Entry level 6 with simlar string spacing to Squire J Bass?

[DocTrucker]

Would like to have a 6 to try at home. I would like to limit spend to the minimum required to get a good student model, so reliable but not necessarily going to stun with the tone! I'm playing a wide range of styles at the moment and none which the 6 is especially common in. I appreciate the desire to try 6 won't sit well with common logic.

 

My Squire Vintage Modified J Bass has a string spacing of 19mm at the bridge and around 10 at the nut. I appreciate this may make a 6 a beast but are there any bottom end models that are similar to that? While the 6 and 4 are going to feel very different any way I would like to try to keep them in the same ball park, so probably give fanned frets a miss for example.

 

This is more a curiosity rather than an imminent plan. If anything it's likely to wait until the end of the year, unless I see a reasonable example second hand. I'd like to have a crack at a kit build too, but vapour builds continue for the time being!

[Paulhauser]

Can't really think of any production 6ers with 19mm spacing other than the 1st gen Yamaha TRBs (IIRC) which are by no means inexpensive and maybe the Brice Z Prestige which was more affordable but were produced back in the 00's so probably hard to find. 

Probably there others out there but the majority of the inexpensive sixers have 18mm or in many instances even tighter spacing (Ibanez, Cort uses 16.5mm mostly)

[Newfoundfreedom]

My two penneth for what it's worth.

 

A sixer with 19mm string spacing would be hell to play. Firstly, I'd forget about that. A sixer is an entirely different beast to a 4 string bass. However, it's surprising how quickly you get used to it. I went from having never played anything but a 4 string, straight to playing a six, and within a few days it became second nature. I can happily and easily change from one to the other, but I actually much prefer playing the sixer because of the tighter string spacing, everything is much more "under your fingers" so to speak. The spacing is actually much less of an issue than learning good muting techniques. 

 

If you want a cheap as chips way of dipping your toe in the water with a sixer, buy a Harley Benton. I had one for a while, and as with all their instruments, they're ridiculously good value for money and much better quality than the price would suggest. 

 

https://www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_b_650_black_progressive_series.htm?i11l=en_GB%3AGB.EUR%3AGBP

 

[binky_bass]

I absolutely agree with the above, DO NOT go straight to a 6er with 19mm spacing, it will absolutely put you right off them! It'll be far easier to get used to and to play if you aim for around 17mm spacing, on a 6ers that'll effectively reduced the breath of the neck by 1cm, which doesn't sound much, but if you're brand new to 6ers, going from a 4 string neck to a very wide 6er neck will feel far worse to play that adjusting your playing to a slightly narrower spacing. (IMHO!)

 

The HB 6ers are perfectly fine, my personal recommendation is to try and find a second hand Cort A6 of some variety, they are (again IMHO) about the best bang for buck you'll get out of a 6er, and if you buy second hand, and really don't get on with it, you can sell it on and not loose a ton of money. 

 

The ESP LTD B206SM or B-1006 are good basses too, but are SUPER heavy. 

 

Look for a Cort A6, make an offer to someone selling one second hand (there is even one for sale in the for sale section here!), see if you can get a decent price (take a look at eBay past sales to get an idea of the appropriate price to pay) and if you don't like it you won't loose money selling it. 

Edited March 2, 2022 by binky_bass

[Newfoundfreedom]

32 minutes ago, binky_bass said:

 

 

The ESP LTD B206SM or B-1006 are good basses too, but are SUPER heavy. 

 

 

I have the ESP, it's an absolute dream to play. The neck is super sleek, it made for an easy shift to playing a sixer. But it does weigh about the same as a large bungalow. 

 

The Cort basses look superb for the money. There was a sixer on here a few months ago at a ridiculously good price. I was so tempted! 

[DocTrucker]

Great feedback, thanks. Was begining to see there was very little at the large spacing, less so affordable. I guess playing on the 6 will tidy my fingerstyle on the 4 quite a bit!

[DocTrucker]

Think I've been given green light from my missus for this! I'll be picking up the Harley Benton. Looking at the reviews it's aproaching the quality of the ~£350 pound models, or at least close enough for a student, so fine for me!

 

Oposite end of the spectrum on spacing from what I originally thought would be good - thanks for the advice on that.

 

So, plan to get the songs down on this that I have recently learnt on the Squire Jazz and move onto learning the extended patterns. I'll be aiming for BEADGC tuning to start. The squire is definitly not being retired, the 6 will likely be a stay at home for a good few months at least.