Budget bass vi options

[BigRedX]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

Cheers BRX - those alternatives from LaBella and Newtone look good.

You're welcome. I prefer the Newtones. And contributing to this thread has just reminded me to order some spares!

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

You're welcome. I prefer the Newtones. And contributing to this thread has just reminded me to order some spares!

Please do tell me a bit more as to why the Newtones rather than the LaBellas for you?

[BigRedX]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Please do tell me a bit more as to why the Newtones rather than the LaBellas for you?

The Newtones suit my playing style better, normal bass guitar thickness on the E and A string and a bit more lighter and flexible on as you go higher which suits the guitar-style lines played on the higher strings better. Plus they are cheaper than LaBellas.

[BigRedX]

@PaulFenderJazz I wasn't previously aware of the Harley Benton Bass VI, but having had a look at it on the Thomann web site, it does look interesting. It's pity that only appears to be available in Sunburst which IMO is a pretty boring colour. However other people find it attractive, so what do I know?

A couple of things to be aware of.

The 42mm nut width sounds better than the Squier, but from the photos it does look as though the high and low E strings are set in quite a distance from the fingerboard edges, so it may not be as generous as it sounds.

No string spacing figure is given for the bridge. This coupled with the presence of a ToM style bridge leads me to believe that it could be quite tight in comparison with the Squier. However I'm prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

The price does look very attractive - or at least it will be when Thomann actually have some in stock - so IMO definitely worth a punt. If you do decide to give it a go, could you please let me know what the actual string spacing at the nut (E string to E string) as well as the spacing from E to E at the bridge. It may help me to decide whether I should get one of these in preference to my Squier as a spare bass for gigs.

Edited July 8, 2019 by BigRedX

[PaulFenderJazz]

23 hours ago, Dem Jolie-blues said:

Hi,  i use a Musicman Silhouette 6,  its just a more expensive version of what your looking for, over two grand new i believe, but as a guitar an octave down, its actually guitar sized, the Squier is huge and heavy by comparison, the musicman can be re=strung for baritone, how much you wanting to pay ?, besides as little as poss  !

Ha, good question! It’s that classic dilemma between very little as I’m not sure yet how much use I’ll get from it, vs pointless buying something that’s cheap and nasty and therefore discourages you from playing! Having tried US Fender Jazz and Ric 4003 I’ve gone the short scale route fro ease of play and weight in a gig, hence my current go to is an American Performer Mustang, which I find really comfortable and light to play. So I’m thinking something a similar size/weight, while accommodating the extra strings. So the Squier may well be out. I think I’d go up to maybe 500-600 quid, although I keep thinking what’s the risk on a sub 200 HB, as one of the posters on this thread has said as a brand they seem to get pretty good feedback for the money, which also seem s to be the case in other online reviews

[Dem Jolie-blues]

i can see the sense price-wise,  i looked at selling my custom finish Silhouette to Richtone Music, they said it would only sell for 900, if that's true a std finish model might sneak in at the top of your price range.  

[PaulFenderJazz]

23 hours ago, BigRedX said:

I'm using a Bass VI exclusively for one of the bands I play with. I have a Squier Bass VI and a Burns Barracuda. TBH I don't like the Squier very much as I find the string spacing on the neck far too narrow. Whoever thought it was good a idea to take a neck that is already narrow by electric guitar standards and fit even chunkier string to it was obviously not thinking straight - even my 6 string electric guitars have a wider neck than the Squier Bass VI. 

I started a whole thread about my quest for a more suitable Bass VI for my needs here where most of the alternatives have been discussed.

And having said that the Squier's string spacing at the nut is too narrow, the Burns has better neck string spacing, but is less good at the bridge (compared with the Squier). IMO the problem with most of the these instruments is that they are essentially guitars with long necks shoe-horned on to give a 30" scale length.

Out of all the Bass VIs I've tried the Burns Barracuda is the one that places the least number of restrictions upon my playing style, but everyone is different so you really need to try each bass and make up your own mind. Personally having played both, I'd pick the Revelation over the Squier, they are fairly similar, but the Relation has more usable tonal variations and slightly more space between the strings which makes it (for me) a bit easier to play.

