NBVID: Squier Bass VI...

avj · Post by **avj** » Fri Sep 13, 2013 6:58 pm

Received from Sweetwater this morning. Played it for about an hour at lunch and it's really something:

I went with full-quality image to show detail -- and channel robroe. Click image for bigness.

I recently started playing bass in a new band, but found for some damned reason I found myself unable to hack it on my Fender Jaguar bass, which I had used without issue in a past project. I conceded defeat and wanted to get a 30"-scale bass like a Mustang or Musicmaster, but the Squier Bass VI was announced and I decided to wait on it. Totally worth it.

I had my heart set on Oly White but went with black because, honestly, I didn't want to wait and it was the first available. I was looking around for a tort guard, and after seeing some examples of Pickguardian's nice red tort (including HNB's), I contacted them for a quote. Of course, they don't have a template yet so I'd need to send mine, which is not going to happen because I'm a big baby and don't want to have it sitting here unplayable while I wait. I guess I could sloppily cut one out of something to use temporarily, but I won't.

It arrived set up well (Sweetwater does an inspection/minimal setup), with the exception of a buzzy G where the string was making contact with the intonation adjustment screw; I backed out the screw a bit just to rid the buzz and it was fine. I don't intend on keeping these strings or the stock bridge on for long as I have a Staytrem bridge en route and a few different string sets I'd like to try as well, with the La Bella flatwounds being the likely favorite. I think the bridge cover will have to go bye-bye as I don't think it'll fit on the Staytrem.

The fit+finish is great, and the nut is in great shape unlike some others who seem to have a nut cut by a caffeinated hummingbird. The vibrato seems very solid, and the absence of the trem lock doesn't bother me in the least. I play with the lock engaged on both my Jaguar and Jazzmaster (both CP, so I originally set up locked because the vibe action sucks with AOM bridges; never fixed it after installing roller bridges) so I'm used to having only the down motion, but after spending time with a lock-less vibrato setup I really want to fix the setup on the guitars.

I've always thought of the Bass VI as unattainable at its vintage and Custom Shop prices, and then the Pawn Shop and Squier versions came around. It's absolutely surreal to have a nearly-vintage-correct Bass VI in my hands for $349. If you want one, get your damned hands on one post-haste. I think it's a great instrument as-is, but I couldn't resist the urge to tinker -- and at this price, why not? Once again, Squier has bested Fender.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:08 pm

Nice. I want a white one but am going to have to hold fire until my house is sorted.

There's a guy over on OSG who is selling pickguards for these. Check the VI thread over there (I think he's called SneakyT or something). Not a personal recommendation but he seems to have a good reputation over there. Think he has a couple of different mints, tort etc.

avj · Post by **avj** » Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:11 pm

Yep, I've been following that thread as well and posted a few times. SneakyT is indeed the fellow's name, and he has done some great work. I'm sure you've seen his PS VI conversions, and they are pretty impressive.

avj · Post by **avj** » Sat Sep 14, 2013 2:43 am

Just found out Joe Perry used one on "Back in the Saddle". Not much of an Aerosmith fan, but I've always thought that was a killer riff.

Good shots of it after about 2:40, and then Tyler's coke kicks in and he does laps while Perry jerks it on the VI.

[youtube][/youtube]

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Sat Sep 14, 2013 4:49 am

1:06

[youtube][/youtube]

taylornutt · Post by **taylornutt** » Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:52 am

paul_ wrote:1:06

[youtube][/youtube]

They need to offer them again in Sea Foam green!

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:57 am

No... you've seen enough of that one.

avj · Post by **avj** » Sat Sep 14, 2013 9:59 am

There were only two made in Seafoam that year, and the one from the movie fetched over $40,000 USD on eBay a few years ago.

The other one:

[youtube][/youtube]

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Sun Sep 15, 2013 12:47 am

Congrats! I am very envious.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sun Sep 15, 2013 3:00 pm

i feel like i should play one before buying, but there won't be another batch until the end of october, as far as i can see... :-/

might just have to take a risk.

gusman2x · Post by **gusman2x** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 12:05 pm

stewart wrote:i feel like i should play one before buying, but there won't be another batch until the end of october, as far as i can see... :-/

might just have to take a risk.

Think merchant city music in glasgow had them. Could go through for the day, then buy some shit underpants and socks from the barras.

avj · Post by **avj** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 12:40 pm

stewart wrote:i feel like i should play one before buying, but there won't be another batch until the end of october, as far as i can see... :-/

might just have to take a risk.

If your hesitation is based on whether you'll get on with it, worry not; if it's based on fear of receiving a lemon, embrace the return policy. This was the first time I've ever ordered a new guitar online, and I opted for Sweetwater because they at least take it out of the box and ensure everything is cool instead of just being a freight forwarder.

I think you'll absolutely adore it, given your BI setup. I was struggling to keep up on a four-string with the new band, so I switched to Jazzmaster+POG2 and it was extremely convincing through the Orange AD30 w/4x10 bass cab but felt weird. I can't wait to play the Bass VI at practice. It's definitely going to be my primary.

I've been playing it nonstop. Between the switching and tone control (which has the awful taper and needs to be changed), it can sound like a Jazz/Precision or a baritone or a deliciously haunting guitar. I always played with fingers on a four-string, and it's quite possible on the Bass VI as well, but I've crossed over because a pick is so much more fun. Oh, and the vibrato is surprisingly usable and useful, but only in the higher registers as it's pretty hard to hear the small wobblies in the bass frequencies.

