la bam Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 (edited) Evening all, So I needed a spare/ cheap bass for our -shall we say - more rough gigs. Around £100. I'd been looking around for a few weeks and nothing that really grabbed me turned up, any that did weren't a bargain as they were far away so diesel costs made them not so much of a bargain. Then today I was luckily enough to see a used SX jazz in perfect condition. Picked it up and just got back, and gees these things are a steal at the price I paid (just over £100). These are the handmade custom vtg basses (which I didnt realise until pick up) and the build quality is absolutely great. The wood is american swamp ash and looks amazing. Real quality. What surprised me for a so called budget bass is theres absolutely no hum or shielding issues. It's absolutely silent. The pickups are good and have a real range to them which is nice. It's quite bright sounding which i like and feels great to play. £100 for a bass I'd gig without hesitation. In fact i may need a really really cheap bass now as a back up for this for our really ropey gigs! Edited March 9, 2022 by la bam 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 Looks great, a real 70s vibe to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 That would be a good looking chunk of wood on a bass of any price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 I genuinely cant believe it. Looking onto internet these were around £250 new!! That's as crazy as it gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Its a purdy thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6feet7 Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I bought my youngest a 3/4 size SX P bass brand new for £150 (with gig bag). I couldn't find any fault with it at all and I would happily gig with it over my more expensive stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 That’s got fab grain. How heavy is it? It seems to me that budget often equals boat anchor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 9 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said: That’s got fab grain. How heavy is it? It seems to me that budget often equals boat anchor. I say it's very similar to a g&l l100 I had in weight. Certainly not lightweight, but not harley benton heavy. But, just like the g&l it balances brilliantly, absolutely no neck dive at all. It does feel a bit more of a precision neck than a jazz, but I'm used to a flea bass skinny neck. By far and away the best 'budget' bass I've come across - much nicer than the sire p7 I had. Even as a mod donor its superb. You could add a babicz bridge, custom pick ups, loom, and tuners and you've got a mint bass for a few hundred. I'm at that crossroads, as a back up bass it couldnt be better - cheap as possible, highly giggable and looks great - but..... for a few hundred quid it could easily be a high end bass. So I'll see what happens. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted March 11, 2022 Share Posted March 11, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, la bam said: Certainly not lightweight, but not harley benton heavy. ??? All of my HB's are on the lighter side of average. My heaviest by a good margin is a Fender at nearly 20 times the price ofnthe HB's. Edited March 11, 2022 by Bassfinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share Posted March 11, 2022 16 minutes ago, Bassfinger said: ??? All of my HB's are on the lighter side of average. My heaviest by a good margin is a Fender at nearly 20 times the price ofnthe HB's. The harley benton I had was really heavy. An old pb50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Took this to practice tonight. Great bass. I'll put some better strings in and I swear down itll be great at any gig, big or small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjhooker Posted March 26, 2022 Share Posted March 26, 2022 SX stuff is great.. got a strat 2nd hand for under a tonn quite a few years back that is now my daughter's guitar... really good instrument As good as some fenders I have played Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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