Yes, I gave one to an aspiring female guitarist a few years back. It's their basic strat from before the headstock, redesign. But they may doll look like that in Europe.
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Yes, I gave one to an aspiring female guitarist a few years back. It's their basic strat from before the headstock, redesign. But they may doll look like that in Europe.
The East J-Retro is designed so the battery fits underneath the preamp inside the stock passive Jazz control cavity. So, I SHOULDN'T have to do any routing at all to fit the preamp and the battery. At some point, I may get it routed for an 18V battery box and a rear control cavity, just to knock off a little weight and, at the same time, be future proof for any preamp changed I may want to make in the future. For now, though, cheap is king and I won't bother with any of that if the J-Retro really does fit as is.
I haven't tried it yet. I need to install some Dunlop Straplock buttons. I don't have any straps right now that have regular holes in the end. All mine have the Dunlop buttons mounted into the strap holes.
I like nice grain. But, I really do not care for a natural finish. At this point, I do believe it's a keeper and what I expect to do is have it painted with some scheme that does let the grain show through. Probably a nice trans burst of some type. But, being cheap, what I MAY do in the meantime, is sand it down and spray it gloss black myself, just to tide me over until I get it painted by a pro. We'll see. I may also prove to be too lazy to do that and end up just leaving it as is until I have it painted by a pro.
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My only point was that those are a great deal, but many people would think it's an equally good deal to get the swamp ash for the small extra charge.
Personally, I prefer the swamp ash because it has nice grain and it is a harder wood, so it will be more resistant to dents and dings. I paid $30 extra and got swamp ash instead of basswood PLUS black blocks and binding. I think THAT was the best deal they've got (on a 6-string bass, anyway).
I played it through a Diezel amp at GC, then my Mesa/Boogie when I got home. It's actually a really killer guitar! FWIW, he also gave me a 40 watt Marshall amp.
I haven't had a NBD in 2 or 3 years. I haven't had a non-MIA NBD in a few years longer than that. But, it was with some optimism on Tuesday night that I ordered an SX Ursa 2 MN 6 Ash for $199.95. That's a 6-string passive jazz with a (American! so they exclaim) swamp ash body and black blocks and binding. For $200!
It arrived today. Sweet! And I feel like I kind of hit the bass lottery jackpot. Don't get me wrong. It's no Sadowsky. But, it is amazing for the price. And, for me, the price was really only about getting a 34" scale 6-string, made of decent wood, that I can use to build what I really want. I think a dual truss rod maple neck and a swamp ash body qualify. And for $200, even for just those two things, you can't beat it! Or at least, in my shopping, I couldn't.
My first and best surprise is that I was expecting it to be at least a 3-piece body. But, it turns out to be a 2-piece and with very nice grain! I can't even see the joint on the front, but it is pretty obvious on the back. The worst thing I can say about it so far is that somebody forgot to do the final polish on the "binding" that goes across the heel of the neck.
Well, that and it is heavy. I don't have a scale here at my office, but I'd say it's at least 11.5 pounds. Maybe a bit more. However, it is so nice in other regards that I am skeptical that I will decide to return it (barring finding other problems).
I don't have an amp here, but I used a tuner app on my phone and tuned it up. At pitch, the action was a bit high and it had a bit more relief than needed. It came with hex wrenches, so I put about 1/4 turn into each of the truss rods and re-tuned. The action is VERY playable now with no fret buzz. And it sounds pretty good acoustically!
The tuners look a bit scrawny, but they work and they turn reasonably smoothly. The vol and tone pots turn very smoothly with a nice resistance to them.
I read in the SX thread that the blocks and binding on these is painted on. I can see that the blocks are and definitely not the best job of it. But, I kinda think it has real binding. At least, there is no protrusion of frets and no visible slots for the frets in the "binding". So, if it is just painted on, they did a dang good job of hiding the fret slots. Or they have some very crafty manufacturing technique for not having fret slots go all the way to the very edge of the board.
I got the Rondo hard shell case with it. It was only $55. And MAYBE worth that much... It is pretty low quality on the inside. But, it is 100% intact and the bass has not a scratch or ding on it, so I guess it's not completely worthless.
And now, on to the only part that most of you care about....
I would definitely not refinish the body. Very nice looking bass!
By the time you do all that, you could have just gotten a nicer bass to begin with though. Those basses are pretty good values if you just want an inexpensive bass that plays, sounds, and looks pretty good, but it sounds like you want to change almost literally every single thing about it, except maybe the knobs.
Also, why would you spray paint it black? That will be so ugly and pointless, especially if you are going to get it refinished again later. I mean if you absolutely have to do a middle step, just do like a nice dark walnut stain or something. But if you just spray it gloss black it will just look like any cheap squier off the rack at GC. It sounds like your goals for the bass are a little loftier than that so your finish choices should reflect that.
