Tight spaced, extended range bass options?

[G On Bass]

Here's the situation: I recently had a household accident that resulted in the ripping off of half a fingernail and requiring 4 stitches in the nail bed of my middle finger on my plucking hand. Needless to say, this makes playing fingerstyle less than wonderful. So I am looking for some kind of tight-spaced 5 or 6 string bass to use with a pick while I heal. The pick will not replace fingers on my regular 5 strings.

I know there are Short scale bass VI style basses. My question is if there are strings that will allow me to string these with a low B as in my regular basses.

Or there are Baritone guitars that are B-B and maybe I could use an octaver to drop lower.

Or just tight spaced 5's. The concern here is that when I have encountered a crappy B string on a 5, it has been on cheaper basses...

Trying to keep this $500 or less as it is most likely a temporary thing.

Any insight? Thanks!

 

[Aidil]

Is 14 mm string spacing tight enough?

Gerald Veasley Signature Basses | Ibanez guitars

but these ain't meant for temporary since they cost quite a lot.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Honestly, don't all extended range basses have tight string spacing?

And don't worry about the injury, I recovered from a similar injury just fine! (Just my fingernail is smaller now...) keep it clean to avoid infection

 

[lz4005]

Why do you need tighter spacing for playing with a pick?

 

[G On Bass]

Is 14 mm string spacing tight enough?

Gerald Veasley Signature Basses | Ibanez guitars

but these ain't meant for temporary since they cost quite a lot.

Nice. But the decimal point in the price is 1 space too far to the right.

Honestly, don't all extended range basses have tight string spacing?

And don't worry about the injury, I recovered from a similar injury just fine! (Just my fingernail is smaller now...) keep it clean to avoid infection

I'm taking good care of it. My 5 string has 18mm which is perfect for me. I'd consider tight spacing to start around 16.5mm...

Why do you need tighter spacing for playing with a pick?

Because I don't play with a pick much. Experimentation has shown me that in order to be able to play a similar number of notes with a pick that I play with fingers, I need tighter spacing.

 

[Herrick]

Ibanez SR.

 

[Inara]

You can usually find used Ibanez SR505 basses around the $300-400 dollar range. These are quality instruments with 16.5mm spacing. The one I own and the one other that I've played have good B strings. Not superb like a Lakland or a Roscoe etc., but good.

 

[Maxdusty]

$500 is a bit tight...while not super quality, a Cort Curbow is only a little longer than a short scale bass yet, it is 34"scale, has 26 frets on the E and A strings, 24 on the D and G. This is due to the really small body on the Curbow, not sure what the string spacing is for a 5 string or 6 string as I have a 4 string - but they looks to be narrow, perhaps similar to the Ibanez. No measurements available as the Curbow is no longer listed on the Cort site but you can probably find one online used.
I'm posting this picture from another TBer Kodiakblair - the Curbow is in the middle. To the right is an Ibanez Mikro which is 28.6" scale.

 

[Aidil]

Nice. But the decimal point in the price is 1 space too far to the right.



I'm taking good care of it. My 5 string has 18mm which is perfect for me. I'd consider tight spacing to start around 16.5mm...



Because I don't play with a pick much. Experimentation has shown me that in order to be able to play a similar number of notes with a pick that I play with fingers, I need tighter spacing.

yup, the Ibanez GVB price isn't in your budget...

16.5 mm string spacing on Extended Range Bass (6 string) is actually quite common. Plenty of 6 string basses with 16 mm ~ 16.5 mm spacing out there. This is why I mentioned the GVB, only to show you they are the tightest with 14 mm string spacing production ERB (not custom made) I'm aware of.

Agree that tighter spacing would make it easier, but still... many would say that any string spacing would suffice since it's just a matter of practice/getting used to.

And agree also with Ibanez SR series suggestions. There are plenty of well built 6 string SR basses. But since it would be only for temporary, take a loot also at their Gio SR series.

 

[khutch]

I tune my Squier VI starting on C (because I tune in fifths and that's a more natural low note for the tuning). A few others have tuned them to B. We all use custom strings from LaBella, Kalium, etc. It can be done and it works well with a light touch fingerstyle, or a pick. A Squier Jazzmaster baritone or used Ibanez SRC6 would also fit your budget.

 

[lz4005]

Because I don't play with a pick much. Experimentation has shown me that in order to be able to play a similar number of notes with a pick that I play with fingers, I need tighter spacing.

Don't look for hardware solutions to hide your technical shortcomings.

 

[TheMaynorD]

+1 on the ibanez sr. They have around 16.5mm spacing and you can get a decent SR 6 string used for between 300-600. Even their mid to entry level basses have decent build quality.

 

[osv]

The Schecter Stiletto Studio 5 has tight string spacing and can be had used for under $500. They are solid, quality instruments.

 

[AcridSaint]

Don't look for hardware solutions to hide your technical shortcomings.

They are trying to solve a short-term problem. Your reply is completely out of line in the context of this post.

 

[Single Coil]

Maybe I just got lucky. 18 months ago I ordered the ibanez sr 306eb sight unseen through my local mom n pop music store to use in a musical. It is fabulous for $450 new. There are better sixes of course, but price/performance ratio is crazy. You probably shouldn't order sight unseen like I did, but I would recommend checking one of these out if you can.

Electric Basses SR - SR306EB | Ibanez guitars

 

[G On Bass]

Don't look for hardware solutions to hide your technical shortcomings.

A preference is not a technical shortcoming...

 

[Systolic]

Ibanez SR, ESP, Schecter etc...

 

[interp]

Ouch! I feel your pain. I once tore off the entire fingernail of my right hand index finger and took 11 stitches across the tip and side of that finger. During the 8-10 weeks it took to fully heal I used a pick, holding it with my thumb and middle finger. I was playing only 4-strings at the time, with 3/4” string spacing. Didn’t have any problems, other than adjusting to using a pick again after finger style for many years.

 

[G On Bass]

Ouch! I feel your pain. I once tore off the entire fingernail of my right hand index finger and took 11 stitches across the tip and side of that finger. During the 8-10 weeks it took to fully heal I used a pick, holding it with my thumb and middle finger. I was playing only 4-strings at the time, with 3/4” string spacing. Didn’t have any problems, other than adjusting to using a pick again after finger style for many years.

Oh man, you had it worse than me! I also play banjo, so I have been using a thumbpick on bass for a year or 2 as well. Luckily no gripping issues!

 

[bassbenj]

Ibanez SR.

This would be my choice if I wanted active humbucking style bass. Comes in all level of numbers to make it as "temporary" as you want. If you lean more Fenderish, look at RondoMusicl.com.
All this stuff is mostly 15mm as far as I know. And they are cool too. I mean I've got "temporary" SR506 and SR206 as well as a bunch of SX Fenderclone 5ers. I don't play them much, but they are just too cool to get rid of.