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SX pickguard question

kjpollo

kjpollo

Mar 17, 2008
3,456
87
CT
#1
Guys and Ladies,

Anybody know if the screw holes for an SX P-style bass pickguard line up correctly with aftermarket PG's?

I'm thinking about getting the Olympic White SX P-bass and adding a black PG but I want to make sure they're compatible. I'd hate to spend the $$ for the pickguard only to find out the screw holes dont match up.
 
#3
If you want solid black (not BWB) you could buy a can of Krylon Fusion spray paint. It's specifically designed for use on plastics. I painted the white pg of my Squier CV bass flat black a few weeks ago. It turned out great and it's still looking good.
 
#4
There are some places that will make exact replicas in whatever color/design you want for a little more cheddar. I got a great pearloid white guard for my SX based on the original, and a tracing I did showing minor changes (one of which was to perfectly mate up against an Audere preamp plate). Pickguardian.com did mine for $56 beans delivered last year. Not a single complaint to be had.
 
#7
A friend of mine was upgrading a tele and decided to change his pickguard from white to black. He used Krylon black paint for plastic and it looked fantastic when it was done.

I recently did some upgrades to my SJB-75 Ash. I always wanted a black pickguard instead of the white one it came with. So instead of screwing around with holes in my bass, I decided to paint it using the same Krylon paint he did. I took it a bit further by doing some wet sanding with fine sandpaper between the 3 coats I put on it.

The paint dries fast, has a nice semi-gloss slightly textured finish, and is very durable. I did the whole thing in less than a day. Nice thing is, if it gets scratched up, I'll just give it a new coat. Here's a before and after;

SX%20SJB-75.png


CIMG1679.png
 
#9
I have an ash SX P bass. I bought a black pickguard directly from Rondo. It fit well except that I had to trim slightly around the neck pocket. This was a much less expensive option than a custom pickguard.
 
#10
OldBluesGuy said:
I WANT that ash J!!! :)

Nice work on the pg. It's even more gorgeous now.


obg
Click to expand...

Thanks. It's been my "go to" bass for everything for over two years now, although I prefer the addition of a low B string for jazz. When I upgraded my rig last spring, it brought out all the bass's electronic warts, so I've recently changed all the wiring, pots, and jack. The entire cavity has been shielded and replaced the neck pickup with a used Fender Geddy Lee. Not that I didn't like the stock pickup, but I found out that it was out of phase and I got the Geddy's cheap. That's a whole other story. It has great tone and is super quiet.

Why I didn't paint the pg black ages ago is beyond me. I thought many times about getting a black pg replacement from Rondo, but was just too lazy I guess.
 
#11
"Paint it black"? What a concept-I think there's a song title in there somewhere...

Well, opinions are divided: some people say Rondo's replacements fit, some say no. Several people suggest 3 coats of spraypaint which sounds like a very cost-efficient method.

Its funny how you can overlook the obvious so easily!!

Thanks guys, I think the spraypaint option sounds like the way to go. This way I get a P-style bass with the color scheme I want and its even less expensive than the matching Squier.

Now to convince the wife and stepkids that I really NEED this bass-wish me luck!:D
 
#12
I have an SX fretless P bass (burst) that came with a white PG & I installed a black Fender PG on it without too much trouble. The overall shape, as far as matching the body, was really pretty good.

The Fender holes were slightly different (a few new holes), the neck pocket on the Fender guard was slightly narrower (recut that) & the "ears" on the pickup covers on the SX were larger than genuine P-bass covers so they would not fit. I decided it was easier to change to Fender PU covers (which DID fit on the SX coils) than to rout & all was well.
 
#13
I have the same Ash Jazz as Fajah and I ordered a White pickguard instead of the black. Kurt sent it along with the bass. With just a wee bit of work around the neck pocket it was a drop on replacement. Everything lined up perfect.

I have wondered about the krylon paint and how durable it would be. It seems to me that eventually one might end up with 1/4 inch of paint on the pickguard if it is re-coated enough.....
 
#14
It's really not that hard to modify a Fender guard to get it to fit the SX P basses. I've done a few. A couple of minutes with a file or a dremel, and it'll fit, if you pay attention.

Yeah, the screw holes don't line up, but the old ones are under the pickguard, and you can't see them. Total , about a 15 minute job if you take your time.

This is a modified Allparts, Fender replacement guard on an SX.
tommybass.jpg
 
#15
ProfGumby said:
I have wondered about the krylon paint and how durable it would be. It seems to me that eventually one might end up with 1/4 inch of paint on the pickguard if it is re-coated enough.....
Click to expand...

Mine's been painted for awhile now and it doesn't even show any scratches. The Krylon Fusion paint says it takes a week to fully cure so I kept my pickguard off for a full week after painting it. It's working great for me and so far I highly recommend it if it's the look you're going for. (see pic below) I suppose if I ever need to do any touch up painting I'll probably sand it down a bit first to even it out and give the new paint a good surface to bond to.

Also, on my old SX P I got a black pg from Rondo to replace the white. It was a pretty close but I did have to do some sanding on the neck pocket to get a good fit. Can't remember if the screw holes lined up but IIRC I had to drill a couple new ones and cover up some old ones.

IMG_1708.jpg
 

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