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Anyone here play a Bass VI?

#41
Nephilymbass said:
Ive tried a couple. The danelecto and the fender bass VI. They are fun to play. Some techniques are more difficult because of the tighter string spacing. Others, like tapping, are actually easier IMO because of the lighter strings. For me the biggest problem with them is not having a low B, and not really being able to set it up with a low b because of the shorter scale. But that's my personal situation. Most of my time playing these days is with my originals hard rock band. And the majority of our material requires a low b string as our guitarist uses baritone tunings. If I had time for a different project I'd get one.
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I'd buy one if Ibanez ever release new version of this SR7VIISC:

sr7viisc-jpg.jpg


It came with .25 .35 .45 .65 .75 .95 .120 strings tuned 1E 2B 3G 4D 5A 6E 7B and 30.3 inches scale length.
 
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#44
Nephilymbass said:
Saw a YouTube video of that bass. Can't see myself spending thousands on an ibanez.

I have owned a 7 tho
View attachment 1006403
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yeah, crazy that the price tag of the SR7VIISC was about 2 thousands. But maybe that was before Ibanez done most of their productions in Indonesia. Their current experimental series called the Bass Workshop have street price USD 700-1,200. Their current take of Bass VI, the SRC6 Crossover, also belongs to the Bass Workshop series, is being sold around USD 699.

and yup, I own also a 7:

IMG_20160912_190755_zpsdul3x4e1.jpg
 
#45
Jonithen said:
So I'll admit straight up I'm a hack. I decided to just record this with two of my basses side by side.
Both are done through amplitube with a virtualized svt-4 pro. The amplifier settings were not changed from one instrument to another.

The Fender VI has La Bella stainless rounds. I solo'd the neck, rolled the volume up and the tone down.
The Jazz has Rotosound 55's. Again, I solo'd the neck, rolled the volume on that pickup up, and the tone down.

Aside from my terrible playing, please tell me whether it is the first or the second instrument that is not suitable for serving as a bass guitar.
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I'd have to guess that the second is the VI, but more importantly....

Are you playing this?

 
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#46
It was my stab at Webber, yeah, I found that again last night. Really dug it! :-)

The second one is actually the jazz bass. I tried really hard to get them to sound as close as I could, which isn't easy at all when all the big and little things start adding up. I didn't want to deliberately skew this one way or another or be sneaky, it's just how it came out.

Between these two, we've got 4" scale difference, different strings, the string spacing, different pickups, different pickup spacing... obviously it's a tall order to make them indistinguishable. It only makes sense that some people are going to prefer one over the other, but that's a very different thing than saying it can't be used in a particular application or a particular way.

Here's a great video of this kind of instrument being used. That was actually a big inspiration for me to keep working on this thing outside of just doing weird noodly lead stuff. They are neat instruments.
 
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#47
Aidil said:
yeah, crazy that the price tag of the SR7VIISC was about 2 thousands. But maybe that was before Ibanez done most of their productions in Indonesia. Their current experimental series called the Bass Workshop have street price USD 700-1,200. Their current take of Bass VI, the SRC6 Crossover, also belongs to the Bass Workshop series, is being sold around USD 699.
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It was expensive IIRC because it was prestige model + a very limited production. There were only 10 of them ever made in the US. They're ridiculously hard to find; they're material for that Who has a bass nobody else on TB does thread. And because of what they are and what they do, the extended range and baritone guitar guys have interest in them, not just bassists.

They used a different, top loading bridge design. The SRC6, I love mine, but it uses a tight-end thru-body bridge that cannot accomodate a string bigger than about a .106. Those of us who drool over that prototype VII are looking for all three of the modern appearance/design, the narrow string spacing, and accomodating a low B string. Plenty of bass VI's can be strung C-C or B-B, just not any thru-body stringing models that I've seen.
 
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#48
bridgecables said:
It was expensive IIRC because it was prestige model + a very limited production. There were only 10 of them ever made in the US. They're ridiculously hard to find; they're material for that Who has a bass nobody else on TB does thread. And because of what they are and what they do, the extended range and baritone guitar guys have interest in them, not just bassists.