Worst case, I go with the $400 Pat Wilkins paint job and end up with $1500 in this bas. Please, tell me. What 34" scale, 6-string P/P or P/J could I get for that money that would be nicer than what I'm going to end up with? And what, exactly, would be nicer about it?
Oh, and the new preamp came with its own knobs, so no, not even keeping the stock knobs.
I'm starting with a nice looking piece of ash and nice looking dual truss rod neck with a maple board and black blocks and binding. Why does the fact that I only paid $200 for them mean the bass I build won't be just as nice as a custom build from someone else?
The only builder I know of that is making what I want is Kiesel/Carvin with their Roy Vogt Vanquish. Getting it from them would cost me more money and I don't like the body shape of the Vanquish as much. And I am highly skeptical that their pickups and preamp will sound any better than Aguilar pickups and the East preamp.
Why would I paint it black? It might look like any cheap Squier. But, it will look equally as much like a Fender Custom Shop Geddy Lee 6-string.
The bottom line is, I don't give a sh*t what anybody else thinks about how it looks. I don't give a sh*t if people look at it and think it's a cheap bass or an expensive bass. I suppose the Sadowsky 5-string Jazz I had, with its maple neck, black blocks and binding, and black body also looked like a cheap Squier from off the rack at GC. I didn't care then, either.
Whatever I do with the paint will be to make it look nice to me. And I don't care for a natural finish.
So, today, I stripped it down, shielded the cavities, and installed the East preamp. Oh, and I put on my Kalium strings. I'm not sure what strings y'all are using that you had to drill out the stock bridge. My B string is a .150 and it went in just fine.
I think I am going to need to get new tuners, though. The B string seemed to slip twice when I was working on it. I'm not sure if it was the tuning machine gears slipping or the string slipping against itself as it got up to pitch. I wasn't looking at the peg when it slipped. But, it kinda felt like it was the tuning machine gears. The strings are a balanced tension set, and they are all supposed to have 46# tension when tuned to pitch. So, there's no real reason I can see why the B string in particular would be the one to slip. It should be putting the same tension on the tuner as all their other strings. But, whatever....
Does anyone know if the Gotoh GB350 (Res-O-Lite) tuners are a drop-in item? Or will I have to ream the stock holes to a larger size? If they aren't drop-in, maybe I'll get Hip Shot Ultra-lites, even though they're a tiny bit heavier. I think they're more expensive, too, though, which is the main reason I would go for the Gotohs.
The East preamp needs about another 1/16" or just a touch more clearance in the control cavity for the control plate to sit totally flush. I will get that dealt with when I have the luthier rout the body for the Aguilar pickups.
In the meantime, it is now as quiet as any single coil Jazz. Dead silent with the Blend in the middle. Still pretty darn quiet with either pickup soloed.
And that East preamp sounds bada$$! I really like the Treble rolloff that it offers. I don't think I'm going to miss not having a passive Tone Control. And I think once I get the P pickup in, I'm going to easily get all the "thump" I could ever want. And, of course, the sweepable mids is the killer feature. I've had that on pretty much all the Peavey Cirrus, Millennium, G, and TL basses I have had and it is The Ticket for dialing in a good tone, any time, any gig.
I can't wait to hear what it sounds like at rehearsal tomorrow.
And on to the pictures from today...
I think I am going to need to get new tuners, though. The B string seemed to slip twice when I was working on it. I'm not sure if it was the tuning machine gears slipping or the string slipping against itself as it got up to pitch. I wasn't looking at the peg when it slipped. But, it kinda felt like it was the tuning machine gears. The strings are a balanced tension set, and they are all supposed to have 46# tension when tuned to pitch. So, there's no real reason I can see why the B string in particular would be the one to slip. It should be putting the same tension on the tuner as all their other strings. But, whatever....
Does anyone know if the Gotoh GB350 (Res-O-Lite) tuners are a drop-in item? Or will I have to ream the stock holes to a larger size? If they aren't drop-in, maybe I'll get Hip Shot Ultra-lites, even though they're a tiny bit heavier. I think they're more expensive, too, though, which is the main reason I would go for the Gotohs.
The East preamp needs about another 1/16" or just a touch more clearance in the control cavity for the control plate to sit totally flush. I will get that dealt with when I have the luthier rout the body for the Aguilar pickups.
In the meantime, it is now as quiet as any single coil Jazz. Dead silent with the Blend in the middle. Still pretty darn quiet with either pickup soloed.
And that East preamp sounds bada$$! I really like the Treble rolloff that it offers. I don't think I'm going to miss not having a passive Tone Control. And I think once I get the P pickup in, I'm going to easily get all the "thump" I could ever want. And, of course, the sweepable mids is the killer feature. I've had that on pretty much all the Peavey Cirrus, Millennium, G, and TL basses I have had and it is The Ticket for dialing in a good tone, any time, any gig.
I can't wait to hear what it sounds like at rehearsal tomorrow.
And on to the pictures from today...
