What strings for a Schecter Hellcat Bass VI

[Sarlscharisma]

Hi, any ideas what strings to suit a Schecter Hellcat Bass VI.  I'm at a complete loss??

[BigRedX]

Flat-wound or round-wound? - i.e. are you going for a vintage 60s sound (flats) or a more post-punk/goth sound (rounds)?

For flat-wound have a look at offerings from LaBella and Picato.

For round-wound you really can't go wrong with Newtone Axion Bass VI strings. LaBella also do a round-wound bass VI set but the Newtones are better IMO and a fraction of the price.

[TheGreek]

For those of us who weren't familiar...

[ahpook]

The D'addario Fender VI set is a close match to the strings the Hellcat comes with (90-75-56-44-34-24), the low E and A are a little lighter but the rest are spot on.

[Sarlscharisma]

Goth sound and rounds.

[Sarlscharisma]

I bought some La Bellas Hellcat VI from Bass Direct and found the string taper began from ball to start of taper at 35.5". which was way too long.  Some oddness going on though as the La Bella website said they were 33".   So still working this through with Bass Direct as attempted to instal string and failed miserably.  I have a feeling the string length might be slightly longer for the Fender Bass VI?  So 35" works fine for that bass.

I was also recommended Ernie Ball which could work.  Its my first VI so I'm navigating an untrodden path.

Edited November 4, 2020 by Sarlscharisma

[BigRedX]

The Newtone Axions should be fine. I have them fitted to a Burns Barracuda which has a Strat-style bridge and therefore not as much excess string length after the saddles.

Alternatively you could get a set of GHS Hooky Bass 6 strings. The Hooky Bass 6 is a replica of the Shergold Marathon 6-string bass and has a BBOT style bridge so there shouldn't be any excess length.

I wouldn't bother with the D'Addarios, the E and A are way too light for a good bass sound.

Given the prices, I'd try the Newtones first.

Edit: I couldn't find the Ernie Ball Bass VI strings on their web site, so maybe they have been discontinued, and the only sets left are those in the retail chain? Besides at 90 and 74 respectively, IMO the E and A are still too light.

Edited November 5, 2020 by BigRedX

[Baloney Balderdash]

Ernie Ball 2837 Slinky Baritone is a great set for Bass VI type instruments, with a gauge .090 low E string, versus the just gauge .084 low E string in the D'Addario Bass VI set which would get way too floppy, in my opinion .084 is way too thin a gauge string for that tuning on a 30" scale instrument, and I honestly don't understand why D'Addario would do thing, a gauge .090 or .095 low E string on a 30" Bass VI type instrument will be much more fitting. 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[BigRedX]

4 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Ernie Ball 2837 Slinky Baritone is a great set for Bass VI type instruments, with a gauge .090 low E string, versus the just gauge .084 low E string in the D'Addario Bass VI set which would get quite floppy, and in my opinion is way too thin a gauge string for that tuning on a 30" scale instrument, a gauge .090 or .095 low E string on a 30" Bass VI type instrument will be much more fitting. 

The clue as to why these might not be the right strings is in the name.

Baritone.

Baritone is not the same the same as Bass VI. They are two separate instruments with which are tuned differently and have different tonal characteristics. From personal experience with both baritone guitars and a variety of Bass VIs from different manufacturers I would be very reluctant to go with anything lighter than a 95 for the low E, and experience with both the Netwone Axions and the GHS Hooky 6 strings shows that 100 and 105 respectively give a much tighter sound, with a better defined note, which if you are playing goth/post-punk music is what you want.

[Baloney Balderdash]

23 hours ago, BigRedX said:

The clue as to why these might not be the right strings is in the name.

Baritone.

Baritone is not the same the same as Bass VI. They are two separate instruments with which are tuned differently and have different tonal characteristics. From personal experience with both baritone guitars and a variety of Bass VIs from different manufacturers I would be very reluctant to go with anything lighter than a 95 for the low E, and experience with both the Netwone Axions and the GHS Hooky 6 strings shows that 100 and 105 respectively give a much tighter sound, with a better defined note, which if you are playing goth/post-punk music is what you want.

