The conversion begins

Help!I'maRock!

Help!I'maRock!

Mediocringly Derivative


A few months ago, I brought my redburst Dano bass to 30th Street Guitars for consignment. I had just sold my MIM Precision there, and there was no reason to have two basses when I wasn't playing bass in a band. A couple of weeks later, I moved to bass in the band, and kinda forgot the Dano was still there.

The last week of December, I remembered about it, and decided to go back to 30th and pick up my bass. Bassists don't really need a backup, but I don't need my toddler getting his grubbies on my Reverend either. Well, turns out it sold. So yay! But, now I kinda wanted a Dano bass back.

And then, eureka! I should convert my black baritone into a 6 string bass! I mean, why not?

Dano 6 string basses were short scale basses with guitar tuners and bridges on them. This should work. My only reservation was the string gauge. The guitar is currently strung with an Ernie Ball 13-72 set. It's much better balanced than the D'Addario baritone sets. I had to ream out the low string tuner to get the 72 on, but it's held up for the last 8 years, so whatever.

Knowing about the tuner, I called Ernie Ball Strings for a suggestion on the conversion. They said I could use their 20-90 Bass VI set, but I would need to buy a short scale 90 for the winding to pass through the tuner. A three pack of 90s on their site was $11 shipped, which is how much it would have been for one string anywhere else. So I went for it. Those strings arrived yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to try it until today. As suspected, the string fits through the bridge and the tuner. I have an extra pack of baritone strings I had used the high 13 on. So this guitar will be strung 18-30-44-56-72-90, E to E.

Tomorrow, the baritone goes in for a setup, which will involve the aluminum nut being filed. And it will emerge, a butterfly.

I am excite.

:santareindeer:
 
My old Longhorn was a fun bass to play. So light and had a great natural tone. Kinda wish I still had it
 
Got it back today. I forgot the first two strings are plain on this set, but that's not a huge deal. The string tension is quite unbalanced, and the low 90 is floppy. But after a little tweaking from the tech, it's set up well and sounds great. The most important thing here is that it feels better in E than it did in B. I'm gonna call LaBella and see what strings they recommend for more balanced tension. It's a toploader bridge so a regular Bass VI set will be too long.

It'll be a week or so before I bring it to the band. We have a show on Wednesday and that's not the time. Maybe at our next show, with a greatly expanded pedalboard.

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Good call on not taking it to the show. I made the mistake of switching to flatwounds a couple of days before a gig. I don't think I could use my left hand for days after that gig :grin:
 
That is so cool. You get a 6-string bass with little extra expense. And good call on not using it for the gig. :wink:

I love my Dano, and actually used it on one of my most recent recordings. Such a fun guitar to play.
 
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