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Yet another SX (Essex) SJB-62 3/4 Short Scale Modification Thread

#41
I ply a modded fender p bass that i have sunk about 300$ into total. i got the p bass for 130$ with electronics. If i could not have got a fender for that cheap i owuld have modded an sx excaltly the same and saved probably 50$. the only reason why i choose the fender is it was a good one in the color i wanted.

Now my jazz bass project will feature a black and maple sx , and it will be sweet for around 200$
 
#42
dave120 said:
But alas, SX will always be cheap Chinese crap that will never sound or play as well as a "real" bass.
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I disagree.

SX > Wal Mart versions of First Act - Chinese can easily be better than American crap.

And just because it is cheap doesn't mean it's crap. Over time, I think they'll just keep getting better, and they have the manpower to make a run against the big brands once they produce their own competitive products. Hell, if their advertising were worked right, they could easily put Squier/Starcaster, Epiphone/Maestro, First Act, Yamaha, or any of the other dozen starter brands on notice.
 
#43
Jimmy Bones said:
I disagree.

SX > Wal Mart versions of First Act - Chinese can easily be better than American crap.

And just because it is cheap doesn't mean it's crap. Over time, I think they'll just keep getting better, and they have the manpower to make a run against the big brands once they produce their own competitive products. Hell, if their advertising were worked right, they could easily put Squier/Starcaster, Epiphone/Maestro, First Act, Yamaha, or any of the other dozen starter brands on notice.
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I definitely wasn't serious, I was just being sarcastic and saying what the SX "haters" usually say about them. If I really thought that I wouldn't own and gig them on a regular basis. I have way too many posts in favor of these things to think they suck! :bassist:
 
#45
dave120 said:
Heck there was even a thread about someone with a $5k Fodera that had things like excess glue at the joints and such and as I recall the company just told him to fix it himself. Does it happen a LOT less often with a company like that? Surely, but it still happens, and should be quite a bit less excusable. But alas, SX will always be cheap Chinese crap that will never sound or play as well as a "real" bass. I'll play my SX basses with joy while people type that all day long. Granted my SX basses aren't stock, but I haven't done anything to them I wouldn't have done (and did have done to the Fenders I had) to your average new Fender.

Fender will always have a place in my heart but the value for the money they are putting out these days doesn't come close to the mid 80s MIJ Fender JBS I currently have. No Fender I've ever come across has been better than this one. Companies like Lakland, G&L, etc which are in the same price range as MIA Fenders have a lot better QC if you want a good bass for that kind of money.
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+1

Couldn't agree more Dave.

I'm amazed at how hard some TB gear snobs sweat a $100 dollar bass. Especially the vast majority who've never even laid hands on one. Talking out of their wallets, which are in direct contact with their a*ses, btw - but I'm digressing here. It's just petty & sad to watch how people are so quick & willing to go out of their way to run someone else's gear down to make themselves feel better about their own gear choices. Telling a perfect stranger how their new purchase sucks because it wasn't in a high enough price bracket. Nice little brotherhood we've got going amongst fellow bassplayers - huh?. I've had a couple (and a current) MIA Fenders, and I still like my SX's better despite any very minor imperfections. I still love my Fender, I am just giving it a long & well deserved break. I don't particularly care what anyone thinks about any of these things.

I think the OP's pics of those SX's mixed in with the Lakland is fantastic - they look beautiful & quite at home with the Lakland & the MM. It's sad to see some TB'ers have decided to close their minds, open their wallets, and wear the gr$$n-tinted glasses like a good consumer is taught to do. Me, I choose to define the value of an instrument based upon its own merits, I don't take someone else's word for it. It sure as hell has little to do with the price tag hanging on it - if it happens to be light on my wallet - good for me. GassieBall - congrats on the SX's - they look beautiful! Sorry if my little rant was distracting to your thread.

