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Can you go wrong spending $120 on a bass?

Icculus

Icculus

Jul 29, 2010
606
264
South Jersey
#1
Thinking about getting one of these SX (essex) Ursa 3 basses in sunburst just to have around and beat up. Im not looking to start a war here, but honestly... could I actually regret spending $120 on a bass that sounds like that?

The question is... how good can the playability of a $120 bass be?
 
#2
I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the SX basses. I have two and they are both very good basses. I have modded mine quite a bit but even right out of the box they played and sounded very good. Usually just a good set up is all that is needed.
 
#3
Obviously, you can't go too wrong with $120. That's approx the cost of a night on the town.

A pair of tickets to this weekend's Rush concert will cost you more. And they only play oldies. :hiding:

I ended up with an older SX/essex PJ, kinda by accident, with the intention to flip it. But I just like the sound.

To have around and beat-up: if there's room in your life for such a thing, the SX is not a bad choice, and arguably a better choice than scavenging for a used axe that you're not inheriting issues...
 
#6
Icculus said:
Thinking about getting one of these SX (essex) Ursa 3 basses in sunburst just to have around and beat up. Im not looking to start a war here, but honestly... could I actually regret spending $120 on a bass that sounds like that?

The question is... how good can the playability of a $120 bass be?
Click to expand...

Wrong question. The right question is how good are YOU at knowing what makes a bass "tick" and at then doing what it takes to make it great?

Can you go wrong in life spending $120 on ANYTHING? Duh!
Where have you been your whole life?

There are LOTS of ways to go wrong in life. But the deal with SX is that for a price break where you expect a nasty plywood no-name instrument with a crappy tone and thin stamped parts you'll instead get some decent wood, a nice looking finish, passable pickups and a pretty nice if sort of hefty neck. Shielding, strings, setup, pots, whatever...you are on your own.

Now if you don't know which end of the soldering iron is the handle, then yeah, you can go wrong. If you have to fork out for a luthier to set up your bass, wire in new pots, give it a shield job and anything else it needs, it's going to cost you so much added on to the bass (PLUS SHIPPING!) that you'd have done much better to just buy some used bass that already had what you wanted. Or even the higher end basses at Rondo. Still great buys and nothing much needed to "bring them 'round".

So really the deal depends on YOU not on the SX. But as people note you will be surprised at the quality you get for the price and even better is what can be done with it with a minimum effort.

Yeah, I know. I just bought two more SX 6 string basses to have one fretted and one fretless! Yeah, it's some work, but I"m sure it will be worth the effort.

And don't forget if you are getting it from Rondo that they have an excellent return policy just in case you do get a dog. That limits your loss to shipping. So in reality you are facing potential loss of much LESS than $120. Works for me.
 
#9
I think the $120 can be much better spent for a better bass that isnt so often modified by buyers. If you spend that toward a bass that is very good in all regards right out of the box, your further ahead. Ibanez, Peavey, Esp Ltd, as three mfg who offer much better basses. Sure they cost more. But they also dont need the mods which of course just bring the investment cost up to where youd be with a better purchase in the first place. It just cracks me up when peeps reccomend SX and then in same or next sentence talk about all the extensive mods they gave it to make it better. SX basses are primarilly for those who want to change the pups, electronics, and hardware right away, as project basses on the cheap. Imo . The higher percentage of buyers from reviews Ive read also have theirs given a fretjob right away too. Which wouldnt be needed if they bought a bass with great fretwork in the first place. The few SX basses Ive seen in stores used dept where poor qaulity in all regards to my eyes, ears and hands. What one would expect for so low a price new. If your goal is to buy a bass your gonna do lots of mods on and have fretjob given too. Then fine, spend your $120 on one and have enough in bank account to fix it up. Otherwise its poor investment imo.
 
#14
darkstorm said:
I think the $120 can be much better spent for a better bass that isnt so often modified by buyers. If you spend that toward a bass that is very good in all regards right out of the box, your further ahead. Ibanez, Peavey, Esp Ltd, as three mfg who offer much better basses. Sure they cost more. But they also dont need the mods which of course just bring the investment cost up to where youd be with a better purchase in the first place. It just cracks me up when peeps reccomend SX and then in same or next sentence talk about all the extensive mods they gave it to make it better. SX basses are primarilly for those who want to change the pups, electronics, and hardware right away, as project basses on the cheap. Imo . The higher percentage of buyers from reviews Ive read also have theirs given a fretjob right away too. Which wouldnt be needed if they bought a bass with great fretwork in the first place. The few SX basses Ive seen in stores used dept where poor qaulity in all regards to my eyes, ears and hands. What one would expect for so low a price new. If your goal is to buy a bass your gonna do lots of mods on and have fretjob given too. Then fine, spend your $120 on one and have enough in bank account to fix it up. Otherwise its poor investment imo.
Click to expand...

I'm a professional bassist and I don't mod the SXs any more. A set of strings is what I've found they need usually.

It cracks ME up when people decide before seeing one that they require modification at all. A set-up? Maybe. But that's true of most basses out of the box.

You cant go wrong for €120 once you know that a Fender-ish bass (in terms of size and weight) is okay with you.
 
#16
Icculus said:
Thinking about getting one of these SX (essex) Ursa 3 basses in sunburst just to have around and beat up. Im not looking to start a war here, but honestly... could I actually regret spending $120 on a bass that sounds like that?

The question is... how good can the playability of a $120 bass be?
Click to expand...

With the return policy at Rondo Music? You really can't go wrong.

SX has a reputation as a pretty good entry level or modifier's instrument. If you get a lemon, send it back for a replacement. If you don't like it, send it back for a full refund (at your expense of course).

I own a couple of SX instruments, and my students buy them. Pretty good bang for the buck. They set up and play well, good tone. I never modified mine or my students', I was satisfied right out of the box.
 
#19
Given Rondo's return policy, I can't see how you would go wrong buying one. Remember, you are not buying a $120 Fender. They are two diferent animals. I say go for it and be ready to tweek it to your liking. You just might end up back for a second one. Good luck!
 

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