Bass VI Alternatives?

[Jebberz]

I've played one that was tuned and set up for E to e. Played just fine.

Same as I, with proper strings bass VI strings it worked perfectly fine.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I haven't seen or heard anything out there better than this:

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

A friend of mine made this baritone guitar (left) out of 40 y.o. shortscale Diamant bass.

 

[2groggy]

My interest is in a 30" scale conversion neck, I should have been clear. Warmoth's VI neck doesn't match the neck pocket on a standard Fender and WD doesn't make a 30" conversion neck. The only ones I've ever seen are from EGC and DC Kunkle. I also have read that Danelectro's 30" neck will fit a Telecaster body.

I got a few from DC Kunkle several years back, but I think that he got out of the business. I've had to resort to building my own necks.

 

[Snert]

I haven't seen or heard anything out there better than this:

Good clips and it sounds excellent, but the second one confused me. Everybody tells me you can only play a Bass VI type bass with a pick.

 

[Deleted member 365158]

Thanks for all the replies! I leaning toward the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS. However, the shipping cost is almost half of the price! Maybe I'll just have to keep an eye out for one on the used market.

The shipping stays about the same and sometimes even less if you order a couple things…
The shipping to the US went down about $10 when I ordered 2 basses and a couple DI boxes.

 

[mike buzzetti]

I paid $275 for the Harley VD bass guitar shipped to Cal. need larger strings but cool unit

 

[2groggy]

Good clips and it sounds excellent, but the second one confused me. Everybody tells me you can only play a Bass VI type bass with a pick.

The string spacing is the same as a guitar. So you can use your fingers once you get used to it.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I have skinny little toothpick fingers, but I still assume a pick is going to work better for most bass VI. Ibanez tend to be tighter spacing anyway. Other than the Squier Bass VI, I’ve literally never seen a Bass VI of any kind for sale in a guitar store, so finding one to play may be a challenge.

 

[Snert]

The string spacing is the same as a guitar. So you can use your fingers once you get used to it.

I have skinny little toothpick fingers, but I still assume a pick is going to work better for most bass VI. Ibanez tend to be tighter spacing anyway. Other than the Squier Bass VI, I’ve literally never seen a Bass VI of any kind for sale in a guitar store, so finding one to play may be a challenge.

I can fingerpick a guitar just fine, and have no difficulty on these types of instruments either. I have a no-name Bass VI (more HB like than a Fender) and have used a friend's SRC6.

I was being sort of flip with the previous post.

 

[Dan_reeves]

So I’ll post some pictures of mine in a couple of days. Mine is a Squier CV, heavily modified. I really like the feel and weight but didn’t like the pickups so I changed them. I also took off the trem and added a bridge plate with the holes in it that effectively moves the strings forward to allow for regular medium scale strings to fit. String choice was a big pain to me. It’s in a few pieces so give me a day or two and share a full rundown.

 

[Cal03]

I haven't seen or heard anything out there better than this:

An SRC6 is on the very top of my GAS list! Such a shame it was discontinued.

 

[GeorgesEric]

For me, the string spacing is not an issue fo playing fingerstyle. I do find however that the two fingers “galloping style” of playing is more difficult on a bass 6 type of instrument. Through a bass amp, it brings mellowness to the playing style, if that makes any sense.

 

[Aidil]

An SRC6 is on the very top of my GAS list! Such a shame it was discontinued.

It's actually quite obvious. But, the Ibanez Crossover SRC6 was actually in the market for quite a long year. It first appeared in the Ibanez 2014 Catalog, which became 1 of 4 (5 in Japan) basses that kickstarted Ibanez's new lineup called the Bass Workshop. In times for the line, they've created some unique basses and each got its own name: the Multi-Scale, the Portamento, the Crossover, the Terra Firma, the Volo, the 7-String, the Cerro, the Ashula, the Aerium, the Upright, and the EHB (headless) being the last series in the line. Also, the SRC6 became one of the longest-running Bass Workshop basses, ending in 2020, right after the Portamento SRF700 and SRF705, which are the only two models that have been in the market from the beginning of the Bass Workshop line and up to now.

The reason for saying this is because Ibanez proclaimed the Bass Workshop line to be an ongoing exploratory project, thus the basses in the Bass Workshop line are somewhat meant to be available only for a short period of time.

 

[Iridescentone]

That is a looker!

Eastwood has them as out of stock..and a MSRP of $1312....just a tad more than the Squier! There's a Schecter Hellcat on Reverb right now for $475 (used).

That ain't a bad price for a nice one. My Hellcat is the earlier one just like this, lots-o-fun to noodle on, typical nice Korean build. I kinda wish I could play it better, it has a monster sound.

 

[Snert]

I quoted this as my friend's on is a 13 year model, as per S/N on the back of the headstock.

It first appeared in the Ibanez 2014 Catalog

What you said about the Workshop models, experiments and duration makes a lot of sense now.

 

[Aidil]

I quoted this as my friend's on is a 13 year model, as per S/N on the back of the headstock.

It's possible. They may had started the SRC6 production in the (late) 2013, so could only get into the catalog for the first time the year after.

 

[Snert]

It's possible. They may had started the SRC6 production in the (late) 2013, so could only get into the catalog for the first time the year after.

I won't tell him it's an early first edition in case he thinks it's worth more (I'm not serious here) as I've almost got him convinced to sell it to me (with him as first buyback option).

 

[Jebberz]

Besides the Sidejack, Eastwood also makes the TB64 which is a tad cheaper:

TB64 6-String Bass

 

[mbell75]

I went with the Squier, coming next week. Price is right and it’s a Fender design. I know the Harley Benton has been suggested a few times but be aware it has a fat and wide neck, which I hate. More of a D profile, and a 14 inch radius fingerboard while the Squier is a modern C and 9.5 radius which most of us are more familiar with.