Squier Bass VI

SamBrugha

Just wondering has anyone tried out the squier bass VI and if so what are your opinions?

Gregor Samsa

I don't think they're in stock anywhere yet. They look pretty cool, and are causing quite a stir on many forums, due to their price and the excellent build quality of the rest of the Squier Vintage Modifed range. I'd be tempted myself.

roast

Looks awesome. Haven't spotted anywhere that has it in stock yet though (apart from online retailers).
Would much prefer to try one out before I buy one.

seachto7

Difference between this and a baritone?

Gregor Samsa

seachto7 wrote: »

Difference between this and a baritone?

This is the same tuning as a bass guitar. A full octave below standard guitar tuning. Baritones usually don't go that low.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Bass_VI

seachto7

hmmmm....

And would these be played through a bass amp or a guitar amp usually?

I have a friend building me a baritone, but one of these sounds interesting.

I saw Yo La Tengo use one live, and also on youtube, there's a band called Football, Etc, using one to good effect. Though is it not essentially a 6 string bass?

Squidgy Black

I thought about getting one, but setting it up with lighter strings and using it as an extended baritone. It's too close to a bass as stock, you'd want to be playing it through an amp that could be used as a bass amp like a Hiwatt or an Ampeg, or my Simms.

Schwiiing

Noob question alert.

Could this be strung with lighter guage strings for downtuned metal?

seachto7

I like the sound of really low chugging and clean chugging too. Can't imagine it being great for clean picking though? A baritone would be better for that?

Squidgy Black

Schwiiing wrote: »

Noob question alert.

Could this be strung with lighter guage strings for downtuned metal?

It wouldn't really work stock, the bridge really isn't suited to hard picking metal, and neither are the single coil pickups.

Mar Mar Marmalade

Wow.. didn't think they would make it a Squier.

They do have a Fender VI in stock in X Music but I'm not sure if these Squier one's are in anywhere yet.

Squidgy Black

Mar Mar Marmalade wrote: »

Wow.. didn't think they would make it a Squier.

They do have a Fender VI in stock in X Music but I'm not sure if these Squier one's are in anywhere yet.

That's the Pawn Shop version, which is a bit bástardised if you ask me. You're losing the bridge pickup, the bound fingerboard and the tone circuit, and for the price of it you could nearly get a Jap Bass VI.

SamBrugha

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_sq_vm_modified_bass_vi_blk.htm

It's a very good price

Mar Mar Marmalade

SamBrugha wrote: »

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fender_sq_vm_modified_bass_vi_blk.htm

It's a very good price

Mmm the Olympic White looks amazing :P

seachto7

Interested in getting a crack off one of these. Demos online though dont have me convinced. Appears a bit muddy once you use chords or distortion.
Maybe a baritone would be better...

Squidgy Black

Someone buy one, test it out, then let me try it.

A V A

i have one ,i absolutely love it , sold my other guitars infact as they haven't seen the light of day :P

i change the pick ups, pots and hardware and i am currently getting a pick guard like the one on the fender pawn shop ,same style but different color

seachto7

I have seen some demos and the chords sound "muddy", would a baritone be better?

Gregor Samsa

seachto7 wrote: »

I have seen some demos and the chords sound "muddy", would a baritone be better?

It depends on what you want it for. A Bass VI and a baritone guitar are two different instruments. You can't expect a Bass VI to play like a guitar, because it's not a guitar, it's a bass. Yet it's more "guitar like" than a regular bass. And it's nothing like a regular 6 string bass.

Chords may be less muddy on a baritone, but you won't get down to the bass E tuning they the Bass VI will go gown to. And you can tune a Bass VI lower still if you want (although you may need new strings, as the low E is reportedly a bit floppy as it is).

I have a Squier on order since October. Latest news seems to be that it will be available in January. Can't wait!

A V A

***note if anybody wants to try one , you can try my one out if you like if your around blanchardstown centre i could meat you at waltons or if your in town i could bring it in with me and meat at music maker or whatever



im currently modding mine at the moment, changing the pick ups ,hardware etc , have a fair few idea's on what i want done to it and how i want it to sound!!

also messing around with the strings etc mixing and matching between flatwound etc , currently have A & D strings as flatwounds

Gregor Samsa

My Squier VM Bass VI arrived on Tuesday, but I only had a chance to plug it in last night.



