SX VTG Series Strat-Style Solidbody

I really don't know how the owner of this sunburst SX VTG Series Strat-Style Solidbody managed to get hold of one, but it's brand new. Word is that SX were forced to redesign their headstock shape after you-know-who threatened them with a lawsuit ages ago. Now, as this guitar sports the old-style headstock; it must be NOS that someone had carefully stashed away for years. Heck, even the "SX Guitar" gig bag looks mint.

Let's explore this guitar further, then. It sure looks like a '60s Strat, right down to the vintage-style tuners. The C-shaped maple neck sports a skunk stripe and "two way truss rod" with access at the headstock end. There's no walnut plug at this end though, just plain maple.

The 12" radius rosewood fretboard sports 21 medium-jumbo frets, side dot markers and pearloid dot fretboard markers. The rosewood board is rather dry, but a good dose of lemon oil should fix that in no time. The frets have been crowned with care, and sliding one's hand up and down the neck is a pleasure. This is proof that someone took the time and trouble to properly dress the fret ends. Good on you, SX!

Neck pocket fit is nice and tight, something I have rarely seen on lower-priced guitars. I'm also pleased that the neck pitch is sufficient for a low-action setup. No need for a shim or anything like that. Saves me a lot of time because now I don't have to remove the neck to make any adjustments.

As for the body, it seems to be two pieces of solid wood, probably topped with an attractive ash-like veneer. The three-tone sunburst finish has been artistically applied, and protected by a thick layer of clear poly. You might find it hard to believe, but there isn't a finish defect to be found anywhere.

The vintage white three-ply pickguard, pickup covers and switch tip complement the body nicely, I must say. The three ceramic single coils have flat polepieces, and the bridge is a generic vintage-style six-screw tremolo with block saddles. The skinny trem block is most probably zinc, and only has three holes for three springs. This means you'll have to break out your portable drill if you ever want/need to add more springs.

The body features HSH pickup cavity routing, and is unshielded. Which is a plus point, strangely enough; as the lack of shielding paint allows one to clearly see that the body is solid wood. It's not a sandwich; and definitely not plywood. Might it be ash? I salivate at the thought.

Electronics consist of the three aforementioned three single coils, mated to a generic PCB five-way switch, mini pots; and sturdy output jack. The switching sequence is as one might expect: neck only, neck+middle, middle only, middle+bridge; and bridge only. The controls are for master volume, neck tone, and middle tone; which is vintage-correct.

I set up this SX with Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (010-046) and almost no relief, plugged it into my Ross G515 MiniMouth (which I use for testing both guitars and basses) and spent some time noodling away. I tell you, she's a smooth player. And, yes, I turned on my phone recorder and uploaded the audio file to SoundCloud. Do give it a listen if you're curious about what this guitar sounds like.

On the whole, this SX VTG Series Strat-Style Solidbody represents value for money, and performs much better than most lower-priced guitars I've worked on so far. If you can find one, grab it before someone else does!

Acknowledgement
Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

 

Squier Vintage Modified '77 Jazz Bass

This black beauty belongs to Juan of Kuantan-based indie band Whizzer. He wanted it derusted, cleaned, polished; and restrung with La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin' Bass flatwound strings. Of course, I was only too happy to oblige. I'll let the pics tell the story of what went down. Meanwhile, a little research at the websites of Swee Lee and Music Bliss have unearthed quite a bit of information concerning this instrument. Most of the features would be quite obvious even to the non-musician; but I'm listing them here for the sake of future reference.

Body Material: Agathis
Body Finish: Gloss Polyester Black
Neck: Maple/bolt-on/"C"-shaped profile/vintage-tint gloss finish
Fretboard: Maple/34" scale/9.5" radius/pearloid block inlays/white binding
Frets: 20 medium jumbo
Bridge: 4-saddle standard bridge
Pickups: Two Fender-designed single-coil Jazz Bass
Tuners: Standard Open-Gear
Controls: Neck pickup volume/bridge pickup volume/master tone
Knobs: Black Strat-style
Pickguard: Three-ply black/white/black
Hardware Finish: Chrome

Flood Victim #4 - SX Vintage Series Jazz Bass Copy

This happened to be the fourth victim of the great flood of December 2013 that had come my way to date. The earlier three were a Washburn XB125, Yamaha RBX775 FSL and '70s Fender Jazz Bass. This particular SX Vintage Series Jazz Bass Copy was well built and oozed a '70s vibe: 3-bolt neck plate, maple neck/fretboard with block inlays, solid wood body finished natural, chunky open-gear tuners; and a Fender-ish headstock profile.

