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choosing a 6-string

The Ethanator

The Ethanator

Jul 28, 2008
517
68
Illinois, except like 6 hours from Chicago
#1
i plan on purchasing a 6-string in the coming months, and was looking around at whats available. my budget will likely be the 400-600 dollar range. a slightly wider string spacing is preffered, since i play alot of slap bass on my 4-string ibanez. i will also be using this bass for tapping across many genres, death metal, jazz, and many other experimental kinds of music. so im looking for something versatile. ive been looking at the older ibanez sr406, the newer sr506, the esp ltd d4, and the schecter riot 6. what other decent 6ers are available for this price range, new or used? any reviews, pros/cons, or general comments on these basses is appreciated. thanks!
 
#3
The Ibanez' and the Schecters are probably the best basses in that price range. You can try to find a Carvin 6 in that bracket for equal/superior quality if you buy used. Don't forget to find one that's got a comfortable spacing at the nut as well. I'd rather have a bass with narrower string spacing at the bridge than I'd prefer than one that's great at the bridge but too wide at the nut.
 
#6
The Ethanator said:
i plan on purchasing a 6-string in the coming months, and was looking around at whats available. my budget will likely be the 400-600 dollar range. a slightly wider string spacing is preffered, since i play alot of slap bass on my 4-string ibanez. i will also be using this bass for tapping across many genres, death metal, jazz, and many other experimental kinds of music. so im looking for something versatile. ive been looking at the older ibanez sr406, the newer sr506, the esp ltd d4, and the schecter riot 6. what other decent 6ers are available for this price range, new or used? any reviews, pros/cons, or general comments on these basses is appreciated. thanks!
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A used Yamaha TRB6 would be a good bet for wider string spacing and your budget.

The Ibanez is much tighter, like 16.5 or 17.

I wouldn't trust the ESP. I like the higher end LTD's w/ the EMG's but not the cheaper models. Too many cheap parts and suspect electronics.

The Schecter Riot looks awesome but it's going to be out of your price range new and I doubt you will find many used considering how new that line is. Actually, I just checked the Schecter page and the nice Riot's are gone and no 6 string is listed at all. Maybe they discontinued the nice ones with the EMG's?

I'm not sure what else is out there. As was mentioned, maybe a bare bones Carvin. The low end market for 6 strings is pretty dicey.
 
#7
like i said, check out the spector. I got mine on ebay from a music store, it was their floor model. paid $500 for it and the build quality is impeccable for the price and it sounds awesome. its extremely comfortable too, the neck is the perfect shape. the back is flat, but it is very thin.

 
#9
yngwiewho1 said:
like i said, check out the spector. I got mine on ebay from a music store, it was their floor model. paid $500 for it and the build quality is impeccable for the price and it sounds awesome. its extremely comfortable too, the neck is the perfect shape. the back is flat, but it is very thin.

Click to expand...


The Spector Legend 6 is one of those basses that's just plain uncomfortable to me- the neck is pretty chunky compared to most other sixes with wide spacing at the nut and bridge.
 
#10
Bryan makes a very good point about bridge vs nut spacing.

I sold my ideal six string (except for weight, a tad heavy) and now regret it. It was a shade over 2" nut (standard for narrow basses like Carvin and Ibanez SR), but 19mm at the bridge.

A warning about the Yamaha TRB6. That one is really wide at the nut. I won't even consider one. now that I've had a chance to try one out.

Consider a Brice Z 6 string. Great bass for the money, 19mm at the bridge.

Lots of options out there. I need to look into the Spector Legend 6 if it's truly wider than most. I'd love to try something like that. I can't afford a Roscoe :hmm:
 
#11
currently i use an ibanez sr400qm (before the curved exf pickups) with 19mm string spacing. i slap the hell out of it and find the string spacing close to perfect for my finger size. so something relatively close to that would be prefered near the bridge, but a thinner neck at the nut is also prefered since im used to the skinny sr necks. i know that i wont get nearly that skinny of a neck on a 6-string, but im not a fan of fender necks at all if that gives you a clue of what im looking for
 
#12
The Ethanator said:
i plan on purchasing a 6-string in the coming months, and was looking around at whats available. my budget will likely be the 400-600 dollar range. a slightly wider string spacing is preffered, since i play alot of slap bass on my 4-string ibanez. i will also be using this bass for tapping across many genres, death metal, jazz, and many other experimental kinds of music. so im looking for something versatile. ive been looking at the older ibanez sr406, the newer sr506, the esp ltd d4, and the schecter riot 6. what other decent 6ers are available for this price range, new or used? any reviews, pros/cons, or general comments on these basses is appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Go with the SR506. I have owned it for a little more than a year and a half. I love it! The string spacing on it is very nice, the 5 piece neck hardly ever bows when you change strings. Also, the bartolini pick ups that it has a freakin' amazing. I suck at slapping so I wouldn't be able to tell you how it is when you slap on it, but I can say that you're gonna have to adjust due to the string spacing (but that's a given). The only problem I have with it is that it's a little neck heavy, main reason why it's a problems is because the shoulder that the strap rests on, I have tendonitis in it. Additionally, the bass has a very good 3 band eq, also it's a brighter sounding bass, but thats because of the wood thats in it. Lastly, you can really slide up and down the neck of the bass with incredible ease. Trust me, if you are looking into an affordable 6 string bass, this is the one. BTW, I got mine from Guitar Center for around $800, BUT that is because I had to have mine special ordered, 'cause I play left handed, AND I went with a 3 year warranty that cost a little more than $100 dollars. If you are looking to get it at Guitar Center than you'll be spending around $630.
 

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