How good are the current SX guitars?

[docjeffrey]

Those of you who have bought them recently, I was curious whether Rondo has addressed the issues that Guitar Player pointed out in their budget guitar review from May of 2006.

 

http://www.guitarplayer.com/story.asp?storyCode=13937

 

If you remember, they were reviewing the SX SJM 62, and they said:

 

"The frets are poorly finished and way too gritty to bend on, the bridge rattles excessively and the saddles are easily jostled out of position, and the tuners are stiff and incapable of keeping the strings in tune. The pickups are so wildly inconsistent in output that it was impossible to obtain similar levels from them, even after raising the bridge unit to its limits."

 

I'm NOT TROLLING. So let's not get into the "Rondo doesn't advertise in GP" argument again, please.

 

One of my coworkers has a daughter who wants a cheap, cool looking surf guitar for her indie style band. She already has a Squire Strat.

[ArKay]

A Jay Turser is probably a better player out of the box. A bit more costly though, but it seems rather cool.

 

http://store.musiclandcentral.net/newjaytusuma.html

 

Or one of those Squiers?

[voneville]

I hear good things about the Agile, doesn't come in the cool colors like the SX though... I wish squier had better colors.

[wedgehed II]

My SJM came with the action set to power line height. I had to lower the bridge on mine & tweak the truss rod.

 

That's all.

 

Mine even came with decent strings on it.

[axegrinder]

Only the pre NH axes have that magic.

[IRG]

I have this SX Ash strat, and it is a nice guitar overall. I was thinking of selling it, but i think for what I will get for it, I will keep it. Yes, the fret ends need alittle filing, similar to Squiers and even some Gibsons from what I hear.

 

The tuners are ok, they work. The nut probably needs a bit of work, maybe just alittle filing would help keep in tune better. The bridge is OK, but I really don't like tremolos too much anyway. The pups though, IMO are good. Not great or anything, but they don't embarass themselves at all.

 

The body as you see in my photos, is a nice piece of wood. Probably a 2 or 3 piece,but I can't tell where the seems are. The neck is quite nice, well done, and once the frets are filed, it is a quality piece.

 

Overall, this guitar at $200 is a good deal. At the $144 I paid with shipping even better. I could spend another $40-80 and really make this a decent strat which is probably what I will do, without spending too much.

 

Squiers IMO are as good, maybe better, depending on some luck. The Agile strats are better than the SX, but they don't have the surfer look. The SX isn't a bad alternative if you realize a little adjustment will be necessary. And if you get a bad one, you can always send it back.

[docjeffrey]

 

My SJM came with the action set to power line height. I had to lower the bridge on mine & tweak the truss rod. That's all. Mine even came with decent strings on it.

 

 

I've bought several guitars, including a MIM Thinline Tele, where the action was intollerably high--like 5/32". So that's not a big deal to remedy.

 

What is "pre NH?"

 

Edit: pre moving the business to New Hampshire. Nevermind.

[ArKay]

My VJM (that's what SX Spain calls them) came with a good fretboard. No sharp fret ends _at all_. Maybe we get the good ones?

 

I replaced the bridge though and added a buzzstop. Can't get the action too low without fret buzz.

[Brewski]

No offense to JJ Pistols, but that particular SX is ugly and inconsisitent.

 

My KY1 Cus and my neighbors's KY1 CUS are really great solid body through neck mahogany guitars with real abalne inlays!!

 

My only complaints are:

 

The volume/tone pots are crap.

 

The frets are real jumbo's - a bit large compared to my other guitars - not bad frets, just different

 

The Neck is "C" style - traditional Fender type neck - it's great, just different.

 

Here's a picture

 

[FUBTAG]

 

I just got these 2 SXs - Have only the opportunity to play the STL (Tele) .. it's a nice overall piece -- Paying $119 plus shipping leaves alot of wiggle room but the neck is actually one of the better necks I have played stright out of the box. I would say it needs a nut change, and eventually tuner replacement. Through my Peavey Transtube Bandit 112 it sounded decent. I don't know if I would record with it as it is, but is definitely a gig worthy piece as my 2nd (behind either my Ibanez SZ or Fender Strat). I am VERY happy with the purchase and in a few months see myself buying another.

