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SX Ursa 6-string Jazz bass

#441
jim777 said:
Are the necks actually straight on these basses? Can you get nice low action with a proper setup all the way up the neck? I don't mind replacing the electronics but you really can't replace the neck on these.
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I've heard stories of twisted necks that were returned, but all mine were always straight. If there's any problem it's that frets need leveled. I forgot to mention on the one I just filed the high frets on that this neck had a VERY nice "fall off" on the high frets making the entire neck including highest notes play like a dream when I was done.

What I noticed about these necks is they tend to be very "flat" and by that I mean they seem to develop very little relief. When I work on them, first thing I do is completely loosen the truss rods so to make sure the two rods are going to have balanced tension so as not to develop a twist in the neck. Well, even with truss rods totally loose, the neck had next to no relief. I decided to just let it sit for a week under string tension and see what happens. (If needed you can put some relief in the neck with the truss rods because they are double acting) Anyway, after some "settling" relief was perfect with no truss rod tension so I just snugged both of them up so they wouldn't rattle or allow any more relief and that's been it!

Oh, and one more thing: Mine had this strange high pitched microphonic "ding" noise when you tapped on pickups or even on bass. Was loud too! After much rooting around it was traced to the springs holding up the pickups. I took them out and put foam under pickups and the "ding" was gone.
 
#443
I just got my red 6 string today. I had a problem with some high frets on the first one I got in, so they sent me another one. The turn around was very fast and boy am I happy. I thought the first one was beautiful, but this one takes the cake. Have you ever seen the wood on the inside of a Jaguar? The neck on my guitar has flames all over it. I have 6 bass guitars and none of them can compare to the neck on this guitar. If any one knows how to drop the pixels down so I can post a picture of it, please let me know how.

I had my files laying on the couch figuring I would have to file the frets. The neck is arrow straight and the fret were in great shape also. I play Jazz so I have to have my strings real close to the neck. No problem! The neck is actually not very thick, which makes it fast and easy to play. This is the first time I have ever played a six string. In an hour, I'm playing it like I have always owned one.

I have been taking lesson from my teacher, who graduated with honors at Berklee and he is hard on me. We have been working on tritone substitutes. The great thing about a six strings is; you can do tritone substitues all the way up the neck because you have that extra string. And It is great for solos. You don't have to slide all the way up the neck to get the high notes.

I bought some active electronics for it but after hearing it, I probably will leave it passive. It sounds better than my Fender Jazz. I put new strings on it and that made it louder. I will shield it when I get time. The humbuckers when you take your fingers off the string hum, because that is what they do. I may check to make sure it is grounded correctly.

My G&L lost it's case today. From now on, the red six string called "Cheri",from this day on, just took it's place.

The neck is so straight I believe I can get it to play as good as my Status Graphite 4 string. Trust ne, I paid a lot more for it. It does not hold a candle to the looks of "Cheri".;)
 
#444
JMimbs said:
Sorry if I missed it in the last 22 pages, but are there any aftermarket pickups that fit these basses? I'm seeing great reviews of the stock pickups but I like to know my options.
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These pickups have non-standard ears so nothing else really fits. Of course the factory pickups are great (once you change strings) so it doesn't matter too much.

The only "drop-in" pickups I know about are THESE from Oz.

Hippo 6 String Bass Pickups - Pure Tone Music Store

They have had great reviews here. I tried to buy a pair to try out, but as usual after HUGE hassle from PayPal I gave up trying to order them. (Also, my bank refuses to honor any Visa purchases in Asia (or Australia) as they regard them as having too much chance of fraud.)
 
#445
plugandplay said:
I bought some active electronics for it but after hearing it, I probably will leave it passive. It sounds better than my Fender Jazz. I put new strings on it and that made it louder. I will shield it when I get time. The humbuckers when you take your fingers off the string hum, because that is what they do. I may check to make sure it is grounded correctly.
Click to expand...

Although all the rest of my 6 stringers are active, I'm really digging the passive Fender 6 string thing! And I especially dig the price compared to other similar Fender 6es (Steve Bailey, Low End etc.)

However, be aware that hum that goes away when you touch the strings is due to lack of shielding. I just finished shielding mine and it makes a BIG difference. (got some REALLY nice copper foil cheap at a stained glass crafts place)

The hum you get when you single one pickup compared to when both are on full is single coil hum and shielding won't help that. In fact, there is little you can do about that except live with it. Because the pickups have non-standard ear spacing, even if you wanted to swap in some Nordies or other humbucking pickups they won't fit. This is why I'm looking into a dummy coil mod, but I have no progress to report yet.
 
#446
bassbenj said:
These pickups have non-standard ears so nothing else really fits. Of course the factory pickups are great (once you change strings) so it doesn't matter too much.

The only "drop-in" pickups I know about are THESE from Oz.

Hippo 6 String Bass Pickups - Pure Tone Music Store

They have had great reviews here. I tried to buy a pair to try out, but as usual after HUGE hassle from PayPal I gave up trying to order them. (Also, my bank refuses to honor any Visa purchases in Asia (or Australia) as they regard them as having too much chance of fraud.)
Click to expand...

