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The Short-Scale Six-String Club—for the original six-string basses!

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#61
Thanks for the links, guys. Guess I'll have to forego the flats after all.

Verne - That doubleneck is awesome. Is that actually yours, or did you just post it cause it's neat?

Iamthebassman - I kinda wish Gretsch made a double cut Jet Baritone, sort of like yours (only not so left-centric, I spose). If I had the cash, though, I'd go for the Spectra-Sonic Baritone.
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#66
I saw Bill Laswell play the hell out of a Fender Bass VI, with lots of milage gained on the whammy bar, with Fred Frith and Anton Fier. It was a hell of a barrage of music and very cool. It was essentially punk jazz, a 3 way conversation like jazz but played with the fury of a punk assault. I'd love to have a recording of that night.

Edwin
 
#67
edwinhurwitz said:
I saw Bill Laswell play the hell out of a Fender Bass VI, with lots of milage gained on the whammy bar, with Fred Frith and Anton Fier. It was a hell of a barrage of music and very cool. It was essentially punk jazz, a 3 way conversation like jazz but played with the fury of a punk assault. I'd love to have a recording of that night.

Edwin
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I wish I could have seen/heard that!!!!
 
#69
Pennydreadful said:
Well, that's super neat.
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guitfiddle0409 said:
whoa -- what year was that Dano doubleneck? Maybe from around '68? Just a guess.....:confused:
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Thanks for the luv folks. It's a heavily modded 90's era re-issue. Started as a 12/6 I got off eBay. I picked up a baritone neck from Allparts, put a couple RWRP SD lipsticks in the bridge so it humbucks and the pickguard is laser-cut plexi.

I believe the first 6 string bass was by Danelectro. From what I remember, Daniels thought it would be a huge success because bass players were getting 2 extra strings for free. No truss rods made them "spaghetti-like" to play and, I think, was the origin of the term "spaghetti western" as they were played a lot ala "tic-tac-bass."

Danelectro is also responsible for, if not THE first, one of the first double-neck guitars. It was called the Stan and Dan and featured a bass and 6 string neck in the double-cut body style mine is modeled after. I was originally considering doing a 12/4 [bass], but figured this would be much funkier. I alternate between stringing it as baritone and bass VI. One of these days I'll get a bass neck and bridge and try that out. It's uber-easy to swap out parts on the Dano's.
 
#72
Just wondering what everybody else here does when they gig with their six-strings. I find I need to boost the bass on the amp a little more than when I'm using my 4-string. I have a CS Bass VI that cuts through very nicely, but it could definitely use a little more "oomph" at times. I suspect that they all have a little bit of that going on. If you listen to the "Soft Machine 7" album with Roy Babbington on bass it sounds beautiful yet still a little thin. On the first Cream album "Fresh Cream", however, with Jack Bruce, it sounds very nice and thick -- must be those flatwounds he used back then.
 
#73
Pennydreadful said:
Dano was the first to make a six-string bass, but I'm pretty certain "Spaghetti Western" comes from the fact that American studios could film on the mega-cheap in places like Italy overseas.
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I thought that the spaghetti westerns were named that because Sergio Leone did them, and he was Italian and they were westerns...
 
#78
no1likesme said:
Is a baritone guitar the same thing?

Sorry for my noobishness.
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A baritone is usually (emphasis on "usually") 27-28" scale, and is generally tuned to A or B on the lowest string. A bass VI/six-string bass is usually around a 30" scale and tuned E-E, the low E being the same as on a regular 4-string bass. Now, a bass VI can be tuned and used as a baritone, and vice versa, with varying degrees of success depending on the instrument.

So...no. But yes. But, really, no. Get it?
 
#79
no1likesme said:
Is a baritone guitar the same thing?

Sorry for my noobishness.
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A baritone guitar is one that's specifically designed to be tuned for playing lower notes than standard guitar, but not bass lines. This thread is for short-scale six-string bass guitars, which almost always function well as baritone guitars (usually having some kind of baritone switch that chokes off much of the low end). There have been many short-scale four-string bass guitars that also had such a switch. There are certain specific six-string instruments that can either be set up as baritones or six-string basses, depending on the string gauges and the tuning you choose.

Most short-scale basses have 30-inch scale. Typical scale length for a dedicated baritone guitar is around 27 inches. But any instrument, whether bass or standard guitar, can be set up and played as a baritone guitar if you so desire.
 
#80
no1likesme said:
Is a baritone guitar the same thing?

Sorry for my noobishness.
Click to expand...

In some cases. A baritone guitar is tuned halfway between guitar and bass, usually B-b or A-a. Some of them are 30" scale and can be strung E-e with little or no modification (Danelectro for instance). Some are shorter scale and probably wouldn't be very good for E-e. Some people do use the term baritone guitar to refer to bass VI type instruments though.

Some that you might look for:

OLP baritone MM5 (which can be strung E-e)

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/OLP-MM5-Baritone-Guitar?sku=516074

Ernie Ball Silhouette Bass:

Link Removed

Schecter Hellcat VI (I have one, excellent):

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] (The Hellcat VI is actually listed here on the guitar page for some reason)

Jerry Jones:

http://www.jerryjonesguitars.com/JJO_1Cbass6.htm

Gretsch Jet baritone:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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