SX or Squire
 

Has anyone done a head to head between the SX Ursa 2 and a Squire Jazz bass?

Well not exactly on those models but I do own a few SX Jazz basses plus a Squier P/J bass so I can give you a few impressions.

1. Over all fit and finish on the Squire was better but it cost a bit more too.

2. Some of my SX basses had high frets that needed filed. Some didn't. My squier had a couple high frets that needed filing, but neck and edges were much smoother than SX and didn't need any Dremel polishing (did it anyway :-)

3. SX had no shielding so I always shield them. Squire had some token aluminum foil under the pickguard but it needed shielding too.

4. Sx pickups were great and weren't changed. On the Squier model I had pickups were nasty and had to be changed (some others have great pickups)

5. Pots were about equal quality. Finish (urethane) was about equal too. (both were burst finish).

6. Neck on Squire was VERY stable and excellent! Some SX necks were like that but one ursa I have has dead spots. :-(

7. SX come with some pretty decent tonewood (ash and alder) while Squiers generally are Agathis (pine).

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. Oh. Sx tuners sometimes are stiff but do tune strings and hold tune. My Squier tuners were VERY nice.

So I'd say my view is that for a person like myself who loves to mod things to do exactly what I want, the SX makes a perfect base. If you get lucky you get some pretty nice body wood, a pretty nice stable neck needing little or no work, and some passable hardware that you can either use or change at your will.

On the other hand if modding and changing bass parts isn't your thing, then the Squire, though it costs more, is better because that work is already done and the added cost isn't as much as it would cost to pay to have the work done to tweak in an SX. I favor SX because of the wood and the fact that doing mods doesn't bother me, but truly BOTH basses are excellent bang for the buck.

Thank you, that was very informative. I'm not at all worried about doing setup and mods. I had a '64 Jazz up til the early '80s and miss it terribly. At my age and amount of playing, I can't justify the cost or need of a real Jazz. I believe I will go with the SX. Thank you again.

Newer Squiers are very nice. My Squier matt freeman signature is almost on par with my fender American special. Though I did change the pickups in the squier and had a couple frets that needed to be hammered a little further into the fret board. Never played an SX, but I'm generally wary of any guitar that sells for under $200 new (bad experiences) YMMV.

Thank you for that. There's a ton of info here about Squires. There's a lot on SX's. Feedback on both have been quite good. I'm mostly interested in input from those who have or have had both.
bassbenj covered it pretty well and I welcome any others.

If it were me i would go with either the:

Squier VM Jazz





or better yet the:

Squier CV Jazz



best bang for the buck if you ask me...

I have owned both and actually preferred the Squier

I was skeptical about Squires for good 10+ years. I've seen some of them. But, I was never interested in it. It was some ultra-low quality.

Than I spoted VM 77 last year in the GC. I touched it and that was it. Instant decision.
This year I got VM P Amber. Same thing. I have Brice for good 8 years. Wood is nice, finish is for the front page of Bass Magazine. But, electronics is piece of $#%$#%$#%$. I assume, for me there will not be anymore Rondo products...

I'd take a single Squier over any number of SXs. They are built better and worth the extra cash.

I've never played an SX but I just bought a Squire (Deluxe Jazz) last week. I'm used to playing some of the nicest basses out there (MTD, Sadowsky, Mike Lull, etc.) and I was looking for a cheap bass that I could fly with and not have to worry about. I immediately thught of Squier and went to check out the selection at a couple of local shops. When I sat down with the Deluxe I was honestly amazed at how well the bass played and how good it sounded. The neck pocket was as tight as any Sadowsky I've ever seen, the action was perfect (nice and low), there was no fret buzz anywhere on the neck, the neck was straight with only a touch of relief and the tone was remarkably even across the ebonol fingerboard. Very impressive indeed. :)

also a big fan of these as well



the necks are much more comfy than those on the Fenders/Squiers...

Thanks for the input. I've always been a little different, played a Danelectro Long Horn since '68.

I'd buy an SX, but the necks have a gloss finish and that's a big NO for me. I need the satin feel on a neck, like the Squires.

The Squiers tend to have better quality control but a good SX is as good or better than a typical Squier, but the key is getting a good SX (or spending a little more to make it that way, like getting a fret dress, usually the weak link in an SX is the frets.)

I have one SX Jazz I bought about five years ago that was near perfect out of the box, but that's not going to happen often. Fun when it does however.

Thanks folks. I done quite a lot of fret work, pickups, repaired cracks etc. I build hand wired tube guitar amps. I will go with the SX and will take up the slack if and where it may be.

Robben Ford amps???

If you can do your own fret dress they yeah the SX is the way to go. I have an SX five string jazz that (after I paid my luthier to dress the frets) is a fantastic player and looks pretty darn nice too, ash body, block inlays on the maple neck, etc.

I could never buy an SX with the new headstock.



Barf on that broken oar. :atoz:

Just bought a 1990 USA Squier Strat today, though. Fretwork rivals my US Standard Strat, no BS.

That would be RWFord Tube amps, as in Roger Ford. 'I'm a Ford not a Lincoln'

I don't mind the headstock. It's a little like Carvin. I prefer the dot markers, my '64 was a deluxe.

Agreed. That just killed it for me. The old one is a bit large, but the lines are nice and it's attractive.

I agree completely with Bassbenj's account. I recommend staying away from the Affinity series but the rest of the Squiers are nice. My '51 is my workhorse six string.

SX's and Squier's are ok I guess, but you can't go wrong with Squire quality. There nown four they're grate craphminship.

Squier hands down. The CV basses are the best bang for buck basses out there today IMO.