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Help with my new bass VI


Ray1971
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Hi all,

I’m new here and it’s my first time asking for help on a web forum! Anyway, my name is Ray & I’ve been playing the guitar for a while and recently I decided to buy a second hand squire bass VI.

Although I love this rather odd guitar and haven’t stopped playing it since it arrived on Tuesday I seem to have a problem with the low E string; it’s terribly ‘floppy’ and there is an enormous amount of buzz...the other 5 strings play fine but the low E is causing me some problems. I’ve tried raising the bridge, the neck appears straight and I’ve even moved the saddle back, but none of these have helped. My question is this (apologies if this seems naive or silly) would changing the low E string to a heavier gauge help with the ‘floppiness’ - could I just buy a regular low E bass string (say a 95 or 100) and put this on or would that not work? Has anyone got a bass VI and had similar issues? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Regards,

Ray 

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Dear Andy 

Thank you - I’ve got it tuned E - e that is; one octave lower than a regular guitar. I read that this is what makes this particular model a ‘bass’ rather than a baritone guitar (?) - I’ll try putting a heavier gauge string on and see how it goes!

Thanks again,

Ray 

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I bought one a few weeks ago. After lots of research it appears the floppy E is a common problem with the Fender strings and people go for a heavier gauge set, 95 or heavier. As previously mentioned LaBella do a flatwound set. The other standard upgrade is a Staytrem bridge if you have intonation problems. It’s an amazing instrument, unlike anything else I’ve ever played. 

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There’s a whole thread about improving Squier Bass VIs in the Bass Guitars forum somewhere. 

Two things you need to do:

1. Replace the standard strings with some of a heavier gauge. LaBella and Newtone do round wounds and LaBella and Piccato do flat wounds that should make a big improvement. I’m a round wound fan and have Newtones on both my Squier Bass VI and my Burns Barracuda.

2. Raise the bridge to decrease compliance of the string and make it feel stiffer. You’ll also need to shim the neck in order to keep the action suitably low. And don’t forget to raise the pickups correspondingly or it will sound rather weedy compare with before.

You can look at after-market bridges and term locks, but for me these two modifications made my Squier Bass VI much more playable and I haven’t bothered modifying it further.

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6 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

There’s a whole thread about improving Squier Bass VIs in the Bass Guitars forum somewhere. 

Sounds like a useful thread / compulsory reading as I've recently got hold of a Squier Bass VI.

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I sold mine recently having got rid of the original strings and replaced them with Labella flats. Nothing floppy about them things - they’re like baler twine. Makes a fantastic noise with them on as well. Not the thing if you like bright, zingy sounds - but a nice, deep, rich thudding note on the E that sings as you climb up to the higher strings. Hmmmm, nice.

Mine also needed a set up as the factory set up is dire. I also added a Staytrem bridge which also helped. But the strings and neck relief were the things that made the biggest difference....

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11 hours ago, Ray1971 said:

Hi,

thank you bigredx - and everyone else too! I shall pop into my local PMT tomorrow and get a set of 95 / 100 gauge bass strings & see if that helps. 

Normal bass strings may not fit the machine heads or tail-piece. You need to get short scale strings at least, but proper Bass VI strings with a 95 or 100 E are the best.

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One other mod I was advised to do was to insert some “sleeves” in the body where the bridge posts sit. The original posts are slightly smaller than necessary and the “sleeves” ensure a better (more even) contact between bridge and body. I did find that at certain frequencies there was a slight drop in volume plus unwanted harmonic overtones, presumably because the posts weren’t snug. I believe @Pentode made me some, or possibly someone else from Finnbass. There was a definite positive difference in evenness of volume and no nasty unwanted noise. 

I’m assuming the recommended replacement bridge has better (snugger?) fit. 

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The original strings on these are very light, I think they are 85s or something. There is always an element of buzziness to the strings but it shouldn't be that flappy, probably down to neck relief.

They are one of those basses I keep buying and not keeping for long, then wanting another!

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