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Yet another Essex (SX) review

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dougjwray

Jul 20, 2005
7,054
7,931
#1
Well, after months of being one of the big cynics around here, regarding SX basses, I finally gave in to the peer pressure and my own curiousity and asked my wife to get me one for my birthday. (Which was the day before yesterday.)
I got the vintage white P-Bass.
I DIDN'T get it with the sole intention of modding it, but rather to see how far $100 can go. Also, I get perverse pleasure out of being a very experienced (since 1970), professional, good (if I say so myself) player who flaunts funky or oddball instruments.

Here goes:
Very fast shipping; I think it actually caught my wife off-guard when it arrived so quickly.
The bass is nice and light, and there are no issues with the finish.
There was a slight crack in the paint right around the neck pocket; without thinking, I explored it with my finger, and a small portion of the paint chipped right off! Oopsy-daisy!
The nut is cut too high, and that end of the fingerboard is crudely cut: it looks like there are little splinters pointing up in the air, right in front of the nut.
The part of the pickguard that meets the end of the fingerboard was obviously trimmed to fit, with an exacto-knife, or something. Jeez...
The pickups feel a bit loose, as though there isn't enough foam rubber under them. They are also microphonic, and tapping them produces an audible "click." The signal isn't as loud as you'd expect, also. However, the tone is surprisingly nice and deep.
There was no intonating whatsoever done before shipping, plus the action is very high.
The pots feel solid and turn smoothly, and the knobs are fine.
The neck joint is tight enough.
The string tree worries me because it has slots cut in it, apparently to hold the strings in place. I worry because if the metal is sharp it could lead to string breakage, conceivably.
The tuners are adequately solid, but they are REALLY stiff, plus the ratio seems to be horrible; to install new strings you need to do many more turns than you would expect, and your forearm gets quite a workout. (I put some Fatbeams on it, but I might go with Boomers instead.)
Even with the very high action, there is fret buzz at the 17th fret on the E string.

SO...

Later this week, I'll bring it to my favorite expert luthier/repair guy and spend good money to have it thoroughly set up, including whatever it takes (fret filing, new nut, whatever). I'll also ask him to put more foam under the pickups.
Then I'll post a follow-up review.
I don't care very much about cosmetic things like the paint that chipped off, even though that was a bit shocking. (And I'm NOT a boutique bass dude.) If it ends up playing as well as my Mexican Fender (which, when right "out of the box", beat the SX in all categories addressed above), I'll be happy.
Right now, I see a new string tree and different tuners as the only "must" replacements.
 
#4
I have three SXs and I Have noticed a distinct difference in the level of QC from the P-Bass to the "Jazzuar" and 75 Jazz. The P required more tweaking initially while the other two were right on the money - most notably the J-Bass, which was darn near flawless. Maybe that's what the extra $40-$50 gets you. Still a great value at any rate.
 
#5
I did the same thing. I bought one as a beater bass to keep the garage. I normally play USA Fenders, etc.

I bought the SX SPJ-62 Vintage White. The finish and fit is perfect! I hate that, cause it makes me question my Fenders... :eek:

Joking.. I agree with the nut being too high, and the truss rod was loose, probably on purpose for shipping.

I filed the nut slots down, tightened the truss rod about a turn and a half, lowered the pups (cause of the click you mentioned... strings hitting the poles), then installed some Labella Flats... The bass actually has a perfect setup and feels great!

I won't be modifying this bass at all. Serves the purpose of what I bought it for and more, but I can see why people decide to throw in a little cash towards upgrades on these.

As I said, it's a beater bass for me, so I'm trying to not care too much about it (but it looks sooo good... :hyper: ) ... I mainly play it in the garage when hanging out there, plugged into a small Peavey Amp. Worth the $99 for sure, especially when I consider that the Labellas I have installed cost $49 new at a local shop, which really makes the price of the bass stand out as the deal of the century!
 