Subscribed - looking forward to more pics & info on your progress with the SX's! :)
 
#46
I took the fretless neck off the sunburst. The pickguard was pretty ratty around the edge of the neck along the pocket. I trimmed the loose plastic out with an exacto. The SBMJ neck fits just fine. And finally luck has gone in my direction because the overhang of the new neck actually covers the rattiness of the pickguard. There is definitely a gap between the curvature of the old neck pocket and the straight end of the new neck. But that will be covered by the fretboard. I think this will work just fine! :) As always, pix to follow.

Stingray69, you made my nite! I'm going to forge onwards.
 
#47
stingray69 said:
+1

Couldn't agree more Dave.

I'm amazed at how hard some TB gear snobs sweat a $100 dollar bass. Especially the vast majority who've never even laid hands on one. Talking out of their wallets, which are in direct contact with their a**ses, btw - but I'm digressing here. It's just petty & sad to watch how people are so quick & willing to go out of their way to run someone else's gear down to make them feel better about their own gear choices. Telling a perfect stranger how their new purchase sucks because it wasn't in a high enough price bracket. Nice little brotherhood we've got going amongst fellow bassplayers - huh?. I've had a couple (and a current) MIA Fenders, and I still like my SX's better despite any very minor imperfections. I still love my Fender, I am just giving it a long & well deserved break. I don't particularly care what anyone thinks about any of these things.

I think the OP's pics of those SX's mixed in with the Lakland is fantastic - they look beautiful & quite at home with the Lakland & the MM. It's sad see some TB'ers have decided to close their minds, open their wallets, and wear the gr$$n-tinted glasses like a good consumer is taught to do. Me, I choose to define the value of an instrument is based upon its own merits, I don't take someone else's word for it. It sure as hell has little to do with the price tag hanging on it - if it happens to be light on my wallet - good for me. GassieBall - congrats on the SX's - they look beautiful! Sorry if my little rant was distracting to your thread.

Subscribed - looking forward to more pics & info on your progress with the SX's! :)
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Can I get a hell to the yeah????!????? :hyper::hyper::hyper:
 
#48
Installed the Hipshot Ultralite HB6C tuners. I finally invested in a vertical press for my dremel and drilled 5/64" holes for the screws provided.

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The tuners fit very nicely and I really think the Ultralite's weight will help with the neck dive.

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The underside of the rosewood fretboard had lots of polyurethane finish dried up lumpy bumpies that I was worried would keep the fretboard overhang from sitting well over the pickguard.

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So I did a simple sanding of the area smooth (but not pretty).

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I bored out the neck bolt holes in the body with a 7/32 bit so the screws would pass easily. (I hate it when the body holes have threads so when the screw contacts the neck holes to start a thread, it can create a gap between the wood.) So here is where little things mean a lot and SX craftsmanship does not shine. The neck bolt holes in the body are drilled at a slight angle. So the neck I put on will probably only fit this bass as the holes will not align exactly with another bass (unless I dowel plug and drill).

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I used a 5/32 bit to drill holes in the neck while being held by a Quic-Grip padded vice (awesome invention, BTW). I would have liked to have used a drill press, but the angled holes necessitated free-hand drilling.

And here is the installed SJMB neck on a SJB body. The clear protective plastic has been pulled off the pickguard a little so I could mount the neck. Totally has a cool 70's vibe to it. :hyper: :D

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#49
OK, I really gotta go to sleep. As a last thing, I just weighed the bass. Although the strings are off right now, the bass has dropped from 7.8 lbs to 7.4 lbs because of the Ultralites. I don't feel as much dive. Time permitting tomorrow, the bridge and the pickups will be changed and a string tree installed. After that, the electronics.
 
#50
That is really really awesome looking. If it had black jazz style knobs or a tort guard i would be so sold. I am pretty sure guards are like impossible to find in there body size, but i am jealous its super cool looking.i have been wanting a fender musicmaster or mustang but i think you have gave me faith and courage to grab one of these and mod it to my liking.
 
