Essex Bass Club - Part 14

[BillyB_from_LZ]

Originally Posted by Rip Topaz

Well, I finally pulled the trigger last night around midnight...

Woah!!! Only $16 shipping?!? I've shipped a bunch of basses, and I've NEVER been able to ship them that cheap!!

....

Congrats!

Yep, I think that's what they charged me to ship an Ursa 2 6-string to me. I'm guessing that Kurt get's a huge discount on shipping.

My wife used to have a business account with FedEx and "her" discount on Ground (and Home Delivery) shipments was at least 30%. Small, heavy packages (like amp heads) cost almost nothing to ship. Instruments were in the $20ish range I think.

[nomadh]

Maybe this should post as a new thread but my question is pretty SX specific. Basically I'm trying to decide between the black block inlay sx jazz 4 and 5 string bass. I'm mainly a guitar player and have 6 rondo guitars already. All beautiful, many are top players, even at the low end. I also have a Kawai carbon neck 4 str bass that I like a lot along with a 6 string rogue active bass that is surprisingly likeable and playable. Both are black and I really hate painted wood but especially black. As a history, I also bought a 5 string alder model sx some time ago. Problem is I hated it. It had something going on that drove me crazy. Others played it and didnt really notice anything. It was the low B but also the E string a bit if I recall. Kurt tried to help. Gave me extra return time and even sent another B string. I also bought a new set of strings. I even swapped some from my 6 string. Nothing helped. I actually sold it local instead of shipping back to kurt as other people (mostly beginners) didnt seem to mind the issue. I thought it was the flabby b problem so many complain about on 34" scales. But was never sure. My rogue 6 is 35" and its B rings like a bell. But I suspect it was something else. More a vibration I couldnt find. So is that what a floppy b feels like? I suspected a vibration in the truss rod but I never figured it out.
Anyway I have gas. I want the ash/ maple/black block look.
Just looking for help trying to decide on the 4 or 5 string.
5 string pros:
Its cool
It its good enough I could sell my 6 to save space/ recoup money
Could really start to dig into using the low b.
5 string Cons:
Had a bad one.
34" scale
Non multi-ply reinforced std maple neck
Worry about the floppy B
More expensive strings , specially if chasing the B problem
Prefer p/j or j/hum pickup combo
neckdive?
problems in eq, sound and equipment to use low b
More expensive strings and more touchy to find good ones
More expensive/difficult to mod / replace parts
Do I really need a 5 playing mostly classic rock maybe a bit of soundgarden, alice in chains, STP

4 string pros:
Simple
Easy/ cheap mods
Used to it
Has j/hum pickup combo
No neck dive
Lighter
4 string cons:
Already got a good one maybe I'll even strip off the black to see its ash
Its so "pedestrian"
Really dont want a dup and my kawai is sentimental, collectable outstanding bass.

I guess I really want the 5 even though the 4 is more sensible for me. Even though looks are driving this purchase I do not have room for just wall art. I dont need either as my 4 and 6 cover a lot. I know I should just practice more and to top this, I dont even have a good bass amp. Yet here I am. Maybe the most help would be confirming or denying my 5 string worries.

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by nomadh

...I guess I really want the 5 even though the 4 is more sensible for me. Even though looks are driving this purchase I do not have room for just wall art. I dont need either as my 4 and 6 cover a lot. I know I should just practice more and to top this, I dont even have a good bass amp. Yet here I am. Maybe the most help would be confirming or denying my 5 string worries.

I'm hearing your GAS but don't know that I can help without understanding what it was you didn't like with your last SX 5er. 2 of my main 4 basses are SX Ash 5ers, but I wouldn't describe the Bs on them as piano-like. I use a 0.130 B and I'm happy with it, but I also have changed the pups on those 2.

I don't believe that what you experienced was a floppy B, because the SX necks are thick and very stable, not a lot of compliance, which is what I believe determines, along with the string itself, how floppy it is. I'd really like to play the 5er you like, bbecause I have no frame of reference for what you like.

I will say this,though, now that I think about it. I hve a pari of SX SB-301s, which are a more modern shape and though they are 4 stringers, they practically ring like bells. None of my J style basses respond like that, and I believe it has to do with the mass of the body. I like the SBs for wghat they do, but I'm a J kinda guy. I think you may have to decide wether or not you are a J kinda player.

[rfslick]

I have a Rogue 405 Pro, which I have always loved. And just recently bought an Ursa 2, alder, rosewood 3 tone sunburst. With the tonal variety of the Ursa, I get about everything I need. I'm just not sure I'm going to need the 5 much longer. Right now it boils down to being able to say I have a 5. I'm not sure that justifies keeping it around.

[nomadh]

I think it was more a vibration but i believe i took vid samples i may still have somewheree. I should also try a lot more 5ers i suppose so i can have "bassline" to judge. But even then if i did want to tweak, how expensive were the replacement pups on your 5er? How much selection and how well did they fit?
Also I love the j look but I like the pbass sound more. I need to try a j with a series/parallel switch sometime.
I dont require it to hit like a bell like my 35" but I do want it to be solid, even and toneful with the other strings.
My guess is you know your way around a bass more than I so I'm leaning towards the fact that I got a weird buzzy unit. I'm pretty sure most the players here would notice if they had something like my old one.
Thanks

[Diesel Kilgore]

Have been searching for a nice jazz bass to add to the stable. Been going back and forth over quite a few budget models. Samick, Turser, Indiana...even thought I would splurge on a new MIM because they had the neck and color options I wanted.

Well guess who else had the color and neck I wanted?

