NBD: Squier Classic Vibe Bass VI

[bnt]

Yup, I've jumped on the Bass VI bandwagon: I've been thinking about a short-scale bass for a while, but also something that will lend itself more to plectrum playing. I already "play" guitar tuned in all fourths (EADGCF), and this will get the same treatment. Not quite yet, though, since I had it delivered to the office and a couple of people are interested in seeing it, so it's there for the weekend. So I don't have a photo,but it's identical to the one on the Fender site, in black.

 

I've seen a few YT videos of people documenting the problems with these out of the box, and spending a lot of money to remedy their shortcomings. Sometimes more than the cost of the instrument itself. I won't be doing that. Some known issues and my conclusions so far:

1. Strings: yeah, the stock roundwounds are crap, with a 0.084 low E. I wanted flatwounds anyway, so I got a set of LaBellas with the 0.095 low E at the same time. Haven't installed them yet.
2. Pickups / Electronics. Working, but I haven't done any critical listening tests yet. I want hum-cancelling with the 1+2 and 2+3 pickup selections, and if I don't already have that, I'll try and make it so. I'm getting conflicting information about this. If I have to swap the #2 pickup wiring phase, I hope I can also invert the magnets to bring it back in phase. (Or maybe I want some out-of-phase quack.)
3. Neck: action seems pretty good, it has been set up for those stock strings. I will need to tighten the truss rod a little for the new strings, and a quick test shows it's very tight under string tension. I'll try again with the strings off.
4. Frets: very happy so far. They seem level with no sharp ends at all. Indian Laurel fingerboard is extremely dry, as expected, so it will get lots of lovely lemon oil.
5. Bridge: others have reported severe intonation problems. on the low E in particular. I didn't find a problem there with the stock strings, and I can see room for adjustment in both directions. There's more room for adjustment forward, and they say that's what the heavier strings will need, but I won't know until I try it. The adjustment screw won't contact the string at all. In a quick test I was able to lower the bridge to "too low", which hopefully means that no shimming will ever be required. (I do not like shimming at all.)
6. Vibrato: it's not going to get a lot of use, and I'm not expecting much, but in a quick test it didn't seem worse than a typical cheap vibrato. After pushing down, a quick tug up to get it back in position, and tuning seemed OK. One thing I only learned recently about this type of vibrato is that the bridge is designed to move when you use it. The strings do not slide, the bridge moves with them. It's on the Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars too. Some YT-ers have replaced the stock bridge, but I think I won't need to.

 

So on first inspection it looks like Fender / Squier has addressed many of the problems that have been reported. It's a new area for me, and I'll need some time to get used to the scale and string spacing, and I expect to do a lot more with the plectrum. I wish it was smaller and lighter, though; with the long body and big headstock, it's definitely a full-size instrument.

[Cato]

I love mine, I use it both as a bass and as a baritone guitar for surf style leads.

 

The pickup switching options and the 'strangle' switch mean it functions very well in both roles.

 

Great fun can be had with a looper pedal and a drum machine with the bass VI playing all the parts.

[BigRedX]

As a Squier Bass VI owner I found the following:

 

When you change to heavier strings any action you had available in the vibrato mechanism will disappear. You may also then run into intonation problems.

 

Most people take the opportunity when changing the strings to shim the neck slightly. This has the effect of tightening up the feel of the lower strings and the increased downward pressure on the bridge will help stop it from wobbling about. If you are still getting too much bridge wobble then you'll need to add some plastic or brass tube inserts around the posts to stop the movement. It might also just increase the string length to counter the intonation problems of the heavier strings.

 

Ultimately for me the neck was just way too narrow for my playing style and mine has been relegated to 2nd backup after my main Bass VI - an Eastwood Hooky - and my main backup - Burns Barracuda. It will almost definitely get sold when I get my act together and list the few remaining instruments that I'm not using. However I'm after a Joy Division/Cure type sound and flat wounds are most definitely not for me.

Edited February 24 by BigRedX

[bnt]

You've basically described the kinds of issues I'd read about and hope to avoid. I'll hang on to the stock strings, then. Odd thing is that I'm seeing videos about heavier strings improving things, not making them worse.

[BigRedX]

IMO the big problem with the Fender and Squier Bass VIs is that they are essentially Jaguar/Jazzmaster guitars with a longer neck and thicker strings and aimed at guitarists who want to dabble with bass parts in the studio. Those lighter E and A strings are part of the appeal to non-bass players. 

