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The original SRC6 does fine as a baritone, as you'd expect as there are many other models at 30" that are also baritones. I've used mine as one, and can see no reason the MS wouldn't be a great baritone too.
About ten minutes after I thought I might want what I’ve taken to calling a “bass baritone guitar”—an instrument tuned B0–B2, an octave below a common baritone guitar tuning—Ibanez actually came out with an instrument that just might do it, and at a price I could justify for what remains an experiment for me. They call it the SRC6MS; I call it THE ABOMINATION!
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Even at an attractive price, I still wanted to sell something to fund it, and I had a number of repair jobs lined up as well, so it took me over a year to get around to finally acquiring this thing.
To be clear, Ibanez didn’t explicitly design this for B0–B2. It came tuned E1–E3 like more conventional Bass-VI-style instruments, and even though I prefer low tension on my strings, I have to agree with those who say the .084 bottom string in the default D’Addario set (that came on it) doesn’t handle the low E1 very well. I have an Eastwood Hooky Bass VI set by GHS on the way which has a .105 on the bottom, which can certainly handle E1 at 30” scale; even though the tension with that set won’t be any higher than that of the stock set, I tuned the .105 on my 28.6” scale Ibanez MiKro down to B0 and found it plenty playable, so I feel hopeful about those. Check this out, though:
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The ferrules for the two lowest strings will accommodate the ball ends typically used on bass strings, so I could try thicker short scale bass strings for the bottom end!
I obviously haven’t had it long but so far I would say it feels and sounds like both and neither a bass and guitar at the same timein any event, it felt comfortable right out of the box, with a good setup and no fret sprout or any other unwelcome surprises. The electronics seem versatile but most clean tones sound a lot like a hi-fi P/J bass; soloing or favoring the bridge pickup starts to sound more guitar-like, especially when boosting the mids and playing with dirt.
Right away, I hear what some said in my earlier thread about playing chords; on more conventional six-string basses and even basses vi, chords tend to get muddled in the lower positions. I might take a deep dive into Robert Smith’s bass vi parts with The Cure for some inspiration. I can count on one thing: this instrument will take me to some entirely new sonic spaces
ALL ACCURATEIs that the Abomination Snowman on your strap?
I take it you're playing Hairy Metal
I will almost definitely file the nut to take thicker strings. Even if I don’t end up keeping it tuned B0–B2 as planned, the stock .084 on the bottom just isn’t doing it for me, but it doesn’t look like I have much room for anything thicker the way it’s cut right now.
Sweet!About ten minutes after I thought I might want what I’ve taken to calling a “bass baritone guitar”—an instrument tuned B0–B2, an octave below a common baritone guitar tuning—Ibanez actually came out with an instrument that just might do it, and at a price I could justify for what remains an experiment for me. They call it the SRC6MS; I call it THE ABOMINATION!
View attachment 5361702
View attachment 5361704
Even at an attractive price, I still wanted to sell something to fund it, and I had a number of repair jobs lined up as well, so it took me over a year to get around to finally acquiring this thing.
To be clear, Ibanez didn’t explicitly design this for B0–B2. It came tuned E1–E3 like more conventional Bass-VI-style instruments, and even though I prefer low tension on my strings, I have to agree with those who say the .084 bottom string in the default D’Addario set (that came on it) doesn’t handle the low E1 very well. I have an Eastwood Hooky Bass VI set by GHS on the way which has a .105 on the bottom, which can certainly handle E1 at 30” scale; even though the tension with that set won’t be any higher than that of the stock set, I tuned the .105 on my 28.6” scale Ibanez MiKro down to B0 and found it plenty playable, so I feel hopeful about those. Check this out, though:
View attachment 5361717
The ferrules for the two lowest strings will accommodate the ball ends typically used on bass strings, so I could try thicker short scale bass strings for the bottom end!
I obviously haven’t had it long but so far I would say it feels and sounds like both and neither a bass and guitar at the same time
Right away, I hear what some said in my earlier thread about playing chords; on more conventional six-string basses and even basses vi, chords tend to get muddled in the lower positions. I might take a deep dive into Robert Smith’s bass vi parts with The Cure for some inspiration. I can count on one thing: this instrument will take me to some entirely new sonic spaces
The Ernie Ball Bass VI set has a .090, and the Fender set has a .100. If small shops carry anything for instruments like this, those seem like the ones they’d probably have. La Bella makes flatwound strings that would probably feel stiffer and sound thumpier compared to roundwounds of similar diameters. I ordered these directly from Eastwood, and they should arrive on Monday.
Awesome! I’ll be following your lead and ordering a set of those strings for myself as well.It pleases me to report that I finally got the Eastwood Hooky Bass VI set by GHS on last night, and now we have a whole new ballgame
The set that came on the instrument, as @superheavyfunk says, sounded “ping-y,” particularly the .084, which at best sounded like djent-y guitar with moderate distortion, and felt too wobbly even for me. The Hooky set (.105/.085/.060/.050/.040/.030) would probably feel perfect tuned E1–E3 for those coming from a purely bass-playing background, with string tension and frequency response more like a typical bass. I go back and forth between bass and guitar, and I don’t mind lower tension as long as I get a big sound. I like these for B0–B2 as I originally envisioned, but I suspect this instrument will really shine in open tunings between B0–B2 and E1–E3 with these strings on it. I like the bass-i-er sound of pickup blends from 50/50 to 100% neck pickup for cleaner sounds, and the bridge pickup alone for overdriven and distorted sounds.
These do come with bass-size ball ends, so those rest against the outside of the guitar-sized ferrules on the four thinner strings, but I can tolerate that for now. I might put together a set mixing short scale bass and guitar strings from GHS next time, but the diameters from the Hooky set seem well chosen, so I probably won’t deviate too far from their selections. I didn’t have to file the nut for the .105, but I do see a gap between the string and the bottom of the slot, so it’s a tight fit and I wouldn’t tell anyone to count on it working for them without filing. I saw that someone had to widen the slots in the bridge saddle in the immediate predecessor to this instrument to accommodate thicker strings, but the .105 fits through there with room to spare, so I might try something slightly thicker next time.
We’ve got a wintry mix coming down in my valley in Bigfoot Country, so it seems like a good day for recording
So far, I think this instrument leans more toward guitar tone and techniques, but while I don’t think I would want it for my only bass-range instrument, I get the feeling it has some unique bass-i-er sounds under the hood waiting to be discovered.
While many don’t like the idea of multi scale, you’re the first player I’ve heard of actually trying it and not liking it, but I see what you mean even though I do find it working for me. All things being equal, I’d have gone with the straight 30” scale; but in my circumstances the multi scale had the better price (even new) and the option of an easy return, so I gave it a shot and fortunately for me it seems to have worked out. As I probably stated earlier, that first fret on the thickest string (which gets a lot of use in my style of music) seems a bit trickier, but I find playing up the neck (frets 9–19 or so) on the thinner strings maybe a bit easier; it seems like a ”six of one, half dozen of the other” situation for me. I expect to hang onto mine.
