jay bass Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Hi anyone with experience of using a Bass VI for Bass lines does it work as a Bass guitar ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 (edited) Early Cream is Jack Bruce on Bass VI, Soft Machine had Roy Babbington on Bass VI, early Hollies Eric Haydock bass VI etc etc .... https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/283789-anyone-gig-with-just-a-fender-vi-bass/ https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/207055-fender-pawnshop-bass-vi-good-for-indie/ Edited December 31, 2017 by EssentialTension spulling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 I've got one. It's fine so long as you can cope with the very narrow yet chunky 70s Fender Stratocaster style neck on an instrument fitted with strings designed to be tuned an octave lower than a guitar. The problem I have is that the neck is even narrower than my standard 6-string guitars, and consequently is far too narrow for me. I've seen another band whose bassist used one exclusively and if I hadn't seen that he was playing a BassVI I certainly wouldn't have guessed it from the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randythoades Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I know this is a pretty old thread now, but I have bought a Revelation bass VI which I actually really like having used it at a couple of rehearsals but not live as yet. I like the narrow neck and close string spacing (as I also play with a pick), and I like the way that it actually does sound like a bass rather than a baritone even with the thinner strings, but I am interested to see how others use these. I play in a 3 piece so have started adding some chords and arpeggios in under guitar solos etc at reahersal, but with mixed results, definitely better on a song that needs a small amount of drive or fuzz. Does anyone use these on a regualr basis and do you run the whole lot into bass amp or split the signal and do the Royal Blood type thing with guitar amp running as well as bass amp? We do standard rock, pop and blues covers from 50s and 60s upwards (Elvis, Stones, Bowie, Clapton, Skynyrd, Doobie Brothers etc) and I think it has potential but not sure how to get the best out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westenra Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 First time I saw a bass VI I immediately knew I had to have one, but with the Squier being too expensive I settled on the Eastwood version. Mainly just had it in odd tunings and played with a capo, with a lot of open strings. It was pretty fun for a while but like others have said the string spacing got to me in the end and I went back to normal 4 string basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Interesting that the string spacing is proving to be such an issue, not just here but see also: I'm increasingly starting to think that restringing my 34" scale Ibanez SR1206 E to E in classic bass VI fashion was maybe not a totally daft option; and I get the benefit of being able to use the bottom four strings as a 'normal' 4 string bass as well. I'd definitely recommend folk considering this approach as an alternative to a short scale bass VI, particularly if narrow string spacing is proving to be an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Except that restringing a ‘bass’ guitar E to E does not sound the same as a bass VI in any way, but a bass Vi will do a passable bass guitar sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 A bass guitar will do much more than a passable bass guitar sound, so I guess it depends on what you're after! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Well if you are after a TicTac type of playing and bass sound it’s the Bass VI all over, aside from the sonic properties of short scale vs long scale, a normal bass won’t give you that at all etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Cuzzie said: Well if you are after a TicTac type of playing and bass sound... Fortunately I'm not. As I said it depends on what you're trying to achieve. IMO a bass string E note is an E note(!!) irrespective of scale length and then I would argue, pups, strings, cab, amp and effects (which are all variables under our control) will have far more of an effect on tone... So if you want a six string with E to E and are struggling with string spacing on a bass VI, this is just a suggestion, my friend, for folk to consider. Anyone only wanting to play 4 strings (or 4 x 3 =12 string variant) ain't gonna be impacted... Edited April 27, 2018 by Al Krow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 3 hours ago, Al Krow said: I'm increasingly starting to think that restringing my 34" scale Ibanez SR1206 E to E in classic bass VI fashion was maybe not a totally daft option; and I get the benefit of being able to use the bottom four strings as a 'normal' 4 string bass as well. How hard did you find it to get such a string set in a 34" scale? It's a whim, rather than anything more serious, but I've often thought that if I were to dip my toe into ERB territory, I'd be more interested in extending the range up rather than down - an E-C 5-string was the first to pique my curiousity, but an E-E 6er could be fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 @Al Krow it’s not always all about you! Chording, runs etc will be easier on a Bass VI. Within your variables list ARE things which are directly affected by a short scale Vs long scale. You can’t seriously say that the way a string vibrates and the harmonics it creates is exactly the same across the 2 basses? Thats just one example..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 10 hours ago, EliasMooseblaster said: How hard did you find it to get such a string set in a 34" scale? It's a whim, rather than anything more serious, but I've often thought that if I were to dip my toe into ERB territory, I'd be more interested in extending the range up rather than down - an E-C 5-string was the first to pique my curiousity, but an E-E 6er could be fun... Relatively straightforward in the end. E to C is obviously fairly standard, I then added a D'Addario single 25 gauge bass string for the top E which works well. I've detuned the top C to a B, so I have normal six string guitar tuning but an octave down i.e. E, A, D, G, B, E Add a digitech Mosaic pedal and you then also have a '12 string' bass sounding like a 12 string guitar but an octave down which provides a rich tonal palette to play with. It sounds great and is a lot of fun. The nice thing about doing this on a 6er is that you can always swap back to 'standard' 6 string tuning, although I'm keeping mine on this bass VI style tuning - if I want a low B I have my 5ers to cater for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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