What can a Fender do that my SX can't

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by seang15

Change the nut. Fifteen bucks later, shazam! Bass tunes.

OR simply open up or clean out the slots in the stock nut, as I do on mine.

[CJ_Horror]

Originally Posted by Mike Sorr

I'm probably going to get killed for this, but I realized a long time ago that basses are like wine. If your pricey wine has a famous name, but tastes like crap to your pallet, no amount of pats on the back from wine snobs is going to make it taste better. My signature says, "Now which one is the bass player?" That's something that was actually said to my wife when she told a friend I was in the band they were watching. To your average club goer, as long as they hear the low end in the mix they don't care if your bass costs $200 or $2000, or if your amp is powerful enough to melt rocks. Your average music appreciating bar fly doesn't know the difference between a Warwick bass, or a Walmart bass. If it sounds good, it is good. Just like wine. My uncle, a recovering wine snob, once said there are ony four kinds of wine, red you like and red you don't, and white you like and white you don't. But his collection always impressed his wine snob friends at parties. Play what you like, because they only other people likely to give a damn are other bass players, and you're not playing to impress them.

I couldn't agree more. If it feels right, looks right, and sounds right then play it hard

Not everyone can fork out $2000+ for a bass. I personally feel more comfortable and satisfied with a bass I can beat the snot out of than one that I feel should be wrapped in cotton wool because it's too damn fancy.

[Lowbrow]

FWIW, my best playing, best feeling, best sounding bass is a $199 Danelectro Rumor P clone that is maybe made out of plywood, possibly particleboard.

That said, I can only play it during the summer months when the neck will stay straight. My MIM Road Worn P stays straight all the time, and it weighs 7.9 lbs. A pleasure. My MIC Squier CV 60s P is better than most Fender Ps I've owned/played (lots) and it weighs 9 lbs.

What's my point? There are many factors to consider, they vary from bass to bass, wood is an inconsistent organic material, and build quality can matter. Upshot of upshots: when you have a good one you are lucky, and there is no reason not to play the bass you love as long as it will let you (example, my Dano, which I would love to play all the time, but it's ultimately inferior build won't let me).

[sven kalmar]

I was really lucky with my RW presicion. Its got THE tone and Feel i was after. it took some basses to get there. So when i have that, it naturally makes me play better. Its all about sound and feel, and that is very subjective. I like everything about this bass. Great onepiece neck with well marked grains (could it be quarter sawn?) real nice tuners, solid and heavy. nice bridge. I love the pickup and the golden PG, hehe. Its very resonant and sound great when played acustic. Very nice vintage frets. The bottom line is that it makes me a better player becouse its sound an feel is inspiering. I also think the classic 50s is a great p bass, but the roadworn is a step up i think. Its like a mexican Custom shop in a way. the more i play it and fickle with it the more i like it. hehe. but we are different and if the sx makes you feel good, thats great. I kind of like it when a good player will use cheaper stuff and still makes it sound great. thats why i have this sick GAS for a squire bronco, hehe..How you approach the instrument, how you are able to interact with it with touch etc is perhaps the most important. working with the instrument and not againt it..

[Tmw2011]

Since this post is still going on...

The answer is simple. With a Fender, you can walk into Guitar Center, or go on the internet, and get a pickguard that has a very high chance of being able to be installed on your bass without having to redrill the holes. Not always, but a very high chance.

Simple as that.

[Munjibunga]

I'm sure SX basses are suitable for gigging and can sound and look much like a Fender. But they're still "like a Fender." There must be a reason why so many manufacturers build basses to emulate Fender. Some people want the actual bass that SX tries to emulate. Why buy a copy if you can afford the real thing? Over the years Fender has produced some very distinctive basses - The Roscoe Beck V, the Victor Bailey V, the Steve Bailey VI, the American Deluxe FMT/QMT series and many others. You may be able to find other brands of basses with similar configurations, but they would only be someone else's interpretation of the actual item. When a friend of mine said he was looking for a good, inexpensive bass for his son to learn to play on, I recommended SX. His son is thrilled with it. So I don't have anything against SX basses, but I don't want one instead of my Fender.

