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Schecter Hellcat VI

#102
grygrx said:
Really fast shipping, well packed. Going over it, I'm unsure what made it B-stock. Score!
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Congrats on the new pet!

Here's me from earlier tonight with mine at a last-minute surprise gig. The only major issue I have with it is that Schecter used some dark grey mother-of-pearl material for the fretboard dots. They totally vanish into the dark fretboard from almost every viewing angle except straight on. I plan to get some adhesive glow-in-the-dark material to cut into large parallelograms and stick over the dots so I can actually see what the hell I'm doing when I'm playing.

Dec1a.gif
 
#103
Just wanted to say this thread is possibly the most valuable source of practical info I've found on the enigmatic Bass VI anywhere, so props to all.

Cheers for mentioning the JJ 24-84 and EB 20-90 strings as I've been quite disappointed with the consistency of sound across all six strings in the standard gauge and think the lighter gauge will suit my style/taste better.
 
#106
Guys, a naive question- if you say it sounds like a bass, why not use a 'regular' bass? I mean does this instrument add colors different from those of a bass, and would you see it any useful as an addition to a bass/drums/guitar band?
 
#107
stefanofailla said:
Guys, a naive question- if you say it sounds like a bass, why not use a 'regular' bass? I mean does this instrument add colors different from those of a bass, and would you see it any useful as an addition to a bass/drums/guitar band?
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It has more range, you can play it faster, you can play chords. In single coil mode you can get a good baritone guitar sound from it. And it opens up a whole new thing for solo work. Some people play bass lines, chords and melodies all at the same time. That is beyond my ability, but for me there are a couple of fast songs I can play easier on it, and a couple of songs with bass solos that I use it on. It is also good for guitar players that want to play bass, but want a more familiar string spacing.

For me it isn't my main bass, but it works well on a few songs. I have played it for a whole gig before, but usually I play 4 string.
 
#108
stefanofailla said:
Guys, a naive question- if you say it sounds like a bass, why not use a 'regular' bass? I mean does this instrument add colors different from those of a bass, and would you see it any useful as an addition to a bass/drums/guitar band?
Click to expand...

If there was a short scale 4 string with a similar pickup configuration and sound, I would definitely be interested in checking it out.

I've just picked up a Burns Barracuda which is a similar short-scale six-string and I think now my Hellcat is my back-up bass.
 
#109
Simski said:
Sorry for bringing up a slightly old thread but could you post your soundclips again?
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Soundclips? Who had soundclips? Was it me? I can't remember


Here's a camcorder video clip from a show we did in February where we do a somewhat stripped down (because our main guitarist was home sick) version of one of our tunes (I'm off to the left kind of motionless in the shadows):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=m2fvPwqqqS4

The three newest tracks on the music player on our myspace profile feature my Hellcat VI ("Typical..." is the one where it's most prominent)... They are just demos so they are a bit rough:
Link Removed
 
#113
Here you go. There are 4 parts. The first is just the middle pickup (my favorite setting), then the neck pickup, then the neck and middle, and finally the middle and bridge. My switch has a bad connection, so I can't get just the bridge until I fix it.

I didn't have enough room in my attachments to do any clips in single coil mode, but it sounds as you would expect, thinner and brighter.
 
#114
Showdown said:
Here you go. There are 4 parts. The first is just the middle pickup (my favorite setting), then the neck pickup, then the neck and middle, and finally the middle and bridge. My switch has a bad connection, so I can't get just the bridge until I fix it.

I didn't have enough room in my attachments to do any clips in single coil mode, but it sounds as you would expect, thinner and brighter.
Click to expand...

Sounds pretty good. You were right all along - it does sound like a bass! I am definitely putting that on my wish list. I always wanted a regular short scale bass AND a Bass VI but I think I'm just gonna get this one since it actually sounds almost just as deep as the regular.

Do you just use for normal basslines or do you do some lead too?
 
#115
Simski said:
Do you just use for normal basslines or do you do some lead too?
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I mainly play normal bass lines, but it is nice on the one song we play that has a bass solo. I play guitar too, so it is natural for me to play solos on that tuning.

I've also experimented with playing chords on the higher strings, to back up lead guitar, since we don't have a rhythm guitar. It sounds pretty good, using the single coil mode, very guitar like, but then I lose the bass line, so for me that isn't very useful. I have heard guys that could play bass lines and chords both, using tapping for the chords, but that is beyond my capabilities. There are a lot of possibilities on these basses, limited only by your ability.
 
#116
Is it possible to play it fingerstyle? I don't have that big hands myself and I know that Jack Bruce played the Fender with his fingers but how about you? I tried it on my Telecaster guitar and it was pretty ackward. For what I would use it for, I would probably it with a pick but it would be nice to have more options.
 
#117
Simski said:
Is it possible to play it fingerstyle? I don't have that big hands myself and I know that Jack Bruce played the Fender with his fingers but how about you? I tried it on my Telecaster guitar and it was pretty ackward. For what I would use it for, I would probably it with a pick but it would be nice to have more options.
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It's not impossible, but hard. Jack Bruce switched to 4 strings for that reason. It would probably be fairly easy to play guitar style fingerstyle, with thumb and two or three fingers, but not bass style. I use a pick.
 
#118
basses are tuned 2 octaves below a guitar and the hellcat is tuned one octave. its neither a standard guitar nor standard bass. its tuned like a piccolo bass but designed like a guitar. because you butchered badfish your an idiot.
 
#120
sanalp125 said:
basses are tuned 2 octaves below a guitar and the hellcat is tuned one octave. its neither a standard guitar nor standard bass. its tuned like a piccolo bass but designed like a guitar. because you butchered badfish your an idiot.
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:rollno:

I see this is your first post. To get the most out of TalkBass may I humbly suggest:
1) That you know what you're talking about before posting. A standard bass is tuned EADG 1 octave below a guitar. The Schecter Hellcat is tuned EADGBE one octave below a guitar. I should know--I own several guitars, several basses, and a Hellcat baritone.
2) Not calling people idiots, especially when you yourself don't know what you're talking about.
 

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