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The Short-Scale Six-String Club Part 2- for the original six-string basses!
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
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I love the tort pickguard on my 3TS Hellcat, but I agree with you about the headstock.
From a distance I think it looks okay, but up close it just looks cheap and plastic-y...though I guess I've never compared it to a Fender or something so maybe a Fender's looks just as bad. The headstock is too metal...but tolerable considering my next best currently available bass VI (MIJ Fender Reissue?) is going to set me back more than twice as much...
I love my Hellcat VI. I never thought the pickguard looked cheap. No better nor worse than I've seen on a Fender. I do agree that the headstock throws the look off a bit, it doesn't bother me enough to complain about it.
The hellcat always looked funny to me. I would only get one for function and price.
From a business standpoint, how come a bass vi makes sense to Schecter, but not Fender??
If you can get a hellcat for $600, why can't Fender make one for under $1000 Especially through a foreign factory.
We have to keep bugging Fender until they give in.
Sign the petition if you have not done so already. 
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From a business standpoint, how come a bass vi makes sense to Schecter, but not Fender??
If you can get a hellcat for $600, why can't Fender make one for under $1000 Especially through a foreign factory.
We have to keep bugging Fender until they give in.
Sign the petition if you have not done so already. Invalid Link Removed
The 'guard on my MIJ Fender VI looks cheap too.
If you ever get a chance to snag an MIJ 'VI, please try-before-you-buy.
- The MIJ has thin-sounding, microphonic, single coil pickups with no RWRP scheme.
They must be replaced.- The cheap vibrato tail-piece (the collet soon wears out and the arm gets floppy) should be swapped out for the AVRI unit used on the American Vintage Re-issue Jaguar & Jazzmaster if one wants a proper trem feel.
- The back of the pick-guard is NOT shielded
and the pickup & control cavities are treated with inadequate carbon paint. A thorough copper tape shielding job is in order.- Then there's the rattling switch bats, and the sympathetic vibrations emanating from the tail-piece's compression spring and string after-lengths which causes wolf-tone overtones when playing the low E string. (I expect that switching to flatwound strings would remedy this.)
In short the MIJ Fender VI is a PITA fix-'er-upper money pit!
A first hand shootout between your Schecter Hellcat VI and an MIJ Fender VI would likely result in you going home with your money intact and a renewed appreciation for your Hellcat.
The impending Agile VI notwithstanding, if I didn't already own my now partially upgraded, in-for-a-penny-in-for-a-pound MIJ Fender VI, and in view of the fact that one can now obtain custom-made flatwounds at a reasonable price from Picato, I'd buy a Hellcat VI (black) in a heartbeat.
BTW. IIRC more headstock mass = better sustain and fewer dead spots. It's part of why members of the violin family have necks which terminate in that scroll-like mass at their tip.
Works for me. Really could care less about any other factors. AND IMHO, it looks just great. Have no issues at all about any of the other aesthetics with it. I was happy to score in in black though. Just not a sunburst kind of guy I guess. I did correspond with a guy in Philly who had a custom one done in red at very little extra cost.
Interesting, but, very curious what sacrifices have been made to keep it under $400 retail. Gotta be something.
Also, it states "setup to intonate with 24 34 44 56 72 84 gauge strings." Very odd combination of non-standard gauges.
Another questionable (and perhaps cost savings) feature is the choice of single coil pickups vs. the mini-humbucker taps of the Cat.
I certainly wouldn't be the first to get this one. But, would sure like a report from someone who does decide to take the plunge.
Still think the "Cat" is a nicer package all together.
Perhaps this Rondo is positioned to be an "entry-level" product at a cheaper pricepoint?
Also, it states "setup to intonate with 24 34 44 56 72 84 gauge strings." Very odd combination of non-standard gauges.
Another questionable (and perhaps cost savings) feature is the choice of single coil pickups vs. the mini-humbucker taps of the Cat.
I certainly wouldn't be the first to get this one. But, would sure like a report from someone who does decide to take the plunge.