#7
If you have probs with the paint and it just doesn't seem finished - send it back. Kurt is great about that. I wish I had known when I bought a clasical guitar from him and then shaved the bridge way down to be playable. Once the action was better I noticed 2 frets were significantly lower than the rest, but since I had hacked it up there was no return.
 
#11
Dolflundgren said:
in which case Rondo would replace it for free, so it's more of an inconvenience than anything.
Click to expand...

Right... but there was an anecdote (either here or at Harmony Central) about someone who got a replacement neck which actually didn't fit. (Obviously suggesting little uniformity among the instruments. Crazy.) (Of course, an X-factor here is the degree to which various players' standards vary; someone might say "it doesn't fit" when it's only about a micron too small, or something.)
 
#13
dougjwray said:
The nut is cut too high, and that end of the fingerboard is crudely cut:
Click to expand...

Yep... I've had to cut the slots to the right height on most of mine which usually takes less than 10 minutes.

dougjwray said:
The pickups feel a bit loose, as though there isn't enough foam rubber under them. They are also microphonic, and tapping them produces an audible "click."
Click to expand...

They're microphonic not because the coils aren't potted (they are) but because just like in the good old days steel springs are used for height adjustment instead of foam so the pickups aren't very well isolated from the body. I usually remove the springs and place surgical tubing instead of foam under each pickup.

dougjwray said:
The string tree worries me because it has slots cut in it, apparently to hold the strings in place. I worry because if the metal is sharp it could lead to string breakage, conceivably.
Click to expand...

No need to worry... none of my strings have ever broken after years of owning several SX's.

dougjwray said:
The tuners are adequately solid, but they are REALLY stiff, plus the ratio seems to be horrible; to install new strings you need to do many more turns than you would expect, and your forearm gets quite a workout.
Click to expand...

I actually never took the time to check the ratio but IMHO the more you have to turn the keys the better because higher ratios allow for more accurate tuning. But honestly I think they're probably a standard 20:1 or 21:1.
 
#14
Diogenes said:
Yep... I've had to cut the slots to the right height on most of mine which usually takes less than 10 minutes.



They're microphonic not because the coils aren't potted (they are) but because just like in the good old days steel springs are used for height adjustment instead of foam so the pickups aren't very well isolated from the body. I usually remove the springs and place surgical tubing instead of foam under each pickup.



No need to worry... none of my strings have ever broken after years of owning several SX's.



I actually never took the time to check the ratio but IMHO the more you have to turn the keys the better because higher ratios allow for more accurate tuning. But honestly I think they're probably a standard 20:1 or 21:1.
Click to expand...

Regarding the tuners:
I agree, because one of my thoughts as I was laboriously tuning up the new strings was that the tuning would be accurate. Also, they were SO hard to turn that I thought, "Well, at least these aren't going to slip!!"
 
#18
One person's lemon is another person's perfect bass, or opportunity for further improvements.

Personally I've always purchased SX basses with the thinking that it was going to need some attention to get it to my personal preference for instruments. But i've yet to have one not make it to that point.

The original poster doesn't have his profile filled out, so it's tough to compare what he's used to and how he's using it.


.
 
#20
After owning and/or setting up countless SX/Douglas guitars and basses, my expectations on receiving an instrument are generally pretty good. Here's what I find most of the time:

1) The fit and finish of the bodies and necks are good.

2) The QC is ok but could improve. The basses are way better than the guitars.

3) Apart from a basic setup and new strings, most of the work that needs to be done is usually with the frets.

4) Stock electronics are usually good.

5) Nuts are ok on the basses but more often than not, need replacement on the guitars.

6) With some degree of work, I've been able to make each and every one a really nice player.

I've only had to send one bass back which happened to be the first one I ever ordered three years ago or so. It was total garbage. However, it's replacement was the complete opposite. I consider a chip in the finish to be a rare occurrence. I personally wouldn't send it back if it could easily be repaired.

In any event, I'm sure you'll enjoy the bass once the work gets done. I'm looking forward to receiving my Douglas Pisces tomorrow :hyper: The jig saw is all warmed up waiting to attack that headstock.
 

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