We're working on recording an EP right now and I'll be using the Bass VI for my parts. We have some guitars+drums scratch tracks already and I'll be recording scratches for my parts this week. I'll share these scratch tracks so you guys can have an idea how it sounds in a mix.

Din of Win · Post by **Din of Win** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 1:31 pm

Happy New Bass VI Day!!

I've been thinking about jumping the gun on one of those, as well. Your write up has the scales decidedly tipping in the, "dude, just get one" direction.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 2:20 pm

avj wrote:
stewart wrote:i feel like i should play one before buying, but there won't be another batch until the end of october, as far as i can see... :-/

might just have to take a risk.
If your hesitation is based on whether you'll get on with it, worry not; if it's based on fear of receiving a lemon, embrace the return policy. This was the first time I've ever ordered a new guitar online, and I opted for Sweetwater because they at least take it out of the box and ensure everything is cool instead of just being a freight forwarder.

I think you'll absolutely adore it, given your BI setup. I was struggling to keep up on a four-string with the new band, so I switched to Jazzmaster+POG2 and it was extremely convincing through the Orange AD30 w/4x10 bass cab but felt weird. I can't wait to play the Bass VI at practice. It's definitely going to be my primary.

i suspect i'd get a lot of use out of it with both bands, tbh- with BRO i sometimes want a bit of high-end guitar style noise making capability, but bass feedback often sounds shit and it can be difficult to make a P bass do what i want it to. this would give me the best of both worlds.

avj · Post by **avj** » Mon Sep 16, 2013 3:54 pm

Din of Win wrote:Happy New Bass VI Day!!

I've been thinking about jumping the gun on one of those, as well. Your write up has the scales decidedly tipping in the, "dude, just get one" direction.

Definitely. I know $350 isn't exactly a trivial amount of money, but for a nearly-vintage-correct Bass VI it's insane. Also glad to see my insane ramblings were not a total loss.

stewart wrote:
avj wrote:
stewart wrote:i feel like i should play one before buying, but there won't be another batch until the end of october, as far as i can see... :-/

might just have to take a risk.
If your hesitation is based on whether you'll get on with it, worry not; if it's based on fear of receiving a lemon, embrace the return policy. This was the first time I've ever ordered a new guitar online, and I opted for Sweetwater because they at least take it out of the box and ensure everything is cool instead of just being a freight forwarder.

I think you'll absolutely adore it, given your BI setup. I was struggling to keep up on a four-string with the new band, so I switched to Jazzmaster+POG2 and it was extremely convincing through the Orange AD30 w/4x10 bass cab but felt weird. I can't wait to play the Bass VI at practice. It's definitely going to be my primary.
i suspect i'd get a lot of use out of it with both bands, tbh- with BRO i sometimes want a bit of high-end guitar style noise making capability, but bass feedback often sounds shit and it can be difficult to make a P bass do what i want it to. this would give me the best of both worlds.

Yes, crap. Meant BROsiris, where you actually play a bass. May be good for selected BI material, but stellar for BROsiris. The versatility and playing ease cannot be understated. I have been annoying the shit out of loved ones and strangers alike singing the praises of this instrument.

jagsonic · Post by **jagsonic** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 8:54 am

You use it as bass in a band? How different to a 4stringbass does it sound?

avj · Post by **avj** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 1:20 pm

jagsonic wrote:You use it as bass in a band? How different to a 4stringbass does it sound?

I haven't been able to use it in a live band situation yet as I just received it Friday. My preliminary answer to your question based on playing it through amp sims is it can sound identical to my Jaguar bass with the right pickup and tone settings -- but if you keep the tone a little brighter, play with a pick, and really dig in, a wonderful timbre that lies somewhere between a bass and a guitar reveals itself; to me, this is the quintessential Bass VI sound.

I think it'll be extremely awesome through my bass rig, which currently consists of an Orange AD30 guitar head and Acoustic B410 bass cab. Even the Jazzmaster+POG2 faux-bass sounded great through that.

Here's a quick DI recording I did not long ago in the wee hours of the morn:

http://www.dropbox.com/s/cxbr3cvx8ela8cb/Deluge.mp3

Through this chain:

http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtop ... 72#1151172

The bass is mixed stupidly high so it stands out, and the underlying tracks aren't mixed at all yet. This recording was me just grabbing a scratch demo track and plopping some bass on. We're self-recording an EP at the moment and set to record proper guitar tracks this week, so I'll soon share a version of this track that features the Bass VI in a mix that doesn't sound like dogballs.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:39 pm

sounds great, i really fucking want one. might just bite the bullet (and increase the chances of my girlfriend booting my balls) and place an order.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 3:43 pm

stewart wrote:sounds great, i really fucking want one. might just bite the bullet (and increase the chances of my girlfriend wife booting my balls) and place an order.

Must resist. For now.

avj · Post by **avj** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 4:30 pm

I justified the purchase by intending to sell my Jaguar bass, which should more than cover the cost. I may just be honeymooning here, but despite what plenty of "real" bass players have been saying on more bass-oriented fora about the Bass VI not really cutting it in the traditional sense (and they're right, of course), I find it to perfectly fit my needs and can't see needing a four-string any longer. It's pretty simple to play with fingers too if I ever miss that, but I'm good for now with a pick.

Everyone shut up, get a Bass VI, and throw your four-strings up an ass somewhere. I'll fetch it back for you if you decide you miss it.