Still think the "Cat" is a nicer package all together.
Perhaps this Rondo is positioned to be an "entry-level" product at a cheaper pricepoint?
Isn't that set of gauges what the D'Addario Bass VI set has? I'm guessing they set them up with those because they are cheaper than the Fender Bass VI string set.
I don't mind the single coil pickups, although a humbucker option would be nice. The Hellcat coil-tapped still isn't very bright.
If I had the spare cash I'd want one of each.
I don't mind the single coil pickups, although a humbucker option would be nice. The Hellcat coil-tapped still isn't very bright.
If I had the spare cash I'd want one of each.
Right you are:
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They are cheaper. And, they are also nickle wound rather than stainless steel. Personally, I like the heavier gauge strings (especially for EAD) and stainless for my style. But, it is all about individual taste.
Setting it up for cheaper string set and a much lower retail price actually fit together. I think they made this to be an entry-level/lower end instrument. Leaving the higher-end to Schecter and Fender.
Also, think the Vibrato looks cool but in reality is relatively useless with these gauges. YMMV. Again, it's all individual taste and style. Maybe if you were into a surf/slapback reverb thing it might work best for you.
It's cheap enough to mod anyway. That's part of the fun of Rondo instruments to me. I know the agiles are better quality and bit more spendy than sx, but I've already refinished it, and swapped out the pickups in my head. I can't wait to get mine. Sucks that I found out about these after shopping today.
I am very much into the surfy/slapback thing, but I would like to be able to play bass lines on it as well. Something tells me it will intonate OK with the heavier gauge Fender strings, but it will definitely need a truss rod adjustment and probably bridge height adjustment in addition to tweaking the saddles a whole bunch. But I won't know til I try. I don't have the discretionary funds right now, been dealing with cat medical bills recently. Bleh...
Bon!
If it employs a RWRP pickup scheme, I'll be going for the three pickup model as soon as I can afford it (especially since IIRC I was the first poster in this thread to pester Kurt about offering an affordable 30" VI with three Strat pickups).
It looks like they'll both need a Link Removed of some sort to make that their trem work without throwing the instrument out of tune--that is if the low E won't jump off of the guitar string-sized roller saddle...
EDIT: I have to learn how to read ad copy.
They already HAVE roller bridges! And yes, these instruments are advertised as being made to intonate with the D'Addario XL156 Fender VI string set.
I'm looking forward to a head-to-head comparison of the new Agile Argus LPB with my Curtis Novak pickup-equipped MIJ Fender VI...
I've got my fingers crossed that the Agile (I wish they had used 'VI' in its name) will be just the ticket for Bass VI fans who need an affordable VI for gigging.
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BTW. I hope that Kurt moves these to the 6 string bass section of Rondo's web site so that they can be more easily found by those who are interested in this type of instrument.
I thought these new Agiles had roller bridges. was I hallucinating?
Edit: In their description, it says "The design of the neck and adjustable roller bridge provide excellent action, making the bass very easy to play"
Edit: In their description, it says "The design of the neck and adjustable roller bridge provide excellent action, making the bass very easy to play"
I think they left the VI out of the name because they want to avoid Fender entanglements... I wonder how the "toaster" pickups compare with the Strat-style, soundwise.
For this kind of instrument you can use standard issue guitar parts. Standard tuners, jazzmaster tremelo, standard strat style pickups, they also borrowed the jazz bass control plate, and a roller bridge, as well as a strat selector instead of a jaguar plate like a Bass VI.
So they kept the cost down by not using any proprietary parts except for a new pickguard. All the hardware is off the shelf. That's the 'something', it probably plays and works as well as the original Fenders. The only thing I'm curious about is the pickups, they are supposed to be overwound in this kind of application.
I am mystified by the V-T-T setup on the 3 pickups model but I guess they had to put something in the extra jazz bass hole.
It would cost twice as much to build one of these on your own and take a solid week of work as well.
I guess I like the black one personally, simply because the control layout makes more sense there, and it's not trying to be a Bass VI necessarily.
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