PrestonRice wrote:

heepeejeep wrote:

Noel wrote:

I can't wait to hear it through my Quilter and Music Man. I wonder which I'll like better?

Probably the two of them together

I remember when I had two amps, it was a lot of fun playing through both amps, you can find so many different sounds by adjusting the levels of each amp.

With the Bass VI I find that a regular guitar amp will sound a little weak/dull, a bass amp makes it sound just like a short-scale bass so running it through both can add some charachter and help bringing out the potential of this instrument. (Unless you swap for a JBL D140F in that Twin )

Last edited: Sep 06, 2013 19:25:27

Noel wrote:

So you're essentially recommending a cab filled with a single 15" JBL D140F to use with either of my amps when I play the Bass VI?

That could be arranged.

This is a of course all about personal taste and reference, but most time playing a bass on a regular guitar amp isn't exactly exciting sonically, adding a bass-cabinet or amplifier to your regular guitar-amp will improve the experience. The VI being so versatile compared to a regular guitar or bass amplifying thereafter do justice to the instrument and makes it alot more fun to play. I used to run my VI's through a Fender Concert along with a Bassman TV 15" with great result. (plenty of that wet click sound along with the deep low end.) Being a rather unpractical and "expensive" setup for my use I think I've managed to scale it all down after some try and fail with reg. guitar amps, maintaining the best from each side. I use a 65 Twin Custom with the 15" swapped to the JBL bass-speaker mentioned, sounds great in my opinion with reg. guitars and it also handels the bass-side of the VI's very well. (Actually it still brings out that childish grin in my face when cranked up a bit. )
Guess that most of those second hand VI's showing up on the second hand market in the future will be from guitarplayers finding this to be just like any other regular short-scale bass (with two bonus strings) when plugged into their guitar rig.

Last edited: Sep 07, 2013 06:09:45

Noel wrote:

Rudi, thanks again for your suggestions. By "minor mods to the bridge" are you referring to all the typical things people do to Squier and MIJ offset bridges to get them quiet and stabile?

Sorry for my english here but I'll try to explain.
Intonating the 0.84 requires the bridge saddle to be turned so far back on the bridge that the screw will end up pushing the string, making a contact point before the saddle, I did shorten this screw to avoid this and tried before that to drill a small hole on the opposite direction of the bridge mounting the saddle from this side allowing it to be as far back as possible without the heightening involved when stock. None of these mods made it work any better, also while trying to maintain a decent action, neck bow and avoiding fret buzz. With the other string-gauges mentioned earlier, the intonation and setup goes very smooth. I've done this to three PS Bass VI's and since the SQ got exactly the same messurements the issue in particular with the 0.84 string will probably be the same.

Another cool trick I'd like to share (inspired by Carol Kaye and her tape/foam muting) is to buy the Jag "ashtray" cover for the bridge, cut out and stick a thin piece of foam underneath it, will get you a very nice working/looking mute. Makes those La Bella flats sound even cooler...

Last edited: Sep 07, 2013 10:00:01

I would say that you have a 0.95on the low E. With the stock 0.85 I was able to intonate the bridge correctly at the twelfth fret, but most notes between E and E sounded out of tune. With the 0.95 it sounds correct. I changed all of the other strings accordingly.

Los Fantasticos

Thanks so much. I'll pass these pics along.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

The low-E on mine mics at .095, and it is loose, floppy and unwilling to properly intonate or stop buzzing. Couple more things to try and then it's La Bella Bass VI flats for it.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

After some confusion over everything, it does turn out my Bass VI came with .025 - .086. strings. The top five strings sound fine and are intonated. Only the skinny low-E won't cooperate. We're going to try to get a set of the strings it's supposed to have, and see what happens.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

We just found out a Curt Mangan nickel .095 long-scale bass string fits the low-E position perfectly. We were looking at all the extra string below the saddles on the Bass VI compared to regular basses, and realized it just about used up the extra length of strings designed for 34" scale necks. The string fit the vintage tuner perfectly, and while the intonation isn't perfect, it's lots better and there's virtually no buzz, let alone rattle. Success! We're going to try the rest of the set later and see if they balance better.

But I will still put on the La Bella flats when I can afford them.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Sep 11, 2013 13:38:05

Noel wrote:

I've got it home. Also put on a Mangan .076 for the number 5 (A) string. Kudos to Paul Kugelman of Pocono Music Exchange for a very thorough and excellent setup, and going through a bunch of strings to find what really works. Everything including the bridge is stabile and works as it ought to. Pictures to follow.

Guitar is well-intonated now, very playable without buzzes anywhere. And guess what? It sounds killer through my old Stage 112SE that I traded in on the Music Man 212-130HD. I know it will sound even better through the Music Man, but I'm seriously not taking that amp out; my shoulders have had enough. I was thinking of just getting a 15" speaker cab to connect to my Quilter MP-200 amp head, but the old Fender sounds amazing and is a lot cheaper. Hmmm.

And I'm really regretting not buying the (Edit: It's worse than I remember.) 1974 Fender Bassman 100 all tube head I passed up for $200 a while ago. That would have been wonderful. Oh well!

With a limited budget, what do you recommend? Reacquiring the Stage 112SE or just getting a 15" Cab with the right speaker? Which speaker?

I just took a quick measurement of string length. The distance from tail piece to nut is approximately 34 1/2 inches on the Bass VI and roughly a half inch longer on my J-Bass.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Sep 12, 2013 16:28:31

Matt22 wrote:

Shouldn't you have a bass speaker for the Bass VI? I have a Sica PL15B25S super lightweight speaker just sitting here. I had it in my tone-ring cab, but swapped it out when I got a JBL D140F...HEAVY!

I dunno. I really want this to sound like a guitar tuned an octave lower, not a bass. That's just how it sounds using my old Stage 112SE; it flat twangs out! Is that the amp, the guitar, the speaker, or all three together? But your point about a bass speaker is valid. I don't want to bust a guitar speaker that's not up to the bass register.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Last edited: Sep 12, 2013 16:45:47