• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Identify the SX vs. Fender in the mix thread

#23
dystopiate said:
While I love these listening tests, I have to admit that I lost interest part way through because of the number of tracks. That said, here are my comments:

These are your instruments. If you can't tell the difference between them, there's a good chance that the difference is negligible at best. They're also both P basses. I may get pooped on for this, but, to me, it's a pretty generic tone. Most P basses sound fairly similar to me. Add to that tone shaping, compression, more compression during mastering, more compression when turned into mp3s, and then more compression from the myspace player, and it'd be pretty hard to tell the difference between any two basses. The same track off a CD and off of myspace don't even sound tonally similar.

That said, FWIW, from listening to the Death & Taxes tracks and the first two Mark Lind tracks, the only one that sticks out as being a different bass to me is the second D&T track. I'd guess that that one is the Fender. It's probably worth noting that, if I happen to be right, that the tone isn't necessarily any better.

I'll be curious to hear the results.
Click to expand...

Stuff is all on itunes and other download sites too, if you want better quality. :)


EDIT TO ADD: Fair enough observations though. Thanks for playing. Still trying to figure how I'm going to release results. Going to want a bunch more guesses before I say anything.
 
#24
All I know is that whatever basses you're using, they sound like damn good P-Basses hit with a pick.


I'm wondering will our golden ear'd expert arrive and tell us the answers, though, I won't be holding my breath for any length of time.
 
#25
savit260 said:
The point of the comparison and challenge is simply this.

I've asserted MANY times on TB that my lightly modded SX sounds VERY much like my Vintage 1964 Precision.... to which I've been called MANY unflattering things, from tone deaf to just plain nuts.

In those threads I've asked the same question I've asked here in this one, but I decided to make a thread on it to see if I'm nuts or not. ;)

Many have claimed its "EASY" to tell the differece between a modded SX and a Pre CBS Fender.

If it's as "Easy" as they say, then I figure this test would be a no brainer for them. :)

Yes, these clips are heavy pick style playing. These are the most "apples to apples" recordings I have, and also BY FAR the highest quality ones, as they were recorded in a very well respected Boston area studio.

I've used both basses playing finger style stuff from "out" avante garde stuff to straight up "dad blues". The basses IMO sound pretty much the same IMO, but I don't have high quality recordings of that stuff.

There are no "studio tricks" in these recordings.

EDIT TO ADD: Keep in mind these are both my own personal instruments... both of which I have gigged the hell out of. :)
Click to expand...

Anyone calling you names because of you stating your personal experience with instruments they haven't also personally experienced is just plain dumb. You probably already knew that. Eventually they might figure it out too.

Given that, I find the "golden ears" moniker to be annoying in it's most common use. It's typically used to deride opinions others have. Here's the fundamental problem with ANY comparison like this (and yeah, I know it's all in fun)...

WAY TOO MANY VARIABLES. From the player and any other human involved all through the recording process. AND the signal chain. AND the playback system used by the listener is a huge factor. Granted, someone might draw the same conclusions listening via a set of Wilson Watt Puppies as via internal speakers on a laptop.. but I doubt it.
;)

Many have a need to prove things with recordings when all they've genuinely proven is that there is one. No offense.
:cool:

There are things that are blatantly obvious with firsthand real life experience that may not be as evident with a recording. As such, that should be what a person bases a hard opinion on IMO.
 
#26
Brad Johnson said:
Anyone calling you names because of you stating your personal experience with instruments they haven't also personally experienced is just plain dumb. You probably already knew that. Eventually they might figure it out too.

Given that, I find the "golden ears" moniker to be annoying in it's most common use. It's typically used to deride opinions others have. Here's the fundamental problem with ANY comparison like this (and yeah, I know it's all in fun)...

WAY TOO MANY VARIABLES. From the player and any other human involved all through the recording process. AND the signal chain. AND the playback system used by the listener is a huge factor. Granted, someone might draw the same conclusions listening via a set of Wilson Watt Puppies as via internal speakers on a laptop.. but I doubt it.
;)

Many have a need to prove things with recordings when all they've genuinely proven is that there is one. No offense.
:cool:

There are things that are blatantly obvious with firsthand real life experience that may not be as evident with a recording. As such, that should be what a person bases a hard opinion on IMO.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I don't really have anything to prove here.

Far more curious if I'm nuts or not. :)

Various people have stated that it's "Easy" to distinguish between a Vintage Fender and a modded SX.

Maybe it is.. I don't think so.. but I'm VERY willing to be proven wrong.


I've eleminated many variables in that almost all of that stuff was recorded at the same pro studio , through the same signal chain, with the same guy at the controls, and masterd by the same guy. Even same brand and guage of strings.

