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

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#881
noisetree said:
I´m going to try those strings.Thank you!
Click to expand...

Say noisetree, you may wish to join Invalid Link Removed.

There's a herd of Fender VI fans over there who have hand-made their own "VI's practically from seedlings. It's likely one of them has the skinny on your Burns. If not, at least you'd wind up with a larger search party.

--------

It seems that you may have a collectors item on your hands:

"...One of the rarest Burns birds is the Split Sound Six String Bass (1962-64), the only six-string bass ever made by the company..."

Invalid Link Removed
 
#882
Hi MIJ-VI,
Thank you for your reply.
That is amazing!I didn´t know that I have "...One of the rarest Burns birds".
I found this instrument in a London store 10 years ago.It was
the only lefty bass so I played and fell in love.I recorded an album
with the Burns with the old strings(very old) and sounded great
anyway.But now I need new strings.But believe me,I´m not a
collector but I´m happy that I play with a rare lefthanded Burns :)
Went to OffsetGuitars.com to become a member.
Thanks again!

noisetree
 
#883
noisetree said:
Hi MIJ-VI,
Thank you for your reply.
That is amazing!I didn´t know that I have "...One of the rarest Burns birds".
I found this instrument in a London store 10 years ago.It was
the only lefty bass so I played and fell in love.I recorded an album
with the Burns with the old strings(very old) and sounded great
anyway.But now I need new strings.But believe me,I´m not a
collector but I´m happy that I play with a rare lefthanded Burns :)
Went to OffsetGuitars.com to become a member.
Thanks again!

noisetree
Click to expand...

Hi noisetree.

If it turns out that your rare Burns can use strings designed for the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], you may want to string it with flats to preserve its frets/collectability.

A good price on the ONLY flats currently available for a Fender VI, the LABELLA 767-6F set: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

PS: Ignore the BS about these strings being tuned B -C. They're actually tuned E-e.
 
#885
I was messing around with my Squier '51 VI tonight. Then I got an idea to record something with my iphone. I used Cream's crossroads to jam along to. If you pan left or right on the balance you can cut out the guitar, or the the bass part. So I cut out the bass and pushed record on my iphone to see how well it records. Not great, but not as bad as I was thinking it would be.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8055296

Here's a pic of the squier. I posted it before, but I've changed the pickups, and painted the headstock since then.

DSCF2554.jpg
 
#886
In another thread, I recently posted a link to a folder with soundclips from a show my previous band did in February(to demonstrate the Clone Theory pedal in action). But all the songs except for the final two feature my Burns Barracuda. It was one of my bad nights for bass playing , and the sound quality isn't too great (crappy PA, crowded stage, drunk singer losing his voice, etc.), and because of the way the amps were facing and where the recorder was located, it didn't get the best capture of our guitarists amp, and it seemed to get too much of my guitar amp on top of my bass stack (I used it for an overdriven highs and mids and let my bass rig handle the lows). There's even a point in the show where a couple of drunk audience members almost provoked violence from our guitarist because they were messing with and harassing our singer and things escalated. (Thankfully the idiots were finally escorted out by security)

Link Removed
 
#887
lunarpollen said:
In another thread, I recently posted a link to a folder with soundclips from a show my previous band did in February(to demonstrate the Clone Theory pedal in action). But all the songs except for the final two feature my Burns Barracuda. It was one of my bad nights for bass playing , and the sound quality isn't too great (crappy PA, crowded stage, drunk singer losing his voice, etc.), and because of the way the amps were facing and where the recorder was located, it didn't get the best capture of our guitarists amp, and it seemed to get too much of my guitar amp on top of my bass stack (I used it for an overdriven highs and mids and let my bass rig handle the lows). There's even a point in the show where a couple of drunk audience members almost provoked violence from our guitarist because they were messing with and harassing our singer and things escalated. (Thankfully the idiots were finally escorted out by security)

Link Removed
Click to expand...

Hi lunarpollen.

The near-constant use of processing (I'm guilty of this too ie reverb) tended to obscure the nature of the instrument's sound in these clips.

However, they do further establish that Bass VI-type instruments can be used effectively in modern bands.

Thank you for posting these.
 
#889
MIJ-VI said:
Hi lunarpollen.

The near-constant use of processing (I'm guilty of this too ie reverb) tended to obscure the nature of the instrument's sound in these clips.

However, they do further establish that Bass VI-type instruments can be used effectively in modern bands.

Thank you for posting these.
Click to expand...

We did have a pretty processed sound overall as a band, but a lot of what obscured the sound was just the way the sound was at this venue that night and where the recorder was situated.

I was using a Clone Theory chorus in most of the clips, with some delay now and then and there was some overdrive from the guitar amp I was using for the higher frequencies that was too loud on the recording, while the cleaner bass stack was not picked up too well by the microphones.
 
#890
lousybassist said:
Nice! I like my VT-Bass too, but I haven't played my VI all that much through it. That'll have to change. :) Got any favourite settings that you'd like to share?
Click to expand...

Update on VT Bass settings to achieve a simultaneously usable over-driven bass and guitar sound (on a Fender VI anyway):

DRIVE - up full, CHARACTER @ 2:00, MID @ 1:00, HIGH @ 10:30, LOW @ 12:30, Instrument's VOLUME knob @ approx. 70%.

For now I've found that these settings produce a distorted sound which is wild enough for guitar leads & power chords without being too mushy for bass lines. (Caveat: I've got a treble bleed cap on my 'VI's volume pot which allows the volume to be rolled down without the loss of highs.)

These settings also invoke a touch of that sealed cab 'thump' underscoring pick attacks.

