SX vs American and MIM Fender...

[bass player 48]

although the neck pup was adjusted really low on the E string side.

Don't assume that turning the screw will adjust the p/up the way you think it should. That screw could have been at such a funky angle that it was in a bind and that side of that p/up doesn't really adjust. (why DID the last owner have it adjusted that way? Why DID they sell that bass?) That's one of the things that can go wrong with SX basses. I've bought two SX basses and completely disasembled one including removing every screw on the bass - most of the screws had random wierd angles. I'm just saying, that's the thing at that price point.

Don't assume you can turn a screw and fix a problem at that price point. You turn that screw and see if it really works or not before you buy it!

Also, you saw a crappy MIA Fender and a good MIM Fender. That happens. That's why everybody always says try before you buy. If you tried more of each, you'd realize that most MIA Fenders really are noticable better tham most MIM Fenders.

Lastly, some people may never be able to tell the difference. If you try a bunch, and you really can't tell the difference, then buy what's cheapest and rock it!

Whatever man. Just enjoy.

 

[lojo]

tried a new MIM fender P bass and liked it, the shops all said they could not get my chosen finish for months! (UK) they were stating just 7 days in adverts but when they tried it was not going to happen, so I took a risk and mail ordered it from a company who said they had 1 in stock, pot luck perhaps but it arrived a few days later and i have just returned from practice very happy with it, comfortable bass with lovely one (ok a bit of adjusting was needed) it would have cost me another £500 for the MIA, from the ones I played cant find £500 worth of reasons

 

[savit260]

I've had my '08' MIA Jazz V for 11 months now and have barely had to adjust the neck in that time, it's a rock solid stick. I've got a Squier FVM Fretless that has to have the neck adjusted every 3 months because it bows easily. I'm probably going to buy an SX 5'er just to see how it compares to an American Fender, I'm just flat out curious.

It's not like the neck is a rubber band or anything, it's just typical of ANY new bass that hasn't settled in yet. I'm sure that the New England climate and possibly the fact that I like my necks with very little relief ie. small changes are more noticable. EVERY bass I've ever owned needed more attention to the set up in the first year or two. It's just the nature of wood.

The older settled in SX usually needs two to three tiny adjustments a year. So far I've probalby done about 5 or 6 tweaks on the Fender in the first year.

As it stands now, I don't have to adjust the Fender as frequently, as it's settling in.


Regarding the SX. No, it's not going to run with an MIA Fender out of the box IMO, in stock form. They will, IMO, run with an MIM Fender though. A GOOD luthier CAN fluff these babbies up to being EXELENT players, and a couple of mods and tweaks can get them to sonicly match or surpass a stock Fender IMO.

How good the SX becomes, will depend on how good you or your tech is at fine tuning it.

 

[vinxbass]

Regarding the SX. No, it's not going to run with an MIA Fender out of the box IMO, in stock form. They will, IMO, run with an MIM Fender though. A GOOD luthier CAN fluff these babbies up to being EXELENT players, and a couple of mods and tweaks can get them to sonicly match or surpass a stock Fender IMO.

How good the SX becomes, will depend on how good you or your tech is at fine tuning it.

I'd def throw on the same strings I use on my MIA and I've got a very good tech that would bring out the best in the SX.

 

[ProfGumby]

Don't assume that turning the screw will adjust the p/up the way you think it should. That screw could have been at such a funky angle that it was in a bind and that side of that p/up doesn't really adjust. (why DID the last owner have it adjusted that way? Why DID they sell that bass?) That's one of the things that can go wrong with SX basses. I've bought two SX basses and completely disasembled one including removing every screw on the bass - most of the screws had random wierd angles. I'm just saying, that's the thing at that price point.

Don't assume you can turn a screw and fix a problem at that price point. You turn that screw and see if it really works or not before you buy it!

Also, you saw a crappy MIA Fender and a good MIM Fender. That happens. That's why everybody always says try before you buy. If you tried more of each, you'd realize that most MIA Fenders really are noticable better tham most MIM Fenders.

Lastly, some people may never be able to tell the difference. If you try a bunch, and you really can't tell the difference, then buy what's cheapest and rock it!

