Yes indeed! Growing up in the 1960's - affordable guitars/basses were unplayable. Once you were good enough to buy an expensive guitar, you would wonder how much sooner you would have gotten better had you had this more expensive instrument to begin with. Today's inexpensive guitars may not sound the best, but they play damn well.
I have that Standard rosewood jazz neck on a tri burst Squier Affinity PBass body, it is fantastic!! Action set to spec it only had one high spot on the E string at the 11th fret. Polished th3 fret ends and rolled the fingerboard edges, oiled the rosewood w/refined linseed oil about 6 times and it almost looks like ebony. I've worked over my share of Chinese and Asian necks and if I were to comoensate myself at luthier's rates the $250 for the Fender was a bargain. That said it's more about love than a particular brand, you live what you love and any bass out of the box will need attention to make it "drivable". SXs are great, I'm 100% in love with Khurangbin's Laura Lee's buttercream Jazz.
The more I watch these comparison videos (and I have watched a ton of them, the more I am starting to think that the more we pay for something , the better we think it is! These so called "cheap" basses are probably made 200% better than those "vintage" fenders ever were with very little no quality control, Lean processes, or global standards. If there is any tonal difference, it is minimal and not worth the price of owning "Fender" (200-300% more). And I have owned plenty. We pay more for something, so we believe its better, period. Thoughts?
I agree in principle, but I’m not sure why my 68 P bass sounds so good and plays like butter. Maybe it’s in my head, but I don’t think so. I have several SX basses too, and they are great, but the old Fender is something else. My first bass was a 67 Jazz, bought from a friend when it was 1 year old, and I don’t have it anymore to compare, but I think it would compare well.
@@lowtone9 The good ones survive, are looked after and cherished by their owners, the bad ones are forgotten about and are either in a landfill or been modified so much that they become a Ship of Theseus (or Trigger's Broom).
When I got back into playing a few years ago, I thought I’d never be able to afford a “quality” instrument. I went to the army school of music and played a professional II P for 10 weeks; I thought I’d never be able to convince my wife that I needed an expensive bass. When I left, I bought a used MIM Fender P, replaced the bridge with a professional II bridge, replaced the pups with a pair of “vintage 60’s” pups. And didn’t realize how great that instrument was until I sold it to buy an “American original 60’s p bass”. The reviews I watched and read said that that bass was as close to custom shop as you could get for the money. To me, the allure of a vintage instrument is that they’ve been played, loved, tweaked, grooved on, set up, worn in, and worked on. Therein lies the rub…if you can play, love, tweak, groove on, set up, wear in, and work on a bass (maybe any instrument?) it becomes “vintage” to you. I’ve since put together a kit bass (upgraded neck, pups, tuners, bridge, pick guard, and electronics) so it plays for me as good as the one that was supposed to be as good as CUSTOM SHOP. I’m not a master luthier, but it is a CUSTOM instrument. Finally: I still am embarrassed to admit that I lust and pine over That NAME and headstock, but when I play my bass that I’ve not only chosen all the bits and put them together, I’m a little more hesitant to scan Reverb and Craigslist for the next hit maker because I’ve already determined that I love my wife…I mean, my bass… haha, I love my bass.
Nice video, you did a very honest contest. I am and old guy and I have several Fenders, Rickenbakers and luthier-made basses and now I have SX VTG Series Custom Handmade Jazz Bass with DiMarzio Model J and a Schaller bridge, and I can say that I agree with you, good instrument for the money, and it worth some hardware improvement. BTW, you played very nice! Saludos desde Buenos Aires.
It seems these days cheap basses have gotten really good, at least for the most popular bass styles like Precision, Jazz, Stingray, and Soundgear type basses. Still there is value in paying more for certain things like a really good low B 5 string, a really good active preamp and onboard EQ (cheap preamps tend to sound icky imo), and certain aesthetic/ergonomic features only found on more expensive basses. If you were looking to play in a basic rock band or want a general passive 4-string for tracking in the studio then I'd say go cheap with confidence. If you want to play gospel bass or downtuned death metal then you'll likely benefit a lot by spending a little bit more because you're going to need more features that don't fare as well on cheap instruments.
