're interested, grab one or four of them before BSO closes shop, which is about to happen unfortunately:
Here's a post
Alternatives by Warwick:
Ibanez SRC6 Successful Conversion
Here's a post
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Full (5-string) set options by Warwick and other brands (DR, Dunlop, I may have missed others) here - page-search for "medium scale" and take note when they're 5-string sets - where you also can find single strings for the high D:
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed by @Aidil with minimum and maximum string lengh requirements for the SRC6. It looks like this set by Pyramid should also fit, if only by a hair:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
(Could other short scale options also work? Yes, if their full winding is ≥32.5" long. That's definitely a yes for DR as said, a yes for GHS, a no for Dunlop and most others, a "no idea" for Warwick. Unfortunately short-scale strings fatter than .11" are hard to come by anyway.)
Finally, you could have either Pyramid or Invalid Link Removed wind you a custom set.
I’ve played a fender vi and a danelecto. To me they are too guitar like for me to use with my band. They do have a cool sound though. I think it’s worthwhile to mention that having a regular 6 string bass setup eadgcf instead might be the better option. The forths tuning is more familiar to me having played bass for so long and the vi has Guitar like string spacing which I’m not a big fan of being much more used to playing fingerstyle
I have a Squier VI which satisfies my need for a VI. When I got a chance to play the SRC6 in a local shop it immediately impressed me as being a well made, hard tail, VI. But I already had a VI which had been tweaked to make it nearly as nice so no need to get another. But then an SRC6 showed up used at a local GC at a good price. So I picked it up. And converted it to five strings! I am certain I would love it as a six but I really wanted an affordable, well built, short scale five, and this was my route to getting that. Love it, love it, love it! I've encouraged Ibanez to branch out the SRC line to include an SRC5 and an SRC4 as I feel that short scale bassists would find them to be welcome additions to the Ibanez catalog. But no, they tell me, the C in SRC stands for crossover so it has to be a guitar-like six. Well then how about an SRS5 and an SRS4 where the S stands for short scale I tell them? Crickets, unfortunately.
But both Ibanez and Squier have kept them in their catalogs for far longer than I would have predicted so they must be selling at reasonable volumes. With a smattering of bassists interested in them and a fair number of guitarists looking for deep baritones there does seem to be a market to serve there.
Yes, I tune in fifths, starting on the low C1. My Squier has a custom set of LaBellas with a 120 C string. Lately I have been just cutting down long scale strings however. I just put a piece of electrical shrink wrap tubing on the strings just past the nut before I unwind them to the length I want. I've only done this with roundwounds so far but they work fine when I cut them down. I also have a Squier 51 Stratocaster that I have converted to a four string bass tuned GDAE with cut down strings. That works well too and it bears a passing resemblance to a 51 Precision which is why they called it a Squier 51 after all.
Bass VI instruments tend to sound similar to other short scale basses if you use the same gauge strings on both. But pickup type and placement also play a role and as someone pointed out above long scale basses don't all sound alike, short scale basses don't all sound alike, so unless you are devoted to getting the exact same sound from a short scale bass that you have on your favorite long scale you will find that VI's and other short scale basses can easily be set up and EQed to have a most satisfying "bassy" sound. For that matter if you were to give the exact same bass plugged into the exact same amp and cab with the knobs all welded to the same position two different accomplished bassists could get quite different tones from that bass. That is why a lot of us do not chase some ideal sound but rather work with each individual bass, amp, etc to get a great sound out of each combination.
But both Ibanez and Squier have kept them in their catalogs for far longer than I would have predicted so they must be selling at reasonable volumes. With a smattering of bassists interested in them and a fair number of guitarists looking for deep baritones there does seem to be a market to serve there.
Yes, I tune in fifths, starting on the low C1. My Squier has a custom set of LaBellas with a 120 C string. Lately I have been just cutting down long scale strings however. I just put a piece of electrical shrink wrap tubing on the strings just past the nut before I unwind them to the length I want. I've only done this with roundwounds so far but they work fine when I cut them down. I also have a Squier 51 Stratocaster that I have converted to a four string bass tuned GDAE with cut down strings. That works well too and it bears a passing resemblance to a 51 Precision which is why they called it a Squier 51 after all.
