i should have one arrive today. I’m looking forward to hearing what it sounds like.
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Xaviere "Slick" SLPB Basses
- Thread starter Dradder
- Start date
Ok here is the run down. The bass came today, no issues and on time via ups. It was double boxed, not a lot of packaging but sufficient. When I pulled it out, the A and G strings were in tune. E and D just needed a slight bump to tune to pitch.
First impression is it’s light. I was expecting it heavier for ash, but out of the 20 bases I own, it’s in the top three regarding the lightest. About the same as my Ibanez SR bass. Second impression was the paint. No bad smell like its been noted, in fact it has no smell. Bonus. The next was the flat paint. It’s all flat, or satin finish. The body isn’t rough, but there isn’t any filler under the thin coat of paint. The neck is the same, a satin finish on the front and back of the maple neck, but the grain is closed. The maple board is a slab instead of laminate, and is nice and thick.
The bass is made in China.
It’s a weird mix of cheap and expensive feeling at the same time. The hardware is surprisingly very good quality, the tuners are smooth, almost feeling like my American hipshot tuners do. The bridge is well done, not cheap at all. As good as any Fender bridge.
The neck feels full, more like my 80’s MIJ p, or closer to a 70’feel than current. Frets are well done, no high spots or sharp ends. The bass does have a good finishing job regarding the neck and frets. Neck is straight and no waves, bumps, or ski jump.
The bass resonates! I’m not that tuned into dead spots on any of my basses, but I sure didn’t hear any weak sounding areas up or down the neck. Plugged into a small practice amp, it sounds like a p bass. The pot is cheap feeling, and the volume jumps in the last bit of rotation. I’m guessing a better pot would make a gradual taper in volume better for those that play with a variable volume. It seems this bass was made for full open volume.
I’ll walk through the pics...
A shot of the back. Not a huge amount of relic work, but you can see the open grain under the thin coat of paint.
Another shot of the grain and my cat giving it the sniff treatment.
Ok, too many shots of the back.
The front shot. It’s a good looking bass. I’m just on the fence about the satin finish.
A shot of the very stout back plate. Serial number is on the plate. Much thicker than fender.
The made in China sticker, and the surprisingly nice feeling tuners. They look kinda cheap, but feel high quality. Just weird.
Open grain. I’m a little put off by this honestly. I guess I’m more into the traditional finish. Its like it’s trying to hard too be a relic.
A shot of the aged pickups. They sound as good as any p bass.
The bridge. Surprisingly nice.
Headstock is finished in a satin painted finish. It looks like an easy job to sand off of you wanted a maple headstock.
Another body shot. The brass and chrome work better together than expected.
In conclusion, the bass feels pretty solid. It’s begging to be a relic job as well. I think if play much it would show wear pretty fast. With a better paint finish, this bass would be a killer. I’m not a fan at all of a satin finish, and probably why I’m put off by it. I might rip it apart, sand it down and throw some nitro on it. The neck is a touch chunky for me, I like a little flatter profile, but it’s well done and the frets are way above it’s price point. On the other hand, it has a lively sound and resonates so well, I’d hate to refinish it and loose that. I’ll play it at a gig this weekend and see how it does. It’s a good bass for the money, but 300 bones can buy a lot of bass these days as well. It’s definitely a rock bass begging to be thrashed a little on stage.
First impression is it’s light. I was expecting it heavier for ash, but out of the 20 bases I own, it’s in the top three regarding the lightest. About the same as my Ibanez SR bass. Second impression was the paint. No bad smell like its been noted, in fact it has no smell. Bonus. The next was the flat paint. It’s all flat, or satin finish. The body isn’t rough, but there isn’t any filler under the thin coat of paint. The neck is the same, a satin finish on the front and back of the maple neck, but the grain is closed. The maple board is a slab instead of laminate, and is nice and thick.
The bass is made in China.
