BigRedX Buys A Fender...

[Grangur]

[quote name='Ruiner' timestamp='1463755252' post='3053883']
The squier VM Baritone Jazzmaster uses the exact same neck as the Squier VM Bass VI (I have both and can confirm this) So I imagine you'd have no problem using the Bass VI as a baritone with appropriate strings.
[/quote]
[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1464013314' post='3055747']
Depends which Baritone tuning you want. The general standard is 28" scale for B and 30" scale for A with the appropriate strings.

I have a HB 28" scale baritone guitar and even with the heavier D'Addario set (14 - 68), I still think the low B and E strings are a bit floppy. However I favour a 52 for low E on the guitar (and 56 when tuning it down to D) so my tastes might not be typical.
[/quote]

I just came (late) to this. I found this article that you might like to read>
[url="http://www2.fender.com/experience/tech-talk/the-bass-vi-bass-or-baritone-guitar/"]http://www2.fender.c...aritone-guitar/[/url]

I like the idea, but I'm no pick player, so I'd like to know if it's realistic to play finger-style?

BTW, BRX, thanks for the great review.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Grangur

[keefbaker]

I have the fender pawn shop version and I hate it.

I keep thinking about selling it, but occasionally I want that "not-a-bass, not-a-baritone either" sound when recording so I keep it about.

[Musicman20]

I've seen one for under £300 new. Are they actually worth it or are the upgrades going to basically make it a mid priced instrument?

[BigRedX]

Finally got around to changing the strings and shimming the neck.

First things: the neck on mine is a very tight fit in the pocket and I managed to chip the finish on the treble side whilst removing it. Luckily I found the missing piece of finish and I'll probably be able to glue it back in place once I'm happy with the new neck angle. So far it's looking good. When fitting the LaBella round wound strings I wound more onto the machine head posts to get a better break angle - I found that I needed 8cm on the low E, 10cm on the A, D and G and 6cm on the B and high E to get what I considered a good angle and I might still consider fitting a second string tree for the D and G strings.

The new strings have made a massive difference already. Aside from getting a low E string with a decent tension the LaBellas have gone a long way to evening out the tonal differences between the strings. They are also nowhere near as bright sounding as the stock strings which is better if you want to use this instrument as a "normal" bass with an extended note range but not quite so good IMO if you are more interested in Cure/New Order type sounds.

However raising the bridge has made the short-comings of the design much more noticeable. Now that it is sitting higher on the pillars the tendency for it the move backwards and forwards is significantly pronounced. A Staytrem bridge with the wider pillars will fix this, but I've also read about people who simply used a metal collars of the correct internal and external dimensions to stop the bridge from moving. Also the pickups need raising (especially the one closest to the bridge) otherwise the instrument sounds really weedy compared with before. AFAICS there isn't as much scope for changing the pickup height as it stands so I might have to look at some longer screws and better springs next time I change the strings.

I'm going to leave the strings to settle down and get used to the new tone before I make any more setup adjustments, so I'll report back sometime next week when I've done that.

@Musicman20. Right now all I've spent money on is a new set of strings which at some point you'll need to anyway even if the supplied strings were any good. I'm probably going to try some collars around the bridge posts before deciding whether or not to invest in a Staytrem bridge. So if you think you can live with the supplied bridge and don't need to lock down the vibrato then it's definitely good value for money.

[Musicman20]

Thanks!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1464880426' post='3063465']

I might still consider fitting a second string tree for the D and G strings.

[/quote]

I did that. It does help.

[Wooks79]

Finally got round to putting my LaBella roundwounds on mine, and it made such a difference. Why would they put such rubbish strings on to send these out?

[BigRedX]

After almost 6 months now, how am I getting on?

I've recently started playing bass in a post-punk/goth influenced band, so I thought that the Bass VI would be ideal. And it is if I'm sticking the strictly 2-string chords and New Order or Cure style tuneful bass lines. However when I want to play something more conventionally bass guitar-y, it simply doesn't have the bottom end presence I need in a band with heavily effected guitar and synth. There's a couple of songs that I'd use it on if we were recording them, but live unless I have a personal roadie to help with my instrument changes, it's way too much hassle to bring to gigs when the Red Gus with the right EQ on the amp gets so very close to the sound and is far easier to play.

Also although the neck isn't significantly narrower than some of my guitars, combined with the heavier bass strings the string spacing is just a bit too tight and then when you add the fat Fender neck (I'm used to wide shallow custom made necks on my guitars and basses) I just don't find it particularly comfortable to play. Also I'm not getting a lot of use out of the B and high E strings, I'm finding the sound of these just too bland and insipid. In order to get chords sounding good I'm playing so far up the neck, I might as well be using my Baritone guitar instead.

The vibrato simply doesn't have enough of an effect to warrant it's presence, which is a pity, because I like vibratos and all my guitars bar one have them..

What I am finding is that the guitar-like string spacing and the short scale do make me think differently when coming up with bass line, so for writing it's great, but I haven't yet come up with something on the Bass VI that I couldn't subsequently play on my Gus basses.

Will I keep it? We're about to do some new recordings. If it gets used and is in the final mix of at least one song then yes. Otherwise probably not. I don't think there's anything lacking in the Squier version that a vintage Fender or CiJ re-issue would improve for me. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of getting a Bass VI that was more suited to my preferences - wider, shallower neck to give me a millimetre or two extra space between the strings and some slightly hotter pickups, but I couldn't use this particular style of Bass VI as my main bass even in a band whose musical style suits it more than most. At Squire prices it has been a worth-while punt. I think I might have been seriously disappointed if I had paid the full Fender price for this instrument.I'll re-evaluate it in the new year before making a final decision on whether or not to keep it.

[tedmanzie]

Great review, thanks Especially helpful to have the '6 months later' addition.
I've nearly bought one of these several times as I'd like a 'proper' bass that plays more like a guitar - string spacing and scale length - but many reviews say similar things to the drawbacks you've highlighted here.
I'll be steering clear, so thanks for saving me a few quid.

[BigRedX]

Having used it for a while now, I think that for me the biggest draw-back is the narrow guitar-style neck. Even with guitar gauge strings I think I'd find the neck a little too narrow. It's very much in 70s Stratocaster territory, and I'm far more comfortable with Gibson or 80s "super-strat" type neck width.

I was lucky enough to have a go on a Shergold Marathon 6-string bass in the 80s and that had a far more sensible neck in terms of width and string spacing for an instrument like this.

Also Schecter do a [url=http://www.schecterguitars.com/international/guitars/robert-smith-ultracure-vi-detail]Robert Smith Signature Bass VI[/url] which has a slightly wider 42mm nut, so that might be worth checking out.

[2elliot]

Red. Keep us up to date with the postpunk/goth band. That's right up my street.

We've started putting on our own event once a month in the North East if you're interested, and check out Goth City Leeds on Facebook they put on gigs in Yorkshire.

All the best
Bren