#52
As far as people complaining about SX owners modding their basses, I see a lot more modding of the more expensive basses going on here. I also see a heck of a lot more of the expensive basses being traded/sold here than SX's. Evidently the furniture grade basses aren't quite as satisfying as SX's are...
 
#53
hey gassie -

if you decide to do so, how will you go about removing the nut? i might replace the one on mine too. like yours, it doesn't appear to be stuck in there very well. just the same, i've never removed one and want to do it 'right'. would appreciate any suggestions.

THANKS!
 
#54
xaxxat said:
As far as people complaining about SX owners modding their basses, I see a lot more modding of the more expensive basses going on here. I also see a heck of a lot more of the expensive basses being traded/sold here than SX's. Evidently the furniture grade basses aren't quite as satisfying as SX's are...
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I agree with you on that. I sold an SX on here a few years ago and I think it took me about 8 minutes from posting to having a deal. I bought it for $99 and sold it for $75 a year later. That's pretty good resale value! Granted times are a little tough right now so expensive basses are things people sometimes deem unnecessary and the cash they can get for them is better served elsewhere. Really $75 you can get for an SX doesn't make near the difference a $2k bass would in terms of cash flow if you need money.
 
#56
Took the string guide from the fretless neck and installed it on the new neck. It feels solid and is not some cheapy plastic thing so I'll keep it.

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Replaced the bridge with a Gotoh 201. Fits the 5 screw configuration just fine. The grounding bridge wire is sort of thick so it doesn't let the bridge sit down perfectly flat, even if I fan the strands a little. Any suggestions, save for sanding down a little to recess the wires?

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#57
Here is the stock wiring. Some of the solder joints seemed a little tenuous. There is still plastic protective sheeting on the inside of the plate.

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The stock pickups are not bad at all. They are glued in so the pickup covers are not removeable, which is too bad.

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After unsoldering the pickups and ground wire, here is the stripped bass. There is no shielding paint (unlike my Squier, which is a nice touch).

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#58
GassieBall said:
Replaced the bridge with a Gotoh 201. Fits the 5 screw configuration just fine. The grounding bridge wire is sort of thick so it doesn't let the bridge sit down perfectly flat, even if I fan the strands a little. Any suggestions, save for sanding down a little to recess the wires?

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I saw a thread on here where the guy soldered the ground wire to a piece of copper foil, which he then placed under the bridge...so the solder/wire could sit in that recess, leaving only a very thin piece of foil under the bridge.
 
#59
So I had to widen the control plate wholes with a 3/8 bit to accomodate some Alpha 500K pots I already have. Perhaps I should get some CTS pots, but these should do the trick for now. As I mentioned the stock pots were very scratchy. The thing that I hate about CTS pots, however, is that it's sooooo hard to solder to the casing. Infact, I usually have to file down the casing to bare metal to removing the coating to be able to solder to it. PITA.

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As you can see, the new DiMarzio Area J neck pickup does not quite fit the exisiting cutout in the pickguard.

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Therefore, I had to take a dremel to it to widen the pickguard to accommodate the new pickups.

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The mounting screws for the bridge pickup were not perfectly placed in the center of the half-circle protrusion part of the pickups, so it's a little off, but you have to be paying attention to notice that.

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I must say, soldering is not my strongest point, but I guess this will do. That's a 0.047 mfd orange drop cap. I also want to keep the pickup wires as long as I can in case I want to trade or sell them, but it makes for a messy cavity.

What is GREAT about the Area J's is that they have a grey lead from what I understands grounds the pickup poles so that when you touch them you don't get a bad buzz.

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#60
I love finishing touches. Here are some Schaller straplocks. Thank goodness the original screws have a narrow enough head to fit the Schallers. This is the first time it's ever happened. I have had to file down the radius of stock screw heads in order to fit the straplocks before, but not this time.

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And here are some vintage jazz bass knobs. They do sort of look close together if you're used to a regular jazz's control plate.

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