Well, I have to break to you that you are wrong, in fact the Ernie Ball 2837 Slinky Baritone string set is made specifically with Bass Vi type instruments in mind, despite having Baritone in their name, though a bit too short for the specific Fender model (because of the bridge positioning/how the strings are attached needing a bit longer string length), I think in specific these Ernie Ball strings are made for the Gretsch Jet one.

And as I mentioned the set that D'Addario make specifically to fit Fender Bass VI got a low E string that is just gauge .084, though I agree that would be way too thin and floppy for a low E, so not sure what the reasoning behind such a thin gauge for the low E is.

Most Bass VI string sets will feature a gauge .090 or .095 low E string (the Schecter Hellcat Bass VI in question is fitted with a gauge .090 low E string from factory), and in my opinion that is quite fitting for a low E on a 30" scale instrument.

Personally I have always used a set with a gauge .095 low E string for 30" scale short scale basses, and to me they always felt just right and never too floppy.

What most people doesn't realize is that even though the tension of the strings will be lower on a shorter scale instrument they will actually feel much stiffer, contrary to common believes, just think of guitars which usually will have much lower string tension than basses typically would, or how a wooden stick laid out between two points, kind of like a bridge, gets more flexible and will require less force to bend the further the two points are apart.

A gauge .105 for the low E string on a 30" scale instrument in my opinion would feel way too stiff (and be way too thick with the tight string spacing of a Bass VI type instrument), despite having lower tension than it would on a 34" scale bass.

On top of that comes that the way you would typically play a Bass VI type instrument compared to how you would typically play a bass doesn't require for the strings to be quite as rigid and stiff, in that a Bass VI type instrument in many ways, beside the lower tuning, and in in some cases a bit longer scale length (some baritone guitars will have a 30" scale length as well), actually have more in common with a baritone guitar than an actual bass in terms of how they are typically used and played. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Baloney Balderdash

[BigRedX]

Obviously we play our Bass VIs in completely different ways, since IME the LaBella set with it's 95 to 26 gauges is only just heavy enough for my needs. I have a set fitted to my Squier Bass VI, but if I decide to keep this instrument (unlikely as the neck is too thin even by guitar standards for me) they would be replaced with the Newtone Axion strings - 100 to 24 which suit my playing style far better with bass-style strings for the bass and more guitar like strings for the G/B/E. 

However having said that I am very much liking the feel of the GHS strings on my recently purchased Hooky Bass 6 - 105 to 30, and I haven't noticed that the strings (particularly the higher ones) are quite a bit heavier than the Axions.

What I have noticed is that very rarely do one set of strings suit every bass guitar of a given scale length and string number. Hopefully the OP will find something that they like from the various suggestions. I would recommend that they try the Newtones because they are less than half the price of the next cheapest Bass VI set, and therefore well worth a punt, especially as The LaBella's aren't working out for the OP.

I do take your point about the heavier strings being too thick for the typical Bass VI neck - one of the reasons why I'm probably going to ditch the Squier, and in my quest to find the most comfortable Bass VI for me I've ended up with the two with the widest necks, the Burns Baracuda (38mm E-E) and the Eastwood Hooky Bass 6 (43mm E-E), where the extra neck, and overall string spacing, width allows these heavier string to really come to life.

[Sarlscharisma]

I complained to the store about my LaBella strings and it was clear they sold me incorrectly labelled strings.  The Schecter Hellcat VI string are 33" but the later LaBellas are 35.5" - I got the later in a pack labelled Hellcat.  LaBella are sending me 2 E & A new strings measured at 33" so they should be good.  

D'Addario are too long and might be a bit too light for me, as I like a bit of bass on the E and A string AKA Hooky.  I think the GHS strings might be too heavy for the Schecter, but I can see them working great on the Hooky 6.

I contacted Newtone and they said Axions would be too long but they can customise for me.  Axions are cheap enough to try out the heavier 100 gauge strings.  Anyway, I'll spend some time with the LaBella to see how I get on - that money is now sunk.  Incidently, for some reason on the 7th - 9th Fret on the E and A strings I'm getting a lot of buzz so need to figure out what's going on there.