My initial thoughts:

Feels and looks great. Generally no problems with fit and finish (the Vintage Modified series has a good reputation for quality). The maple neck and headstock are a bit too white for my liking, but all Squiers are like that. The tort guard isn't the best, but I have a vintage style replacement on order, as I like to add a bit of a personal touch to my instruments anyway.

There's loads of usable sounds in the pickups. All the combinations (there's and individual switch for each one, so 7 combinations, plus all off) sound different, and all of them sound good. Combined with the tone control and the bass strangle switch, there's tonnes of possibilities, ranging from bright and punchy to smooth and mellow.

The bass strangle switch removes some of the low end, making it sound a bit more "guitar".

Vibrato is a typical Jaguar/Jazzmaster affair, but with no lock. So it's fine for subtle warbles, but you wouldn't be divebombing with it. Suits me fine. I may upgrade to a unit with a lock button at some point, but I'm in no rush.

While it obviously looks like a guitar, when I picked it up first, it felt to me in my hands like a bass. The scale is 30", and the neck is thick. Strings are thicker than a guitar, but thinner than what you'd usually find on a bass. I instinctively felt like playing baselines more than chords. With the strangle switch off, it certainly sounds like a bass, and not really like a low guitar. With the switch on, some of that bass gets cut out. String spacing is narrower than a bass, but you can still play fingerstyle. Usually on my P bass, wouldn't use a pick at all, but on this I found myself comfortably switching between pick and fingers.

The low E string is very loose. Fender claim the low E is is .095, but others have measured it at .085. I have a set of heavier gauge strings (La Bella 26-95), but I'm waiting for the new pickguard to arrive before I put them on. I think the general consensus is that the low E is the wrong gauge, it rattles a bit. The rest of the strings are fine.

I'm playing it through a guitar amp (Vox VT20+). I only play at home, and at low volumes. You could play it through a bass amp too, but most people I've seen on forums seem to play them though a guitar amp.

Chords: Yes you can play regular guitar chords. 1st position chords that use the low E or A strings tend to sound a little muddy. This is simply down to the fact that it's tuned so low, it's not a fault of the instrument. G, for instance doesn't sound too good. D Sounds fine. Power chords aren't clear. I put a capo on the 7th fret, and chords sound wonderful.

Pedals work very well with it. The only pedal I have that didn't sound too good was my EHX POG 2, which is an octave pedal designed for guitar, so you wouldn't really expect it to work too well with something that's naturally an octave lower. Swollen Pickle Fuzz (Muff derived) and Mooer Black Secret (Rat clone) both sounded really, really great with it (individually and together), and obvious delay and tremolo pedals aren't an issue. Surprisingly, my MXR Blue Box (glitchy sub octave fuzz) sounded OK with it (it has the -1 octave the C11 mods, so it's a bit cleaner than stock).

I mentioned that the fit and finish are great, but there's one exception: the nut. It's plastic, and there's literally shavings hanging off it. I haven't had any tuning or intonation issues, so I'll just clean it up when I change the strings. I may replace it altogether at some point.

Some people have reported that the strings pop out of the grooves in the saddles. I didn't have this happen, and the heavier gauge strings will probably take care of it with their heavier tension anyway, but I'm thinking of upgrading the bridge to a Staytrem model at some point (they're currently out of production while the company moves premises).

Overall I'm delighted with it, and it's a really fun instrument. I probably wouldn't have ever sprung for the higher priced Fender versions, but the Squier is cheap enough to justify, and the quality is excellent. The fact that they're taking so long to come into stock everywhere (here and in the US) is testament to the fact that they're proving quite a hit. Mine was ordered on October 14th, so It took 3 and a half months to come in. Worth the wait, though.

Royale with Cheese

Heavily thinking about getting one of these. Am just wondering whether to go for the Pawnshop or the Squier. Past experience has taught me to just spend the extra cash when buying music gear as it's nearly always worth it. €800 for a Mexican Fender sounds steep though. I don't think the Squier is in stock anywhere so won't really be able judge for myself. Has anyone got any experience with both? Having the true to vintage style setup of the Squier really doesn't matter to me, would judge purely on playability and build quality.