The owner confided in me that after salvaging the bass from flood waters, he'd cleaned and dried it the best he could. However, of late, it had become increasingly difficult to play due to high action and malfunctioning electronics.

After closely examining the bass and trying it out for a couple days, I identified these main issues:
(i) excessively high action at the bridge even with the saddles at their lowest,
(ii) totally corroded metal components,
(iii) frozen saddle height adjustment screws,
(iv) excessive neck relief,
(v) incorrect neck/body angle -- the neck was tilting upwards,
(vi) grimy, cruddy, rusty and tarnished hardware and plastic components; and
(vii) barely functioning pots and output jack, even after servicing.

To address these issues, the bass was first disassembled down to the"nuts and bolts," so to speak. Following this, hardware and plastic components were cleaned of crud, grime and rust as thoroughly as possible. The pickguard, control plate, and saddle height adjustment screws were replaced as they were beyond saving. The bridge was lubed thoroughly so that it would be functional once more.

The truss rod was still working, thank goodness. I was able to tighten it to where the neck was straight without any strings on. To correct the neck/body angle, I inserted a shim of appropriate thickness; and the neck now tilted downwards slightly.

As the electronics were shot, I rewired the bass with new Alpha A250K pots, a 0.033uF tone cap, and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. After putting the bass back together, I was able to set it up with the lowest possible action sans buzz. Plugging this SX Vintage Series Jazz Bass Copy into a bass amp produced growly, midrangey tones that evoked memories of other '70s Jazz Basses I'd had the pleasure of working on. They sure don't build 'em like they used to!

Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass Scarf Joint and Fretboard Repair

Though looking its age, the active electronics on this Washburn XB-500 Bantam Bass were still functioning as they should. Granted, there was some crackling when you turned the pots; but this was fixed with a squirt or two of contact cleaner in the right places.

The real problem with this bass was that the rosewood fretboard had somehow become separated from the maple neck; from the nut right up to the third fret. Meanwhile, at the back of the neck, the scarf joint had opened up quite a bit. I should also mention that someone had fashioned a crude ill-fitting nut out of black plastic. And yes, I forgot to snap a pic or two of these abnormalities.

The game plan was to reglue the fretboard and scarf joint with Titebond III and clamp everything nice and tight until the glue dried. Then there would be lots of sanding, followed by a Tru-Oil refinish on the back of the neck. A new custom nut would also be installed. And guess what? It turned out okay, thank goodness :)

Frankenstrat Partscaster Build

I was handed the components for this partscaster build in a cardboard box, no kidding. The beat-up natural-finished body was solid wood capped with an ash-like veneer on the front and back. The body cavities appeared to be shielded with conductive paint, but further inspection revealed that it was just plain old black paint.

The preloved 22-fret maple neck was scalloped and sported a '70s-style big headstock. Those decals? They were already on there when I got the neck. It was clearly another one of those notorious Chinese "replica" necks. Don't nobody sue me now, you hear? I just put parts together so my clients can have a guitar to play on.

The client had provided me with a battered white pickguard, new Chinese single-coil pickups with cream covers; and replica vintage-style tremolo bridge with bent steel (read: pot metal) saddles. Putting everything together took a very long time, with "measure ten times, drill once" being the word of the day. Basically, the whole process mirrored what I went through on the Candlewood Strat Kit Build.

The bottom of the pickguard was shielded with aluminium foil, and body cavities with conductive carbon paint. New electronic components included Alpha A250K pots, a K73-16 0.022uF cap, generic five-way selector switch; and NYS229 output jack socket. This guitar was strung with 10s, and required a little truss rod tweaking and neck pocket shim to get it playing like it should.