6 String Bass

[tiagocunha]

Hi all, after some time playing my 5 string Cort Curbow, I want to try a new challenge and buy a 6 string bass. I don't have a huge budget, let's say 500 € and I came across this ad (in my home country):

https://www.olx.pt/anuncio/baixo-aria-pro-ii-6-cordas-IDytLn1.html#526c49cf87

Does anyone know anything about this Aria bass? The other alternative that I can think off is the Ibanez Sr206, but I really need some help here. Thank you very much in advance, Tiago Cunha.

[Hellzero]

Where are you located ? Looks like Portugal.

Those old Aria Pro II aren't that bad, but you can get a better bass for that money.

Way under 500 Euros is this incredible Harley Benton BZ-6000 NT (tried the 7 strings version) : https://www.thomann.de/pt/harley_benton_bz_6000_nt.htm

With the spare money, you can buy some spare strings like these excellent D'Addario's : https://www.thomann.de/pt/daddario_exl1706_regular_light.htm

And even a decent case : https://www.thomann.de/pt/gator_foam_case_bass.htm

Just a bit more, like this ESP-LTD-B-206SM-NATURAL-SATIN, which is a real good bass for the money (I had one) : https://www.thomann.de/pt/espltd_b206.htm

 

[bubinga5]

I would take an Aria Pro over any Harley Benton.

[Hellzero]

Not me, as this is basically a 5 strings transformed into a 6 strings because of the demand in those days. These were manufactured without knowing what exactly a 6 strings bass was. I would buy a 4 or a 5 strings Aria Pro II, but never a sixer from this period.

[ianrendall]

I think you would be better served with a pre-owned Ibanez or Yamaha 

[lownote]

If you can find one buy a Hohner B Bass VI.  Small, nicely balanced, active/passive, soapbar pups, twin truss rods,  neck through, beautiful wood.  Around £250 off eBay.  I've had two and have no idea why I sold them. Anything else is a pale imitation - IMHO of course. 

[therealting]

19 hours ago, ianrendall said:

I think you would be better served with a pre-owned Ibanez or Yamaha 

This. There was a decent Yamaha TRB in the classifieds recently. Used Ibanez SoundGears are also good for the money.

[Hellzero]

The problem is the budget he has which is around £430 GBP... 

[LegateNaarifin]

22 hours ago, ianrendall said:

I think you would be better served with a pre-owned Ibanez or Yamaha 

Owning both a secondhand Ibanez and Yamaha, I completely agree with this. If you manage to find a Yammy TRB within your budget then I'd 100% recommend buying it, same goes for an Ibanez BTB (or SR if that's more your thing). Otherwise, I have heard good things about the Harley Benton basses, plus if you get one from Thomann they have a great returns policy if you end up not keeping it

Edited April 15, 2018 by LegateNaarifin

[FDC484950]

£450 is a very small budget for a 6. The biggest issues are usually poor neck stability, headstock dive and cheap pickups and electronics. The nicest cheap 6 I’ve ever tried was a Cort A6 artisan - maple so quite springy and bright without sounding too modern, neck through with great balance and the build quality and playability were astonishing. If it weren’t for the slightly anonymous electronics it could pass off as a slightly cheaper Ken Smith easily - it’s that good. To put this in context it felt like a much more expensive instrument than either an Ibanez SR or Yamaha TRB (based on having owned an SR506, SR5006 and a TRB6-ii and TRB1006). My advice? £750 buys you a lot better quality 6, so start saving

[Hellzero]

In fact, it's even lower, it's £430 GBP. 

[tiagocunha]

I will try to increase my budget, I saw an Ibanez SRC6 and a lovely Warwick Corvette Proline that I will hope that will still be on sale when I have more money.

[Al Krow]

I have an Ibanez SR1206 which is a very good bass that I'd be happy to recommend you to add to your shortlist. I managed to get mine second hand and something similar should be in your slightly increased budget range.

Ibanez generally have skinnier necks and I suspect that becomes increasingly helpful as you go from 4 to 5 to 6 strings; their SR Premium range provide you with a lot of quality for the money.