[dcindc]

My first thought is, which model?

 

From what I gather, the SJM and other less popular models are just not quite as well put together as their more popular models. Not a quality issue, more of an attention paid during assembly/setup issue. In other words, fixable.

 

I have a KY CUS22. It's not flawless, but it's flaws are nothing really. I've owned it for about 6 months. There's nothing to complain about, I just haven't bonded with it. Maybe it is just not my style of guitar. That is believeable because I love anything Tele or Strat, and this ain't that. Maybe I shouldn't have gone over to the dark side...

 

I have an SST 62 that I just bought. It's not flawless, but I *so* dig it, it's not funny. It's pretty, everything works. I haven't done a thing to it. Setup was great out of the box. It was obviously "fresh meat" cuz the strings are great. It sounds so good that the pups are staying. It plays so good that I haven't even started to do any work to it, and I'm "Mr. Take_It_Apart_Immediately". It was $110 delivered. How can you argue with that? If it was $210 delivered, I would be out more money, but I wouldn't love it any less.

 

I have an SX SEG LTD. Dunno why it's called and SEG, it's a SST62 style. It's very well put together, beautiful and came with a beautiful case. For $174 delivered. Beats all but the $400 and up Squiers. Beats some MIMs.

 

From what I've seen SX has brought up their quality in the past year. But my sample and conclusion are not believable, due to different models. Really only Kurt would know.

 

Don't even ask me about my Squier Trans Fat HSS. Compared to the SX SST62, it should've cost me $23. And it didn't. It was new in the unopened box, and it's pretty, but a total POS.

 

If you are thinking about an SJM, I find it interesting that there is a stop tailpiece model out now, and the prices have come down $10 on all of them. I'm half way GAS'ing for one but I think they are funny looking.

 

If you are looking at SX, just know that cleaning and setup *may* be in your future. But just the wood is worth the price. And the pickups are quite good. And you shouldn't judge a new guitar by it's setup anyway.

 

Let me sum up. I own 21 guitars. My favorites came from Rondo. I have guitars that cost more and have better pedigree, but they aren't in my top five.

 

That stupid $100 SX is at number one right now, and I don't see it slipping.

[bgmacaw]

Well, many of the issues they bitched about are found in any guitar with that kind of bridge. A few mods will get rid of the problems but they're needed on anything from the SJM to a $1400 Jaguar reissue.

 

The frets aren't given a lot of factory attention but a simple light polish job will take care of the gritty factory feel. Occasional examples have bad factory fret work so that would call for a return.

 

The tuners aren't particularly great, particularly for a trem equipped guitar. They do OK on my Tele copy but I'd replace them on a Strat copy or SJM.

 

The stock pickups haven't been bad at all on the SX guitars I've played. I'd say it's one of their better features but you do have to consider the price point. You'll improve the tone with replacements but they aren't absolutely necessary. The electronics are on the cheap side but functional enough for anyone who's not overly aggressive with them.

 

The basic thing to remember about the SX's is that they're fresh out of the box from China. There is no in-store setup and prep so, most likely, you'll be the first person on this side of the Pacific to lay eyes and hands upon it. Therefore, it is a bit of a crap shoot.

[Joe Bones]

The only thing my SST-57 needed was a new nut and a good set up.

 

I brought it to a gig one night...it's the same color as the Strat I normally gig with.

 

Wasn't till the end of the night that the other guitarist actually took a look and realized it wasn't my regular guitar.

 

You say you don't want to get into the "Rondo doesn't advertise on GP" thing.

Guarantee you that if they did, GP would write up that all the problems in their previous review had been wonderfully addressed, etc.

[Justin at TheTreeCave]

Just picked up an SX Liquid (Offset Jazzmaster style guitar) I’m very impressed with the attention to detail, playability and quality of fretwork/intonation. I’ve got Gibson’s and Fenders, I played a lot of squire jazzmaster/mustangs before pulling the trigger. Planning on swapping pickups and installing a descendent bridge, but for $195 it’s a really nice entry into a guitar that I won’t be afraid to augment. High marks!