Those small, 8-year-old hands can polish frets better than the most accomplished master-luthiers!
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How good are SX basses
- Thread starter Fuff24
- Start date
Those small, 8-year-old hands can polish frets better than the most accomplished master-luthiers!
If you can do a setup then an SX can be a great deal otherwise I suggest buying a Squier from a B&M and make sure they set it up for you at no extra cost.
I've bought 7 or 8 (can't exactly remember now) over the last 5 years and got lucky... all were comparable to a CV/VM Squier... even most MIMs I've played. YMMV.
However I think the best deal going are used Peavey's, OLPs and Squiers in the local ads... there's something to be said about trying before buying.
I've bought 7 or 8 (can't exactly remember now) over the last 5 years and got lucky... all were comparable to a CV/VM Squier... even most MIMs I've played. YMMV.
However I think the best deal going are used Peavey's, OLPs and Squiers in the local ads... there's something to be said about trying before buying.
Now, me thinks any bass <$500 needs a fret job, Squier, SX et rest *). If a MIA Fender needs fret work, that's pretty sad.
*) Not that my Made in Indonesia Squier Stratocaster Deluxe had perfect frets from the get go, positively surprised.
My frets were fine. Bass sounds great. Intonation only needed a *slight* tweak. I also have the old headstock model. Great bass. I may have been lucky. I'd definitely buy again.
Neither my two Squiers or my SX needed any kind of fretwork done.
Oh wait, that's not entirely true, I had to tap down one high fret on my SX, but that's it.
I love my SX P-bass, and I've played Made in USA Fenders since the mid 70's. The frets are smooth polished and the action is great.
I adjusted the action to my liking, just like a would any bass. Compared to many Squires and MIM Fenders I've played at music stores, I'd choose another SX.
I adjusted the action to my liking, just like a would any bass. Compared to many Squires and MIM Fenders I've played at music stores, I'd choose another SX.
new strings and a set up at a local shop and my SX was good to go. for a first bass it's a hell of a deal. i put more $ in the amp and i've been pretty happy with the tone and playability. i was thinking about picking up a used fender jazz or jag down the road, but now, i'm thinking i'll just install the fender custom shop pickups instead. the only thing i don't like about it is the headstock.
I bought one a couple of months ago to just to see what the fuss was all about, and I've gigged pretty hard with it ever since. I would consider mine a steal... although it did require a good bit of setting up and I ended up switching out pickups, bridge, strings, and the nut. For what it's worth though, I put nearly as much work into my MIM Fender Jazz... plus I've only found 2 dead spots on the SX neck compared to 5 on my Fender. Food for thought.
Yep, they are "handmade"! If you doubt it, wait until you see how crooked some of the neck screws are! Obviously "handmade" means "we doan need no stinkin' drill press!"
I own five SX. ALL are killer tone. Original pickups. IMHO only Norstrands are better. Original bridges. Yean the saddles do shift around a bit. Shielding added and electronics rewired. Last few I bought came with frets leveled but not crowned! Some frets were rather flat on top! No biggie to fix. It played amazingly great even as it came from factory. And although I bought them to be cheapo "bar basses" I ended up liking the feel and tone better than my Fender! Some of mine have perfect matched wood, a couple don't. This apparently does not affect the tone which is great on all of them.
I like how some folks act like a bass needing a set up, right out of the box, is a bad thing.....
SX are 100 - 160 dollar basses. They are great basses and fill a distinct need in the market. They also make a good mod platform.
I have had 6 SX basses and purchased 2 replacement (for projects) necks from Rondo and none of them had bad fretwork. I did have fretwork done on 2 of these necks, partly because a fellow TB'er was doing them for a price I could not refuse. The necks were good to begin with, but they rivaled any neck on the market after!
And yes the SX necks might be bulky to some, but so are many other brands that you pay hundreds more to own!
As to the pots, I had one bass arrive with a dead pot, but I did not care as I pulled them out and put in new pots. Other than the one bass with the bad pot, every SX bass I have had did not "need" any modifications done to them, I just did them because I wanted to.
When you get an SX you get a perfectly playable bass, that looks fantastic. Are they for everyone? No. But neither is any other bass.
SX are 100 - 160 dollar basses. They are great basses and fill a distinct need in the market. They also make a good mod platform.
I have had 6 SX basses and purchased 2 replacement (for projects) necks from Rondo and none of them had bad fretwork. I did have fretwork done on 2 of these necks, partly because a fellow TB'er was doing them for a price I could not refuse. The necks were good to begin with, but they rivaled any neck on the market after!
And yes the SX necks might be bulky to some, but so are many other brands that you pay hundreds more to own!
As to the pots, I had one bass arrive with a dead pot, but I did not care as I pulled them out and put in new pots. Other than the one bass with the bad pot, every SX bass I have had did not "need" any modifications done to them, I just did them because I wanted to.
When you get an SX you get a perfectly playable bass, that looks fantastic. Are they for everyone? No. But neither is any other bass.
I just got the SX Andromedia II . The professional series with the one piece body and neck. It is such a piece of junk.
The tuners, the bridge, the pickups (really cheap, light plastic). Even after replacing every component on the Bass. (bridge, tuners, strings, pickups, electronics) It still has issues. I had Squires, and Ephiphones and they are WAY better then SX basses.. never again.......
The tuners, the bridge, the pickups (really cheap, light plastic). Even after replacing every component on the Bass. (bridge, tuners, strings, pickups, electronics) It still has issues. I had Squires, and Ephiphones and they are WAY better then SX basses.. never again.......
I'm not an SX fan tried two back in their "glory days" here on TB and both were pretty horrible. But I hear good things about other brands they have on the site like Douglas and Brice.
