Naah, not at that price.
I appreciate what Eastwood attempts but in my one experience what they delivered wasn't quite for the price paid.
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Should I buy a cheap Bass VI?
- Thread starter eyvindwa
- Start date
Naah, not at that price.
I appreciate what Eastwood attempts but in my one experience what they delivered wasn't quite for the price paid.
I like that it is tuned EADGBE one octave below a guitar. I believe the Fender VI is a different tuning..?
40Hz, you're talking yourself down. And you've done it in another bass VI thread before.
The VI didn't vibe with your physique, or your musicality, or your playing style, or whatever. It isn't for someone more creative or clever than you, it is for someone differently creative or clever than you.
Bass VI's are traditionally tuned like an ordinary 6 string guitar, just an octave below. That applies to the bass I'm considering getting in this thread too
I found myself in a shop playing the Squier version of these recently, it was fun but the string spacing is a bit tight for me and I'd want it tuned EADGCF, not playing guitar the tuning really messed with my head especially since I'm used to having a high C.
If it sounds interesting and potentially useful to you, get it. It doesn’t have to be boutique quality for you to test drive and see if it fits your goals. And surely you could sell it for half of retail if you aren’t using it a year from now, or trade it to a similarly curious person! Not a huge gamble.
Disclaimer: I like less-common instruments. There’s a room in my house that contains three accordions, two banjos, and a tuba, among other stuff. You might not want my advice...
Disclaimer: I like less-common instruments. There’s a room in my house that contains three accordions, two banjos, and a tuba, among other stuff. You might not want my advice...
A thread by an early adopter:
Explain the Fender Bass VI
The big advantage of the SubZero Rogue VI over the competition is a wider choice of strings, due to the reverse headstock giving a wider range of winding lengths that fit (anything that tapers past the nut but before the E string tuner works): don't like normal bass VI sets, or feel like experimenting with types (flats, tapes, pressurewounds, whatever)? Just get a long-scale bass set that looks promising, and add two guitar strings.
Now, I do not own one: it may have several disadvantages, for all I know. Or none. Well, the pickup configuration alone guarantees a different baseline tone than the classic 3-singlecoil VI (if you need that, don't want to spend and can't find used Squiers, the Harley Benton GuitarBass VS looks hard to beat). And vice versa, of course.
Since I'm at it, my personal TalkBass reading list/miniguide to this type of instrument, in its latest iteration:
Bass VI type thing
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Just seen this thread... to the original poster the Sub Zero is money well spent. Like you I write music and new instruments bring new ideas, and this is great for that it sits in a register none of my other instruments do and has almost no learning curve if you can already play the guitar. The instrument sounds good but not really like the Fender bass VI due to the pickup configuration it's more in line with Peter Hooks bass VI sound, the one I have is well made and stays in tune it did need a setup to get the intonation spot on, it's nice to play, and came fitted with a good set of strings. But you can tell it's not a high end instrument - sort of in the Eastwood range in terms of feel (although Eastwood stick on a higher end price tag).
Hope that wee review helps.
Hope that wee review helps.
Thanks everyone! This instrument is still on my list, but right now I chose to spend my money on a cello instead (this one: NXTa Electric Cello | Extraordinary Form and Function | NS Design), and I must say I'm pretty stoked about that! Still, a bass VI type thing is probably in my future somewhere down the road.
I just recently bought this for a project I’ve been working on if you want details on how the build quality I have answers. 1st out of the box it’s tuned pretty much e to e this is a low end guitar with good wood so upgrades are a must. Having said that. Replacing the pickups and pots have to happen. For a instrument like this Duncan makes two pickups that’s a match in heaven Duncan jazz for the neck and a Duncan distortion for the bridge remember less gain when dialing this thing is hot really hot upgrade the pots to a 500 meg pot it’ll make clarity more better I noticed and the big one out of the box. Buy hipshot tuners and throw out the other ones they are trash like most cheap instruments. This thing needs a good setup before it’s playable and the neck is unfinished so sand it down with 320 and go down to 240 for a smooth feel after put a clear coat of choice mine was tru oil cheap doesn’t do what gloss does. After all that this things plays like a thousand dollar guitar it’s just a lot of work to get there I literally saved up for this for awhile and got a good deal and saved money in the end doing the hard work myself.
