BigRedX

[quote name='Quilly' timestamp='1477746020' post='3164221'] I bought the Japanese 2 pickup version (curiously called a jaguar) it has a 28.5" neck with bass strings. To be honest I wasn't impressed with the tone from it as a bass. I restrung it with baritone guitar strings and it sounded really interesting. Like a spaghetti western guitar. I sold it on eventually. It was a bit of an oddity in my opinion and I just couldn't find a use for it. If I wanted a 6string bass I'd go out ant a proper one. This is neither here nor there. [/quote] That particular model is actually marketed as a Baritone guitar rather than a Bass VI, and with a 28½" scale length it is far more suited to being strung with baritone strings and tuned B-B even if it did appear to have been originally sold with heavier gauge Bass VI strings and tuned E-E. Also IME the middle pickup of the Bass VI is essential for getting the most usable tones out of it. It's not surprising that you were disappointed with it.

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1477905430' post='3165082'] Regarding photos, take a picture of you holding the instrument in one hand and a copy of today's newspaper in the other. That proves you owned it on a certain date. [/quote] Which anyone with even a small amount of Photoshop skills will be able to replace with a more recent copy of the paper at a later date...

Try Mobineko

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1477645874' post='3163505'] I checked last night and I've got a set of D'addario XL156 on mine (0.084 - .0.24), and it actually plays better than I remember. It needs some TLC electrically and the action's quite high.....but maybe I should try and wrestle it into shape again. [/quote] Those strings IIRC are the same gauge as the Fender ones that come fitted to the Squier VM Bass VI. Changing these to the LaBellas (0.095 - 0.026) makes a massive difference especially to the overall balance between strings and the sound and feel low E and A strings. However you might run out of room for intonation on the low E (I didn't - but only just) and need to upgrade to a Staytrem bridge to fix this.

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1477561076' post='3162935'] I fitted Mustang bridges to my VI, which improved things...I wonder whether I should try the Staytrem ? [/quote] AFAICS the Staytrem bridge is an improvement if you need more intonation adjustment after fitting the LaBella Strings or if you are finding that the bridge rocks back and forth on the height adjustment supports when you are playing (although this can also be cured by finding metal tubing with the appropriate inside and outside diameters and fitting them over the supports).

Having used it for a while now, I think that for me the biggest draw-back is the narrow guitar-style neck. Even with guitar gauge strings I think I'd find the neck a little too narrow. It's very much in 70s Stratocaster territory, and I'm far more comfortable with Gibson or 80s "super-strat" type neck width. I was lucky enough to have a go on a Shergold Marathon 6-string bass in the 80s and that had a far more sensible neck in terms of width and string spacing for an instrument like this. Also Schecter do a [url=http://www.schecterguitars.com/international/guitars/robert-smith-ultracure-vi-detail]Robert Smith Signature Bass VI[/url] which has a slightly wider 42mm nut, so that might be worth checking out.

Nothing wrong with knowing what you want from a prospective band member. I've lost count of the number of musicians I've had to turn down for band positions over the years because they didn't have the right image and in every case because they didn't have the right image they also didn't have a good enough knowledge (if any at all) of the style(s) of music the band was playing.

It sounds completely different. A on the 12th fret of the A string is far fuller and more rounded than A on the 2nd fret of the G string. Sometimes you need one. Sometimes you need the other.

That Baritone Jazzmaster looks interesting. The scale length is right for it to be usable as a Bass VI. However you'd need to try them side by side to see which one you prefer the sound of since the pickups and electronics are very different. At the moment my favourite pickup combinations on the Bass VI use the middle pickup in conjunction with either the bridge or the neck pickup. Also the Jazzmaster doesn't have the strangle switch which IMO is essential if you are intending to use it in a band with either another "conventional" bass player or a synth player that covers the bass end too.

Write a script before you start filming and use it. No one wants to hear lots of ums... and errs... Don't be afraid to edit your video afterwards to remove all the superfluous bits, and fix anything that didn't go to plan with a retake.

Any intonation issues (I don't have any on mine) are down to the design of the bridge which is completely separate from the vibrato unit. AFAICS the Staytrem bridge solves any tuning and intonation problems by giving the saddles a wider travel length and also by making a model that doesn't rock back and forth with vibrato usage. Apparently you can also prevent this rocking by fitting a sleeve around the height adjustment posts. TBH the vibrato system is fairly redundant on this instrument. Even with the lighter gauge string that are supplied as standard there is minimal pitch change, and once you've fitted any decent heavier strings even less. I can't really see the need for a locking system on the Bass VI as it moves so little anyway! Finally my Squier VM Bass VI has a Crafted in Indonesia sticker on the back of the headstock. I have no idea how the quality compares with a MiM Fender (of any kind) because I've never played one.

I'd agree that the short comings of the Squier Bass VI are down to the design of the instrument and not anything that is lacking because it's made to a tighter budget than a "real" Fender.

I'd check continuity through the screening in the control cavity and see if something there is keeping the pre-amp permanently switched on. A quick way to check would be to take the pre-amp out of the bass and see if it runs down the batteries like that.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1477400570' post='3161976'] The Good ol' US of A is here to stay. Just look at Blue on this very site. You will never take him alive. [/quote] No I'm just saying that here in the UK we have an extra 5 days that deserve to be christmas free!

