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

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#161
orgmorg said:
Hi all, This is my first post here. :)

I am planning on building myself one of these short sixes, and have a couple questions about string spacing.
First, what is the typical spacing on say, a Fender VI or the Gibson EB-6, at the nut and at the bridge?
Second, What would be a better spacing for playing with the fingers, rather than a pick, without getting too wide?
Thanks, this is a great thread, and a great forum, as well! :bassist:
Click to expand...

I'm at work and can't measure my Hellcat VI, but from my experience they are the same string spacing as a 6 string guitar. The Schecter uses a standard guitar bridge (Gibson style) with the saddles cut for fatter strings. Look up the string spacing on a Gibson guitar and you'll have it. The Dano I used to have also had the same string spacing as a guitar. In both cases the nut has the same spacing as a guitar too.

I suppose you could build one with wider string spacing, but be careful you don't get into the same territory as modern BEADGC 6 strings. :( J/K, you can build whatever suits you. Just make sure you post pics when you are done.
 
#162
orgmorg said:
Second, What would be a better spacing for playing with the fingers, rather than a pick, without getting too wide?
Click to expand...

The Shergold Marathon 6-string bass was just ever so slightly wider than the rest. You may want to check that one out for ideas anyway. I believe Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order used one of them rather extensively. Also Mike Rutherford of Genesis had a doubleneck of one with a 12-string guitar added to it.
 
#163
Thanks for the replies!

This one is going to be loosely inspired by the eb-6. I saw one in person many many years ago, and really liked it.
I definitely want to keep the spacing somewhat like the eb-6, so it can be played guitar-like, but also be able to play with my fingers, like I normally do on a 4 string.
I think I have settled on 1/2" spacing at the bridge, giving a full spread of 2 1/2", where a guitar is typically 2 1/16"
Now I just need to figure out the nut. Only specs I can find are for the Fender VI, with a nut width of 1 1/2" ( even narrower than a guitar! ) The Gibson looks a bit wider than that. Would it be inappropriate to ask any of you to measure your nuts? :p

Just make sure you post pics when you are done.
Click to expand...
Do I have to wait that long? :confused: :D
 
#164
orgmorg said:
I definitely want to keep the spacing somewhat like the eb-6, so it can be played guitar-like, but also be able to play with my fingers, like I normally do on a 4 string.
Click to expand...

On my 6-strings I often use a thumb pick when I want to get pick articulation. That way I can also use my index finder when I want a fingered sound. The spacing is a bit too close to use classic bass technique -- at least on my Fender that is...
 
#165
My USACustom neck is 1 11/16. The dudes who originally had their Fender necks copied by USACG specified it that way and all their standard issued VI necks are that way. Not sure if you can get it at the normal Fender 1 1/2 or not...
 
#166
guitfiddle0409 said:
The Shergold Marathon 6-string bass was just ever so slightly wider than the rest. You may want to check that one out for ideas anyway. I believe Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order used one of them rather extensively. Also Mike Rutherford of Genesis had a doubleneck of one with a 12-string guitar added to it.
Click to expand...

The Marathon neck is significantly wider than the Hellcat VI neck, which in turn is slightly wider than the Fender neck. Not as wide as a coffee table bass, but it does make it a lot easier to play the Marathon as a bass. OTOH, it's hard to reach the lower strings or do full chord shapes unless you have big hands. As far as I know, it's the only shortscale six-string bass with a neck this wide. My ideal width would probably be just a hair wider than the Hellcat; it feels a little cramped sometimes, but the Marathon is almost too much.
 
#167
Andy_colassal said:
Bass VI and Baritone guitar... Same thing???
Click to expand...

Yes, but it depends on the maker to some extent.

Danelectro made the original bass 6. It has a 30" scale and tuned E to E. Years later people started stringing them with different guages and tuning them to either B to B or A to A and rebranding them "baritones." Other manufacturers sell baritones and bass 6's with varying scale lengths but in most cases switching from one to another is just a string change away.
 
#168
Well, I just got home and measured my necks; the Hellcat is 1 5/8" at the nut, the Shergold is 1 7/8". So significant (1/4"), but not as much as I was remembering. Part of that feel may come from the fact that the difference is more apparent at the bridge (2" string-to-string vs more than 2 1/2"). The Shergold does spread out more.

Makes me wonder if 1 11/16" might be my perfect 6-string bass nut width. They have both gotten easier as I've gotten used to them, but it's always a bit of a shock going back and forth.
 
