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SX basses

Screnshaw

Screnshaw

Nov 20, 2017
46
35
#1
Does anyone have an opinion on an SX brand PJ bass? I have over 40 years experience, gig weekly and own way too many really nice basses. I was in the store last week and a bass caught my eye. Natural ash body, white pickguard... really nice. The big plus for me was it is a short scale fretless and will fill a gap as I play electric upright on 5-10 songs a night. Anyway I get it down and play it. The action and intonation are spot on and it sounds great. $150 retail (used) but I feel like I'm getting a lot more guitar than $150 should buy. What's wrong with this picture? I've done my research and understand that it's a cheap bass but it plays and sounds so damn good.

Snapper
 
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#2
Screnshaw said:
Does anyone have an opinion on an SX brand PJ bass? I have over 40 years experience, gig weekly and own way too many really nice basses. I was in the store last week and a bass caught my eye. Natural ash body, white pickguard... really nice. The big plus for me was it is a short scale fretless and will fill a gap as I play electric upright on 5-10 songs a night. Anyway I get it down and play it. The action and intonation are spot on and it sounds great. $150 retail (used) but I feel like I'm getting a lot more guitar than $150 should buy. What's wrong with this picture? I've done my research and understand that it's a cheap bass but it plays and sounds so damn good.

Snapper
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure they're basswood but I could be mistaken
 
#4
I had an SX Short Scale Jazz that I originally bought as a backup for my main bass, my Musicmaster. I ended up playing it quite a bit at gigs and in some ways I wish I still had it. I loved the maple neck and it had an amber colored maple neck that was sweet!

Sold it after I got my hands on my 2nd Musicmaster though. :(

O1UBuO93ba3gH9TqEFPCj85zazav9nKxkJzGpK49mte3pq-ZDwwQvI5nGh3Y0TBHNGZtW7JQqunDb5W4JKfh41YnXM61p9Ok5Btjn9ZKpzVxG3CuCzP3l22oENjpoW66zp-e8grgIWy4MvMqfYgCxNddOZdfY-I6M-4ARxa3vOxqFf0rbctAMC-CtmJ9BHF2uB4qtVstBs5zCoMG5bSOqjcp2IA3LdnBv81TcfeYX3IDlDyArCyoP2Wa3wDGu9J-btPoQ3rRbocmvRPqjTY570i9EPSmY4fV-GzbmscLwChLCEJCwmtA9d7QM_dADkV6b-IZbDC3BtCmXxs5Y_4mWgD9dVGnBbYDwuLJpsrPwaD1px25eVu_KiAZxXeYvyBxEewbpAy3NG4BhV5O2szMvWYdotXxtAnzHhqcTxbciQz6GQsv5Q6LV5hzG0dzk2dTTm6Obd0bKid9Dt-CmOtsypPGJKNcniHrVMu3uho7MO5W-dqMJbqUOsdDquVGP430UWIm2n8OtImav8an7h-AnwNQDdXB91LygRYG2wM3AQSKQ3rcH37W58-OpEr6tuPfHRIF4rL2bLdiPFrI9pxSsvkgGAISGLO2vN4GOj1HupwkBhM2OFwGDxMnVVbHvTv9I2npCdTco_yrMNbgDIg7pUDwy5fkHxc=w451-h601-no


It was a great little bass, I think I was into it for about $175 from Rondo Music Home Page after adding a hardshell case. It played well, stayed in tune. I had the D'addario "Red Devils" on it. I say there's nothing wrong with the picture you're describing, snatch it up if you like it.
 
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#8
I stuck DiMarzios in both my SX shorties because the stock pups left me thoroughly uninspired. DP-127 in the "P" and DP-123 in the "J". My SX "P" is an older, oddball one with very narrow string spacing and even the stock pole pieces didn't align well with the strings. The DP-127 has "blades" instead of cylindrical pole pieces, so that took care of that issue.

The "J", though it also had the "old-style" SX headstock, had more "normal" string spacing, so the DP-123 pole pieces aligned well with the strings.

WARNING: if anyone else opts to swap DP-123 into one of these "J" basses, or ANY "J" bass (Fender included) for that matter, be sure to measure the covers of the pups in your bass before ordering! Some "J" basses have pup covers that are both the same length, while others (mine included) have a longer cover on the bridge pup. Di-Marzio has both sets, but you must specify which type you need when you order. Don't remember the breakdown, but this difference is even a concern when dealing with different year Fender "J" basses. So if you don't want to have to fire up your Dremel/router or go ape with a wood chisel...

Di-Marzio warns potential buyers about this issue on their website, but I thought I'd bring it up since someone might buy an NOS set elsewhere and be unaware of it if the vendor doesn't mention it.
 
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#9
I took the neck off of my one PJ SX to replace a busted neck on one of my Ps. Here is is with its brother:

SX016-1.JPG


The older ones with this headstock were all alder, and very good values!

I have had very good experiences with all of my SXes purchased new, and I love them all, some are modded, many are basically stock (small mods like shielding, parallel/series mod, new string guides)!

IMGP3718a.JPG


IMGP2272 (1).JPG


IMGP3407a.jpg
 
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#10
B-Mac said:
I'm pretty sure they're basswood but I could be mistaken
Click to expand...
dabbler said:
I took the neck off of my one PJ SX to replace a busted neck on one of my Ps. Here is is with its brother:

View attachment 3347935

The older ones with this headstock were all alder, and very good values!

I have had very good experiences with all of my SXes purchased new, and I love them all, some are modded, many are basically stock (small mods like shielding, parallel/series mod, new string guides)!

View attachment 3347939

View attachment 3347941

View attachment 3347946
Click to expand...
very nice collection!!
 
#15
I put $60 down to hold it (not available for release until 3/11). It looks a lot like Spazz' but is a PJ. I'll get the serial for the year but it sure looked grained like an ash body. Maple neck and fretboard (fretless)
 
#18


Here are mine. As I said, the Dimarzio DP-127 in the "P" are blades. The DP-123s in the "J" have individually height-adjustable pole pieces (with hex wrench), which is nice. Both are more powerful and articulate than the stock pups than came in mine.

Apologies for the unsightly blanket. The dogs like it, but they like sniffing each others behinds, so I hesitate to trust their aesthetic opinions.
 
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