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Schecter Hellcat VI

#201
dfp said:
thanks, i'll check it out, but the tuning i was curious about is LOW BEADGC, like your garden variety 34-35" scale 6 string bass. definitely not the baritone tuning, thanks! :smug:
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I think you would have trouble with that for two reasons.

1. The 30" scale doesn't work well for a low B

2. You probably couldn't find a string that would fit. They have guitar tuners, so you have to have a string made for that type bass so that the string gets narrow before it gets to the tuner (but after the nut). A standard 30" scale B string (if you can find one) wouldn't work.
 
#202
Showdown said:
I think you would have trouble with that for two reasons.

1. The 30" scale doesn't work well for a low B

2. You probably couldn't find a string that would fit. They have guitar tuners, so you have to have a string made for that type bass so that the string gets narrow before it gets to the tuner (but after the nut). A standard 30" scale B string (if you can find one) wouldn't work.
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Yeah, definitely going to be an issue. Even dropping to D with these instruments gets flubby. You'd definitely need a custom instrument to work out the kinks of low B tuning on a 30" scale, with custom strings.
 
#204
Hey guys! I've been thinking about getting this bass for a long time, but I have a question.

Most videos I've seen on youtube show the VI plugged into guitar amps. Couldn't that be harmful for the amp? I've been told all my life "DO NOT PLUG YOUR BASS INTO A GUITAR AMP" and now I see this. I'm kind of confused.

I'm a total noob when it comes to equipment, so I'm sorry if I said anything stupid.
 
#205
Without getting technical, you can definitely put a VI into a decent guitar amp no problem. But, IMHO it does sound better through a bass amp. Wouldn't play it on "11." And would turn it down if speakers are distorting.
 
#207
So I'm looking for one of these and I'm having difficulty finding one. Was it discontinued? Major retailers don't seem to have them, and it looks like there are old stock humbucker models and new ones with the single coils with a $150 price difference. Anybody know what's up?
 
#208
CnB77 said:
So I'm looking for one of these and I'm having difficulty finding one. Was it discontinued? Major retailers don't seem to have them, and it looks like there are old stock humbucker models and new ones with the single coils with a $150 price difference. Anybody know what's up?
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Yes. The new, upgraded model was released in 2012 with the 3 genuine Seymour Duncan SJAG-1 single coil pups. The older model has the 3, cheaper Duncan-Designed mini-hum pups. The older one is less expensive. You can still find the older model in some shops online and on eBay. Which to get? Depends. The newer ones imo have a much better defined sound. In addition, they have enhanced electronics like treble bleed caps and individual on/off for each pup. The older ones - to my ears - sound muddy and ill-defined. BUT..some people do like them better for some reason. You should have no trouble finding either. If money is tight or you prefer its sound - the older model can still be found for under US$500 or so.
 
#210
I've recently acquired the 2012 Hellcat VI, but haven't found a consensus on what case properly fits with the guitar size and angled headstock. Anyone have a lead (preferably a link or product #)?
 
#211
Found a 1st generation lefty. I love the meaty mini humbuckers now that I got some flats on it. I had to drill out the low E hole to get the LaBella flats to work but boy now this thing thunders. Plus when I pop the tone knob and flip the pickup switch and step on the EP Booster pedal I can actually play some simplistic solos. Contemplating selling my 76 lefty Musicmaster if that says anything.
 
#212
Showdown said:
It's NOT a guitar, it is a 6 string bass, tuned like a guitar but an octave lower. The EADG strings are exactly the same as on a 4 string bass. Jack Bruce used one the first two Cream albums (Fender Bass VI on the first one and Danelectro bass VI on the second).
It is a bass, not a guitar. 30" scale.
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I bought one of these several years ago, the first edition, black, loved it, had a pickguard cut for a SD replacement bridge pickup. It was stolen from my home on my birthday 4 years ago. So I found a used one, and bought it, haven't changed anything on it. It works well as a bass... through a bass amp. And it's pretty cool as a lead instrument, though the sound is quite different from a Fender Bass VI, when played through a guitar amp.

My two cents worth - It is of course a short scale six string bass, technically. But I like to point out to people that bass is bass, and guitar is guitar... Bass guitar is bass GUITAR. I have had many discussions on this subject, and the way I see it there's no need fuss. ALL Bass guitars are guitars. It's the design of the instrument.

The tuba is a bass, as are bass saxophones, and stand up basses (bass fiddles). All guitars are guitars, no matter their range... All instruments that are in the lowest range are bass instruments.

I would ask, what does it sound like? If you play bass parts on the lowest strings, through a bass amp, even with accent chords, it serves as a fine bass. I play one exclusively live in one of my bands, and record with it as a bass on some songs in all my bands, it has some really cool tonal options.

When I want to use it as a lead instrument, I consider it more like a "baritone guitar", and played through my Bassman Ten there's no doubt it's an electric guitar, one that goes low, so, bass.

If you want a classic, 60's sound, I would use a Fender or Danelectro, but the Hellcat VI is very versatile. My main complaint is that I have to detune the low E, otherwise it goes sharp, and the intonation seems to be as good as it's going to get. The floppy bottom end doesn't help in this regard, when I push down hard on the E and A strings, but that's also part of it's charm, you can bend the crap out of them, where as the high strings are hard to bend.

I hope I will have this instrument until I am no longer able to play. I really dig it.
 
#213
Funny, I just pulled out my Hellcat VI for the first time in a while Thursday to add some ambient guitar lines to a new song.

I totally agree with @Rusty Razorblade...it's a bass guitar. Listen to those classic Cure lines on the Fender Bass VI if you have any doubts. Above the 7th fret or so on higher strings, chords and lead lines have a nice weight and authority to the sound. Can get away with open position chords on the bridge pickup. Overall more cutting and deep, as well as even-sounding, than the Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom I had.
 
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#214
"the Gretsch I have now popped up for a nice price, and it's all sparkly...I can't resist sparkles"

I went back and forth ten years ago... The sparkles!... and the whammy bar. I love that guitar (it's a bass guitar, not a tuba or a bass fiddle), but went with the streamline Jaguar style Hellcat VI. I'd still love to have that Gretsch, but now I have a Squier and a Jerry Jones Longhorn, and that's enough bass 6 for one guy.
 

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