I'm primarily a guitarist in a riff-driven stoner rock band, playing in Eb and Drop C#. We've been struggling to find a reliable bassist so at the minute we're looking into octave pedals etc to split the signal into a bass amp.
I've just come across the Squier Bass VI and was wondering if this might work for us instead? Neither me or the other guitarist are too keen on taking up bass full time so was wondering if this would make a fun halfway house? It's mostly the string spacing and huge neck I can't deal with on a real bass, the VI seems to solve that?
To be honest I'm mostly just interested because the VI is cool and unique, could give us a bit of a different sound and be a bit of fun. My idea was to split the signal into my guitar amp (via EQ pedal to tame some low end) and into a fuzz and bass amp. I know I'd have to change up my playing style and chords a bit but that's not the end of the world. A lot of our stuff is single string riffing where the bass follows the guitar anyway.
In reality I expect it'd be more convenient to just get an OC3, but Bass VI seems like so much fun! Shame the Harley Benton one is discontinued. What's the FB opinion on these - is it a "guitarists bass" or just a big compromise?
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In my opinion, it would be wiser to invest in either a medium scale four string bass guitar or a full scale six string bass.
Octave up tracking tends to work more reliably than octave down.
The forum village bicycle HB Mosrite-alike baritone guitar is currently in the possession of @jamesoliver1234
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If you're interested in doing something different and interesting it might be the very thing you need - you probably need to try it. They're not too expensive and seem to sell well second hand, so not much risk.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
But for me I find gigging bass to be so much more fun. Horses, courses etc etc
But boring is all about the composition. Upgrade your bass lines!
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Barely touch it at home, and play/write on guitar still, but for your style of music - find a decent 4 string bass and a good fat drive pedal and bass is just as much fun to play.
They were supposed to be pretty good - could be tuned A-A or E-E with EB's own strings for it.
The problem with going lower is whether you will be able to intonate for it.
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Stoner band, 2 piece. Drums and a Bass VI
So to answer your question, I'm sure a Bass VI can be used.
I'm gonna try and find a Bass VI or Silhouette to have a play on and see what I think. In the meantime I'll settle for trying an octave pedal.
You haven’t cranked an amp till you’ve maxed an Ampeg SVT with 8x10 and watched people have involuntary bowel movements at your discretion..
No reason why you couldn't use one, and then get a decent capo for some tunes. This would open things up creatively, or use capos on 4 string basses.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have no bass player and sound great.
I've tried various Bass VI type instruments
as people have advised, they are more of a baritone
4 string bass is the easiest option I think
Realistically, that has been the most popular choice since day one
I have a Squier one which I use to add a different 'flavour' to the sound. I can't imagine using it as my only bass (I know Jack Bruce did, but he was Jack Bruce!).
It has a particular sound which (for me) doesn't quite nail the bass sound I want. Great fun though and very useful for recording, but just not a proper bass guitar.