It’s a weird mix of cheap and expensive feeling at the same time. The hardware is surprisingly very good quality, the tuners are smooth, almost feeling like my American hipshot tuners do. The bridge is well done, not cheap at all. As good as any Fender bridge.
The neck feels full, more like my 80’s MIJ p, or closer to a 70’feel than current. Frets are well done, no high spots or sharp ends. The bass does have a good finishing job regarding the neck and frets. Neck is straight and no waves, bumps, or ski jump.
The bass resonates! I’m not that tuned into dead spots on any of my basses, but I sure didn’t hear any weak sounding areas up or down the neck. Plugged into a small practice amp, it sounds like a p bass. The pot is cheap feeling, and the volume jumps in the last bit of rotation. I’m guessing a better pot would make a gradual taper in volume better for those that play with a variable volume. It seems this bass was made for full open volume.
I’ll walk through the pics...
A shot of the back. Not a huge amount of relic work, but you can see the open grain under the thin coat of paint.
Another shot of the grain and my cat giving it the sniff treatment.
Ok, too many shots of the back.
The front shot. It’s a good looking bass. I’m just on the fence about the satin finish.
A shot of the very stout back plate. Serial number is on the plate. Much thicker than fender.
The made in China sticker, and the surprisingly nice feeling tuners. They look kinda cheap, but feel high quality. Just weird.
Open grain. I’m a little put off by this honestly. I guess I’m more into the traditional finish. Its like it’s trying to hard too be a relic.
A shot of the aged pickups. They sound as good as any p bass.
The bridge. Surprisingly nice.
Headstock is finished in a satin painted finish. It looks like an easy job to sand off of you wanted a maple headstock.
Another body shot. The brass and chrome work better together than expected.
In conclusion, the bass feels pretty solid. It’s begging to be a relic job as well. I think if play much it would show wear pretty fast. With a better paint finish, this bass would be a killer. I’m not a fan at all of a satin finish, and probably why I’m put off by it. I might rip it apart, sand it down and throw some nitro on it. The neck is a touch chunky for me, I like a little flatter profile, but it’s well done and the frets are way above it’s price point. On the other hand, it has a lively sound and resonates so well, I’d hate to refinish it and loose that. I’ll play it at a gig this weekend and see how it does. It’s a good bass for the money, but 300 bones can buy a lot of bass these days as well. It’s definitely a rock bass begging to be thrashed a little on stage.
Last edited:
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
- 6,942
- 29,551
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
Thanks for the great review. Now I'm back to GASsing for the barn door.
How is it without a Tone knob? Also, neck dive?
How is it without a Tone knob? Also, neck dive?
I run my p basses wide open most of the time, only cutting the tone when slapping or playing with a pick, so it's not much different than what I'm used to. The tone is all P bass, in the realm of dimarzios and emg Geezers that I run in my p basses. I haven't played through my main rig in a band setting yet, but I'm feeling it will sit as good as my main players. It really does have a nice growly tone.
I haven played standing with it yet, but I'm not detecting any neck dive. Letting go of the neck while it's on my lap isn't causing it to head neck down, which will happen with some heavy necked basses. There isn't a lot of perceived mass on this bass, but it does feel well balanced from the little I've played it.. Did I mention it really resonates? Unplugged it's pretty loud and I have no trouble hearing it. It's a nice character I dig in basses. They seem to be more alive to my touch that way.
I still need to tweak the action a little and set the intonation, which is a little off, but I'll wait until I get my preferred strings on, which are Daddario Pro Steels in 105-45. Right now it's got a light gauge diaddario nickel set on. It sounds pretty good, but it's missing that little bite and growl I get with the pro steels.
Keep in mind this isn't a perfect bass. The frets are a little small for my preference, (more vintage style) the "copper" tuning pegs don't match the brass color of the bridge and tuning gears, and satin finish just feels cheap. I'm not afraid of refinishing the bass to my liking, which I feel would really put it in a completely different category for me.