I think the biggest difference was in Test No 1 (in several frequency ranges) and also in the mix (in the tasty highs). I did a semi blind test and was pleased every time Fender was played. I'm not sure if a change in technique and the rest of the signal chain would easily compensate for the difference.
The SX may not have the Jazz Bass growl but it’s close enough to get away with it when it’s not an AB comparison. However price is far apart. How’s the build quality and playability? Great video!
Pay attention to guitar/bass sunburst bodies that are painted black on the belly cut...(like the mexican jazz bass presented here. Usually thats something they need to hide ( like cheaper wood with a nicer veneer). In the SX, for the contrary, there's some solid wood exposed on that area, and that shows a manufacturer's confidence. I believe SX's wood is solid pine, not traditional fender woods, but sounds darn good for my ears.
In this case it's the exact opposite, the body of the Fender is made of two pieces of solid wood with a nice grain (I confirmed that after removing the neck and the pickguard) with no veneer aplied, and the SX has whats usually called photo flame, which consists in a printed sheet applied over a 4 pieces body. As this printed sheet bends quite easily it conforms to the belly cut perfectly. You can appreciate how the "grain" pattern doesn't change at all in that area, which is a clear indication that the wood pattern is "painted" on top of the body
@@InspiringTracks Interesting. Might be that way. But in the SX , did you checked if the front grain matches or not with the inside of neck pocket? That's a good way of confirming what you state.
Yes, not a single thing matchs in the SX lol. The front " grain" is even slightly misaligned and at an angle with the grain on the back, which also has a completely different pattern. Everything I'm pointing here is just cosmetic, the bass plays and sounds awesome and it's made from solid wood, maybe not pretty and several pieces, but real wood
@@InspiringTracks I see you have a good eye on details. Anyway, Mexican body looks like it's made of poplar or basswood, not alder. Anyway sounds very good.
I have the 6 5 and 4 SX basses the necks are better then my Fenders. My Fenders I have tweak the neck at gigs for playability. SX stay perfect. Pickups run a little hotter then the fenders that’s good in live preforming.
The SX isn't bad-sounding at all, and holds its own with the MIM pretty well. You're right to point out other aspects that add to the playing experience and aesthetics. I suspect the differences in both sound and appearance would be more striking yet with an MIA.
I have an SX bass too. Mine is natural finish model. I tried both of them when i was buying it. Sound of mine more close to Fender. I think it is not a masterpiece but decent guitar :)
I've always said that as a crude rule of thumb, every doubling of an instrument's price brings with it a maybe 10% improvement in functionality. (Which is not to say that I myself am immune to the attraction & mojo of a really fancy bit of kit.)
@@InspiringTracks Precisely, that's what some people don't want to hear. At some point you're not even paying for improvements anymore, but for cosmetics.
Got a SX precision and well... if you don't care about the name on the headstock, there's no difference at all. Top quality instrument (with great pickups).
Though I think Fender is kind of the benchmark, the SX is an awesome mod platform for anyone who wants to put some time/money into making the bass theirs. Agree with what you said re: the pickups but I kind of preferred the pick/OD tone from the SX.
I would tend to agree, closed my eyes to this video with a quick peep to see which one was being played. I honestly couldn't tell the difference, except I felt the SX had a slightly warmer sound which I liked.
it was by far the best comparison video i watched on a small youtube channel, i found answers to all the questions in my mind while thinking about buying a sx bass
The only real difference comes from the pickups. The ceramic pickups in the SX are hotter with more bottom response. Some people prefer that, and for example Aguilar is now making a ceramic set for Js and Ps that sound very similar.
Honestly, your Fender JB "wood" only looks that good because it's a veneer. Easy way to tell: They sppray the tummy cut totally in black (sunburst body makes it easier to tell). It also doesn't look like ash, looks more like an alder veneer.
