Alvarez AEB6AB 6-String

I just picked one up myself, year unknown, with EMG HZ active pickups.
The finish is a sort of quilted graphite color.
A steal for $212.00

I play rock music, very nice to have the added bottom end.
The highs are great as well, the EMGs do their job well.
I think the tone controls add a lot of color to the mix as well.

Since it is used, I have no idea if the factory set up is valid.
I also don't know if the active pickups are a factory standard. (If they aren't, the guy did a bang-up job cause they look factory installed.
I did notice the Korean style headstock joint.
I would prefer a brighter finish to the charcoal.

I cannot rate this as of yet since I've had it only a week.

This bass was probably made in 2001 and I bought it new in October 2002 from the Bass Place in Arizona through their ebay auction.
This is my first six string bass and I love it. It is my main gig bass for all styles of music and recording. I have an Alvarez 5 string that I bought used in 1996 that was used for all of my gigging and recording until I bought the six string.
It has two pick-ups,a volum contro for each and a tone control. It has no active electronics though I wish it did.
I like just about everything about this bass and if Alvarez still made electric basses, I would buy another one.
I carry it in a leather gig bag, it stays in tune pretty well. The only thing I would change about it is I would have bought the left handed model and restrung it for a right handed person. I am left handed and I play a right handed bass flipped upside down still strung right handed. I've been playing that way for 40 years.

I love the sound of the bass and get a lot of compliments on my playing and the sound. It seems to have good sustain and all of the notes seem to be even up and down the neck. I do not use any effects other than a little high end boost on my bass amp.

Everything seemed to be perfect when I got it. I did not see the need to make any adjustments and took it to the gig along with my five string as soon as I got it. I kept both on the stage ready to go that weekend and switched between the two but our sound man said the six string sounded better. I still kept the five string with me for a couple of gigs until I got used to the extra string but after about three or four weekends only carried the the six string.
It came with Elixir string which I liked but right now I have a set of Ernie Balls strings on it. I will probably go back to the Elixirs since they seem to last so long and feel good to my fingers.

I have used this bass for all of my live gigs and recording sessions since it purchase and love. About a month ago I did notice a dirty pot which was taken care of with a little tuner lubricant. I set the intonation on it myself about six months ago and I think it might need it again. I will probably get a professional to do it for me.
I constantly use it on gigs without a backup.

Never dealt with the company, if it was under warranty it is surely over now.

I've been playing bass for 40 years. My main band at this time is Country but I am also into R and B, Salsa and other Latin styles, rock and oldies. All of my basses can be seen on my website at www.tchoward.com . I own a four and 5 string electric bass guitar, a four string acoutic electric bass guitar along with this six string and an Ampeg electric upright and an acoustic upright. My favorite feature is it has six strings instead of four or five. I wish it had active electronics.

Six string bass made in Korea, inspection date is 2001
- 22 frets, nice big ones but not jumbo
- Dual Alvarez-branded passive pickups with two volume and one tone control
- Quilted maple top with amber sunburst finish
- Maple neck Rosewood fingerboard
- Maple body, P-bass style

pic at http://www.alvarezgtr.com/bigguitarspgs/AEB6ABbig.html

I've been playing bass for over twenty years and play rock, R&B, and funk. I play with fingers, with pick, and I slap & pop. I own a Gibson RD Artist and a Fender MIM Jazz bass, both four string basses and both good sounding guitars. I have tried many 5 or 6 string basses and the sound and feel did not measure up to the Gibson and the Fender, until I tried this one.

The spacing of the strings combined with the thin satin finish neck made it very easy to play comfortably without much alteration of playing technique. Score one brownie point.

The sound is quite flexible. It has the sustain of my Gibson combined with the bark of my Fender. It isn't as beefy as the the other two due to thinner strings, which is likely a limitation to any six string bass due to the added tension on the neck and headstock. On a four string bass, the low E is a 0.105 gauge string, whereas the same size string is low B on the six string. Step up to the low E and it's now 0.090, so it loses some beef and it flops a little more because the tension is less. It's also takes a little more finger pressure to mute the strings. The tradeoff is a thicker neck to compensate for greater tension, so I'll settle for the thinner easily playable neck.

The range across the six strings is very balanced. The low B doesn't "flub" like a lot of 5/6 string basses, it's solid. The low D is one of the beefiest I've felt, and it sustains like my Gibson (you need a GOOD bass amp system to reproduce frequencies below low E). Score brownie point two.

From B-E-A-D-G-C, the sound is rich and full with the tone control wide open, and the tone is consistent. Inconsistent tone was a fault I found on many 5/6 string basses. I shape the tone with my Tubeworks Blue Tube preamp and with my playing technique. What I liked about the Alvarez is when I alternate between finger picking and slapping, the sound is balanced. My Fender suffered a drop in volume when I slap, not so on the Alvarez. Score brownie point three.

The pickups on my Fender are sensitive to EMI and they buzz and hum when near magnetic fields like flourescent lights and power amps. The Alverez pickups do not buzz or hum, they must be humbucker design. Score brownie point four.

Overall, the Alvarez sounds great despite its slight weaknesses compared to the Gibson or Fender. The Gibson is very smooth and beefy, the Fender has great bark, and the Alvarez is a combination of the two. And it plays great.

The store I bought the Alvarez from is renowned for its support. The neck is straight as an arrow, the action felt great, but the intonation was slightly sharp on the top two string above the twelth fret. The pickup height was ideal, close enough not to get hit with string vibrations. The edges of the frets were all smooth and did not interfere with playing. The corner of the nut protrudes a bit but have yet to notice it while playing.

The finish looks great. Alvarez calls it amber, it's actually sunburst because of the red tints on the edge of the body. The quilted maple top is a veneer, you have to look hard for the seams. But the figure pattern on the quilted maple looks stunning. The body underneath the maple top is at least three pieces when you look for the glue seams, again hard to spot but not a big issue when the back is facing away from the audience. More important, maple is an ideal wood for bass.

Weight-wise, it is lighter than the Gibson and a little heavier than the Fender. It is not neck heavy.

The neck is NOT one piece. The Koreans used a separate woodpiece for the headstock and they glue it to the neck at about the 2nd fret. I was a little disappointed but the sound does not seem to suffer.

I immediately put straplocks on to keep convention with the Fender and Gibson. I bought the bass for live and for studio playing, the pickups and hardware definitely are suited for either.

No issues yet. Wish they had some info on their website for legacy instruments though (this bass is no longer made by Alvarez).

For the money it is a great value. I've read from one source on the internet that Alvarez basses are to be avoided (probably due to the two-piece neck described above) but this is a good bass guitar, especially for a six string. I guess I landed a good one.

I do miss active tone controls like on my Gibson RD Artist, but that would've added to the cost. This Alvarez has the smoothness & sustain of my Gibson combined with the bark & playability of my Fender Jazz - something I thought I'd never find, much less in a six string format. I'm really happy with my find and am looking forward to advancing my playing technique.