Worth it to put money into an SX?

If it sounds good, do it. I would not worry about the bridge that much. Also, getting some cheaper tuners would help as well.

 

I couldn't coax much sustain out of my SX 5 string jazz fretless. Not sure how much a new bridge will make it better

 

Before I spent any money on hardware I'd take it to a good tech and get a fret job. That will give you an instrument that plays much better than stock, and will make a much bigger difference than wire or bridges or....

Next after that would be the things that directly affect tone: pickups and electronics.

 

I say leave the bridge, jack, wire, tuners, and string guide. Change the pots to CTS ones, and drop in a set or Fralins.

 

My opinion is really not worth much, as I have not been through this, but why spend all that on new tuners? They will really have no impact on the sound, or at least minimal. If the tuners work, keep them, and that'll cut your costs by almost a third.

 

Do you even have this bass yet? If you did, you'd know if it was worth putting the money into.

 

What kind of body wood is in this bass?

 

Just remember this 95% of the things on that list can be removed and put on another bass. This means, you can upgrade to an American Jazz and still have all those killer parts to put on it. It's not like you paid $500 for a paint job.

 

Silk purse does not = Sow's ear IMO but knock yourself out and I hope it works for you.

 

While you're upgrading, get a new body and neck and it''ll be killer

 

I'm with Dude. $600 will buy a hell of a better bass right out of the box than you'll end up with after buying the SX and doing the mods.

HOWEVER,

If your goal is to take apart a bass and see how it works; tinker; really get to know an electric bass inside and out, rewire, change out hardware, do everything under the sun, then this is a good plan.

 

Don't forget the Switchcraft jack and Monster cable for the internal wiring.

If I buy an old Yugo and put on wide, low profile tires, expensive rims, a $1k sound system, have the windows tinted, get a new paint job and a high perf exhaust system, will it be a Mercedes?

 

Yeah, but if your goal is to dissasemble the car and put it back together, you're better off ruining - er - I mean - "upgrading" the Yugo than the Mercedes.

 

You are going to put in all that money and time......but in the end you will still have a SX bass. For a beginner, the SX is a great bass, but it is still a $140 bass. Keep it as it is and just use it to polish your skills. Also, if you plan to get rid of it sometime down the line, you'll never really get a return on all that stuff you plan to do. It is still a SX.

If you plan to get into some serious playing, save up some money plus the money you were planning to use and get a better bass. You are allready more then half way there to a new Fender Standard Fretless, which are really good basses.

 

That's what I was driving at. These threads once a week drive me insane.

 

Am I the only one that left mine stock? I can't explain it, but my SX has some sort of mojo happening. It's been on 3 major label recordings (El Pus & India.Arie) and she still sounds great. I was going to mod it, but after the first studio session, I figured, "Why bother?". However; do what works for you.

 

heehee
I always heard that one as -
can't make a princess out of a ho

but the other way around could be a lot of fun