Essex Bass Club - Part 14

[pat5150]

My wife was cool enough to get me this SX P bass for Christmas. I actually like it a lot! It needs some fretwork but for how little it costs it is surprisingly nice. Of course, you all knew that already. I'm going to completely black it out, all hardware, everything black. Probably throw some DR Black Beauty strings on there too. The first step was dying the fretboard. I used the same leather dye that sam ash sells. I think it turned out really well! Here's a before and after, with my wife's Carvin strat for reference which has a real ebony fretboard. Next up, painting the headstock.

[THand]

Originally Posted by dave64o

That's exactly the reason mine became a project bass. It was originally fretless and I concluded exactly the same thing - I'd be way better off trying to first become competent on fretted.

I figured I'd net very little if I sold it, after factoring in the cost if packing and shipping, so I slowly starting buying used parts until I had enough to do the job. The only original parts are the neck plate and the body wood itself. Literally everything else was replaced, almost entirely with used parts I bought on TB.

I've posted it before, but why not post another pic of the finished product?

Attachment 309085

C'mon man...replace that neckplate!!! You know you want to!

[S.Harrison]

Question for the longtime SX players/collectors. Do they ever put out P-fivers? I'm looking for another five and dig my Ursa P/J but all I ever see are the Jazzes. I may have to bite the bullet but if there is a remote possibility of a P5 I'll wait a bit.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by S.Harrison

Question for the longtime SX players/collectors. Do they ever put out P-fivers? I'm looking for another five and dig my Ursa P/J but all I ever see are the Jazzes. I may have to bite the bullet but if there is a remote possibility of a P5 I'll wait a bit.

Yeah, WE WISH! If Rondo had 5er P/Js or even Ps I'd be scarfing them up like gangbusters. So until then my lowly Squier P/J "special" will have to do. It's actually quite nice but every time I play it I keep thinking about my SX collection with real ash or alder instead of that Agathis body on the Squier. I know it won't make much difference in tone, but it's just a mental thing, OK?

SX needs to step up to this. Just as Fender avoids making 6er Jazz basses and SX took up the slack, Fender also doesn't make 5er P/J basses. And dare I say it? An SX 6er P/J??!!! Can you spell HEAVEN?

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by S.Harrison

Question for the longtime SX players/collectors. Do they ever put out P-fivers? I'm looking for another five and dig my Ursa P/J but all I ever see are the Jazzes. I may have to bite the bullet but if there is a remote possibility of a P5 I'll wait a bit.

Years ago, they offered a P-shaped bass very much like the Squier Precision Special 5 (which has two Jazz pickups). Here's our buddy Coop's YouTube video on one. If you found one you could do the conversion like many of us have with our Squiers.

Originally Posted by bassbenj

Yeah, WE WISH! If Rondo had 5er P/Js or even Ps I'd be scarfing them up like gangbusters. So until then my lowly Squier P/J "special" will have to do....

SX needs to step up to this. Just as Fender avoids making 6er Jazz basses and SX took up the slack, Fender also doesn't make 5er P/J basses. And dare I say it? An SX 6er P/J??!!! Can you spell HEAVEN?

You'd have competition!

Fender did have the Steve Bailey Jazz 6 (which they've discontinued) and they do currently offer a MIA 5-string Precision. Both are very pricey!

I wish someone would offer a 5-string P-Bass (but then I already have two modified Squiers).

[S.Harrison]

Bummer. I could really go for a 3TS five-string P (picky, I know) to compliment my black Squier Standard Precision V (two Jazz pups). So now it's either a 3TS P or the 3TS Jazz fiver from SX.

[mattm]

So is it just me, or is the 3TS on this short scale Ursa 1 a little bright, for lack of a better term?

http://www.rondomusic.com/URSA1JR3TS.HTML

Mostly talking about the orange band next to the black. They also have more traditional looking 3TS, as on this guy:

http://www.rondomusic.com/product3651.html

So I'm wondering if the one on the short scale is just a trick of the camera or what. I suppose I could always get the white, or maybe blue, instead...

[dabbler]

Here, in the back row, is the 5 string P style bass Rondo used to offer. I'll probably put my 5 string P pup in and get a guard made to fit the new pup later this year.

[Rip Topaz]

I wouldn't mind having that in a four stringer. A P-bass shape with Jazz pickups? Yeah, I'd rock that.

[gjbassist]

Finished the mods on the SX P/J my wife got me for Christmas.
Swapped the neck for an old style headstock Jazz width neck complete with Fender USA tuners and a custom headstock decal. Replaced the bridge with a beefier high mass bridge. Rewired with CTS pots and orange drop capacitor. I'm really loving the look of the black with maple neck/black blocks!

[Thundar]

GJ...that looks awesome! Lovin that "hook" headstock too...here's hoping SX may at least return to that headstock at some point.

