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Six string without breaking the bank?

bassist11

bassist11

Jul 14, 2009
95
4
Grand Forks, North Dakota
#1
So I'm looking to get a 6 string bass. I don't have a lot of money to spend though. The only 6 string I've played is the Ibanez SR506 and I kind of liked the feel of the neck on it. Nice and thin and not too chunky. I never really got to plug it in and test it out though.

So anyone in this forum play an SR506 and have some thoughts on it?

Also any other 6 string suggestions?
 
#5
Hi.

Another vote for used higher end bass.

Nothing inherently wrong with the Ibanez or the other cheaper brands/lines, but unless You're capable of doing the fretwork and a full setup, I'd stick with "better" ones.

Says a guy with not one, but 2 Harley Benton 6ers ;).

Regards
Sam
 
#9
I cannot recommend an ESP D-6 Highly enough. I had to make a similar decision a few months back, after touring Steve's shelves for a few hours and being wholly disappointed with what was available I picked this guy up and was floored.

String-Through body , neck through design, exotic wood and the active EQ are a steal for the price tag. It has zero neck dive, so if you can deal with the fact it weighs as much as a small child the one I picked up was a whole lot of bass for the buck.
 
#10
I'd give a vote for the peavey grind. I really like the spector too, but the price difference gives it to peavey in my books. Why? Because if you shop around, for the legend money can buy you a grind 6 and you'll still be able to afford to take it to a pro who can level the frets if needed, install a new nut and drop in a pair of nordstrand fat stacks in it making it a pretty sweet bass on all standards. Go used and you can still afford to drop in an audere pre if you like that kind of stuff.

I'd keep my eyes open for used carvins and yammies too though.
 
#12
Another vote for the Peavey Grind.
I love mine and it came perfectly set up from the factory, no fret levelling needed.
It is 35" though, in case you have a preference in that area.

I'm not sure I fully agree with the concept of a 2nd hand high end bass being less work than a Grind. Just from personal experience with a new Grind and a 2nd hand Carvin LB76, the Carvin is 15 years old but it needed a professional setup to become as playable as my Grind was straight out of the box.

Probably rare enough that anyone with a Carvin would let it get in to as bad a shape as mine was in though. It needed a fingerboard sand and truss rod adjustment, and the action is still lower on my Grind.

Both are excellent basses but for the price I think a Grind and some DC45s are well worth looking into, the stock pickups are pretty weak.
 
#14
If you can find a used Peavey Axcelerator or TL-6 that would fit the bill. I got my Axcelerator 6 for $400 and it compares quite favorably to anything I've ever played at any price point. At the lower price points, the Rondo imports are good for the money. I like my Brice quite a lot.

If you give us a price range that would help.
 
#15
Just recieved my NIB Ibby BTB776pb and a MTD kz-6 fretless. Paid 799.99 for the Ibby brand new, 699.99 for the MTD used but in excellent condition. Initial impressions are, the Ibbys neck is a bit too chunky for my tastes and the pre/pups arent really my cup of tea, it may go back to GC.

The MTD however, is light, sounds great and after a neck adjustment is going to play like a dream! It's definitely staying!

I'm still on the fence about the Ibby. I had played one of thier older BTB models, perhaps a presitige, and the playability and overall tone was considerably better than the model I recieved. I'd say look for a used MTD KZ, Very impressed with it!
 

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