They used a different, top loading bridge design. The SRC6, I love mine, but it uses a tight-end thru-body bridge that cannot accomodate a string bigger than about a .106. Those of us who drool over that prototype VII are looking for all three of the modern appearance/design, the narrow string spacing, and accomodating a low B string. Plenty of bass VI's can be strung C-C or B-B, just not any thru-body stringing models that I've seen.
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Do you like the string gauges that came with your SRC6? (IIRC they are the same gauges as Fender/Squier Bass VI).

If there are such, what are your version of the best gauges for Bass VI?
 
#49
khutch said:
My understanding is that NST was intended to be pure 5ths but that making the required top string is still beyond modern technology and so the top string is tuned lower. I tune in pure 5ths starting an octave lower than NST. The top B string is still a bit of an issue on a 30 inch scale but in the end it's feasible . NST probably should have started on the F below the C it does start on to avoid the issues with that high B string .
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Tony Levin probably told Fripp that the F was his business :)
 
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#54
just snagged this from one of the lads here and I dig it . This quick test jam is all the Pawn shop Bass VI with stock Fender strings played fingerstyle . The bridge is a mess and all kinds of wonky . I just now ordered a staytrem for it and some La Bella strings , should be a nice fix for it's quirks but the pickups sound fantastic to me .
IMG_1359.gif


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sounds like
 
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#56
I dont know if anyone's mentioned it but the red hot chili peppers guitarist plays a bass vi live when flea plays piano. Maybe because it's easier for a guitar player to play. Sounded like a bass to me. I think I saw in a rig rundown that they do run it through a gk bass rig and I think amplification is a big part in it also.

Don't get confused by watching guitarist on YouTube who consider it a baritone and play it through a guitar amp. For example if I was starting a different project i think it would be fun to get a bass vi and split the signal to a bass amp and a guitar amp for a Meshuggah type of vibe. Here's an example of someone doing something like that with a vi and a kemper.

 
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#57
fretno said:
just snagged this from one of the lads here and I dig it . This quick test jam is all the Pawn shop Bass VI with stock Fender strings played fingerstyle . The bridge is a mess and all kinds of wonky . I just now ordered a staytrem for it and some La Bella strings , should be a nice fix for it's quirks but the pickups sound fantastic to me .
IMG_1359.gif


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sounds like
Click to expand...

@fretno I have the exact same instrument, down to the color. What strings did you get, and have you installed the staytrem? I plan the same upgrades, but need my funds to catch up to my plans... ;)
 
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#58
Nephilymbass said:
I dont know if anyone's mentioned it but the red hot chili peppers guitarist plays a bass vi live when flea plays piano. Maybe because it's easier for a guitar player to play. Sounded like a bass to me. I think I saw in a rig rundown that they do run it through a gk bass rig and I think amplification is a big part in it also.

Don't get confused by watching guitarist on YouTube who consider it a baritone and play it through a guitar amp. For example if I was starting a different project i think it would be fun to get a bass vi and split the signal to a bass amp and a guitar amp for a Meshuggah type of vibe. Here's an example of someone doing something like that with a vi and a kemper.
Click to expand...

I wanna do something exactly like this. I started playing bass largely due to Mike Kerr of "Royal Blood", so much so that I already have dual pedal boards and several guitar amps. But once I realized how unique a Bass VI was (confirmed even more now that I own one), I am wondering if I can't do most of what I want (when I want to do this kind of thing) with just my Bass VI split into a bass amp and a guitar amp (with perhaps an HPF on the bass side and an LPF on the guitar side). I'll get around to trying it one of these days... :)
 
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#60
I had usually been playing with my amp flat. I boosted the lows and gave a slight high cut, and now it sounds even more like a "standard" electric bass. I've been experimenting with lighter gauges as well, recently restrung with tapes. Challenging for the light touch required, but really nice.

You have to approach this thing on its own terms, but I see no reason you can't make it work for you. You may find your time is better spent on other things, but that's in no way saying it can't be done.
 

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