Budget 6 String?

I bought a brand new ESP/LTD B-206 (spalted maple) for $500 flat.

Amazing.

 

http://www.rondomusic.com/bassguitar6.html

 

In your price range ... you can score some pretty nice lower-end 6'ers on eBay.

Hohner B Basses will run you in the mid $300's ... neck-through, pretty comfortable, good hardware, electronics are OK.

Ibanez SoundGear's are a plenty in that range ... I've seen BTB's (non-Prestige) sell at the high end of your range as well (not very often though).

Peavey Grind basses are another bass that's a pretty easy snag in that range ... you can never really go wrong with a Peavey for a low-$$, great bass!

 

I's say look the classys for an used BTB,SR or a schecter custom 6

The key is in bold

 

For new, the Rondo Music Brice brand basses are solid servicable, giggable instruments. I am very happy with my Brice and have been for quite some time.

 

Look for some Brice instruments on the rondo webpage, got mine there new for around 300 dollars

 

Just slightly more then your price range new, around $650, but an Ibanez SR506 is a very nice entry level 6 string. They regularly sell used for a little more then $400 or so. I've had mine over 3 years now and it's served me very well in that time.

Good luck and Have Fun!

 

+1. My (extremely modified) Brice HXB6 has been my main gig bass for awhile now. It's a great body, but if you really want it to sing, you're going to have to invest some money in it.

 

there's a sr506 in the classifieds at 350, just so u know....

 

I don't know the model name, but Ibanez has a six that is currently running $299 new.

 

I got an Ibanez SG 406 mint on Ebay for $275 free shipping!

 

Ibanez, the necks are great.

 

+1 on the Used 406 or 506 i got my 406 for $300

 

The only sixers I have owned have been from Rondo. We play different musical styles, but I will give my general impressions:


Brice HXB 406: Can play active or passive. I no longer have this bass. I never really bonded with it though, it never sounded or felt as good as my Douglas to me. I sold it after I got my Z6, which is way better, IMO.


Douglas WOB 826: Right now, this is my fav 6er. Sounds really good to me, and is not wide spaced, so for a guitarist, playing bass like me, fits my hand a lot better.


Brice Z6: This bass is wide spaced, so it's not really comfortable for me, but the bass is so nice, I am going to try to grow into it! I got mine as a b-stock and so I feel like I got it for stupid cheap, but even at full price, I think you will believe you got your money's worth. If I had been able to choose, I would have chosen a natural one, as the blue is kinda dark, the flash lets you see the grain really easy in my pics, but in regular room light it's hard to see any but the most pronounced grain.

 

Ibanez certainly jumps to the top of this list in my mind.

 

I recently scored a Yamaha TRBII 1006 used from Guitar Center for $325. I am really impressed with the build quality of this instrument (MIJ), and it gets a great J-Bass "burp" if I eq it for that. The string spacing is wide, which makes it easier to slap on, scale is 34" and it seems kind of heavy but I really like the sound and feel of it (all subjective, of course!) It's a little like what I would imagine a 6-string P-bass would feel like. I can see why this bass may not be for everyone but I sure do like it. If you search for used, you can probably find a really decent 6-string in your range, maybe even a very nice bass. Happy hunting-