[gjbassist]

Thanks Thundar! I knew when I bought that neck from Rondo back in the fall that I would be able to put it to good use! They still have some of the hook headstock necks for sale (with dots instead of blocks). I'm tempted to pick up a couple more.

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by Thundar

GJ...that looks awesome! Lovin that "hook" headstock too...here's hoping SX may at least return to that headstock at some point.

That looks great!!

I agree about the hook headstock - I'd really like to see them move from the current one to this new hooked one. It would be easy to modify and fits the vintage vibe better than the new one.

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by dabbler

Here, in the back row, is the 5 string P style bass Rondo used to offer. I'll probably put my 5 string P pup in and get a guard made to fit the new pup later this year.

Wow!

The neck on the P5 looks to have the same width (at the nut) as the J5. Is that true?

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by BillyB_from_LZ

Wow!

The neck on the P5 looks to have the same width (at the nut) as the J5. Is that true?

No. I'll verify when I get home, but I am 95% sure that the P5 is wider.

Edit: Nope, I was wrong. The width and depth are the same. Only difference appears to be a larger headstock on the 5P.

[josiah goldfish]

Hey guys.
I'm thinking about ordering an sx CAR fretless ursa 3 p/j bass for my birthday, but unfortunately I live in England. Living in England means I have to pay about $95 postage on a $115 bass, and it means it'll be practically impossible to return it.
Is the sx better than the squier vm fretless or a mim fender? Do I need to be worries about getting a good one? Is it worthe the money?
The thicker neck really appeals to me, and it's one of the only fretlesses I can find in my price range, but I'm a little nervous that it'll arrive at my house looking like someone took a sledge hammer to it. An sx will cost me about £140, but a squier will cost about £300, so it seems like a good deal but I'd be buying blind.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by josiah goldfish

Hey guys.
I'm thinking about ordering an sx CAR fretless ursa 3 p/j bass for my birthday, but unfortunately I live in England. Living in England means I have to pay about $95 postage on a $115 bass, and it means it'll be practically impossible to return it.
Is the sx better than the squier vm fretless or a mim fender? Do I need to be worries about getting a good one? Is it worthe the money?
The thicker neck really appeals to me, and it's one of the only fretlesses I can find in my price range, but I'm a little nervous that it'll arrive at my house looking like someone took a sledge hammer to it. An sx will cost me about £140, but a squier will cost about £300, so it seems like a good deal but I'd be buying blind.
Thanks in advance,
Joe

I've received more SX basses in perfect condition than I have ones with flaws, but flawed ones do exist.

Perhaps you could contact Kurt directly and ask him if they could open the box and inspect the bass before sending it to you.

My other concern would be whether they double box them when shipping overseas. Here in the US, Rondo doesn't double box and they just apply the shipping label to the thin cardboard box that they came from the factory in (which is probably boxed in bulk and then the bulk boxes placed in a shipping container before heading here from China). I'm surprised that the basses haven't been destroyed going half-way across the US to get to me. You might want to ask about that.

If you didn't like it, do you have any idea what it would sell for as a used bass in the UK? The difference between the resale value and what you'd pay is really what you're risking.

[josiah goldfish]

Originally Posted by BillyB_from_LZ

I've received more SX basses in perfect condition than I have ones with flaws, but flawed ones do exist.

Perhaps you could contact Kurt directly and ask him if they could open the box and inspect the bass before sending it to you.

My other concern would be whether they double box them when shipping overseas. Here in the US, Rondo doesn't double box and they just apply the shipping label to the thin cardboard box that they came from the factory in (which is probably boxed in bulk and then the bulk boxes placed in a shipping container before heading here from China). I'm surprised that the basses haven't been destroyed going half-way across the US to get to me. You might want to ask about that.

If you didn't like it, do you have any idea what it would sell for as a used bass in the UK? The difference between the resale value and what you'd pay is really what you're risking.

I looked on eBay (ebay's used a lot more than craigslist in the uk) and the standard sx fretted goes for £160. I can order a fretless from the US for £140. If I were to sell it here I could probably get £160 for it, but not if it's damaged or faulty.

I'll ask Kurt about the packaging, if necessary I can pay extra for a safer bass.

Thanks for the reply,
Joe

[Rip Topaz]

Just buy it with a hard case and request that Kurt ship it in the case. Then he'll have to unbox it (ask him to inspect it here) to put it in the case, then rebox it to ship. Just ask him to be super careful because its going overseas.

[Tmw2011]

Being in Europe, couldn't you use that SX distributor that's in Spain to get it without having to worry about huge shipping costs? (And get the old headstock and a few more model options as well). Not to take any business from Kurt, who's been nothing short of awesome, but it just seems more logical to do it that way.