Yes. The Aguilar P/J Hum Cancelling set. They're on order from Jason at BassStringsOnline. Should have them in a couple of weeks.
I was thinking of dropping a set of these in my78 Jazz.... One of the stock pupsas a bad winding..
Those SX basses are decent....
Those SX basses are decent....
What can we say? Welcome to the wonderful world of single coil pickups! They sound good, but soloed that hum is there!
Luckily you are going with humbuckers Aguilars anyway so that solves that.
Yeah, the J-Retro Deluxe has a passive tone and requires a side jack. I decided to try the "non-Deluxe" version first, which does not have passive tone, and see how I like it. And save myself having to put in a side jack. I figured if I end up wanting the Deluxe, I can put the non-Deluxe in my fretless J 4-string. I rarely play the fretless anyway, so definitely no big deal on that one missing a passive tone. But, it looks like I'll probably keep this one in the SX, at least for now.
After taking the stock bridge off and putting it back on yesterday, I am not really too impressed with it. The screws that hold it on are pretty skinny. I think they would strip the body wood before I could really them tight. So, I just scored a new Hipshot A style on eBay for $80.
I'm just waiting on a reply from another vendor to get some Gotoh Res-o-lite tuners ordered.
A few more weeks and I should have a pretty darned awesome 6-string P/J!
I'm just waiting on a reply from another vendor to get some Gotoh Res-o-lite tuners ordered.
A few more weeks and I should have a pretty darned awesome 6-string P/J!
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
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- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
Yes, I'm sure the spray can finish you do in your garage will look JUST LIKE a fender custom shop. But first you have to stop huffing the paint. I just don't understand the point of refinishing a perfectly fine looking bass when you're already planning on doing another finish on it in the near future. Instead of acting like 3 year old that needs it NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW, just be a little patient and wait until your "forever finish".
For 1500, you're easily in Carvin 6 string territory, with a decent amount of options. So you can get whatever body/top/neck/fb options you want out of their wide selection, a bout 30-40 different finishes, a range of electronics options (I don't know if they do a P/J, and literally nobody does a P/P, but you could always get it routed if that's really what you want). You get to choose from different body styles and headstock shapes.
But the biggest difference is you are buying an MIA bass with MUCH better fit and finish, much better components (instead of replacing literally everything and the tossing the old stuff in the trash, great for the environment) and although resale value on Carvins is not the best, it's still going to be a damn sight better than a frankenstein SX that you paid $1500 for and would probably be lucky to get 6 for it. The carvin you should get 8+ (unless you go through with routing it for a p/j that's non factory). Because everybody and their mom has the same thought as you. Hey I can get a 6 string for 200 bucks or less and then mod it however I want. So why would they want YOUR mods? But for that matter, you could just buy the $800 Carvin 6 to begin with, and then have $700 left for other mods.
I mean, I'm sure the bass will turn out nice in the end, but it just seems like a lot of extra coast, time, and work to get essentially the same results but with less final value.
For 1500, you're easily in Carvin 6 string territory, with a decent amount of options. So you can get whatever body/top/neck/fb options you want out of their wide selection, a bout 30-40 different finishes, a range of electronics options (I don't know if they do a P/J, and literally nobody does a P/P, but you could always get it routed if that's really what you want). You get to choose from different body styles and headstock shapes.
But the biggest difference is you are buying an MIA bass with MUCH better fit and finish, much better components (instead of replacing literally everything and the tossing the old stuff in the trash, great for the environment) and although resale value on Carvins is not the best, it's still going to be a damn sight better than a frankenstein SX that you paid $1500 for and would probably be lucky to get 6 for it. The carvin you should get 8+ (unless you go through with routing it for a p/j that's non factory). Because everybody and their mom has the same thought as you. Hey I can get a 6 string for 200 bucks or less and then mod it however I want. So why would they want YOUR mods? But for that matter, you could just buy the $800 Carvin 6 to begin with, and then have $700 left for other mods.
I mean, I'm sure the bass will turn out nice in the end, but it just seems like a lot of extra coast, time, and work to get essentially the same results but with less final value.
I mean, I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but this seems like it would be a better starting point in pretty much every way...
Under $1200 for a USA made bass that looks and sounds amazing, will play amazing (Carvins are consistently perfect or close to perfect on this), AND then you can add whatever factory options you want for pretty cheap, as well as a fitted case. The only advantage I can see to the SX is that you can pay for it piece by piece, but I think Carvin will start a build for 50% down, which it looks like you're already starting to push close to that anyway (and still have a ways to go to get what you want).
Under $1200 for a USA made bass that looks and sounds amazing, will play amazing (Carvins are consistently perfect or close to perfect on this), AND then you can add whatever factory options you want for pretty cheap, as well as a fitted case. The only advantage I can see to the SX is that you can pay for it piece by piece, but I think Carvin will start a build for 50% down, which it looks like you're already starting to push close to that anyway (and still have a ways to go to get what you want).