All of these budget Bass VIs come with strings that are really too light for the average bass player. It is less noticeable on the Burns because it has a different style bridge, but all will benefit from changing the strings to either LaBellas (flat or round wound), or Newtone Axion Bass VI Round wound stings ( my personal choice).

Thanks for the reply, really good info and I checked out your thread on finding the right vi: I hadn’t thought of the Burns, and it’s a gorgeous looking thing. Like you, I’m looking for something that suits post punk etc, rather than 60s surf, so that’s a good contender. I have a suspicion that my original plan to go super budget on this could well be blown! 

In your thread about nut width  you talked about ‘true’ width between strings vs ‘nominal’ full neck width, did you ever get to a definitive measurement comparison? I have small hands, but even so, it’d be good to learn from others’ experience on the ease of playing

cheers

[Maude]

@PaulFenderJazz You've just touched on another point I was going make as to what style ifmusic you want it for. The HB doesn't have a tremolo so wouldn't be ideal for surf/western. I don't have the tremolo arm fitted to my Squier and think it overcomplicates a already lacking bridge/tailpiece design.

If the HB had been available when I bought my Squier I think I would have tried it first. 

[BigRedX]

6 minutes ago, Maude said:

@PaulFenderJazz You've just touched on another point I was going make as to what style ifmusic you want it for. The HB doesn't have a tremolo so wouldn't be ideal for surf/western. I don't have the tremolo arm fitted to my Squier and think it overcomplicates a already lacking bridge/tailpiece design.

If the HB had been available when I bought my Squier I think I would have tried it first. 

TBH as soon as you fit the heavier gauge LaBella or Newtone strings the vibrato mechanism on both the Squier and Burns does essentially nothing.

[PaulFenderJazz]

2 hours ago, Maude said:

@PaulFenderJazz You've just touched on another point I was going make as to what style ifmusic you want it for. The HB doesn't have a tremolo so wouldn't be ideal for surf/western. I don't have the tremolo arm fitted to my Squier and think it overcomplicates a already lacking bridge/tailpiece design.

If the HB had been available when I bought my Squier I think I would have tried it first. 

Good call, I couldn’t see the point of the trem other than to pull the strings out of tune! 

[PaulFenderJazz]

Quick update, I saw a Revelation used in Reverb for 195 so I’ve ordered it: if it proves really useful, I may splash out on a more up market model later!

[BigRedX]

On 09/07/2019 at 11:41, PaulFenderJazz said:

Thanks for the reply, really good info and I checked out your thread on finding the right vi: I hadn’t thought of the Burns, and it’s a gorgeous looking thing. Like you, I’m looking for something that suits post punk etc, rather than 60s surf, so that’s a good contender. I have a suspicion that my original plan to go super budget on this could well be blown! 

In your thread about nut width  you talked about ‘true’ width between strings vs ‘nominal’ full neck width, did you ever get to a definitive measurement comparison? I have small hands, but even so, it’d be good to learn from others’ experience on the ease of playing

It is my experience from the various Bass VIs I have played and from measurements obtained when looking to buy other basses, that apart from the Squier Bass VI (which already has a ridiculously narrow neck IMO), most budget Bass VIs have the strings set in quite a long way (relatively speaking) from the neck edges so the nut widths while seemingly quite generous don't tell the whole picture. 

Add this to the fact that many of them use standard guitar parts for the bridge, so overall the string spacing is somewhat tighter than what I would consider optimal.

I've found it easier to adjust to relatively narrow spacing at the bridge then on the neck, which is why the Burns Barracuda is for me (for now) the best compromise. Ultimately I think I will end up with something custom made to my specifications for string spacing. Unfortunately the only way I have been able to work out if I can get on with the spacing on a particular Bass VI is to actually try one.

One other thing that you do need to watch, which I mentioned in my original thread, is voicing. IME a lot of the instruments that are marketed as Bass VIs are more in the A-tuned Baritone category. IME you really need the 3 single coil pickup configuration to get the maximum versatility out of a Bass VI. I find that the best bass tones come from using the middle pickup either on its own or in combination with the neck or bridge. Bass VIs with just two pickups - neck and bridge - have a tendency to sound like bad jazz guitars rather than basses - in my hands at least.

