Yeah I forgot about the floppy string on the stock squire bass VI. I have used the stringjoy bass VI strings and they are good. Their customer service is excellent also. I also remembered sperzel makes compact bass tuners I may hit them up about a custom non locking set. Meanwhile I ordered the 9 string set from la bella at it is a $15 gamble. I will keep you all posted on the results. Those Basses are sexy and I love the amps a well. Thanks for the help.If you go the custom strings route I would see if they can make a shorter version of the Bass VI set. A 0.090 E string will be pretty floppy and will not only feel and sound worse but will also most likely result in intonation issues with the A string on your three saddle bridge.
I played Bass VI in my band for the past five years. I experimented a lot with strings and setups and also built another Franken-VI from parts, the one in the middle here:
This bass also required a shorter string length. This was before Fender offered the Super 250 Bass VI set and I was playing the Axiom VI strings from Newtone Strings in UK on my Squiers because it was the only availlable set with proper tension on the low strings: https://newtonestrings.com/shop/axion-custom-works-fender-vi-set/?v=5f02f0889301
They make the strings to order, so when I asked them if they could make a shorter version for my new bass, they immidiately asked for precise measurements and I got a few sets of perfect fitting strings without extra costs. Most excellent customer service ever. Don't know if they make flatwounds, though. I've heard good things about stringjoy, too, if you want to shop on your side of the pond. Long story short: I'd see if I could find a set with a sixth string in the range between 0.095 and 0.100.
