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Old School 6? Possible?

jazzercountry

jazzercountry

Apr 12, 2000
1,333
699
Texas
Disclosures
Endorsing Artist: Lakland Basses
#1
Hey folks

I'm about to start doing a LOT more reading than I usually do (US Army Band - oh yeah!!) and I was thinking that adding a 6th string might save me a WHOLE lot of shifting. The thing is, I'm most definitely NOT a big zingy treble guy. I'm very much into Laklands, and even their more modern bass (the 55-02/94) is still pretty old school, and it's exactly the tone I want out of a 6. Is this even possible? :help:

I have a feeling that MTD is pretty much out, as I'm familiar with their sound. I've owned a Pedulla Rapture J2 before and I liked it a lot, but I definitely would like to stay with a bolt on instead of neck through, so it'd have to be a Thunderbolt 6 on that end. Not terribly sure about the fundamentals on that one though. On that note, a passive Dingwall Afterburner has me pretty GAS'ed - seems like it should be solid up and down the range, but again - no way to play one down here, and I have no idea what they sound like. There's also Roscoe - again, don't know what they sound like - I see a lot of R&B cats using them. Other than that, I'm not terribly sure what my options are. Again, I'm the kind of guy that has flats on over half of my basses - and I don't really like rounds until they're a week or two old, so that's the sort of sound I'm shooting for.

BTW, I'm shipping out on Monday, so any help is appreciated ASAP...heh. :)
 
#3
If you heading thro' Europe get one of these bad boys!:D

A Clover Apeiron Classic 6.

Gold should fit nicely with the Army Colors!

clover_apeiron6clas_gs01.gif
 
#4
The Roscoe with the stock Bartolini pre and pickups should fit the bill. It's fat, warm, and relatively mellow... more mid punch like the Lakland 94 series than grindy are bright like the MTD's or the Atelier's.

The stock Roscoe's, to my ear, can be described as a kind of 'P Bass on Steroids' tone. I you like the 55-02, while the Roscoe is a little 'bigger' sounding all the way around, it's in the same tone universe. Also, if you stay away from fancy wood tops, etc., the base model Roscoe's are quite affordable.

IMO.
 
#6
KJung said:
The Roscoe with the stock Bartolini pre and pickups should fit the bill. It's fat, warm, and relatively mellow... more mid punch like the Lakland 94 series than grindy are bright like the MTD's or the Atelier's.

The stock Roscoe's, to my ear, can be described as a kind of 'P Bass on Steroids' tone. I you like the 55-02, while the Roscoe is a little 'bigger' sounding all the way around, it's in the same tone universe. Also, if you stay away from fancy wood tops, etc., the base model Roscoe's are quite affordable.

IMO.
Click to expand...

I thought these might be right sound-wise, but all the ones I'm seeing are pushing upper 3 into 4 grand
 
#18
Couvy said:
I'm about to start doing a LOT more reading than I usually do (US Army Band - oh yeah!!) and I was thinking that adding a 6th string might save me a WHOLE lot of shifting. The thing is, I'm most definitely NOT a big zingy treble guy. I'm very much into Laklands, and even their more modern bass (the 55-02/94) is still pretty old school, and it's exactly the tone I want out of a 6. Is this even possible? :help:

I have a feeling that MTD is pretty much out, as I'm familiar with their sound. I've owned a Pedulla Rapture J2 before and I liked it a lot, but I definitely would like to stay with a bolt on instead of neck through, so it'd have to be a Thunderbolt 6 on that end. Not terribly sure about the fundamentals on that one though.
BTW, I'm shipping out on Monday, so any help is appreciated ASAP...heh. :)
Click to expand...

Good luck with the Army Band.

I have two Raptures (a 4 and 5); I just sold a ThunderBolt 6. Mine was a '95 with a volume-blend-passive tone-Thunderguts switch setup (the newer ones replace the passive tone w/bass & treble controls). Nice meaty sounding bass but not what I would consider old-school--the Bart soapbars are internally active (like EMGS) so they've always got a bit of an edge.

I would highly recommend using Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flat or Round strings for a more old-school high C.
 

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