Honestly, I dig the stripped down hot rod look of this bass. The sound is good enough I don't have the urge to change out the pups, which is a pretty big statement knowing me and my desire to tinker.
I actually think the brown would lend more to the texture of the bass, which is sort of a cross between the sandblasted fenders and the Ibanez SR 500 series basses.
Thanks for the extensive pics and review! The new looking headstock really annoys me, but if I were in the mood for a cheap P-bass I could certainly just sand down the headstock paint. Brass saddles are not a bad thing on chrome hardware instruments so I'd probably swap out the knob and be good to go! I'm happy with my current stable, but like wintremute I'm kind of gassing for the barn door example.
Even on the painted examples I quite like the look of the body which reminds me of a home spray job that has worn off over time and I mean that in a good way.
Even on the painted examples I quite like the look of the body which reminds me of a home spray job that has worn off over time and I mean that in a good way.
I might actually rough sand it, rattle can it in nitro, and ride it hard. I like nitro glossed necks, and this bass wants that broken in feel nitro has
Hey all, I’m trying a little dress up of the new bass, not sure if I like it or not. I’m thinking about adding a bridge cover, already added a chrome volume knob.
I can’t decide if I like the stripped down look, or a little vintage flavor.
What does everyone think?
I can’t decide if I like the stripped down look, or a little vintage flavor.
What does everyone think?
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
- 6,942
- 29,551
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
I'm biased, because in general I am not a fan of covers. Your bass is not different. I think it looks better without.
I'm the same way, not a huge fan of covers unless it's on a vintage instrument, with both the bridge and pup covers.
However.....
I kind of like the way the chrome ties the bass together, minimizes the brass look, and diverts the eyes away from the headstock. I put it on the bass, (what's a few screw holes on a relic body going to matter) and am just letting it be for a while. As the cover is lightly reliced it ties everything together better, taking away from the shiny bridge. im just not sure if I can handle the cover or not.
I'm tossing a few things around, one being throwing a little Amber nitro on the neck and headstock logo, just enough to tone it down a bit and give it a slightly aged look. I'm capitulating on doing the same with the body, just to give it a slightly glossed feel with a touch of Amber yellowing to give it a further aged look. I've done this on another bass I've built and had great results. The last idea is to add a tone control in the form of a concentric pot and knob, keeping with the singular knob motif.
I've gotten pretty good a weathering hardware, so if the rest of the bass turns out well, I might relic the tuning pegs to blend it with the rest of the bass.
I'm the type that likes to mess with stuff, this might end up being my summer project.
This is a bridge I weathered, i might do the same to the slick bass.
This is a shot of it before I reliced it.
This is a parts bass I built using a rattle can nitro approach, using the Amber tint on the neck to give it an aged look. The tint goes on light, and it's easy to build up the right amount of yellowing to give the bass the pantina you want.
I ended up taking it off as I kept hitting it with my hand. Back to the stripped down look, lol
I'm really looking forward to hearing it through my main rig tomorrow. If it sounds half as good as it does through my practice amp, I'll be in heaven.
I'm really looking forward to hearing it through my main rig tomorrow. If it sounds half as good as it does through my practice amp, I'll be in heaven.
Well I had my first gig with it today. It was an outdoor show which got rained out after the first hour long set (how I still got sunburned I'm still confused about) so I wasn't able to play is for a full night, or with a pick, but I did cover "Black Cat" by Janet Jackson, so I did get a little funky on it and slapped it a little.
After pulling it out my band mates loved the look, and though it was bad ass looking. Once I plugged it in to my main rig, I was very impressed by the sound. It was full, rich, and the harmonics and overtones were all there, much in the flavor of aftermarket pickups. In fact, the sound heavily reminded me of a set of DiMarzio Model P's I have in one of my favorite Pbasses.