Whatever man. Just enjoy.

I hear what you're saying. There was nothing wrong with the SX that I could not correct. Same for the Fenders. Well aside from the pup route. But like I said, none of the "flaws" made any difference on the playability aside from a slightly deader sound on the E string of the SX. Easy fix either way.

Again, the whole point of my comparison was they all 3 felt and played well.....all 3 sounded great! I am not slamming Fender, far from it! But on a 1400 dollar bass, one might expect a little, tighter QC....

In fact I will go as far as telling you that in many walks of life and things I own, I ALWAYS look for the blem, the b stock etc...I like saving money and the, "oooh crud!" factor is not there if you ding your bass. the first "ding" was already there!

 

[Justice]

have I ever mentioned that my SX basses play better than every Zon bass I have ever played? It's true.

 

[Kael]

I am not slamming Fender, far from it! But on a 1400 dollar bass, one might expect a little, tighter QC....

Agreed. Fender's new pricing is ludacris. They are overpriced by about 50% for a new instrument. Sad thing is that people seem to be trying to creep up the price of used instruments to match. I might be done buying Fenders either new or used for a while.

Alternately Fender could get off their butts and finish what they started with the '08's and finish fixing their QC issues.

Now we are comparing SX's to Zons?

 

[Diogenes]

... Now we are comparing SX's to Zons?

Well there's a rumor going around that Michael Manring has dumped his Zon endorsement for SX.

 

[Justice]

Now we are comparing SX's to Zons?

not really, i just wanted to put that out there... but it is true...

 

[lbanks]

Larry Graham is dumping his Moon for an SX...















At least that's what I heard...








from this guy I know...





He heard it from a cousin...

 

[stingray69]

Couple of facts:


Fact #1:

If Chuck Norris played bass, he'd play SX basses.

 

[troyus]

I bought 5 of the same SX Jazz bass just for fun, also a sixth before that which was their jaguar model.

They ALL have QC issues of some kind. They also could all use some fret leveling.

The average MIM and MIA Fender is going to play better than the average SX. The pickups SX use don't sound bad but nevertheless, if you gave me the choice of picking one of the three to take out for a tour chances are the SX would be last on the list, due to playability.

You get A LOT of instrument for your money with the SX, but all the extra cash you pay for the Fenders is getting you a better instrument. The SX body wood is pretty deep sounding and doesn't have the bright pop of the Fender wood. The bridge is made of bad metal, and the wiring is pretty chintzy.

With the Fender instruments you are paying more for having a better chance at getting a nice instrument. Does not mean the SX won't deliver, but the Fenders will deliver more consistently.

Those new black SX jazz basses at 89 buck are insane though... my last set of tuners cost more.

 

[dabbler]

I have yet to attend a GTG where someone had an SX (I've been to five in two years), so that might have something to do with it. I wish they had, 'cause I'd like to try one out in person.

Why don't you host one and conduct the test yourself?

I would support (creating scorecards, setting up the test area eetc.) but I can't HOST simply because I have no venue. The boss would never let me have a GTG at my house, and to be honest we don't have the room.

BUT if there is anyone in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area who has a venue, or idea for a venue, that we could use, I would be MORE than happy to work on it AND bring some SX basses!

[as for submitting my reqest in triplicate on the required form, ummm my pencil broke! ]

If we get any organizers, we can start a thread for it.

 

[mello_bedwetter]

I am surprised to hear about problem with the '08 MIA P. I also have one, it is is really the finest bass I have played in terms of feel, fit and finish. Every time I pick it up I marvel at how great the neck feels. For example, the frets just seem to blend into the neck without any ends. The rest of it is just marvelous - well worth every penny. I guess that the law of averages swings both ways, and I was a lucky one.

I had earlier bought an Beautiful SX P. While the finish and sound was very good, the pickups were off center and I could not get the setup to where I liked it, so it went back.

Sorry for your problems!

Same here as far as the '08 MIA Precision....love it. I've never had an SX but as soon as they come out with the "deluxe" in a "P" bass I'll get one.

