I encountered this exact same issue on an SX 5'er that I had. After a lot of careful measuring I determined that it was an error with the location of the bridge and not the pickup route. This was easily corrected by doweling the original holes and redrilling new holes in the correct places. The strings aligned over the pole pieces and had equal spacing on the edges of the neck. The great part is that if this is done correctly you cannot see any evidence of the repair as it is all hidden under the bridge.
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SX Jazz Surgery
- Thread starter Eric Perry
- Start date
I encountered this exact same issue on an SX 5'er that I had. After a lot of careful measuring I determined that it was an error with the location of the bridge and not the pickup route. This was easily corrected by doweling the original holes and redrilling new holes in the correct places. The strings aligned over the pole pieces and had equal spacing on the edges of the neck. The great part is that if this is done correctly you cannot see any evidence of the repair as it is all hidden under the bridge.
Speaking of doweling holes, I asked this before, but what's a good way to fill screwholes in a relatively inconspicuous manner? I would really prefer to go pickguardless on *my* SX Jazz surgery project.
The only way to make screw holes disappear would be to fill them and refinish the bass. Using any other material to fill in the screw hole is going to visible and readily apparent. It is not so much a matter of filling the hole but also matching the finish.
I wish my mod was as successful as yours. My bridge and my neck match up perfectly now but my pickups appear to be far to the right of where they should be.
Well, haha, there's a detail I forgot to mention--the reason I want to do this is because I'm refinishing the bass. What I have in mind for the new finish would look much better sans pickguard, which is why I'm asking about the hole filling.
Shielding is done. Tuners, preamp, string tree, nut, bridge, and straplocks are here! 
The icky poly finish on the neck will be taken care of this weekend. The stock (boring) white pickguard will be sent out for a white pearloid duplicate probably tomorrow. Tony at Pickguardian.com has been great regarding e-mail communication thus far.
Re-assembly will probably start some time next week. Pics to follow...
The icky poly finish on the neck will be taken care of this weekend. The stock (boring) white pickguard will be sent out for a white pearloid duplicate probably tomorrow. Tony at Pickguardian.com has been great regarding e-mail communication thus far.
Re-assembly will probably start some time next week. Pics to follow...
How do you plan on 'cleaning' the neck?
That Poly is scary thick on mine..
Love what you've done so far.
That Poly is scary thick on mine..
Love what you've done so far.
Thanks!
I was planning on completely sanding the finish off the neck and using several coats of Tru-Oil. Upon closer inspection the *binding* on the fretboard edge is simply painted on, damn those SX guys!
With that being said, I'll simply be using fine grit sandpaper and then steel wool to take the sheen off. Shouldn't be too much of a difference between the two approaches.
Some early pics... Please don't mind the MASSIVE fingerprints. There's not a scratch on the body, but I obviously gots some oily skin. Blech!!!!
Here's the original with the fretless board, sans strings...
Here's the neck I scored from fellow TB'er Azoore. SEXY!!!
Here's one with the neck, sans strings/neck hardware...
And lastly, here's a closer-upper of the body/neck...
The next pics will not include fingerprints. Sorry guys!
If you bought that from Azoore, that's my old neck!
I agree, it is a beautiful piece of Maple.
I certainly did. I'm lovin' it. Very eager to get this thing back in one piece and test drive it!If you bought that from Azoore, that's my old neck!
followed by new pics? i should be altering my own SX soonish and have been following other folks mods for inspiration.
Well, this AM I drilled and doweled the old bridge screw-holes on the body, and also doweled the tuner screw-holes. The Hipshot Ultralites are pretty small in comparison to the stock tuners, and the old screw holes were blatantly visible. Not acceptable. lol.
Probably tomorrow (once the glue is dry), I'll attack the neck finish and complete it. Then on goes the Ultralites and Hipshot string tree.
Probably tomorrow (once the glue is dry
), I'll attack the neck finish and complete it. Then on goes the Ultralites and Hipshot string tree.
I wonder if the 5 string necks are different than the 4, as both my black bound/blocked and cream bound/blocked necks from SX have real inlays and a real binding strip.....
Hmmmm.... Unsure, but the strip on mine certainly looks painted on. Maybe I'm wrong?
i love them basses (bassurgery, not worth the 14k euro for one though...i'll have fun building my own...) i like whats been done so far, giving my inspiration to mod my sx...
"I wished they payed more attention at the factory when it comes to pickup placement. I don't like how the strings don't align properly between the poles."
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Looks like the string-to-pole relationship would get better if the neck was on straighter(on Bluesbass's version). It's off to the treble side, taking the strings that way with it. Note how close the G is to the edge. Been there, myself.....
Josh
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Looks like the string-to-pole relationship would get better if the neck was on straighter(on Bluesbass's version). It's off to the treble side, taking the strings that way with it. Note how close the G is to the edge. Been there, myself.....
Josh
Neck is done! The finish was taken care of on the neck as well as the front and back of the headstock. The only part I left glossy was the fretboard. I started with sandpaper and worked all the way up to 0000 steel wool. It is perfectly smooth and satin-like now. I'm thrilled with the outcome!
Also, the Hipshot Ultralites, Hipshot string tree, and Tusq nut are all installed!
Also, the Hipshot Ultralites, Hipshot string tree, and Tusq nut are all installed!