[BigRedX]

I'm surprised that Newtone say the Axions are too long for the Hellcat, as they fit perfectly on my Burn Barracuda, which has a Strat-style bridge and therefore no more excess string after the saddle than on the Hellcat. The Hellcat is 30" scale length isn't it?

If you are now getting fret buzz around the 7th to 9th frets it's probably because the LaBella strings are lower tension than whatever was fitted before and the truss rod needs slightly slackening off to compensate.

Edited November 6, 2020 by BigRedX

[Sarlscharisma]

4 hours ago, BigRedX said:

I'm surprised that Newtone say the Axions are too long for the Hellcat, as they fit perfectly on my Burn Barracuda, which has a Strat-style bridge and therefore no more excess string after the saddle than on the Hellcat. The Hellcat is 30" scale length isn't it?

If you are now getting fret buzz around the 7th to 9th frets it's probably because the LaBella strings are lower tension than whatever was fitted before and the truss rod needs slightly slackening off to compensate.

Appreciate the help.  What is your recommendation for string relief on the truss rod for a VI bass?  I usually go around 0.35 for my Fender basses but no idea for the VI?  

[BigRedX]

7 minutes ago, Sarlscharisma said:

Appreciate the help.  What is your recommendation for string relief on the truss rod for a VI bass?  I usually go around 0.35 for my Fender basses but no idea for the VI?  

TBH I'm not one to spend ages agonising over relief adjustments. So long as I'm not getting fret buzz, but at the same time the action doesn't require a vice-like grip to hold down the strings I'm happy. If you are into measuring, either go with the same amount as you are used to on your other basses; alternatively since it sounds as though your truss rod is not too tight for your current strings, slacken it off until the fingerboard is perfectly flat, and then release it slightly until the string buzz disappears.

BTW do you have a link to your band's music? It will probably be exactly to my taste.

[Sarlscharisma]

I'll give it a whirl.  I play in punk/ska covers these days, but still write my own stuff on my MacBook.  Not hardcore Goth like I used to be but here's a flavour...

[BigRedX]

Thanks! I liked that a lot. 

Who were you playing with in your "hardcore goth" days?

[Sarlscharisma]

13 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Thanks! I liked that a lot. 

Who were you playing with in your "hardcore goth" days?

Oh band on the cusp of things that might have been but never was Sarls Charisma.  There's a band out there called Momento Mori who were also part of the scene up in the North East

 

[BigRedX]

Thanks - I know Momento Mori - I'm pretty certain one of the bands I've been in has shared a stage with them at some point...

[Sarlscharisma]

It's a small world mate.  They used to support us.  Our guitarist then joined them

Edited November 8, 2020 by Sarlscharisma

[Maude]

I bought individual roundwound strings direct from LaBella for my Squier bass vi. I chose heavier, more suitable gauges and they worked out cheaper than any pre packaged set I could find, even including postage from NY. 

[BigRedX]

15 hours ago, Maude said:

I bought individual roundwound strings direct from LaBella for my Squier bass vi. I chose heavier, more suitable gauges and they worked out cheaper than any pre packaged set I could find, even including postage from NY. 

Which gauges did you pick?

Last time I looked at the custom gauge set on the LaBella website it was less than simple to use.

I suspect that also the existence of the Newtone Axions and the now the GHS Hooky 6 set will have negated much of the advantage that LaBella used to have.

[Maude]

I can't honestly remember as it was a few years ago now, I got the bass vi when they first released them again. It was either a 95 or 100 low E, and all the others were roughly the same amount higher in gauge that the E string was from standard, if that makes sense. From memory it was quite straight forward to pick the strings from their website. 

[BigRedX]

As the standard LaBella round-wound set has a 95 low E, you probably went for a 100 and then scaled everything up from there. When you come to replace them, have a look at the Newtone Axions as they have suitably heavy low strings and slightly lighter high ones and are about a third of the price of the LaBella's.

[Maude]

Thanks, I'll look into them. 

To be honest the low E is still too floppy for my liking but my worry was, given the narrow string spacing, that with even thicker strings they'd be too tightly packed together on the neck. Flats would help but I use it for post punk type stuff so wanted rounds.