Then you have the other direction. Some builders make basses like Fenders the way you'd want them to be quality-wise. Sadowsky, Lull, Lakland, Alleva-Coppolo, Valenti, Nordstrand and a slew of others. Those basses are for people who want a bass that's a notch up from Fender while retaining a similar configuration. They're not going to be interested in SX at all.

Bottom line, in answer to your original question, the answer is, "not a whole hell of a lot."

[dorknowitzki]

your sx cant be sold like a fender but it can earn a thread subscription! subd!

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I'm sure SX basses are suitable for gigging and can sound and look much like a Fender. But they're still "like a Fender." There must be a reason why so many manufacturers build basses to emulate Fender. Some people want the actual bass that SX tries to emulate. Why buy a copy if you can afford the real thing? Over the years Fender has produced some very distinctive basses - The Roscoe Beck V, the Victor Bailey V, the Steve Bailey VI, the American Deluxe FMT/QMT series and many others. You may be able to find other brands of basses with similar configurations, but they would only be someone else's interpretation of the actual item. When a friend of mine said he was looking for a good, inexpensive bass for his son to learn to play on, I recommended SX. His son is thrilled with it. So I don't have anything against SX basses, but I don't want one instead of my Fender.

Then you have the other direction. Some builders make basses like Fenders the way you'd want them to be quality-wise. Sadowsky, Lull, Lakland, Alleva-Coppolo, Valenti, Nordstrand and a slew of others. Those basses are for people who want a bass that's a notch up from Fender while retaining a similar configuration. They're not going to be interested in SX at all.

Bottom line, in answer to your original question, the answer is, "not a whole hell of a lot."

Excellent points, but I must reiterate: My SX P-Bass copies have pickups and a neck shape that are somewhat different from any off-the-shelf Fenders, and I like them for what they are. It might have been a accident, but yes-- the builders came up with a different animal. And I like it. Now, why would I pay the Fender Custom Shop lots of money to try to recreate this bass when I can spend $99 (plus shipping) at Rondo Music and have one delivered to my door in a day or so? Of course, the QC will be better at the Fender Custom Shop. And the logo will be cooler. But I've had GOOD ENOUGH luck with the SXs I've purchased (batting .1000 on the necks, and every other component is perfectly good), and, frankly, I don't care about the logo.

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by Scott in Dallas

I'd just like to point out that I deserve to be commended for refusing to read or thereby reply to any posts in this thread. I'm sure the obligatory popcorn posts that surely exist at the beginning of this thread will be disappointed.

LOL Yes we are and how dare you sir !!!

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by Scott in Dallas

I'd just like to point out that I deserve to be commended for refusing to read or thereby reply to any posts in this thread. I'm sure the obligatory popcorn posts that surely exist at the beginning of this thread will be disappointed.

Since you won't be reading this, I feel secure in my decision to do this:

[klejst]

A smarta** answer would be "legally put the Fender name on their headstocks." However there are some great SX basses out there and according to personal preference some may prefer SX basses over say some Squier's or Fender MIM's. I have always been a Fender player myself, I have nothing against anything else it's just what I know and trust.

[SteveC]

Sell for a better price.

[inthevelvet]

Originally Posted by VinKreepo

Indeed... most of the music shops here in Fayetteville favor Ibanez as much as if not more than Fender. Yamaha is big here, too. Squiers are EVERYWHERE! And Fenders? They get smashed on stage quite often... no joke.

So let me get this straight, people are buying and smashing $1000+ USA Fenders, but not Ibanez or Squiers?

[inthevelvet]

Originally Posted by old mark

I was looking at the different SX basses at Rondo the other day...They are made of better wood than a Fender, and IMO what you would be losing is re-sale value and prestige, not much else...

