NBVID: Squier Bass VI...

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:29 am

stewart wrote: I also want/need a staytrem bridge.

From this on offset. It's like a cheaper alternative to the stay trem bridge:

The StayTrem bridge is indeed an excellent choice - if I had of known then, that may well have been the way I would have gone myself. Though however at the time (mid last year) this is the way I went using a standard Mustang Bridge - which you can purchase from Guitar Parts Resource and similar - so perhaps the cheapest upgrade. After modding I've had no issues with popping strings since. It really comes down to setting the bridge up correctly regards bridge height, often a shim, and a decent set of 11's.

To perform the saddle modification - remove A.D.G.B saddles to sand (only) use a Stewmac radius gauge ( or a thick piece of card or plastic cut to the correct radius, etc ) to ensure correct bridge radius across the saddles. Sand down the underside of the Mustang Saddles ( sand flat ) to 9.5 upper profile.

avj · Post by **avj** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 5:19 am

Noirie, that doesn't alleviate the main problem the Staytrem bridge solves: intonation. The stock bridge as well as the Mustang and Mastery aren't wide enough in some cases to allow for proper intonation.

Based on the countless reports in several corners of the web, some had success by flipping the skinny bridges around -- but for others even that wasn't enough.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:32 am

This thing has FINALLY gone out for delivery today. Fucking Christmas dolts.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:33 am

I am excited for you

Seems this was made for you and BI.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:39 am

Yeah, I hope I can do some cool things with it, rather than just strumming some really horrible muddy chords on it like the ham-fisted bastard I am.

Post by **Mike** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:47 am

I don't think they're for chording, I think they're for RATM style phat riffin

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:06 am

.. and getting your Glenn Campbell on, of course...
[youtube][/youtube]

avj · Post by **avj** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:45 pm

Merry VImas, buddy.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 6:23 pm

Picked it up from the parental abode, had a brief pluck. Initial thoughts- cool, in a 'ooh this is strange' way. Everything seems up to scratch apart from the rubber band bottom strings and the usual shite nut. Will report further in a couple of hours...

avj · Post by **avj** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 7:01 am

After nearly twelve hours, the people begin to worry. Has he wanged himself -- to death?

speedfish · Post by **speedfish** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 7:14 am

Are these best played through guitar or bass amps? Just ordered one through AMS.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 2:08 pm

speedfish wrote:Are these best played through guitar or bass amps? Just ordered one through AMS.

Either; through a bass amp, it'll sound like a bass, through a guitar amp it'll sound like a really deep guitar.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Dec 25, 2013 6:30 pm

avj wrote:After nearly twelve hours, the people begin to worry. Has he wanged himself -- to death?

Oops, hadn't had a chance to log in since then. It's cool, I like it, I'm keeping it. Still trying to get to grips with the mechanics of it, being neither a guitar nor a bass and all that...

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 12:42 am

stewart wrote:... being neither a guitar nor a bass and all that...

It's a bass

You just have a couple more options than a standard bass... but I challenge you to tell the difference between a VI played with the same approach and amplification as a 4-string. It's the extra bits that give it its unique voice, but it's just as much a bass as a standard 36" 6-string.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 12:47 am

See, I can't understand why anyone would play them through a bass amp - think they lose all the characteristics which make VIs sound all lovely.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Thu Dec 26, 2013 4:22 am

It really depends on the role you're filling in the band.
I'm primarily a bass player; I use my VI through my bass amp all the time to play bass parts (though I do more chording than most).
I also play some leads on the VI, in those instances, I tend to play through my Twin Reverb with a good dose of reverb.

I also bi-amp to get a full, dynamic sound, playing through both amps... though I don't do that on stage very often, as it requires bringing a second bass amp for when our lead guitar player plays bass while I'm doing leads on VI or playing second guitar. Bi-amping is kind of ideal with these things, if your back can handle it

Robert Smith plays his through a Roland Jazz Chorus, while Peter Hook generally takes the bass amp or bi-amp route with a HiWatt Custom/Marshall bass amp, an Alembic pre- or Ampegs, through bass cabinets. In the end, it's your EQ that's going to determine just what you sound like, and you can get great VI sounds out of either or both bass and/or guitar amps.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:04 am

well, i doubt i'll be playing it like a bass for the most part, unless i'm doubling something up in the studio (or using it in the band where i actually play bass.. o_o)

will essentially be another option for guitar sounds in the main, going through my normal setup (guitar amp + bass amp).

avj · Post by **avj** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 4:38 am

My dream setup to drive any instrument I own would be something powerful and still relatively portable -- something like a 2x10 bass cab with neodymium speakers and a compact 2x12 (like Twin Reverb size) with Greenbacks or V30s, and have the Vibrosonic head driving the 2x10 and the Orange AD30 driving the 2x12. I wanted something like this very badly when I played synth+guitar in Bright Nights, but eventually compromised and opted for a full-range 15" powered PA speaker for the synth instead.

Now that I'm using the Bass VI as my primary instrument, I long for this "compact" bi-amp setup.

One thing I've wondered though about using this kind of setup with a bass or a synth would be how to properly route the lows and low mids one way and the rest the other way. I couldn't ever find a cheap crossover pedal (or anything not rackmount), so I thought of creating a poor-man's crossover with a splitter and a couple of EQ pedals; not truly a crossover, but it might get the job done.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 5:30 pm

that would work, plus you've got EQ on each amp if you're doing it that way.

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Jan 03, 2014 2:53 am

My Peavey T-Max has a crossover feature with a knob on the front to control the split frequency... That said, I haven't used it as it requires a second cab and power amp to run. The amps I own don't bypass the pre.
When biamping, I just split direct off of my Boss CEB-3 stereo bass chorus; there's not cross split, but the two amps are EQed differently and it works just fine.