Comparing to the EMG Geezer passives (my favorite P pup) The low end was a little loose, but not muddy. The midrange was a little more subdued than the geezers, but had more top end than the Model P does. To be honest, I didn't have a chance to change the height setting on the pups, which would have probably tightened up the low end. The mid range shimmer and richness of the highs were all there, and slapped it was just an awesome sounding beast, one of the best sounding slap bass I've heard for a while, and I generally don't like a p slap sound.
With a touch of compression, I tightened up the bottom end, and the bass sounded awesome through the elf's DI into the foh.
My (very accomplished) guitarist walked over after sound check, and asked how much the bass was. He was so impressed with the sound (I was still using the OEM factory strings, I haven't changed them out yet) that he asked how much the bass was again, and then proceeded to ask if the website offered guitars...needless to say he was impressed.
The bass feel very light with a 2.5 inch strap, the tuners stayed in tune through the first set, and the sun didn't cause the electronics to go haywire, and no neck dive.
I'd buy another one tomorrow if it was stolen.
After pulling it out my band mates loved the look, and though it was bad ass looking. Once I plugged it in to my main rig, I was very impressed by the sound. It was full, rich, and the harmonics and overtones were all there, much in the flavor of aftermarket pickups. In fact, the sound heavily reminded me of a set of DiMarzio Model P's I have in one of my favorite Pbasses.
Comparing to the EMG Geezer passives (my favorite P pup) The low end was a little loose, but not muddy. The midrange was a little more subdued than the geezers, but had more top end than the Model P does. To be honest, I didn't have a chance to change the height setting on the pups, which would have probably tightened up the low end. The mid range shimmer and richness of the highs were all there, and slapped it was just an awesome sounding beast, one of the best sounding slap bass I've heard for a while, and I generally don't like a p slap sound.
With a touch of compression, I tightened up the bottom end, and the bass sounded awesome through the elf's DI into the foh.
My (very accomplished) guitarist walked over after sound check, and asked how much the bass was. He was so impressed with the sound (I was still using the OEM factory strings, I haven't changed them out yet) that he asked how much the bass was again, and then proceeded to ask if the website offered guitars...needless to say he was impressed.
The bass feel very light with a 2.5 inch strap, the tuners stayed in tune through the first set, and the sun didn't cause the electronics to go haywire, and no neck dive.
I'd buy another one tomorrow if it was stolen.
Another post brought up the question does a fender P bass pickguard fit on these slick bases.
Well yes, they do. The pickup route and neck will fit with MIM, MIJ, and another aftermarket guard I had around with a minimal amount of filing. The single volume knob is off about a half inch, but you could easily drill another hole to mount it, or just route to fit the vol, tone, and output jack in the proper Pbass placing.
Here it’s shown with a tort aftermarket MIJ guard. It truly fits well and looks good. This could be an option if you went that way.
A close up. Pretty big difference.
Well yes, they do. The pickup route and neck will fit with MIM, MIJ, and another aftermarket guard I had around with a minimal amount of filing. The single volume knob is off about a half inch, but you could easily drill another hole to mount it, or just route to fit the vol, tone, and output jack in the proper Pbass placing.
Here it’s shown with a tort aftermarket MIJ guard. It truly fits well and looks good. This could be an option if you went that way.
A close up. Pretty big difference.
Nice. It was me asking about the pickguard. Thanks so much for the info and pics!
What’s the deal with the fret markers? Are they inlays or stickers? What’s your opinion after having gigged it for a few months?
I generally like black basses and don't like roadworn basses..... so why do i like the look of the white roadworn Slick Pbass?
I think it's the basic look that appeals to me.....pity about the shipping price. Over $400 us to ship to NZ plus the cost of the bass.
That makes it over NZ $1000 shipped to me. Oh well...... I'll keep looking.
I think it's the basic look that appeals to me.....pity about the shipping price. Over $400 us to ship to NZ plus the cost of the bass.
That makes it over NZ $1000 shipped to me. Oh well...... I'll keep looking.
