Bass vi alternative... bass iv

[dezb1]

Had what is possibly a stupid idea: been looking at bass vi's most people say nitch item you'll get bored... so: a bass vi is 30" scale a Squier bronco or a shortscale Ibanez talman bass (probably my choice if I do this) is 30", I'm after the Bass vi sound (want to play Cure tunes) more than the actual instrument. Could I get one of these basses and a set of bass vi strings but only use the 4 highest strings as I don't really want a bass vi for the low end - then if I get sick of it use the 4 lowest strings for standard SS bass tones... opinions please?

Edited September 9, 2019 by dezb1
Mistake

[Frank Blank]

Best of all worlds, Ibanez SRC6, more addictive than crack.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Frank Blank

[dezb1]

Bit too modern looking for my taste... demos sound great though

[Cato]

I've never really tried it on a shortscale bass but the string spacing on a standard 4 string bass guitar can make playing some chords a stretch too far.

If you don't want to play chords and you've got the right strings then I can't think of a technical reason why a bass tuned  DGBE wouldn't work as a Bass VI substitute, as long as you never needed the E or A.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Cato

[BigRedX]

If it's the sound of the bass VI more than anything else you are after, then you need the right pickups in the right places. That means a pickup arrangement that matches or is very close to that of the original Fender Bass VI. So you need 3 single coil pickups all individually switchable. Neither of the basses mentioned in the OP come close to this arrangement. 

[borntohang]

I've used a Jag SS with the top four strings of a VI set as both a DGBE and piccolo bass tuning. It's a fun sound but not a VI really. I also found I had to remove the ball ends from a set of strings and slip the VI strings through them to keep them in the Squier bridge. 

[dezb1]

Was looking at the Harley Benton guitarbass but they discontinued it last week... 

[Cato]

Revelation did a sub £300 bass vi, but after a quick Google it looks like they might have been discontinued.

You might find a second hand one somewhere.

I was going to also suggest the Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI from a few years back, but it looks like they're selling for more now than they were new.

[BigRedX]

The Revelation Bass VI is still on their web site. The harley Benton one has been out of stock forever.

ATM the easiest model to get hold of the Squier bass VI. If you are lucky you might find a Burns Barracuda, but the list price is considerably higher than the Squier.

[dezb1]

Cheers for all the input chaps, looks like I want a vi of some sort. I really should shift my derrière into town and play one but I can't be arsed with guitar shops these days... All the good ones are gone.

[bigsmokebass]

I think you'll struggle with the ball ends on the strings, as the Bass VI ball ends are more so 'guitar size' which will probably pull through the bass ball end sized bridge.

I'm pretty sure the frets are somewhat different between a Bass VI and a short scale bass and sound of Bass VI strings through a bass pickup is going to be weak and thin.

There's quite a few Bass VI instruments out there, I'd be tempted to give them a try but the Ibanez SRC6 is definitely a good shout. 

[Frank Blank]

46 minutes ago, bigsmokebass said:

There's quite a few Bass VI instruments out there, I'd be tempted to give them a try but the Ibanez SRC6 is definitely a good shout. 

^^^ this. I know you aren’t keen on the look @dezb1 but try one, it might be just the ticket. Depending on your location you are welcome to try mine. Or come to the South East or East Anglian Bass Bashes.

Edited September 15, 2019 by Frank Blank

[dezb1]

Well after no research what so ever I'm getting one of these delivered later today bass vi string through body as I don't like the idea of messing with a trem

And the Squier was out of my price range.

Edited September 25, 2019 by dezb1

[dezb1]

Well it's arrived looks the part feels nice. I won't get a chance to tune, play, test it until I've took our youngest to nursery.

[Frank Blank]

That looks fine!

[Taylor Bitch-blues]

Cheaper than a MusicMan  Silhouette 6,  post an opinion of your new toy please.

[dezb1]

Actual colour is somewhere between these two pics.

[dezb1]

1 hour ago, Taylor beach-blues said:

Cheaper than a MusicMan  Silhouette 6,  post an opinion of your new toy please.

Will do, in a few days once I've had time to put it through it's paces

[BigRedX]

What is that? I can't make out the name on the headstock.

And what's the string spacing E-E at the bridge and the nut?

I'd be interested to know how it sounds. What looks like humbucking pickups in the typical "guitar" positions suggests it is primarily designed as an A-tuned Baritone Guitar rather than a Bass VI.

[dezb1]

Was advertised as E to E and I've tuned it that way, sounds good. The pickups are 3 way like a standard guitar (same as the Shergold Marathon or Music Man Silhouette) - middle and neck only are great still to find my way with the bridge humbucker.

Edited September 25, 2019 by dezb1

[dezb1]

Also it's a Subzero Rogue vi (Gear 4 Music homebrew brand)

[BigRedX]

13 hours ago, dezb1 said:

Was advertised as E to E and I've tuned it that way, sounds good. The pickups are 3 way like a standard guitar (same as the Shergold Marathon or Music Man Silhouette) - middle and neck only are great still to find my way with the bridge humbucker.

From my own experience with the Squier Bass VI and the Burns Barracuda all my most useable tones in a band mix require the brightness of single coils, and the middle pickup (either on its own on in combination with one of the others). 

12 hours ago, dezb1 said:

Also it's a Subzero Rogue vi (Gear 4 Music homebrew brand)

Interesting... It's described as a Baritone Guitar although the specifications say it's designed to be tuned an octave down from standard guitar tuning.

At £199 it's a very attractive proposition. Any chance you can measure the distance between the highest and lowest strings at the bridge and the nut for me?

Thanks! 

[EliasMooseblaster]

7 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Interesting... It's described as a Baritone Guitar although the specifications say it's designed to be tuned an octave down from standard guitar tuning.

At £199 it's a very attractive proposition. Any chance you can measure the distance between the highest and lowest strings at the bridge and the nut for me?

Thanks! 

I was looking speculatively at those the other day - I think Gear4Music might be a little confused as to what a Baritone Guitar actually is...

(...it's particularly confusing as they stock another model which looks like it might actually be a bari, at least as we know them)

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, EliasMooseblaster said:

I was looking speculatively at those the other day - I think Gear4Music might be a little confused as to what a Baritone Guitar actually is...

(...it's particularly confusing as they stock another model which looks like it might actually be a bari, at least as we know them)

From what I've seen (and played) 28" seems to be the standard for B-tuned Baritone Guitars and 30"  will be either an A-tuned Baritone or a Bass VI depending on the strings fitted and the pickup voicing (for me humbuckers in the standard guitar positions says A-tuned Baritone).

At 27" scale that's a weird one. IME you'd need some fairly hefty strings to get a decent B-tuned Baritone sound - I needed to fit the heaviest D'Addario baritone set to my 28" guitar to get the best out of it for me. Of course if you are looking for that floppy down-tuned sound then 27" with a light set of baritone strings might be just what you want.

[dezb1]

5 hours ago, BigRedX said:

From my own experience with the Squier Bass VI and the Burns Barracuda all my most useable tones in a band mix require the brightness of single coils, and the middle pickup (either on its own on in combination with one of the others). 

Interesting... It's described as a Baritone Guitar although the specifications say it's designed to be tuned an octave down from standard guitar tuning.

At £199 it's a very attractive proposition. Any chance you can measure the distance between the highest and lowest strings at the bridge and the nut for me?

Thanks! 

I'll get a measurement later tonight.