Well that's good to know, thanks!
 
#452
All because of those pictures I pulled the trigger on a black 6-string. The neck and finish looks much better than the older versions a couple of years back. Darn you! But hell, it was only $180 total. A fine buy for my first ever 6-string experiment (I think). :D
 
#453
:hyper:I just wanted to take pictures of a great bass. Rondo stands behind their product.

These basses are great! I just bought a new camera and I have been practicing. I really had the wrong lense. The bass looks better than the pictures. I just could not get close enough with the lense I was using. I play Jazz and I needed a bass that the strings were close to the neck. The frets were great on this bass, plus the finish was flawless. I will need to shield it but that is nothing. I will gig with it this week.

I can't make my mind up whether to leave it alone or put in active electronics and use the same pick-ups because I think they sound great, just need shielding.

To set up the bridge you will see you have to do two strings at a time because the saddles are so close, that they touch.
The first three strings go easy but the e and b string actually rub together. Sometimes one saddle will hold the other up and I had to tap mine down with a rubber hammer. After you get them set, it works perfect.

I will take more pictures and post them later today.
 
#454
PBnJBassist said:
All because of those pictures I pulled the trigger on a black 6-string. The neck and finish looks much better than the older versions a couple of years back. Darn you! But hell, it was only $180 total. A fine buy for my first ever 6-string experiment (I think). :D
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That pic does have some mad figuring. But I have one from the first batch and I ain't even hatin'. My fretboard is plain, but mine has really nice flame on the back of the neck

IMGP0957.jpg


And I like the burst finish on the body more than the new batch:

IMGP1450.jpg


Different strokes for different folks, but any way you look at it Ursa 2 6es are just really good deals!
 
#455
I have to chime in here with a word for all the other economy plan bassists out there. I just went from a $90 (list) set of DR Black Beauties to a $13.99 set of Webstrings nickel rounds on the Ursa six.
Definately not the same as the DRs, but very nice in their own right. Higher tension than the DRs, enough that I actually had to put some turns on the truss rods to get the neck to level back out.
Tonewise, they have more low end and low mids without sounding dead. This is the third week they have been on and they've settled in to be stable and pleasant sounding. They seem to fit better into the mix, too.
 
#456
oyobass said:
I have to chime in here with a word for all the other economy plan bassists out there. I just went from a $90 (list) set of DR Black Beauties to a $13.99 set of Webstrings nickel rounds on the Ursa six.
Definately not the same as the DRs, but very nice in their own right. Higher tension than the DRs, enough that I actually had to put some turns on the truss rods to get the neck to level back out.
Tonewise, they have more low end and low mids without sounding dead. This is the third week they have been on and they've settled in to be stable and pleasant sounding. They seem to fit better into the mix, too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I use webstrings for everything except my 35 inch basses and my fav fretlesses, where I use Labellas. they are a good deal too. I first found out about them and their slightly higher tension on my guitars... and I like them for that!
 
#457
oyobass said:
I have to chime in here with a word for all the other economy plan bassists out there. I just went from a $90 (list) set of DR Black Beauties to a $13.99 set of Webstrings nickel rounds on the Ursa six.
Definately not the same as the DRs, but very nice in their own right. Higher tension than the DRs, enough that I actually had to put some turns on the truss rods to get the neck to level back out.
Tonewise, they have more low end and low mids without sounding dead. This is the third week they have been on and they've settled in to be stable and pleasant sounding. They seem to fit better into the mix, too.
Click to expand...

Yes, I go into the WebStrings.com thing a while ago. Their steels remind me of XL Pro Steels a little. I love their flats. A good way to try out a heavy Jamerson type, set of strings. Fast deliver too!
 
#458
Had a couple of inquires since I stated that I was going to put a 17mm spaced bridge on my SX, so here are the results:

1) The neck handles the 17mm spaced bridge without any problem, though I don't think it would handle a bridge with any wider spacing. To me the 17mm spacing on this baby is much, much easier to play then the 15mm spaced stock bridge.

and then we have...

2) With the wider spaced bridge, the low B and high C strings have very low output. The stock pickups do not have a wide enough armature to work with this set up.

and therefore...

I have found that at the bridge pickup, the string spacing is 85mm at the widest point. I don't know of any J pickups that will reach 85mm, though some Bart J's may. (Maybe there are some others that will, also, I don't know.) I did tapping tests on a few pickups to see if it sounded like there was output at that width or not, and found that Bart 57's may work, Bart MK1's will work (they go to 85mm) and EMG-HZ40's seem to work. To proceed without any routing, I think I would need a two Bart 57S pickups (though it may be the L's...I would have to measure again) which are hard to find as a set (Bart doesn't sell them that way). If I use pickups I have at hand and do some routing, I could put either a pair of Bart MK1's in, or a pair of EMG HZ's. Again, stressing pickups that I have at hand in my parts bins. It looks like one would need a pickup that will accommodate an 85mm string span regardless of style to make this work.

I have included some picks of the process as it stands right now so you can see the string spacing over the neck and pickups. BTW, the bridge is an Allparts BB3565.
 

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