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Might buy a new SX PJ

Which pickguard?

  • Total voters
    12
cheechi

cheechi

Mar 10, 2015
1,373
1,006
sometimes I am also being serious
#1
I think I might NBD. I really don't love how angular the SX headstock is, but really it doesn't matter I'm just being picky. Otherwise, this thing looks pretty solid. I have bought a bass from Rondo before and it's pretty nice especially for the cost. And of course anyone who has an SX similar to this let me know how you like it or what you'd do different. I do plan to put GZR's in it eventually.

So out of Invalid Link Removed which do you think looks best on Link Removed? I want to change away from plain white for sure.
 

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#2
Boring suggestions, but I'd go with silver pearl or Tort. Two very classy looks on natural wood. Will Warmoth make a guard to match an SX? IIRC SX routing, shape and hole positions don't necessarily line up with Fender. One other suggestion from left-field would be a dark colored wooden pickguard....

As for the SX I've owned a few and now I don't own any. Given your plans to convert it, normally I'd try and sell you on an LTD 214 or a Squire, but since you're lefty, the bass you picked out is probably a good option. I would only add that SX ash bodies are often HEAVY (My dad's ash SJB-75 is a boat anchor) and that you should budget in the cost of a setup.

This one here is worth considering also. It's basswood, but I've never had a problem with the tone of basswood. Being a P-shape and baswood it will probably be much lighter.
Link Removed
Though on the other hand it does have the "vintage tint" that often is a bit too orange.
 
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#4
DiabolusInMusic said:
For some reason, there were other options that tort on the poll. You may want to correct that.

;) :D
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Yeah that was a slight oversight. I apologize to you and the community.

Few things go with TSB (to me) tort being one of them. And they also do have a P body PJ in TSB. And my strat is TSB and will be getting tort to replace plain white sad. So the tort will happen even if not on this guy.
 
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#6
dabbler said:
I like just plain black, too
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Me too. I have one TSB and might get another. Even though they will be different instruments, I don't intend to have the same on both. The P bass I mentioned comes TSB/black and might stay that way, although making my TSB strat black with an SRV inlay is tempting. Then again, I'd have to get some skill to match if I go that way. Tort takes care of that for me.

But for this potential purchase of an ash J body, that's what I want to look at for the time being.
 
#9
Eilif said:
Boring suggestions, but I'd go with silver pearl or Tort. Two very classy looks on natural wood. Will Warmoth make a guard to match an SX? IIRC SX routing, shape and hole positions don't necessarily line up with Fender. One other suggestion from left-field would be a dark colored wooden pickguard....

As for the SX I've owned a few and now I don't own any. Given your plans to convert it, normally I'd try and sell you on an LTD 214 or a Squire, but since you're lefty, the bass you picked out is probably a good option. I would only add that SX ash bodies are often HEAVY (My dad's ash SJB-75 is a boat anchor) and that you should budget in the cost of a setup.

This one here is worth considering also. It's basswood, but I've never had a problem with the tone of basswood. Being a P-shape and baswood it will probably be much lighter.
Link Removed
Though on the other hand it does have the "vintage tint" that often is a bit too orange.
Click to expand...
Hey bud didn't mean to ignore you. I had a reply typed up and the wifi at work is super great. So

That other PJ you link. I want both. I don't know that it will happen. I was considering the J body because of the looks. What does a standard J weigh? This ash one says 9lbs which I know isn't 'light' but a lot of discussions here that seems to be the distinction people are making '9lb light >9lb heavy' so that's what I was following. Since the P body in basswood is 8 lb I didn't think 9 lb for ash was much on the heavy side. I do appreciate letting me know that. If I made a dumb assumption let me know; I don't honestly know what any of my basses weigh.


Regarding Squier. I have admittedly played limited Fender instruments compared to others, but that being said I play every lefty in every shop I go into regardless of how high or low end it is. I have never played a Squier, no matter CV VM etc, that's as good as my MIM Fender J. I have played 2 AM Std that I don't feel were better. 'as good' is hard to justify as they weren't both at the same place to A/B but I am pretty confident in saying that my MIM is on the better end of the MIM's and because of that, every Squier I touch it's like a bad taste. I almost never even consider Squier and would definitely go with a good Rondo instrument over a Squier unless there's some magic in it. Maybe I'm being foolish, but this is just based on my experience.

I own a Monoprice strat (the TSB I mentioned) that fit and finish, feeling wise, no Squier strat can touch. Plus it's routed for hb's already. It has poopie tuners though, although imo so do Squiers.

rant over. Never played a LTD that I liked but that doesn't mean much I think I've touched two ever.
 
#10
cheechi said:
That other PJ you link. I want both. I don't know that it will happen. I was considering the J body because of the looks. What does a standard J weigh? This ash one says 9lbs which I know isn't 'light' but a lot of discussions here that seems to be the distinction people are making '9lb light >9lb heavy' so that's what I was following. Since the P body in basswood is 8 lb I didn't think 9 lb for ash was much on the heavy side. I do appreciate letting me know that. If I made a dumb assumption let me know; I don't honestly know what any of my basses weigh.


... I have never played a Squier, no matter CV VM etc, that's as good as my MIM Fender...every Squier I touch it's like a bad taste. I almost never even consider Squier and would definitely go with a good Rondo instrument over a Squier unless there's some magic in it. Maybe I'm being foolish, but this is just based on my experience.

Never played a LTD that I liked but that doesn't mean much I think I've touched two ever.
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Hard to say what a standard J weighs but I'm a bit doubtful that the SX Ash J will be 9 pounds. I think it will probably weigh more. J basses are typically heavier than P basses because the body shape is larger. Add in the wood difference and an Ash J will likely much heavier than a Basswood P.

As for Squire vs SX, it's almost a moot point because the Squire Lefty options are so few. However, the 4 SX's I've played have not been as good as the VM or CV Squires. There's a good chance it will be better than Affinity Squire's however. When it comes to Squire's I think the VM J and VM 70's J are your only options.

As to LTD (again the lefty issue makes it moot), I'm not a fan of their more modern and metal basses, but their Vintage 214 (P-bass) is a better instrument than any of the Squire's and approaches the MIM Fenders.

All this to say, an SX can be a good instrument, just know that out of the box, it's likely to not be better than the Squiers and you should figure in a setup and possibly a fret-job before it's going to even come close to the playability of your MIM J.
 
#11
I used to love pearloids but after having a few on various guitars and basses over the years, I realized I get tired of them or come to think of them as somewhat gaudy. (I do still like the look of white or cream pearloids on SOME instruments I see, but probably won't go there myself again.)

So, for me, gotta be tort out of the options you gave, but I also think black (b/w/b) would be smokin'.
 
#13
Muddslide said:
I used to love pearloids but after having a few on various guitars and basses over the years, I realized I get tired of them or come to think of them as somewhat gaudy. (I do still like the look of white or cream pearloids on SOME instruments I see, but probably won't go there myself again.)

So, for me, gotta be tort out of the options you gave, but I also think black (b/w/b) would be smokin'.
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BWB maybe. I thought about black/red/black too but truth be told I think natural wants something other than a solid colour to not make the solid look boring. Granted ash isn't going to have the most amazing busy grain to it, and even those pieces that are most interesting are likely not going to land in an SX body, the example photo has some character to it. Generally I find the pearls to be 'too busy' on a solid colour body but I think the more I look at them the more I am liking either tort or black pearl.
 

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