2013 Squier Vintage Modified Bass VI

[JES]

Greetings everyone. I'm new on OSG. I'm a bassist who just picked up my first Bass VI. On bass, I do a lot with alternate tunings, so my plan it to do the same with the Bass VI. I am also planning to abuse the vibrato a lot since it's my first instrument with a whammy bar. I am for sure ordering a StayTrem bridge when they reopen in January.

Here's my question: with the StayTrem, will the stock arm and vibrato setup work ok for alternate tunings or will the whole things go out of tune a lot if I switch tunings from one song to the next? If not, would I be better off with something like the AVRI vibrato setup that has a lock, or the Mastery? I know the latter is a chunk of change, but I'd be willing to do it if it made a big difference. EDIT: I mean to say, will the lock mean I don't have to retune the whole instrument every time I drop tune on the E and A strings, or will it still need it and I might as well just live with a floating bridge?

Thank you!

[Mad-Mike]

Greetings everyone. I'm new on OSG. I'm a bassist who just picked up my first Bass VI. On bass, I do a lot with alternate tunings, so my plan it to do the same with the Bass VI. I am also planning to abuse the vibrato a lot since it's my first instrument with a whammy bar. I am for sure ordering a StayTrem bridge when they reopen in January.

Here's my question: with the StayTrem, will the stock arm and vibrato setup work ok for alternate tunings or will the whole things go out of tune a lot if I switch tunings from one song to the next? If not, would I be better off with something like the AVRI vibrato setup that has a lock, or the Mastery? I know the latter is a chunk of change, but I'd be willing to do it if it made a big difference. EDIT: I mean to say, will the lock mean I don't have to retune the whole instrument every time I drop tune on the E and A strings, or will it still need it and I might as well just live with a floating bridge?

Thank you!

I don't know what alternate tunings you do, but I have no problems and I drop tune my Bass VI for playing bass-lines all the time (DADGBE and CGDGBE). The tuning on those vibratos tends not to drift at all if I tune one or two strings down. One thing I DO suggest though is a much bigger Low E string if you are tuning down on the low E string. I still have the original strings on my VI, but the low E is a .095 off my Fender Shortscale Bass set (I had a Fender Mustang Bass prior), and I plan to bump that up to a .105 eventually and make a custom set of strings when I restring the VI so the low E is stronger when tuned down to C.

Now if you're going all Ricky Wilson on that thing (ie, removing strings, drastic tuning changes, etc...) I would not know since I only do that on guitar.

[JES]

Thanks! It's mostly drop tunings for me. On 4-string bass I'll switch to CADG or CGDG or DADG or DGDG or CGDA depending on the song. I might get a little weirder with this one--time will tell.

[SSquirrel]

I don't know what alternate tunings you do, but I have no problems and I drop tune my Bass VI for playing bass-lines all the time (DADGBE and CGDGBE).

CGDGBB is the tuning for Thurston Moore's solo album and several tracks from 1000 Leaves. I'd imagine playing those guitar lines on a Bass VI would sound awesome

[Mad-Mike]

I don't know what alternate tunings you do, but I have no problems and I drop tune my Bass VI for playing bass-lines all the time (DADGBE and CGDGBE).

CGDGBB is the tuning for Thurston Moore's solo album and several tracks from 1000 Leaves. I'd imagine playing those guitar lines on a Bass VI would sound awesome

I might have to try that out, it's like half Mailman (Soundgarden) half Ricky Wilson, both of which I love the sound of (I've been using a lot of Ricky's tunings lately in my own stuff BTW). Might also have to give Thurston a listen, I have some Sonic Youth on the Zune but none of the solo stuff.

[burpgun]

I'm sorry, Mad Mike, did you say your Zune?

[mackerelmint]

There anything wrong with having a zune?

[SSquirrel]

Might also have to give Thurston a listen, I have some Sonic Youth on the Zune but none of the solo stuff.

Psychic Hearts is the solo album in question. Really good

[amv]

There anything wrong with having a zune?

Of course not. I always keep on one hand in case the batteries die in my MiniDisc player and I can't find my Diamond Rio.

In fact, just last week I was watching Ang Lee's Hulk on HD-DVD, but kept getting interrupted by calls on my Palm Pre. I couldn't hear the movie over the Temple of the Dog ringtone, but I'd dropped my phone behind my fax machine and didn't feel like moving everything out of the way to reach it (including the Segway I keep propped up against it), so I just grabbed the Zune headphones out of my fanny pack, plugged them directly into my Sony Trinitron, and viola! I could listen to the rest of the movie in peace.

[JES]

I had to google Ricky Wilson and was very confused at first...

[mackerelmint]

There anything wrong with having a zune?

Of course not. I always keep on one hand in case the batteries die in my MiniDisc player and I can't find my Diamond Rio.

In fact, just last week I was watching Ang Lee's Hulk on HD-DVD, but kept getting interrupted by calls on my Palm Pre. I couldn't hear the movie over the Temple of the Dog ringtone, but I'd dropped my phone behind my fax machine and didn't feel like moving everything out of the way to reach it (including the Segway I keep propped up against it), so I just grabbed the Zune headphones out of my fanny pack, plugged them directly into my Sony Trinitron, and viola! I could listen to the rest of the movie in peace.

Right, I forgot that MP3s are a dead format and the things that play them are outdated tech.

[shoule79]

I have to join in and stand up for the Zune. It was far better than the iPods out when it was available. Microsoft did it right with that one.

If my son (then 2) hadn't thrown it across the room a few times I'd still be using mine.

[amv]

Right, I forgot that MP3s are a dead format and the things that play them are outdated tech.

I was really just going for a running gag of "also-ran" brands that lost out in one way or another (hence Ang Lee's forgotten Hulk reboot, HD-DVD, Diamond Rio, etc.), but I ran out of references and had to pad my shtick with the broader topic of outdated technology. I admit it doesn't quite apply.

All silliness aside, a friend of mine who works at Microsoft used to have a Zune and I remember being surprised by how slick it was. It is a pretty odd thing to hear someone mention in 2016, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BqyreB8zRE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's just one of those brand names that will always be an easy target.

[mackerelmint]

Right, I forgot that MP3s are a dead format and the things that play them are outdated tech.

I was really just going for a running gag of "also-ran" brands that lost out in one way or another (hence Ang Lee's forgotten Hulk reboot, HD-DVD, Diamond Rio, etc.), but I ran out of references and had to pad my shtick with the broader topic of outdated technology. I admit it doesn't quite apply.

All silliness aside, a friend of mine who works at Microsoft used to have a Zune and I remember being surprised by how slick it was. It is a pretty odd thing to hear someone mention in 2016, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BqyreB8zRE" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's just one of those brand names that will always be an easy target.

Yeah, even when they came out, it was "oh, you have one of thoooose, what's wrong with you that you didn't get an ipod?" Which was just a damn shame because in every respect from specs to UI to the library software, they had apple beat. Too bad their marketing people didn't know what they were doing. I'm another who still rocks a zune. I've never owned an ipod because the zune has always worked better.

[Johnny Alien]

I wouldn't say the UI beat out the Apple UI. The click wheel on the ipod is perhaps one of the greatest hardware navigational devices ever. Of course it was ripped off of high end audio equipment but regardless it was fantastic. The software UI on the Zune was a step in the right direction of melding the xbox UI and Microsoft's media software but it needed a bunch of work before I would say it surpassed Apple. The shame of it is that they did continue working on that UI on the Windows phone and now that they actually have a finely tuned great UI their name in the mobile market is so damaged that no one bought the phones.