 

Out of the box it works fine with the lighter strings provided you have a decent guitar technique and a light touch. I didn't have any problems with mine until I started using it with my band where I play a lot more aggressively than at home or in the studio and suddenly the E, A and D strings were flopping about uncontrollably and I was forever tripping over the wrong strings due to the tight guitar-like string spacing exaggerated by the thicker bass strings.

 

This is when you discover it's all a compromise. Switch to heavier stings so it feels more like a bass guitar and the vibrato stops working, the bridge no longer has sufficient room to intonate the new heavier E string. You might be able to eke out enough travel in the saddles by shimming the neck to allow you to raise the action and if possible reverse the problematic saddles.

 

So as you can see heavier string make some things better and other things worse. You have to decide which features are important to you and which you can live without. If you can treat it like a guitar with a long neck tuned down an octave and play with a pick and light touch, you may well be able to make it work as it is. 

 

IMO the only Bass VI designed for bassists is the Shergold Marathon 6-String Bass and the modern Eastwood copy of it.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

2 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Switch to heavier stings so it feels more like a bass guitar and the vibrato stops working

This wasn't my experience at all, and the vibrato can be adjusted so there's no reason it shouldn't work fine with different strings.

 

I love mine dearly, it isn't my main instrument so I can forgive it's eccentricities. I definitely play it more as a bass though, front two pickups with plenty of palm mute, instant Helter Skelter! Although the back two pickups with reverb is great for Jet Harris impersonations.

 

It's definitely bigger than you'd expect too 😄

 

 

[BigRedX]

7 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

This wasn't my experience at all, and the vibrato can be adjusted so there's no reason it shouldn't work fine with different strings.

 

Maybe my arms are just too weedy, or I'm too used to the lightly balanced vibrato systems of my guitars. However as soon as I put Newtone Axions on both my Squier Bass VI and Burns Barracuda the vibrato mechanism stopped doing anything useful. If I put all my effort into it I could move the vibrato arm but the pitch change produced was negligible. I'd want to be able to drop those notes by a semi-tone for it to be of any use to me.

[bnt]

I’ll find out soon enough. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far, particularly with the bridge. There are videos of guys having to cut intonation screws in half because they were catching on the strings. 

[Cato]

I think the newer models may have been tweaked a bit.

 

I got mine brand new at the end of 2022 and was suprised that the two things that most people seem to have a problem with, the bridge (particulary with regards to intonation) and the stock strings, weren't an issue for me.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

5 minutes ago, Cato said:

I think the newer models may have been tweaked a bit.

 

I got mine brand new at the end of 2022 and was suprised that the two things that most people seem to have a problem with, the bridge (particulary with regards to intonation) and the stock strings, weren't an issue for me.

I've owned two, the first was one of the early ones in white. My current pink model is a much better instrument, the old one felt a bit... rickety. And the nut seemed to be made of nougat.

[Cato]

38 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

I've owned two, the first was one of the early ones in white. My current pink model is a much better instrument, the old one felt a bit... rickety. And the nut seemed to be made of nougat.

Mine is one the puprle ones that, I think, were exclusive to Andertons but as I recall they and the limited run pink and blue models all came out at about the same time so are almost certainly identical apart from the paint job.

[bnt]

I wanted one of those purple ones, but didn't get in quickly enough. From what I know, they are exclusive to Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange, and CME says they're getting more in May. Which leads me to think Anderton's will get them too.

[Woodinblack]

I have owned 2 and sold 2, and keep being tempted to buy a third! Some people never learn

[Cat Burrito]

I got mine last year and love it. I bought a Burns Bass VI (SSJ model) and liked it enough to upgrade to the Squier Bass VI. I agree the stock strings are rubbish but the build / finish is excellent. A great neck, well finished frets and the nut is good. I restrung mine with Labella flats and I don't have any issues. Originally, the plan was to record some Glen Campbell type lines on a recording project but I got into the idea of bands like The Cure using them. I play mine more like a bass, whereas my guitarist friend has a more guitar approach to it. We're doing a synthy darkwave EP together and the plan is for me to do all the bass parts on mine. Pictured here with my feline friend and matching shoes! 

 

 

Edited February 26 by Cat Burrito

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, Cato said:

I think the newer models may have been tweaked a bit.