I disassembled it, no veneer. The seam of the two pieces of wood in the neck pocket continues on the top and botom. It's hard to see on the video because the grain is matched pretty well
Thank you for this helpful & well balanced content. I'm an average guitar player looking for a used cheap bass to muck around with. A used SX J-Bass just came up on one of my local listings and I'm gonna pull the trigger on this. Wish me luck 😀
I'm pretty sure that the device you used to write this comment has at least one part or chip coming from china, it's a free commerce world, it doesn't make any sense to fight it
Its amazing how much cheap instruments have improved lately. Great video.
Yeah, totally agree. Glad you liked the video!
Yes indeed! Growing up in the 1960's - affordable guitars/basses were unplayable. Once you were good enough to buy an expensive guitar, you would wonder how much sooner you would have gotten better had you had this more expensive instrument to begin with. Today's inexpensive guitars may not sound the best, but they play damn well.
Excellent video. Honest comparison with no BS allowing potential buyers to make an informed choice.
I have that Standard rosewood jazz neck on a tri burst Squier Affinity PBass body, it is fantastic!! Action set to spec it only had one high spot on the E string at the 11th fret. Polished th3 fret ends and rolled the fingerboard edges, oiled the rosewood w/refined linseed oil about 6 times and it almost looks like ebony. I've worked over my share of Chinese and Asian necks and if I were to comoensate myself at luthier's rates the $250 for the Fender was a bargain.
That said it's more about love than a particular brand, you live what you love and any bass out of the box will need attention to make it "drivable". SXs are great, I'm 100% in love with Khurangbin's Laura Lee's buttercream Jazz.
I have a SX Sjb62 since 2020 and it sound great for the price. I love it.
The more I watch these comparison videos (and I have watched a ton of them, the more I am starting to think that the more we pay for something , the better we think it is! These so called "cheap" basses are probably made 200% better than those "vintage" fenders ever were with very little no quality control, Lean processes, or global standards. If there is any tonal difference, it is minimal and not worth the price of owning "Fender" (200-300% more). And I have owned plenty. We pay more for something, so we believe its better, period. Thoughts?
pretty much
I agree in principle, but I’m not sure why my 68 P bass sounds so good and plays like butter. Maybe it’s in my head, but I don’t think so. I have several SX basses too, and they are great, but the old Fender is something else. My first bass was a 67 Jazz, bought from a friend when it was 1 year old, and I don’t have it anymore to compare, but I think it would compare well.
@@lowtone9 The good ones survive, are looked after and cherished by their owners, the bad ones are forgotten about and are either in a landfill or been modified so much that they become a Ship of Theseus (or Trigger's Broom).
When I got back into playing a few years ago, I thought I’d never be able to afford a “quality” instrument. I went to the army school of music and played a professional II P for 10 weeks; I thought I’d never be able to convince my wife that I needed an expensive bass. When I left, I bought a used MIM Fender P, replaced the bridge with a professional II bridge, replaced the pups with a pair of “vintage 60’s” pups. And didn’t realize how great that instrument was until I sold it to buy an “American original 60’s p bass”. The reviews I watched and read said that that bass was as close to custom shop as you could get for the money.
To me, the allure of a vintage instrument is that they’ve been played, loved, tweaked, grooved on, set up, worn in, and worked on. Therein lies the rub…if you can play, love, tweak, groove on, set up, wear in, and work on a bass (maybe any instrument?) it becomes “vintage” to you.
I’ve since put together a kit bass (upgraded neck, pups, tuners, bridge, pick guard, and electronics) so it plays for me as good as the one that was supposed to be as good as CUSTOM SHOP. I’m not a master luthier, but it is a CUSTOM instrument.
Finally: I still am embarrassed to admit that I lust and pine over That NAME and headstock, but when I play my bass that I’ve not only chosen all the bits and put them together, I’m a little more hesitant to scan Reverb and Craigslist for the next hit maker because I’ve already determined that I love my wife…I mean, my bass… haha, I love my bass.
What was your favourite copy of a Jazz bass ?