Bass VI instruments tend to sound similar to other short scale basses if you use the same gauge strings on both. But pickup type and placement also play a role and as someone pointed out above long scale basses don't all sound alike, short scale basses don't all sound alike, so unless you are devoted to getting the exact same sound from a short scale bass that you have on your favorite long scale you will find that VI's and other short scale basses can easily be set up and EQed to have a most satisfying "bassy" sound. For that matter if you were to give the exact same bass plugged into the exact same amp and cab with the knobs all welded to the same position two different accomplished bassists could get quite different tones from that bass. That is why a lot of us do not chase some ideal sound but rather work with each individual bass, amp, etc to get a great sound out of each combination.
Are there pics of these two somewhere on the boards? I'd read about them and gotten curious, still am. Please?
I'll try to get you some. Haven't been in my rehearsal space much lately but I have a worship team assignment coming up a week from Sunday, I've downloaded all the charts and rehearsal mp3s, and I will be heading down there this evening if all goes to plan....
Here's some pics. Neither the photography nor the craftsmanship are anything to write home about but you get the idea.
Thanks! I like both, but the Ibanez just looks like it's always been that way. One doesn't even notice the idle tuner.
Yeah, I have done nothing with the idle tuners and I may not just in case I ever decide to put them back to six strings some day. I'll probably get around to making a proper nut for the Squier some day. The Squier 51 is already a sub short scale stealth bass, leaving six tuners on it makes it a little more stealth. I mean, who counts strings? The Squier is fine really, no complaints and it is a blast to play, but the Ibanez is just an awesome short scale fiver. They really should make them that way too!
A warning about the bridges on the Ibanez. They are JD Moon single string bridges I got direct from China via Amazon. They work pretty well but as they come from the factory they are too wide for the string spacing you need for this conversion. You need around 13.5mm, from memory. So I had to mill the sides down a little to make them narrow enough. I have a little Sherline mill but this is a real hurdle for anyone who wants to make their own SRC5.
A warning about the bridges on the Ibanez. They are JD Moon single string bridges I got direct from China via Amazon. They work pretty well but as they come from the factory they are too wide for the string spacing you need for this conversion. You need around 13.5mm, from memory. So I had to mill the sides down a little to make them narrow enough. I have a little Sherline mill but this is a real hurdle for anyone who wants to make their own SRC5.
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Having just reread the whole thread I would point out that my photos show the electrical shrink wrap tubing I put on the strings when cutting them down. Crimping on small pieces of brass tubing like you can find in many hardware stores should also work, maybe even better. There is no need to be worried about the pickups, they work fine down to B.
If you look at the photo of my SRC6 headstock you will see that the C tuner looks different. It is a Hipshot, you can see the tuning lever. I tune starting on C but I can get a B by flipping the lever on those fairly rare occasions I want one. One of my long scale basses also has a Hipshot on the C string and I have run it as low as an A with good results although I have never performed with it at that setting. The SRC6 could go that low but I have not tried it and I suspect it would be a little too loose for even my tastes. If you are going to tune a short scale to the B and C range you will have to accept a lower tension or use some massively heavy gauge strings which would have their own issues. In my opinion they work quite well with B strings from a long scale set but opinions are going to vary on that. If you are worried about that you can capo any long scale fiver at the second fret with the strings tuned down a whole step and see for yourself what you think of it.
If you look at the photo of my SRC6 headstock you will see that the C tuner looks different. It is a Hipshot, you can see the tuning lever. I tune starting on C but I can get a B by flipping the lever on those fairly rare occasions I want one. One of my long scale basses also has a Hipshot on the C string and I have run it as low as an A with good results although I have never performed with it at that setting. The SRC6 could go that low but I have not tried it and I suspect it would be a little too loose for even my tastes. If you are going to tune a short scale to the B and C range you will have to accept a lower tension or use some massively heavy gauge strings which would have their own issues. In my opinion they work quite well with B strings from a long scale set but opinions are going to vary on that. If you are worried about that you can capo any long scale fiver at the second fret with the strings tuned down a whole step and see for yourself what you think of it.
I just found out about the SRC6 and I'm really interested... Does anybody know how it (and the Fender and Danelectro) compare to the Musicman Silhouette? I'm most interested in being able to play a bassline and chords at the same time, either with fingers or pick or thumbpick. It would be nice if it actually sounded like a bass and a guitar at the same time of course...
