SX Pino Palladino precision anyone?

[savit260]

I guess it's not like Fender will lose sales becasue of this bass, though. Obviously anyone who was thinking of buying a $3,000 Fender is not going to be lured away by a $120 copy.

Don't be so sure of that. I know that I was looking seriously at the American 62 RI P bass, and some other much more expensive basses as a back up to my No.1 when I tried out my first SX. Bought the SX and did a couple of mods. Couldn't be happier.

 

[BassDudeSA]

I know that I was looking seriously at the American 62 RI P bass, and some other much more expensive basses as a back up to my No.1 when I tried out my first SX. Bought the SX and did a couple of mods. Couldn't be happier.

Good deal. And if more people were to make such similar smart shopping decisions as that then Fenders and other brands that charge premiums due to name recognition and status will have to then lower their prices to compete. This is why competition is a very good thing.

 

[jondog]

Rondo sells their SX brand to other companies, who in turn resell them under their own label. Jim Deacon's are SX basses, just with the JD name on it. They may use slightly different model numbers as well.

No, Rondo is just a US distributor. The parent company/manufacturer is Team International [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I don't see anything about Jim Deacon on their site, but they do look very close to SX to me.

 

[Stan_da_man]

That's because they are SX!

 

[fourstringbliss]

I sure do like the way that looks!!

The only difference in looks between the two would be the color - the Pino one is more of a red-orange.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Good deal. And if more people were to make such similar smart shopping decisions as that then Fenders and other brands that charge premiums due to name recognition and status will have to then lower their prices to compete. This is why competition is a very good thing.

And why modding an SX is a better, cheaper alternative to buying a Fender.

 

[labgnat]

I'm not familiar with pino's work, what are some of the better songs pino plays on?

 

[BassikLee]

Pino is on almost every "cool" fretless bass part in pop music for the last 20 years or so. Paul Young's "every time you go away" with that great lick. Don Henley's "new york minute", all of that. That was back when he used a fretless 'Ray most of the time. He seems to favor the P these days. Plays/ed with John Mayer's (yeah, that guy) trio, the who, lots O' folks.

 

[D-Bone]

There are a lot of professional players that don't really want to take their favorite vintage basses on the road, gigging for months at a time. This is where these Custom Shop basses come in handy. And YES, they are very well built instruments. They're not for everyone. As I said before, you'd have to play one to understand why someone would pay that price for one. Normally, "vintage" instruments aren't covered by a lifetime guarantee either, like the CS basses. So there's less dependabillity issues. No matter how old it looks, it's still brand new and in perfect working order.

*The reason I said the SX and the Fender PP would "age differently" was because of the different finishes used on these 2 basses. The Nitro on the PP is already relic'ed and will look like an early '60's bass, right out of the case. Not so with the "new" Poly finish on the SX. Nitro (and other Laquer based paints, for that matter) wears, checks, chips and fades differently than a Poly finish. Nitro is also supposed to let the tone come out of the wood better than the Poly. I've heard many "vintage" (and even some H-1) owners, swear by the finish having a very positive effect on their tone. I'm not sure if there's any proof to this, but I have to admit, some of my best sounding basses have always seemed to be finished in some sort of Laquer based paint. (Acrylic or Nitro-Cellulose Laquers.)

If you like the SX's and the way they sound/play, by all means play 'em.....

 

[Stan_da_man]

But no one has proof what an SX bass which is 30 or so years old looks or sounds like. Your argument cannot be proven, no matter how good the facts. Until I see what it really looks/sounds like, I'll believe it then.

 

[savit260]

I'd be willing to bet that a new SX will age slightly better than a 70's Fender, and they seem to be all the rage these days. The clear coat on the SX is very thin( at least on the two that I own). That's a good thing as it doesn't seem to hurt the tone much. I am a huge fan of Nitro finishes, and my Fender is Nitro, however the difference in poly vs. nitro isn't enough to make me want to fork over an extra $1200. If I was hell bent on Nitro, I'd send it out to a pro refinisher, and still be way ahead. The SX doesn't give up enough to the Nitro Fender to bother. Like I've stated before, they sound frighteningly similar.

