6 String Basses - What are you go-to brands?

[rarbass]

Sometime in the future, not quite yet, I'll be in the market for a new bass that's either a 5 string or a 6 string. I have an Ibanez SR305, which I love, but I want to grab an upgrade sometime. I could either go for another 5 to get something a little higher end, or a 6 string to finally have a 6 string. Being as I'm leaning towards the latter, I realized - I've been looking at a lot of Fenders lately and I'd like to look beyond that for this.

So - what's your go-to brand for 6 string basses, and why?

 

[57pbass]

I once owned an Ibanez Premium 6 string bass. It was a great instrument, very versatile and comfortable to play.
Nostrand pickups onboard.

 

[DukeOfBass]

Can’t go wrong with Ibanez, honestly. You’ve got the SR 6 strings if you want something familiar or the BTB/EHB stuff if you want something that feels different. Also the Mode if you like 18mm string spacing like me.

I also love the MTD neck profile so the Kingston stuff is a great way to get the MTD feel without spending an arm and a leg.

 

[Church-Bass]

The Japanese brands like Ibanez and Yamahas give you a good modern, active sound. I'm a big fan of the older Yamaha 6-strings, being a John Pattituci fan.

 

[crazycloud]

Ibanez and Cort, unless you want to go more boutique - I have and don't see the benefit in most of them.
I have % SR 6 stings of various models and eras, a BTB and an EHB.

Add to that a Cort A6 which is simply superb for the money. Bought mine new in '23. For $750.
Sound only review here,



and a general review here.



Add Dmitry's review in Russian (English subs). He has some great chops.



Ignore a lot of waffle people tell you about how it NEEDS a PU and/or pre 'upgrade'. Generally it doesn't. Mine may get a rout and some EMGs and an LHZ pre, but that's because I want a specific tonal signature out of it, not because I wouldn't happily gig it stock. My Ibanez SR206 is stock, dead stable and has been played out a number of times and cost less than $300 new.

 

[pluki7]

String spacing would be a big concern here, make sure you try them first.
I tried the Ibanez BTB and they're too large for my hands at 18-19 mm (not sure). Then I found the Schecter Stiletto very comfortable at 16,5 mm.
I'm sure it's different for each person.

 

[crazycloud]

I tried the Ibanez BTB and they're too large for my hands at 18-19 mm (not sure).

The BTB 6 strings are 17mm (check the Ibby website) though my 846v is 16.5.
Almost all of the SRs are 16.5mm, but my GVB36 is 14mm. There are a couple of SR 6s like the Adam Nitti at 18mm.
EHBs are 17mm and the Modes are 18mm.

The Cort A6 I mentioned earlier is 17mm.

 

[andvari7]

Don’t sleep on ESP, although you’ll probably only be able to find the LTD B-206SM.

My others, a Peavey TL-Six, Cort Curbow 6 and Basslab STD-VI, were either discontinued or a used boutique, so that’s the best I can do. You can get a Cort Curbow 6 on GC for about $500 right now.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

Sometime in the future, not quite yet, I'll be in the market for a new bass that's either a 5 string or a 6 string. I have an Ibanez SR305, which I love, but I want to grab an upgrade sometime. I could either go for another 5 to get something a little higher end, or a 6 string to finally have a 6 string. Being as I'm leaning towards the latter, I realized - I've been looking at a lot of Fenders lately and I'd like to look beyond that for this.

So - what's your go-to brand for 6 string basses, and why?

I played 6’s exclusively for a long time, about 20 years, owned a bunch of Ibanez, and a Ken Smith. If I were to go back I’d personally start by looking at Ibanez. I don’t think any other brand comes close to the breadth and depth of 6 string choices available. Headless, multi scale, long scale and “normal”…. super inexpensive to super premium, and they all tend to be highly ergo and playable. They’ve been building them a very long time compared to most brands, and have it down imo.

But Dingwall and Kiesel look interesting as well. I’m sure there are others these days.

If it were me, I’d definitely look for one used. A lot of people try them, then decide its not for them, and then re-sell barely touched sixes. And I can tell you from experience, they are not easy to re-sell! So you can possibly score a very good deal on a used one.

Good luck!

 

[djmay]

I have a Pedulla Thunderbass ET-6 fretted and a Warwick Corvette Rockbass 6 fretless, both bought used. The Pedulla workmanship is superb, however I gig with the Warwick because I prefer fretless.

I put a lot of work into the Warwick to get it to the great playing condition it is now. Maybe the fretted versions have better workmanship, so I would recommend 1) try before you buy, 2) buy with a return policy, 3) be prepared to put work into it.

I had terrible experience with Carvin/Kiesel.

 

[RBC64]

I have a BTB 5, a Schecter stiletto 5, Yamaha trbx 5, G&L, L 2500 and a couple of others. The most comfortable for me is the Schecter in the 5’s. I have a Peavy Grind 6 that to me the string spacing is tight and I love it, I don’t know the specs though.

 

[Thumpin6string]

The Ibanez basses have nice build quality and nice playable necks. I used a neck off an Ibanez Prestige to build my Franken fretless 6. Otherwise, any top builders like Rosco, FBass, Zon, Ken Smith and others like MTD and Warwick. Budget may be your deciding factor.

 

[lordradish]

When I think 6 string, Fender is never the first thing to come to mind (unless you mean a Bass VI, which is different). If you're sticking with off the shelf, I'd agree with some of the others here... Ibanez, in particular their BB line. Yamaha makes some nice stuff, too.
My sixers are both customs from Cliff Bordwell, because I had a certain tone I wanted and I also wanted narrow (16.5) spacing.

 

[Chris Chong]

GAS-sing for a 6string sound gear…

 

[el murdoque]

The great thing about six string basses is how niche they are, and therefore very often a lot cheaper on the second hand market than their five string counterparts. The last two sixers I've bought, I put up ads in my local market, stating the feature set and price range I was looking for - and both times, I quickly had more offers within that range than I would have hoped for.

 

[Cory rich40]

Definitely Ibanez

 

[Gervais Cote]

F Bass or Marleaux for me. You have to put your hand deep in your pocket though !

 

[J Wilson]

I don't know about top shelf sixes much, but for a long time I began to think you couldn't own a pawn shop unless you had at least one used entry level Ibanez six string Soundgear, and these became the entry for a lot of guys. Guys would get one, figure out they wanted their PBass back, and there they went Great little axes.

 

[Pings Bass]

My mid tier Ibanez SRF706 is great. No reason for me to want to upgrade from that. You can spend a lot more, but the returns are rapidly diminishing above that price point IMO, unless you got money to burn or want something really specific.

 

[Gopherbassist]

I'm in the same place.
I'm looking at Ibanez with great interest, they have a very strong stable currently. I had decided on the BTH806MS, but then the Mode series was released. Now it's a hard choice.

Dingwall also has my attention, I like what I seenand hear from that camp. However, to get what I really want, I don't have Dingwall money.