That's the basic nature of the post. :) All in good fun of course. If everyone correctly identified the SX as having terrible tone... I still have the Fender. :) I don't really lose here either way. :)
 
#28
Savit, keep up the good work. Mongo2 and I went on a similar crusade about short scales and how people kept on saying they are crap and they could definitely hear the difference. After a real soundclip challenge, the myth was busted. Fewer and fewer ignorant short scale comments were being posted.

I trust the same will happen with this topic, too. It just takes time.
 
#30
The "tone shaping" is probably more imprtant than anything else. I don't know what a Lollard pickup sounds like; all I know is how my stock 2002 MIM P-bass sounds in comparison to my stock 2008 SX SPB-62 (5 string). That said, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that tracks 2 and 8 of the first link could be the SX. But maybe that's just tone-shaping. :) Regardless, all the clips have a nice, clear sound. It's enjoyable.
 
#31
GassieBall said:
Savit, I can't tell the difference. People in my soundclip challenges can't either. They can't even tell the difference between a P and a J sometimes. You and I both know the reason the crickets are chirping is because Lucas et al. know their ears can't discern the difference. :)

Consider it a no contest victory.
Click to expand...

:D And where are all the people who should be popping up out of the woodwork to say that the wood, the bridge and the fret composition all make a huge difference?

:hiding:
 
#34
GassieBall said:
Savit, got a devil's advocate question for you:

Which bass feels better to play?
Click to expand...

When I saw the pickup was changed I lost interest in playing too. I think I know what SX factory pickups sound like (good!).

Here's my kick in your "devil's advocate" butt:

Of my SX and my MIM Fender. The SX (to me) not only FEELS much better to play but SOUNDS much better as well! That's why the SX get more play time.

Yes I could heavily mod the Fender and rip out the MIM pups and drop in some $250 something or others and then love the tone. But I'll probably still hate the way it feels. But I do have to admit the Fender does beat SX for authentic old school "look" which is why it still gets picked.

So hey, the folks calling SX complete and utter crap may not be wrong! I have no idea what came in the box THEY got from Rondo. All I know is I have TWO SX basses and neither is crap. Both needed a bit of shielding and I added the series/parallel switch which I love but other wise they are stock. Stock pickups. Stock Bridge. Stock tuners. Stock all of it. (Well NOT stock strings!)

So. Are SX basses easily picked from the mix as crap? Could be. But all I know is what MINE are like. And I think that everyone else here can only speak about what was in the box THEY got from Rondo. We can work up some statistics, but I don't think we can generate a rule that works in every case!
 
#35
Ouch, my butt hurts ;) Dont worry, I'm on your side. (Have you seen/heard my SX short scale threads?). I just wanted to make a point that it does usually take a little work to get an SX modded/tuned up to snuff to make it's playability on par with many higher end basses, IMHO.
 
#36
bass An Open Letter to Boston sounds different to me. It is somewhat softer, less crispy to my ears and I'm pretty sure it is not the guitars and stuff, but the bass track itself.
Whole Damn Thing does sound differently too, but it is closer to Familiar Face and then the other tracks, Cold hearted, I'll Be There and No One to Cry For. So I listened to 6. Are there more tracks that were to be listened to?

I couldn't say which is which so thanks fot this thread, it is fun
Also, I liked the music and the mood it carries
 
#38
It pretty much all just sounds like "P-bass" to me.

To those whining about how the pickup was changed on the SX: That's what a significant portion of those who get SX basses do. A drop-in replacement pickup is not a heavy mod, it's pretty mundane, really. What IS a heavy mod is, for example, routing out my Peavey P-bass copy in order to put a Ric pickup in it.
 
#39
Sartori said:
It pretty much all just sounds like "P-bass" to me.

To those whining about how the pickup was changed on the SX: That's what a significant portion of those who get SX basses do. A drop-in replacement pickup is not a heavy mod, it's pretty mundane, really.
Click to expand...

Exactly. For about $70 I can do my DIY installation of a Fender '62 RI P bass pickup in either a Fender P bass or an SX with the same results.

The SX would've cost about $200. The Fender would've cost much, much more.
 
#40
savit260 said:
Honestly, I don't really have anything to prove here.

Far more curious if I'm nuts or not. :)

Various people have stated that it's "Easy" to distinguish between a Vintage Fender and a modded SX.

Maybe it is.. I don't think so.. but I'm VERY willing to be proven wrong.


I've eleminated many variables in that almost all of that stuff was recorded at the same pro studio , through the same signal chain, with the same guy at the controls, and masterd by the same guy. Even same brand and guage of strings.

That's the basic nature of the post. :) All in good fun of course. If everyone correctly identified the SX as having terrible tone... I still have the Fender. :) I don't really lose here either way. :)
Click to expand...


People say all sorts of ignorant stuff, you cited a painfully obvious example:D. The tone is fine on all of the recordings. Again, making sweeping judgements based only on recordings isn't all that bright for the reasons I already stated. IMO of course. So let's see who makes them.
;)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back