 

[stingray69]

I would support (creating scorecards, setting up the test area eetc.) but I can't HOST simply because I have no venue. The boss would never let me have a GTG at my house, and to be honest we don't have the room.

BUT if there is anyone in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area who has a venue, or idea for a venue, that we could use, I would be MORE than happy to work on it AND bring some SX basses!

[as for submitting my reqest in triplicate on the required form, ummm my pencil broke! ]

If we get any organizers, we can start a thread for it.

That's a great idea (a GTG), but really at these prices I think some people would spend more in transportation & travel costs just getting to the GTG vs. just ordering one for themselves and seeing what the deal is about these basses. I believe Kurt even pays for the shipping back if you don't care for it & want a refund - I wouldn't know for sure though, all SX basses I've received have stayed. Might want to confirm that with Kurt.

 

[stingray69]

Here's my experience with SX basses, I have an MIA 2008 Jazz V, several Affinity jazz basses and 2 SX-SJB75 jazz basses. To me, the SX jazzes are the best sounding of the bunch. That said, I think the ceramic pickups, Ash/Maple & 70's jazz bass pickup spacing contribute to the reason why. It's got a wicked 70's sounding slap tone - very tight & compressed sounding & killer low mid punch that makes for really strong & defined fingerstyle notes.

My MIA doesn't (and will never) sound like that - it has great jazz bass tones, but different from my SX. Tone is hard to describe, but my MIA has a bit less of everything the SX has - a little less low mids & a lot less percussive thump - it's more "polite", tame sounding. Again, it's a great sounding bass but the SX is a different animal altogether & IMO it is a great addition to have in one's collection of basses.

Anyway, I know I've got some apples-to-oranges here with the pickup spacing. But the tone from my SX jazz basses is the aggressive 70's tone that I've always loved and wanted and it delivers that tone by the truckload. It hands-down suits me better and sounds better to me than my MIA. These are the ones I'm bringing to gigs.

All this of course IMO, IME, YMMV blah blah blah...

 

[Illbay]

I'm not surprised the American made Fender was so flawed. Overpaid, overweight Americans are so busy on the internet and their cell phones thinking only about themselves and their next beer, they do crappy work. Still, many will try to discredit sound reasoning.

Not that you've actually ever MET any such, but don't let that stop you.

(N.B.: "Sound reasoning?" )

 

[guizzy]

At the volume fender pumps out, it's inevitable. That's what warranty's are for.

That doesn't really make sense. For MIMs, perhaps, because those exist mainly for the purpose of allowing Fender to pump out more instruments.

But for markup on MIAs, aren't you supposed to pay for, amongst other thing, a human to actually inspect each and every instrument to make sure it meets QC criterias?

If it doesn't meet them, either the instrument goes back to have that issue fixed if it's fixable, or it's sold as B-stock if it's not. I think that's only logical, and what the MIA lines should mean.

 

[Mr. Ray]

There are many levels of "experience"" and "expertise" regarding instrument quality. The one major mistake alot of people make is to generalize about a certain product or model. Some of the finest and most expensive guitars in the world can have "fret sprout"...the reason you are dealing with WOOD. Different samples of wood can react to climate changes etc. Man made substance such as graphite,steel fiberglass are usually more stable...but they lack the "tone".

What thread should we start next?
1.) Fenders are great
2.) Fenders are over-rated (over priced)
3.) SX are great value
4.) SX are starter instruments
5.) MIM Fender VS USA Fender
6.) SX VS Fender
7.)Should Talkbass limit the number of repetative threads?

 

[gonzilla]

That doesn't really make sense. For MIMs, perhaps, because those exist mainly for the purpose of allowing Fender to pump out more instruments.

But for markup on MIAs, aren't you supposed to pay for, amongst other thing, a human to actually inspect each and every instrument to make sure it meets QC criterias?

If it doesn't meet them, either the instrument goes back to have that issue fixed if it's fixable, or it's sold as B-stock if it's not. I think that's only logical, and what the MIA lines should mean.

Even on a corporate level, you would think a company would want their "top of the line" model to be uniformly better in every case.

This isn't just a Fender criticism, though.