I agree, if you pick up a solid used Fender USA or MIJ at a good price, which is not hard to do right now. Buying a new MIA Fender, I'm not so sure about the resale part even. Through a series of trades last year, I ended up with a 2012 USA P-bass that included hipshot UL tuners and an East P retro pre, also included all original factory parts. All said I had $800 in it. I was psyched cause I figured if I liked it, great, and if not I could make several hundred bucks at least, since I had a mint <year old USA P with ~$300 in upgrades and all parts to restore to stock. I ended up hating the PBass neck. Realized a Jazz profile is my preference hands down. It was on ebay for 2 months, and here for awhile, and in the end I was happy to get $825 shipped for it. No biggie, I basically got to try a P bass for free, but if I had bought new I would have lost my shirt. I don't own an SX, but am thinking about picking a Jazz SX up as a spare based on what I've heard on TB. If I pay $125 bucks for it, and end up giving it away if I hate it I've lost a $125. If I buy a NEW MIA fender for $1100 and don't like it, I will lose more than $125. Percentage wise the SX will lose more, but dollar wise it loses less. Now maybe in 30 years the 2013 Fender will be worth more than I paid, but who knows. Just another view on things.

[phillybass101]

You mean to say you don't have both? Lol!!! I happen to have a Geddy Lee Jazz and an older SX 75 JB copy. I like both basses. They are both fun to play and capture that JB vibe although they sound different. The SX can't say I cost $$$. It can only say I cost $.

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by inthevelvet

So let me get this straight, people are buying and smashing $1000+ USA Fenders, but not Ibanez or Squiers?

LoL let me know where those shows are so I can hand that jackass one of those other basses and he can throw me his USA Fender

[dabbler]

Originally Posted by phillybass101

You mean to say you don't have both? Lol!!! I happen to have a Geddy Lee Jazz and an older SX 75 JB copy. I like both basses. They are both fun to play and capture that JB vibe although they sound different. The SX can't say I cost $$$. It can only say I cost $.

You have a bass that can TALK?!?!?

LOL

Actually, I think that my SXes saying, "I ONLY cost $" is a pretty cool thing.

Plus buying value basses gives me an excuse for my er, umm, playing skillz.

[nostatic]

I'm confused by talk of "investments" and resale price being better for Fender. Assuming that someone buys a new Fender (of any type), if they turned around and sold it the next day they'd be looking at getting 50-75% of their "investment" back. An SX might be the same, but when you consider the original purchase amount, the argument of the Fender having "better resale" is pretty weak.

Example - buy a new Am Std. P for $1200. Sell for $800 (pretty typical prices). That is a 33% depreciation. Buy a new SX for $120 and sell for $80. Same percent depreciation. But in one case you lost $40 (SX) and in the other case you lost $400 (Fender). So the the resale argument is a red herring.

If you're willing to wait 30-40 years until someone considers your Fender "vintage" then it might be worth more than you paid for it.

[inthevelvet]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I'm confused by talk of "investments" and resale price being better for Fender. Assuming that someone buys a new Fender (of any type), if they turned around and sold it the next day they'd be looking at getting 50-75% of their "investment" back. An SX might be the same, but when you consider the original purchase amount, the argument of the Fender having "better resale" is pretty weak.

Example - buy a new Am Std. P for $1200. Sell for $800 (pretty typical prices). That is a 33% depreciation. Buy a new SX for $120 and sell for $80. Same percent depreciation. But in one case you lost $40 (SX) and in the other case you lost $400 (Fender). So the the resale argument is a red herring.

If you're willing to wait 30-40 years until someone considers your Fender "vintage" then it might be worth more than you paid for it.

That's pretty much what I was saying too. Except I believe the SX depreciation % would be higher than Fender. My point was that even if SX depreciated 100% and you gave it away to a homeless guy, you still lose less $ out of your pocket with the SX...

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stump

+1

The only place I intend to ever play a 10 pound bass again is in hell.

But they have gigs!!