Hey, I've got an older beater Jazz bass copy that I want to mod out. I was looking at this replacement neck http://www.rondomusic.net/product856.html on the rondo website. I love the block inlays. I know these are made in china but do they play decently at all for $60? Anything else like this that you would reccommend? Thanks!
They do play quite nicely. The Essex megathread makes several references to the '75 neck as a terrific piece of gear. I have one on my SJB-75 and enjoy it immensely.
Great necks...with a few caveats... First off, they have a poly coating on the neck itself. Many do not like such a coating. I simply Scotch Brite the bejesus outta mine. It's WAAAYYYYY better now. I took it off, removed the tuning keys, and throughly roughed the finish on the neck and back of the headstock, to make it look consistent and professionally done. Substantial improvement, IMO. Also, there have been reports of sprouting fret ends as the wood dries (supposedly). I have one fretted and one fretless SX. I haven't had any sprout issues with mine, but they have been mentioned here. Overall, for the price, they are great necks!
Cool, sounds like a good choice. Yeah, sharp frets are common on most chinese made necks because (especially with cheaper ones) they do not dry the wood as effectively as they should, but it sounds like this is a good deal. Thanks for the feedback!
I second the comments on the quality of the black blocked neck from SX. I have one myself and it is very well made, especially for the money. As to the fret sprout issue, I have not had it happen yet on any bass, SX or otherwise. I have seen the issue being handled at the local shop on two different fender basses and a Strat. Also as to the sharp frets, nt on my SX's...but it has been an issue on several MIM Fenders, and two Squiers I have played. The only issue I have to contend with is the width of the heel. I am swapping out the original neck on this bass http://www.rondomusic.net/sjb62bk.html With the neck you ask about. The heel on the Black Blocked neck is about 1/16th narrower than the original. All in all not bad as the neck is more comfortable to my hand anyway, but I will shim both sides of the neck pocket to accomodate this...it may be an issue on a different brand body as well....
The neck on my SX P copy is average at best. The fretwork is OK but could be much better, and the radius is too flat for my tastes (even though I like a 12" radius, the SX feels like it's 15"). I won't buy another one.
I don't think they suffer from fret sprout so much as hastily sanded ends. It takes literally about 30 seconds to fix this. Neither of my necks had any tangs sticking out, nor has anything happened in the seven months since I bought them. To answer your question, they play better than decent for any price and they play incredibly well for a sixty dollar neck. There really isn't much of a way to screw up frets. Considering the cheapness of the screws in the SX basses, it's possible they use cheap fretwire; I guess I'll know in about ten or twelve years. You could probably buy the neck and have it re-fretted for less than a comparable neck made by anyone else.
+1, there are no other necks in this price range, they certainly feel much more than 1/4 as good as a warmoth, but they cost 3/4s less.
The maple jazz necks with black blocks from Rondo are just great. Nice finish & frets. Excellent neck for the price & they are shipped really fast.
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