*When the instrument's volume control is turned up full one can get that Hendrix-at-Woodstock super thick overdrive for guitar leads.

However this sound is too mushy for bass, BUT, if one palm-mutes the bridge while flat-picking, one can get a fat, synth bass-like sound which would be useful for simple ostinatos.

*This is also the time to optionally use the 'strangle switch'.

EDIT:

This helped me to understand how the VT Bass' controls work.

VT Bass frequency response plots
 
#891
This ought to rev' a few jets... :hyper: :hyper: :hyper::

"The sets were custom made but are exactly the same gauges as the standard Fender Bass VI i.e. Low to High = 95 - 75 - 55 - 45 - 35 - 25.

The Picato name of the set is "Custom Bass Set 6 String Flatwound - Stainless Steel".

I purchased them through my local dealer who is really helpful in doing research with suppliers for the slightly obscure. Certainly Fender Bass VI comes into that category.

As for cost, I paid £26.00 as it was quite a small run of manufacture - 6 sets.

I am now about to get a few sets of Fender Jaguar Baritone Custom (shorter scale length) for the same price.

Also Picato are willing to modify the gauges which is brilliant if you need the D and the G to be "beef'd up" a bit.

This depends whether you are a Bass player or use the guitar for baritone lead work.

If you need more info - don't hesitate to get in touch.

Gingermil"

Invalid Link Removed

http://www.picato.co.uk/
 
#892
For the benefit of U.K.-based Bass VI fans:

Mr. Nick Hibberd at B&T Keyboards (Guitars and many other instruments as well) Telephone 01424 434480 was, and still is Gingermil's 'go-to' guy for obtaining custom made flat-wound strings for the Fender VI (and other Bass VI's).

Unfortunately B&T Keyboards does not have a Web site.

However, this has not prevented Nick Hibberd from doing what an international legion of 'net-connected Bass VI fans has seemingly failed to do with the aid of their fancy technology: source decent flat-wound strings for their Bass VI's. ;-)
 
#893
Electrical Guitar Company Standard Baritone:

Standard Baritone Specs:

width at nut - 1.64 inches :)
width at body - 2.125 inches
thickness at nut - .75 inches
thickness at body - 1.00 inches
neck radius - 12 degree
total weight - 11.0 lbs :rolleyes:
knobs - Gibson speed or metal dome
neck material - Alcoa T6061
body material - Hulett T6061
body thickness - 1.5 inches
tuners - Grover Rotomatics
bridge - Schaller or Gotoh
number of frets - 20
scale length - 30 or 32 inches :hyper:
pickups - custom design single coils or humbuckers
control configuration - your choice :)
strap buttons- Schaller locking :)
bolts - stainless steel :)
frets - stainless steel :)
dots - black plastic
pots - CTS :)
switches and jacks - Switchcraft :)
finishes - polished aluminum, powder coated*, anodized*

http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/standard_baritone.html
 
#894
MIJ-VI said:
Electrical Guitar Company Standard Baritone:

Standard Baritone Specs:

width at nut - 1.64 inches :)
width at body - 2.125 inches
thickness at nut - .75 inches
thickness at body - 1.00 inches
neck radius - 12 degree
total weight - 11.0 lbs :rolleyes:
knobs - Gibson speed or metal dome
neck material - Alcoa T6061
body material - Hulett T6061
body thickness - 1.5 inches
tuners - Grover Rotomatics
bridge - Schaller or Gotoh
number of frets - 20
scale length - 30 or 32 inches :hyper:
pickups - custom design single coils or humbuckers
control configuration - your choice :)
strap buttons- Schaller locking :)
bolts - stainless steel :)
frets - stainless steel :)
dots - black plastic
pots - CTS :)
switches and jacks - Switchcraft :)
finishes - polished aluminum, powder coated*, anodized*

http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/standard_baritone.html
Click to expand...
Old news, my friend, old news. ;) But hey, it's all good! And actually, an Electrical Guitar Company baritone may be the only instrument that I feel an acute need to own at the moment. Some day I might buy one...

Here's two pictures of 30" scale baritones:

l_09754c3323441279a8152a6d65b2553c.png

l_9a37943c21624521b742b8d1f66c174f.png


They do look nice, but I wonder if that bridge will work with Bass VI strings, and I also wish that there'd been a model with a longer top horn, for the sake of potentially improved balance.
 
#896
MIJ-VI said:
Electrical Guitar Company Standard Baritone:

Standard Baritone Specs:

width at nut - 1.64 inches :)
width at body - 2.125 inches
thickness at nut - .75 inches
thickness at body - 1.00 inches
neck radius - 12 degree
total weight - 11.0 lbs :rolleyes:
knobs - Gibson speed or metal dome
neck material - Alcoa T6061
body material - Hulett T6061
body thickness - 1.5 inches
tuners - Grover Rotomatics
bridge - Schaller or Gotoh
number of frets - 20
scale length - 30 or 32 inches :hyper:
pickups - custom design single coils or humbuckers
control configuration - your choice :)
strap buttons- Schaller locking :)
bolts - stainless steel :)
frets - stainless steel :)
dots - black plastic
pots - CTS :)
switches and jacks - Switchcraft :)
finishes - polished aluminum, powder coated*, anodized*

http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/standard_baritone.html
Click to expand...

Nice.... But what's the price??
 
#900
Nice.... But what's the price??
Click to expand...

From what I got out of their Myspace page they start at around $2300... More than I can afford to spend for sure, but they do look nice.

They actually look a lot like my Daisy Rock Elite 4 string bass...32" double-cutaway style. If I didn't like the bass so much as a 4 string I'd consider trying to make a VI out of it.
 
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