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Narrow Neck 6 String Bass

A

Auguste

Apr 5, 2012
299
2
#1
I currently play a Fender Jazz American Special 4 string and I love the narrow neck

Yesterday I tried an Ibanez SR506 6-String Electric Bass and while I liked the sound the neck is so so wide that my small hands had trouble getting around it

Is there a 6 string bass out there that is narrower the Ibanez SR506 6-String Electric Bass?

I forgot to measure the neck of the 6 string . . . my woops

I am not tied to any specific brand of 6 string but I really want a great sound

Budget under $2,000

Thanks in advance for the answers.
 
#3
I've been playing 6's for a while and the Ibanez 6's tend to have the smallest/slimmest necks that I've seen. As far as narrow I don't have much to offer unfortunately, but researching Ibanez's 6 strings would be a great starting point.
 
#4
#5
Auguste said:
I currently play a Fender Jazz American Special 4 string and I love the narrow neck

Yesterday I tried an Ibanez SR506 6-String Electric Bass and while I liked the sound the neck is so so wide that my small hands had trouble getting around it

I there a 6 string bass out there that is narrower the Ibanez SR506 6-String Electric Bass?

I forgot to measure the neck of the 6 string . . . my woops

I am not tied to any specific brand of 6 string but I really want a great sound

Budget under $2,000

Thanks in advance for the answers.
Click to expand...

Another option is to detune the 4 stringer's.
Get a pair of hip shot detuners for the E and the G.
 
#7
The only neck thinner without getting crazy expensive boutique would be the Gerald Veasley with a 14(.5?)mm spacing the SR506 has a 16.5mm spacing and the BTB has a 17.5mm, that is all Ibanez. You will want to get the cheap GV signature, the one they released a few months ago, the real signature they produced for years runs around $7,000 if I remember correctly.

If you want a great 6 string I personally wouldn't buy another Ibanez 6er, I have owned an SR506 and a BTB676. The SR506 was a nightmare and I returned it on day 29 of a 30 day return policy. The BTB was great but the B was mediocre, better than many major manufacturers but nowhere near as nice as Carvin or Dingwall's. The BTB had a sloppy open B but retained some clarity up the neck which was a big plus, although I found after a couple years of heavy playing the frets were starting crack and showing major signs of age. My MIM Fender, which has seen much more play time and is 5 years older, shows maybe 1/10 the amount of wear my BTB did.

I have switched to Carvin for my 6er needs and would never consider another Ibanez (or anything with a sloppy B) again. They are a 16.5mm spacing (which is the smallest industry standard) so you might not be comfortable with it.
 
#8
I have the cheaper Veasley; GVB36. It's right around $1,100. 14.5 mm string spacing; it's almost like playing a guitar. :-)

I like everything about the bass except for the electronics. And at that, the pickups might not be too bad. The preamp really needs to be replaced.

So if you figure $1,100 for the bass and $300 - $500 for upgraded electronics, I'd say you'd have a great bass for around $1,500.
 
#10
Any bass with a Kahler 7460 bridge can be built up with a stupidly narrow neck.

(I don't mean to imply that users of that bridge are "stupid", just using a colloquial expression. I think the string spacing on that bridge gets to 12 or 13mm when the saddles are slammed together.)

7460K.jpg
 

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