I'd agree with sending it to BBC introducing. However I'd suggest that the best way to make you music widely available is to make a decent video for it and get it up on YouTube. You don't have to spend a lot of money - the three Terrortones PVs were made for a grand total of around £600 and biggest expenditure was the props for "StickyPants Trance" and the location for "I Can't Find My Braincell". However you might already be too late for Christmas 2016...

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1477393438' post='3161883'] [url="https://postimg.org/image/esjfzrlcz/"][/url] [/quote] And for us in the UK in should say: Fact: If someone is playing Christmas music before November 5th, you are legally allowed to kill them and use their corpse as a Guy Fawkes.

To add to the above, IME mid-week gigs, unless your band (or one of the other bands on the bill) has a sizeable following, are a complete waste of time. At best you play to a handful of totally disinterested punters. Stick to Friday and Saturday nights (plus Sunday or Thursday at a push if the bands and/or venue has the right reputation) and leave it at that.

If it's live you'll be surprised by how few mistakes the audience notice apart from those who are obsessive fans of the band. IME unless the song comes grinding to a halt 30 seconds after the start very few people in the audience will actually notice that anything has gone wrong. They certainly won't spot the occasional fluffed noted or dropped beat. As musicians our job is to carry on playing and act like nothing has gone wrong even when it has. If it's a recording you can just go for another take.

I bought the Squier VM version back in May and wrote a review of it [url=http://basschat.co.uk/topic/285268-bigredx-buys-a-fender/]here - which I have just updated with my most recent thoughts[/url]. HTH

After almost 6 months now, how am I getting on? I've recently started playing bass in a post-punk/goth influenced band, so I thought that the Bass VI would be ideal. And it is if I'm sticking the strictly 2-string chords and New Order or Cure style tuneful bass lines. However when I want to play something more conventionally bass guitar-y, it simply doesn't have the bottom end presence I need in a band with heavily effected guitar and synth. There's a couple of songs that I'd use it on if we were recording them, but live unless I have a personal roadie to help with my instrument changes, it's way too much hassle to bring to gigs when the Red Gus with the right EQ on the amp gets so very close to the sound and is far easier to play. Also although the neck isn't significantly narrower than some of my guitars, combined with the heavier bass strings the string spacing is just a bit too tight and then when you add the fat Fender neck (I'm used to wide shallow custom made necks on my guitars and basses) I just don't find it particularly comfortable to play. Also I'm not getting a lot of use out of the B and high E strings, I'm finding the sound of these just too bland and insipid. In order to get chords sounding good I'm playing so far up the neck, I might as well be using my Baritone guitar instead. The vibrato simply doesn't have enough of an effect to warrant it's presence, which is a pity, because I like vibratos and all my guitars bar one have them.. What I am finding is that the guitar-like string spacing and the short scale do make me think differently when coming up with bass line, so for writing it's great, but I haven't yet come up with something on the Bass VI that I couldn't subsequently play on my Gus basses. Will I keep it? We're about to do some new recordings. If it gets used and is in the final mix of at least one song then yes. Otherwise probably not. I don't think there's anything lacking in the Squier version that a vintage Fender or CiJ re-issue would improve for me. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of getting a Bass VI that was more suited to my preferences - wider, shallower neck to give me a millimetre or two extra space between the strings and some slightly hotter pickups, but I couldn't use this particular style of Bass VI as my main bass even in a band whose musical style suits it more than most. At Squire prices it has been a worth-while punt. I think I might have been seriously disappointed if I had paid the full Fender price for this instrument.I'll re-evaluate it in the new year before making a final decision on whether or not to keep it.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1477166638' post='3160347'] Having said that, one of my heroes, Mick Karn, used one to unbelievable effect - check out his tones for examples of the Wal's versatility. [/quote] He did. But he sounded very similar (if not IMO slightly better) when he was using his Travis Bean TB2000.

[quote name='SisterAbdullahX' timestamp='1477227272' post='3160676'] Or this..... [media]http://youtu.be/UoS5q4buIq0[/media] Pretty great too! [/quote] Of course you get away with any old crap if you play over the original synth bass.

[quote name='moonbass' timestamp='1476652113' post='3156076'] Or just do it with a bass: [media]http://youtu.be/1XmcX9x4OqY[/media] Still pretty great! [/quote] That's horrible. Without that great sounding synth bass right up front it's become just another very average vaguely funky pop arrangement. Plus everything goes really weedy during the parts that would have had the long sustained bass notes which are reduced to a blip at the beginning of each bar. I'm surprised that Mr Mars' MD lets him get away with such rubbish.

Treat it the same as a band with two guitarist would. Different sounds, different lines. But also remember the awesome power of really tight unison playing too!

[quote name='landwomble' timestamp='1477303227' post='3161167'] Hi All, I was listening to a few old records over the weekend and one track jumped out at me. PJ Harvey's excellent early 90s album "Dry" has a track called "Sheela-na-gig" which has the grindiest bass tone that made me go "I want that!". I dug out some old Reading Festival videos and looks like the bassist uses a fretless Stingray with what sounds like a heavy scooped tone, but the bit I REALLY like is the grinding drive to it. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkS_R7RDuMc"]https://www.youtube....h?v=xkS_R7RDuMc[/url] Is that just a touch of overdrive? It's not a fuzz and the tube drive on my amp doesn't quite get there. Any shortcuts to finding this tone much appreciated. I have a Jazz with a John East and a Precision and this track is not helping me avoid GAS and buying a Sterling SUB...! Cheers [/quote] Will it work with the sound of your band?