Whats your favourite six string bass ? (and why?)

[perfektspace6]

For tone, my Spector US-made neck-through. Downside is that it is heavy and has a thicker neck profile.

For playability, I like Pedulla, Tobias, and Zon.

 

[Selta]

Who says a 6 must have a low B?

No one said it must, but, it's "standard", and given the information in the OP, it is a safe assumption they are seeking standard tuning.

 

[growlypants]

5 is all you need. (Hey, you're a BASS player!!)

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I really don't have a favorite, but if I did it would probably be one of these for no other reason than Jet Harris played one.

 

[Aidil]

5 is all you need. (Hey, you're a BASS player!!)

As the BASS player, some feel the need to go lower than the key players which could go as low as A0 with most common 88 keys piano. So, they use a 6 string bass strung F#0-B0-E1-A1-D2-G2.

With a 4 or 5 string strung from F#0, they'll loose the D-G or G string which has been the essential for most bass players for ages. So, definitely they need a 6 string bass as a minimum.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I have two Tune TWB63's.
To me these are the perfect sixer.
No paint,pickguard or chrome.

On the fretted,very little upgrading was needed.
Just gold knobs.
The fretless was converted.

Edit:I forgot!The fretless has Delano pickups and Hipshot Ultralite tuners.
The fretted are stock Tune pickups.

 

[nilorius]

I have two Tune TWB63's.
To me these are the perfect sixer.
No paint,pickguard or chrome.

On the fretted,very little upgrading was needed.
Just gold knobs.
The fretless was converted.
View attachment 3749647

I like the fretless, but the other......don't.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I like the fretless, but the other......don't.

Yeah!Walnut over ovangkol!
Both weigh exactly the same though!
But sound a bit different.

 

[Chuck M]

I own G.Gould, Roscoe, Bongo and Peavey Cirrus 6’s. The Gould is my favorite and I play the Cirrus frequently. The Roscoe is a killer bass but is a fretless and I play fretless infrequently.

The Cirrus 6’s can be had for about $1000-$1200 and are amazing bargains.

 

[dabbler]

I don't really have a fav, but having a fretted and fretless pair is s nice place to be, here's mine:

 

[fretlessbass]

They aren't common or made anymore, but my Peavey TL-6 has been a great bass. Not cheap for a used bass, but have features you would pay 2.5-3x for brand new.

I would also consider a U.S.A Peavey Cirrus 6 or Carvin/Kiesel as they are very good for the money.

Hey dbChad, You've piqued my curiosity.
I owned a Tim Landers 6er when they first came out, around 1990--absolutely beautiful basses...but I was frustrated:
At the time, they had a really strange eq setup:
The treble and bass were active; the mid was passive--which I only found out about after contacting Peavey.
I found the sound too scooped out for my taste, and eventually sold it (I should've just switched out the pre-amp...dumb move!!!)
Anyway, I was wondering if they ever changed the mid feature, so that all three tone controls were active; If so, it must be a great bass!

 

[dBChad]

Hey dbChad, You've piqued my curiosity.
I owned a Tim Landers 6er when they first came out, around 1990--absolutely beautiful basses...but I was frustrated:
At the time, they had a really strange eq setup:
The treble and bass were active; the mid was passive--which I only found out about after contacting Peavey.
I found the sound too scooped out for my taste, and eventually sold it (I should've just switched out the pre-amp...dumb move!!!)
Anyway, I was wondering if they ever changed the mid feature, so that all three tone controls were active; If so, it must be a great bass!

Mine certainly acts like an active mid, but I haven't opened it up to see. I use a Trace Elliot GP12, so the 12 band graphic on my amp goes a long way into dialing in a good sound.

There were 2 iterations of this model, but I don't know which mine is.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I got my first 6-string bass in 1988, a Modulus Graphite Quantum-6 SPX

...and it pretty much spoiled me for most other basses ever since!

I've played a few really nice sixers since; I could see being really happy with the Pedullas or F Bass or Tobias or Dingwalls I've tried. But none were so amazing that it tempted me away from my Modulus, and a lot of other sixers were so disappointing in comparison that I couldn't even imagine having to gig with one.

So I finally picked up a second Modulus 6-string:

Now I'm not sure which one is my "favorite"!

 

[Jefenator]

I'm not saying an extended range bass *has* to be multi-scale, but it sure doesn't seem to hurt!!
Even with passive electronics and flatwound strings, my Dingwall AB1 is leaps and bounds better for the lower and upper registers than anything else I've ever owned. (And I kind of need my low B and high C to respond properly - when they don't, they're just dead weight AFAIC and I'd rather not have 'em.)
I will admit, the angle of the frets up higher and the wide-ish 18mm spacing make certain chord shapes more prohibitive. On the other hand, I tried an inexpensive narrow-spaced parallel fret 6'er the other day and quickly determined that responsiveness trumps layout. (That is to say, I would rather keep chording with the Dingwall than switch to something that is easier to play but doesn't "sing".)
Modulus would be my next choice - the low B on the one I tried is right up there and the spacing might be more sensible for many.
I have found one good acid test for a low B is to try tuning it by ear; with the best ones, it's easy.

 

[MMiller28]

This would be my favorite six, and favorite bass in general, at the moment. Incredible in every way.

 

[luciens]

The list of good stuff and advantages to a 6 are too many to list, so it's easier to just discuss the much smaller list of gotcha's for 6's. I played a 6 string of one form or another for a number of years (mostly fretless too) and probably the main problems I found you need to be aware of:
- atrocious neck dive
- uneven sound over a flat pickup
- weight.

Everything else is gravy, but these 3 are at the top of the list of drawbacks to a 6.

So my recommendation would be to take a look at the new Kiesel headless lineup. My main 6 for a long time was a Carvin Bunny Brunel FL and I've owned several other Carvins so I'm pretty familiar with Carvin/Kiesel in terms of quality, support etc. And it's outstanding.

I'm thinking the Zeus and Osiris bolt-ons in particular:
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These check all the boxes above: they're headless so much less if any neck dive and added weight, and they have radiused pickups standard.

I don't play 5 or 6's anymore, but if I did, one of those would probably be my first choice.

L

 

[embellisher]

If I was looking for a used 6 string, the Peavey Cirrus would be at the top of my list. I love mine. Great neck, great B string, sounds great.

If I just had to have a brand new 6 string, a Bongo would be at the top of my list.

 

[WillyW]

94 Corvette...

Weighs more than my mother-in-law...

 

[thabassmon]

I've like all the Sixer's I've played, my fav has to be mine, Ibanez SR1206 like the easy to fret reinforced neck, easy to pluck spacing, monorail bridge and Nordstrand pickups. I also really liked the last Warwick Corvette 6 I played, I chose the Ibanez over the Warwick because of the price and the features but I would of been happy with the Warwick too.
I should note that I have the Ibanez tuned without the low B so E1-F3 for extended chordal options and soloing, the pickups are really clear and work great for that sort of thing.
I also tried out a squire and a fender Bass VI, I really like them too. They have a different but cool sound to them, on my wish list.

 

[Watchootognbout]

....and two has become three!