Got a LPB Ursa 2 coming my way. OTD it was $146. Shipping was only $20! Originally held out $200 for a budget jazz. With the great deal on the SX I bought some goodies with the rest. Ashtrays and D'addario flats should get here when the bass does.

I will post pics when it arrives. Can't wait.

[mookie20hz]

"5 string pros:
Its cool
It its good enough I could sell my 6 to save space/ recoup money
Could really start to dig into using the low b.
5 string Cons:
Had a bad one.
34" scale
Non multi-ply reinforced std maple neck
Worry about the floppy B
More expensive strings , specially if chasing the B problem
Prefer p/j or j/hum pickup combo
neckdive?
problems in eq, sound and equipment to use low b
More expensive strings and more touchy to find good ones
More expensive/difficult to mod / replace parts
Do I really need a 5 playing mostly classic rock maybe a bit of soundgarden, alice in chains, STP"

I'm looking at your pros and cons and I'm seeing some flawed reasoning, on both sides ("it's cool"?). You know, to be honest, I play both, depending on situation. But all in all, there are many benefits to playing a five string, and it's not always related to extended range. You may not need to play below the E on the B string, unless your singer insists on changing keys, say E to D and playing the part up an octave would just not sound right, but there's also the factor of fingering efficiency. You can grab a note high on the B string, where on a four you'd have to jump down the neck. Depending on the figure you're playing, the five could be a big plus. As far as 34" scale on a five, there are many great fives out there with 34"scales, Yamahas, the Ibanez SR series, Sadowsky. All with phenomenal B's. It really depends on how the instrument is built. You had one bad five string and that's scaring you off? Maybe you should head over to a music store and play a few more. I'd say that that would be more fruitful than asking us here. Because once you find a great one, you'll know.

[Rip Topaz]

Out for delivery!!

[Rip Topaz]

And it's here.

A few things.

One, there's a high fret that'll need fixed. Dangit. Oh well.

Two, there's a tiny area near the 15th fret where the binding on the bass side is scratched. Only visible to me.

Kurt picked a good one!! The neck has some flame to it, and the fretboard has some cool character as well.

The grain on the body is fantastic!! I'll post better pix later (gonna play it for awhile and form a better opinion).

The neck feels like it's half the size of my P-bass!! Lol. I feel like I'm gonna break it, it's so cute!!

[funkmaru]

Looks great! I'm GASing hard for a 3TS jazz right now :/ can't decide between this one and the Ursa 2 Hum. DECISIONS.

[Rip Topaz]

And two more things.

I've gotta do some work to the fret edges. The fretwork was done after they attached the neck apparently, because the upper fret ends are a little sharp. It looks like they quit when they scratched the binding!

And SX strings SUCK. I mean really SUCK. I don't think I've ever played a string that sounded worse than these. Lol.

I love the bass at first glances. Hopefully I don't find anything that ruins it for me.

The fretboard really looks great.

[Rip Topaz]

Here's the binding scratches.

From the 15th the end of the fretboard. Luckily on the side where only I will see it. I may touch it up at some point.

[Rip Topaz]

Ok, now THIS was unexpected:


I totally expected to see a huge swimming pool under the pickguard.

The neck pickup route is a bit rough:

But I can clean that up with a router, or get a ring for it, and play this one naked!!

I really like how they don't do the red under the pickguard.

[CBNJ]

It looks kinda strange without the red under the pg.. How does it sound?

[C.Linton]

Ya see that badly routed edge there?^^^ That is the same thing I had on the end (not the sides, they were as tight as you could want)) of the neck pocket on my Ursa 1, and it was the only really sloppy bit, other than one high fret, on the entire bass. Not bad for a bass that cost $110 new.

[Rip Topaz]

Originally Posted by CBNJ

It looks kinda strange without the red under the pg.. How does it sound?

Like total and complete crap.

The new strings won't be here till tomorrow. Whatever Rondo uses isn't fit to tie up old newspapers.

I'm not sure if its the effect of the crappy strings, or the need for some fretwork, but I'm thinking a 3 string retainer is gonna be a good idea. There's some ugly noise on the open A, and it goes away with slight pressure behind the nut.

Again, I can't gauge anything because of the crappy strings.

Did I mention that these strings SUCK??

There's more than one high fret, or at least high spots on certain frets. I'm not sending it back, because I can do the fretwork needed and the wood on this bass is beautiful.

I gotta get a cover for the neck pickup, the edges of the pickups are very sharp right angles and pretty painful if you catch one while slapping.

I'm also thinking about blacking out all the hardware (as well as upgrading some of it), and making a clear plexi pickguard.

I got a good one, just needs a good massage.

(Another crappy cell pic)

[Diesel Kilgore]

Wow it looks good under there. I like the idea of some rings for the pickups and going no or clear pg.

I dont know how long it takes for one to ship. But I ordered my LPB Jazz yesterday. I also ordered some replacement strings. I never run with factory strings unless they are something I know is decent. I may noodle with the SX strings and do a setup with them, then throw on the ones I bought and fine tune it.

[Rip Topaz]

I ordered my Ursa 2 on Tuesday around midnight. It got here this afternoon.

I ordered my strings from Amazon. Last time I do that. It has been just over a week, out for delivery tomorrow.

[Rip Topaz]

I'm really impressed with the pickup routing and lack of the CNC hole that I've grown accustomed to. I'm definitely exploring my options there, even though I ordered this one partly because of the black guard (Ian Hill bass!!).

[Rip Topaz]

Ok, just found a set of chrome pickup rings. $80!!

Scratch that idea. I'll be making a wooden set if I decide to run it naked, or just clean up the route and move on.