SX modifications, whats needed?

[Anesthesia]

The guitard in one of my bands is looking at purchasing a bass, as that is his primary instrument in a different band.

 

Up until now he has been playing on a borrowed low end yamaha.

 

I directed him to rondo, and he found a friend in the vintage white PJ style. I agreed with this choice as the PJ config won't dissapoint him for tonal variety, especially seeing as how he has no idea of what kind of tone he wants yet.

 

My real question is, what mods should be done to these basses to bring them into tip-top shape?

 

fret dressing?

pot change?

 

what else guys?

 

much respect

[TELCO1]

 

My real question is, what mods should be done to these basses to bring them into tip-top shape? fret dressing? pot change? what else guys? much respect

 

 

I have a recently purchased SJB-75 Ash. The first bass that was sent to me was horrible. The finish was damaged, one pot wasn't working, and it came with the wrong colour pickguard. After shipping it back, the replacement I received was incredible......night and day to the first one. So in my opinion, the mods that need to be done will vary directly with what condition the stock bass is received in.

 

In my case, all I've done so far is change the strings, tweak the neck a bit, and lower the action. It sounds and plays great and I have no reason to change anything else at the moment.

 

I do have to say that Rondo's service is first class.

 

Lawrie

[One Bad Monkey]

The only immediate thing I can think of are just the pots. I took a SXJ-57 and put new pots in it, and the stock pups sound great.

 

I've been lucky I guess in that I haven't had to redress any of the frets on my two SX basses. They've both come just fine, and with minor tweaking, have been garnering acclaim for their tone (even though the P really wouldn't be considered a "stock" bass).

[james on bass]

Pots, capacitor and jack will set you back about $10. A heavier bridge is nice, but I haven't even installed the one I bought for my second SX yet - the stock one is working well, and changing the pots alone made a world of difference.

[Glyder]

My SX P upgrade cost me around a $150 which was a badass,1/4 pounder,pots,and a full fret dress,nut dress, and setup job by a pro with new strings free. Well spent money if you ask me.

[T. Alan Smith]

1st thing is see if it needs a setup. After that, see if the strings will work for you. That's all that's really "needed."

I felt the weakest link was their pots, so that's the 1st mod I'd do. After that, you should know by then if the stock pickup is to your liking or not. You'll actually be able to hear it after replacing the pots.

After that, you may wish to replace the nut and the bridge. It improves the response nicely, but it's not necessarily "needed."

Mine has MusicMan strap buttons, simply because I had them lying around after installing Dunlop strap locks on my MM basses. I plan on ordering a new pickguard next year ...maybe.

Mine plays and sounds fab ...if I do say so myself. I had the mods installed by a local pro, who did the setup as well. So I can't take any credit to it's playability or sound.

[justinbass]

I also recomend new pots, and a beefier bridge. I am not a fan of fender style bridges. The Bad Ass II is a great upgrade.

[justinbass]

oh yeah, and a propper set-up. But just about every bass need that, so that goes without saying.

[BlackBelt]

A LOT depends on what he's wanting to use it for. Is he just doing home recording with it? Or is it for some live use? If for live use, what level is he playing at? Is he doing club work?

For home recording, you could use everything stock on the SX except the strings (the ones shipped on the bass are horrible).

For semi-pro use (club work), at minimum I'd change the pots and put a beefier bridge on it.

For professional work, it'll need a complete overhaul: Pickups, tuning keys, bridge, electronics, etc...

[T. Alan Smith]

 

Originally posted by BlackBelt A LOT depends on what he's wanting to use it for. Is he just doing home recording with it? Or is it for some live use? If for live use, what level is he playing at? Is he doing club work? For home recording, you could use everything stock on the SX except the strings (the ones shipped on the bass are horrible). For semi-pro use (club work), at minimum I'd change the pots and put a beefier bridge on it. For professional work, it'll need a complete overhaul: Pickups, tuning keys, bridge, electronics, etc...

 

 

Well, let's face it, at least MY Essex doesn't 'sing' in my hands the way a typical "pro" instrument does, despite all the hot rodding.

[Thumper]

Give it a proper set-up, with truss rod tweak, bridge intonation, and pup height.

 

Pots, and input jack are pretty much mandatory.

 

A new bridge might be in order if you think it needs one. I put a Gotoh 201 on mine, and it's punchier and has more mids.

 

Pups---meh. The stock pups are fine. I put Fender '60s Vintage Js in mine, and while it's an improvement, the stock pups are fine.

 

For about $250, I have a nice Jazz-style bass that plays and sounds as good as an MIM J IMHO. It'll never equal an MIA Jazz, or a Sadowsky, or a Lakland, but I don't expect it to. It's a good, giggable bass for cheap.

[Ace Of Bass]

Replace the neck, body, all electronics, bridge, tuners, nut, and strings. That'll give you a good starting point.

[King Kashue]

Originally posted by justinbass I also recomend new pots, and a beefier bridge. I am not a fan of fender style bridges. The Bad Ass II is a great upgrade.

 

 

 

Yeah, the bridges are almost exactly like a Fender bridge...Which means it's a cheap piece of tin

 

 

You don't even need a BAII if you're trying to save money. The Gotoh 201 from Warmoth is a solid bridge and 1/3 the price of a Badass...

[syciprider]

Let the guy live with it for a few weeks. The needed mods (if any) will present themselves. Don't get caught up in the recommended mods here unless the bass actually needs it (of course, since the seed is already planted in your mind, you'll probably find many things "wrong" with it).