 

I got mine brand new at the end of 2022 and was suprised that the two things that most people seem to have a problem with, the bridge (particulary with regards to intonation) and the stock strings, weren't an issue for me.

 

According to the figures currently quoted on the Squier website, the neck is a couple of mm wider at the nut than it is on mine which was bought in May 2016, and other parts may have been updated along with this. As I said intonation on mine was fine with the original strings and only the low E string is out with the heavier Newtone Axions.

 

As soon as I started using mine seriously with the band I discovered that I had a fundamental problem with the neck width (or lack of it) which stopped me going down the rabbit hole of various mods that could be done to the bridge and vibrato mechanism, and down a completely different rabbit hole looking at all the different Bass VIs available (there's a lot more than you would think) to find something that suited my playing style better than the Squier.

 

Edit: TBH I wish I could have got on with the Squier as it's a fine looking instrument, especially in purple. Plus the Eastwood ended up being about 5 times the price of what I paid for mine, but for me the playability made all the difference.

Edited February 26 by BigRedX

[Jono Bolton]

I had a CV (rather than VM) Bass VI. I found the spacing much too narrow at the nut, but I switched the bridge to a Staytrem and didn't have any issues with the trem or intonation. I really liked the sound of it with La Bella flats on it, but I really struggled to get on with it.

[bnt]

I just installed the La Bella flats on it - at work - and so far that looks OK. Intonation is very close on all strings. This is after pushing the floating bridge to roughly the middle of its travel after the string change. With the bridge floating like that, I suspect that perfectly accurate intonation is an unrealistic expectation. I'll keep the advice in mind and may reconsider later, but so far the bridge is good enough for my purposes. Vibrato still works, slightly less travel. I have more dialing-in to do still.

 

However, I'm already having trouble with the pickup switches, cutting out after hardly any use, and so they will be the first thing to get scrutinized & maybe replaced.

 

PS just remembered to check that the strings aren't contacting the back of the bridge: all clear there.

Edited February 26 by bnt

[bnt]

On 26/02/2024 at 12:44, bnt said:

I wanted one of those purple ones, but didn't get in quickly enough. From what I know, they are exclusive to Andertons and Chicago Music Exchange, and CME says they're getting more in May. Which leads me to think Anderton's will get them too.

 

Correction - July! Damn Yankees and their weird MDY date formats.

[bnt]

On 28/02/2024 at 20:00, bnt said:

 

Correction - July! Damn Yankees and their weird MDY date formats.

 

I checked CME again, and their ETA for the Purple FSR CV is now November. Which means that Anderton's aren't going to get them till then at least.

 

With the heavier La Bella strings on mine, I had to tighten the truss rod several times to try and improve the action, and in my latest attempt today, one of the strings broke at the tuner. I may be able to fix it, but I'm back on the original D'Addario strings for now. The 0.084" low E is definitely too floppy and wooly-sounding, a common complaint, but that's all D'Addario sells. You have to look to other companies for better e.g. La Bella, and StringJoy says they've designed a set specifically to address this.

 

I didn't loosen the truss rod again, and with the original strings, the action is getting close to what I would call good action. I did the relief check (Fender method) with a capo on 1st, fretting at 18th, and measured 0.35mm at the 8th = acceptable but could be a little better.

 

Still happy with the bridge, intonation was fine with the heavier strings. If anyone says they can't intonate it, my first question would be whether they have physically moved the bridge to the centre of its travel after tuning it up. I move it until it's upright and centred, give the vibrato bar some exercise, retune, and then the intonation is very close. Tuning is stable as long as I give the bar a little yank up after using it. (This happens to Strats too.)

 

Electrics: I've gotten to the bottom of the problems I had. The earth wires from the pickups are soldered to one of the switch screws. That screw contacts with the switch plate. That plate contacts with the screws on the choke switch. The ground wire to the output is soldered to the body of said choke switch. So you have multiple unsoldered metal-metal screw connections that have to make good contact for the pickups to work. After some rescrewing (?) of all the switch screws, it all seems to be making decent contact now. It's still a questionable system, though.

 

I wanted to know whether we have humbucking in effect in the 1+2 and 2+3 pickup combinations, and after some high-gain tests through headphones, it appears that we do. After fixing the grounding problem above, it took some major gain to hear much noise at all, which says good things about the shielding. The noise dropped off with 1+2 and 2+3, and increased with 1+3 selected. So far I prefer the tone I get from 1+2.

Edited April 21 by bnt