Nice thread. Good to have a say of different variants of this instrument in a single one.
I personally have the Revelation take, which I like for these reasons:
- Modelled after a Jazzmaster, it's very close to the original Bass VI/Jaguar design but with a twist. In fact, I might even slightly prefer it to Fender's design, aesthetically.
- Good Alnico P90 pickups designed by Alan Entwistle, and this is probably the best one. In fact, I think that the fat P90 style design lends itself greatly to this kind of instruments, and it looks like they're the only ones who didn't go for the thinner single coils.
- A Jazzmaster-like approach on switches which is versatile enough (the varitone is even overkill) but gets less in the way.
- Good construction for the money - it's slightly cheaper than the Squier VI. I guess it's in the same ballpark in this regard. Ok, to be fair I had to work a bit on the fret edges - I bought it online, I took it into account.
Design-wise, it's a really peculiar instrument which can act as a chameleon. I've used it both for bass and guitar parts in some recordings. Based on how you amplify/process it (guitar/bass rig and cab) it does the job with a nice sonic twist, IMO.
I personally have the Revelation take, which I like for these reasons:
- Modelled after a Jazzmaster, it's very close to the original Bass VI/Jaguar design but with a twist. In fact, I might even slightly prefer it to Fender's design, aesthetically.
- Good Alnico P90 pickups designed by Alan Entwistle, and this is probably the best one. In fact, I think that the fat P90 style design lends itself greatly to this kind of instruments, and it looks like they're the only ones who didn't go for the thinner single coils.
- A Jazzmaster-like approach on switches which is versatile enough (the varitone is even overkill) but gets less in the way.
- Good construction for the money - it's slightly cheaper than the Squier VI. I guess it's in the same ballpark in this regard. Ok, to be fair I had to work a bit on the fret edges - I bought it online, I took it into account.
Design-wise, it's a really peculiar instrument which can act as a chameleon. I've used it both for bass and guitar parts in some recordings. Based on how you amplify/process it (guitar/bass rig and cab) it does the job with a nice sonic twist, IMO.
I really love the Revelation RJT60-B. No affiliation with the company (and the shipping costs were initially outrageous until I found better/negotiated), but I have the Jazzmaster version (RJT-60) as well. Really nice budget guitars, and totally recording and stage-worthy.
And yeah, I use it a lot, and I just did an entire EP using the VI, released in June (see 5x Bass VI, linked below).
And yeah, I use it a lot, and I just did an entire EP using the VI, released in June (see 5x Bass VI, linked below).
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Apart from those that use humbuckers (but you clearly meant "only ones that went with single coils that aren't thin"), there is only one (to my knowledge) other model that sports wide singles, the Lākland Decade 6:
USA Series Decade 6 - Lakland Bass Guitars
Apparently, it has an exposed-pole version of their Chi-Sonic soapbars.
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Luckily for me it was domestic, so no shipping costs. I have the sparkling purple one with matching headstock, nice touch as long as you don't mind the headstock painting job being a bit smudged - well, I wasn't expecting a CS matching headstock.
I was expecting slightly smoother fret ends, tbh. But again, you buy online, you get what they send. How were yours?
How does it compare to the Jazzmaster guitar counterpart?
Oh, yes: I like the bridge, but I wish you could adjust the saddle height individually too: as much as it follows the radius, I wish I could raise the D string by itself a tad more, it's more prone to rattling than the others.
Me too. Not entirely, but it played a major role both "as bass and as guitar".
Have you already changed the strings which came stock? I really need to now, but I'm wondering what to get.
Definitely not going to spend the money for Labella. The stock 095 for the low E is fine to me. The EB Slinky Bass VI have a 090 which could still be fine and have a great pricetag, but I'm wondering if they're long enough for that bridge.
Everyone is complaining for the low E floppiness (084) on the D'Addario XL. However, I've come to the conclusion that my use would be more guitar-oriented, so I'm also wondering whether that'd be the perfect gauge for that.
Wish I had found one domestically! Or could find another ... (that I don't need).
I've not played a Fender Jazzmaster more than a few minutes. I will say that I no longer feel the need to.
I'm a weird guy in that I seem to go years without breaking strings, or changing 'em, so I've no answer other than my mantra: "cheapest acceptable".