#169
Cool, Thanks a bunch!
Ya, 1/4" doesn't sound like a lot on paper, but it makes a big difference in practice.
I think I'm gonna go with 1 3/4" neck width at the nut, and 2 1/4" spread at the bridge. That's about like a typical acoustic guitar, and I am able to get my fingers in there ok, and still play it like a guitar, 'cause well, it's a guitar. :D
 
#170
gang

so i had this vision of a six string bass that wasn't a landing strip..


and googled short scale six string bass and found you all

YIPPEE

so i want to buy one badly, and from going through the forum, it seems the best, low cost options are the schecter hellcat and the gretsch baritone, with the appropriate strings

i want to bass to be bassy... i can fine tune the high end with different strings

any suggestions???

thanks
 
#171
My Hellcat VI can definitely be very bassy, it's actually bassier than my previous long-scale 4-strings. The stock strings on it have the same gauges as the standard Fender Bass VI string set.

I just changed my strings because the stock strings had gotten too dull (I use it in a post-punk band so I often need brighter tones). It's weird, I had to re-intonate the higher five strings; I had to bring the saddles for all of them forward significantly. But the low E string is different; the saddle is all the way back and can't go back any further, and actually "needs" to (for proper intonation). But that's often a problem with the low E on short scale basses.

Anyway, I'm hoping that the strings have finally settled in. The all migrated flat during practice on Sunday, and we have a big show tonight. The low E was a pain in the arse to put on due to the thick part being slightly too long. I wish the headstock was reverse, I mean I'd think that it would be better for the thickest string to go through the tuning peg at the top of the headstock rather than the lowest one. Oh well... It's strung and it works and I'm eager to create thunder and sparkle tonight............
 
#173
Call me crazy but i just bought a Burns Barracuda (three pickups) that was listed on eBay... I figure I could use it as a backup for my Hellcat VI, and as my main bass for a couple of tunes with my band that call for use of the bridge and neck pickups minus the middle pickup. My Dillion bass (four-string long scale, my main bass before acquiring my Hellcat) has individual off-on switches for its three pickups, and I used the N+B pickup combo for a couple of tunes, but my Hellcat can't get that tone. The Burns has similar switching to the Hellcat's; but because its pickups are single-coil, its push-pull knob allows for use of all three pickups at once or a N+B combination.

I hope this new beasty arrives in one piece... I may have to have it set up for bass VI tuning though, if it's currently set up as a baritone.
 
#175
I thought they came from the factory set up from B to B... Ah who knows, I e-mailed the seller to ask and he didn't know/couldn't be bothered to check and just referred me to the Burns website. I have a feeling he bought it brand new, barely used it, and now is selling a bunch of gear he's hardly touched. I think he's primarily a keyboard player and singer.

There's a great little music shop in Folsom, CA, about a half hour from my home... They used to be a Burns dealer, so I'm sure if it needs a neck adjustment and setup for bass VI strings they can easily do it.
 
#177
lunarpollen said:
I thought they came from the factory set up from B to B... Ah who knows, I e-mailed the seller to ask and he didn't know/couldn't be bothered to check and just referred me to the Burns website. I have a feeling he bought it brand new, barely used it, and now is selling a bunch of gear he's hardly touched. I think he's primarily a keyboard player and singer.

There's a great little music shop in Folsom, CA, about a half hour from my home... They used to be a Burns dealer, so I'm sure if it needs a neck adjustment and setup for bass VI strings they can easily do it.
Click to expand...
I really wish Burns still had a US distributor. If they did, I'd probably be in the market for one of those myself. Be sure to post pics and let us know how it is.
 
#178
I had this bass custom made with a 3rd pickup, has lots of cool pickup combinations.
ouchnbc040.jpg
 
#179
iamthebassman said:
I had this bass custom made with a 3rd pickup, has lots of cool pickup combinations.
ouchnbc040.jpg
Click to expand...

Ah that bass is very cute!! I realy like the looks of those Phantom Guitar Works insruments...

Right now I'm trying to locate an appropriate hard case for the Barracuda to have sent to the seller of the instrument so it can be shipped safely (he doesn't have a case for it). Unfortunately all the Hiscox case dealers are seem to be in the UK and don't ship to the USA. I'm a few minutes I'm gonna call the local shop that used to be a Burns dealer and ask if they might have a case in their back room, or if they know what would work for a Barracuda.
 
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