[Dem Jolie-blues]

Put up a pic on here for us all to see the end result please

[PaulFenderJazz]

8 hours ago, BigRedX said:

It is my experience from the various Bass VIs I have played and from measurements obtained when looking to buy other basses, that apart from the Squier Bass VI (which already has a ridiculously narrow neck IMO), most budget Bass VIs have the strings set in quite a long way (relatively speaking) from the neck edges so the nut widths while seemingly quite generous don't tell the whole picture. 

Add this to the fact that many of them use standard guitar parts for the bridge, so overall the string spacing is somewhat tighter than what I would consider optimal.

I've found it easier to adjust to relatively narrow spacing at the bridge then on the neck, which is why the Burns Barracuda is for me (for now) the best compromise. Ultimately I think I will end up with something custom made to my specifications for string spacing. Unfortunately the only way I have been able to work out if I can get on with the spacing on a particular Bass VI is to actually try one.

One other thing that you do need to watch, which I mentioned in my original thread, is voicing. IME a lot of the instruments that are marketed as Bass VIs are more in the A-tuned Baritone category. IME you really need the 3 single coil pickup configuration to get the maximum versatility out of a Bass VI. I find that the best bass tones come from using the middle pickup either on its own or in combination with the neck or bridge. Bass VIs with just two pickups - neck and bridge - have a tendency to sound like bad jazz guitars rather than basses - in my hands at least.

Thanks, this one is a 3 pup guitar, single coils, hoping for a reasonable sound. Will post some video once I get a chance to try it out 

[PaulFenderJazz]

8 hours ago, Dem Jolie-blues said:

Put up a pic on here for us all to see the end result please

Will do, if poss with some vid for sound impressions 

[James Nada]

I've recently been debating whether or not to buy a bass vi, so in the sport of "budget bass vi" I knocked one up using bits left over from old projects.

 

That's an Encore short scale bass neck with two extra banjo tuners, and a left handed 80s Hondo body (wired direct to jack).  The bridge is a cheapo hardtail strat replacement type.  The nut is 42mm with "strat spacing".

Stings are Ernie Ball 6 String Bass (90-20w).  The G is just long enough.

The nut spacing seems fine, the bridge spacing could do with being a smidge wider.  Obviously access to the dusty end is limited.

Sounds OK.  The guitarist in my surf band is using it on one song, through a guitar amp, as a "lead bass" kind of thing and it's particularly good for that.

Edited July 13, 2019 by James Nada
Picture

[Woodinblack]

I have had 2 squire bass vi"s,, i bought a black one when it came out, then sold it because I wasn't really using it that much. Then I got a white one as it was local and cheap, but again I never really used it that much.

they were good, a bit clunky and the bridges as many people say are fairly awful, but I am not sure the clankyness isn't just a function of how they are rather than how they are made, ie, a short scale bass with tight spacing. Personally I think if I did get another (which is still tempting if one came up cheap) replacing the bridge for a fixed one would be a good idea and solve a lot of the problems (I never used the trem on one).,

I had an SRC6 as well. This is a lot better built but whereas the bass VI is a skinny faffy bass, the SRC6 is very much a downtuned shredder guitar, like a proper ibanez super strat but lower.  If there ever actually was a bass that was good for metal, that is it!

 

[PaulFenderJazz]

Revelation arrived today; pix herewith as promised. 3 pups with sliding selector,  single tone and vol, plus the 5 way chicken head tone switch. Initial Impressions are good build quality for the price, decent finish, no sharp fret ends, intonation seems ok. All in all a good low cost way to see if a bass vi is for you!

[PaulFenderJazz]

So, I bought a set of Newtones and started to fit them to the Revelation: bizarrely it’s been a fight to fit any of them! The holes in the tailpiece are not quite big enough to get the whole length of the string through. I managed to replace the bottom E, which was the key one for me as the factory fitted string is so floppy. But I actually couldn’t fit the A string through the hole, I’ve had to refit the old string! Weird! And I guess an indicator of the issues with cheap guitars! 

I’ll keep the guitar a few months (tonally it sounds fine), and if I find enough use for it will probably upgrade to something more expensive.

I still feel 200 quid is a good way to test the usefulness of a bass vi, though 

I’m planning on using it for 2 numbers in a gig on Saturday so it’ll be good to see how it works in action...