 

[labgnat]

assuming an sx only lasts 5 years. you're still getting ur 150 dollars worth.

 

[RWP]

Because of the positive reviews here on TB I picked up a SX Scorpion. After an evening of filing the nut, dropping the action and a few turns on the truss rod nut I could not be happier. Had planed to dress the frets but they didn't need it. Damn thing plays great. It will not take the place of my Stingray 5 but I do find myself picking it up more than the other 5 basses I own. I had planed to pick up a Geddy Jazz but not so sure anymore.

 

[Stan_da_man]

Does anyone actually own one of these SX "Pino" basses?

 

[DeanT]

If you want to compare SX to Fender you should compare the SX to the Fender that's only a bit more expensive and that's the Squire. A bass that costs 3 times as much is not a fair comparison.

Exactly.

I made a similar point a few pages ago.

 

[DeanT]

No, Rondo is just a US distributor. The parent company/manufacturer is Team International [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I don't see anything about Jim Deacon on their site, but they do look very close to SX to me.

I think you're partly mistaken. I shouldn't have said Rondo sells them though, because the parent company sells them to others, not Rondo.

But this is from Rondo's Web site:

"Where Can I Buy Essex/Agile/Brice Products: These products are distributed by a number of companies throughout the world. In the United States, Rondo Music is the main reseller...Other companies may distribute these products but usually under their own brand name. These guitars are essentially the same guitars with a different name printed on them."

Clearly the Deacons are SX basses.

 

[BassDudeSA]

Because of the positive reviews here on TB I picked up a SX Scorpion. After an evening of filing the nut, dropping the action and a few turns on the truss rod nut I could not be happier. Had planed to dress the frets but they didn't need it. Damn thing plays great. It will not take the place of my Stingray 5 but I do find myself picking it up more than the other 5 basses I own. I had planed to pick up a Geddy Jazz but not so sure anymore.

Good deal. My first SX was a Scorpion as well. that was a month ago, now I have six SX basses. All I did to it was raise the action since I am an aggresive player and needed to eliminate the fret buzz. But it it great now. It did prevent me from ordering a Geddy for a bit, but since I had my heart already set on a Geddy, I ordered one anyway. These SXs are great.

 

[Stan_da_man]

I'm worried about all these things about broken nuts, rough frets, rubbish action etc. Sounds like you have to have a proper set-up before they can be playable.

 

[BassDudeSA]

I'm worried about all these things about broken nuts, rough frets, rubbish action etc. Sounds like you have to have a proper set-up before they can be playable.

Not for me. I have five SXs and one more on the way. The ONLY thing I did to any of them was tighten all the screws and then raise the action to my preference. That is five SX basses with no problem with the nut, tuning pegs, frets or any concern at all. 100% playable. I also did not need to adjust the truss rod on any. And I've been playing consistently for 29 years so I know what basses work and what do not. However, many people like "perfection" and will make improvements, alterations or mods to suit their needs. I'm sure there are some manufacturing defects that come through now and then, but I haven't experienced any yet. Although I could certainly do some mods if I wanted to, there is no need as these basses are great stock. The pickups are the best part about them. The tuning pegs work fine but if I replaced anything it would be them.

 

[RWP]

Good deal. My first SX was a Scorpion as well. that was a month ago, now I have six SX basses. All I did to it was raise the action since I am an aggresive player and needed to eliminate the fret buzz. But it it great now. It did prevent me from ordering a Geddy for a bit, but since I had my heart already set on a Geddy, I ordered one anyway. These SXs are great.

Funny, my gas for the Geddy is still there too. John Turner has a killer 5 string 'LowEnd' custom that looks like the Geddy. One day I want one truly world class bass. My MM5 is wonderful but I would not put it in the class of Sadowski, Low End, Fedora etc. Daa. But until I decide which of these great basses to get, playing around with the SX line is fun.