Nice video, you did a very honest contest. I am and old guy and I have several Fenders, Rickenbakers and luthier-made basses and now I have SX VTG Series Custom Handmade Jazz Bass with DiMarzio Model J and a Schaller bridge, and I can say that I agree with you, good instrument for the money, and it worth some hardware improvement. BTW, you played very nice! Saludos desde Buenos Aires.
It seems these days cheap basses have gotten really good, at least for the most popular bass styles like Precision, Jazz, Stingray, and Soundgear type basses. Still there is value in paying more for certain things like a really good low B 5 string, a really good active preamp and onboard EQ (cheap preamps tend to sound icky imo), and certain aesthetic/ergonomic features only found on more expensive basses. If you were looking to play in a basic rock band or want a general passive 4-string for tracking in the studio then I'd say go cheap with confidence. If you want to play gospel bass or downtuned death metal then you'll likely benefit a lot by spending a little bit more because you're going to need more features that don't fare as well on cheap instruments.
I think the biggest difference was in Test No 1 (in several frequency ranges) and also in the mix (in the tasty highs). I did a semi blind test and was pleased every time Fender was played. I'm not sure if a change in technique and the rest of the signal chain would easily compensate for the difference.
The SX may not have the Jazz Bass growl but it’s close enough to get away with it when it’s not an AB comparison. However price is far apart. How’s the build quality and playability?
Great video!
The difference could be made with an EQ pedal or just better pickups, SX is a great option. Comes down to is it nice to play tho?
Pay attention to guitar/bass sunburst bodies that are painted black on the belly cut...(like the mexican jazz bass presented here. Usually thats something they need to hide ( like cheaper wood with a nicer veneer). In the SX, for the contrary, there's some solid wood exposed on that area, and that shows a manufacturer's confidence. I believe SX's wood is solid pine, not traditional fender woods, but sounds darn good for my ears.
In this case it's the exact opposite, the body of the Fender is made of two pieces of solid wood with a nice grain (I confirmed that after removing the neck and the pickguard) with no veneer aplied, and the SX has whats usually called photo flame, which consists in a printed sheet applied over a 4 pieces body. As this printed sheet bends quite easily it conforms to the belly cut perfectly. You can appreciate how the "grain" pattern doesn't change at all in that area, which is a clear indication that the wood pattern is "painted" on top of the body
@@InspiringTracks Interesting. Might be that way. But in the SX , did you checked if the front grain matches or not with the inside of neck pocket? That's a good way of confirming what you state.
Yes, not a single thing matchs in the SX lol. The front " grain" is even slightly misaligned and at an angle with the grain on the back, which also has a completely different pattern. Everything I'm pointing here is just cosmetic, the bass plays and sounds awesome and it's made from solid wood, maybe not pretty and several pieces, but real wood
@@InspiringTracks I see you have a good eye on details. Anyway, Mexican body looks like it's made of poplar or basswood, not alder. Anyway sounds very good.
Ideal comparison video. Best one. Thanks a lot
I have the 6 5 and 4 SX basses the necks are better then my Fenders. My Fenders I have tweak the neck at gigs for playability. SX stay perfect. Pickups run a little hotter then the fenders that’s good in live preforming.
Sx bass guitar is nice...for low budget but great ..the beginners to professional have a mid budget...but fender is fender
Thanks for the great content.🙂
Glad you liked it!
Отличное видео. Спасибо.
The SX isn't bad-sounding at all, and holds its own with the MIM pretty well. You're right to point out other aspects that add to the playing experience and aesthetics. I suspect the differences in both sound and appearance would be more striking yet with an MIA.
Khruangbin bassist use sx bass and it sound awesome.
Yes, but Laura's SX has upgraded, aftermarket pickups.
@@tombeyerlein3813 Easy mod
I have an SX bass too. Mine is natural finish model. I tried both of them when i was buying it. Sound of mine more close to Fender. I think it is not a masterpiece but decent guitar :)
I really like mine, for the price is a great bass
Bravo
Video ben fatto
Onestamente considerando il prezzo ...vince Sx
genial!!!!😃
Laura Lee have an SX with a Dimarzio pup
Awesome guitars for the money!
Top😊
Thanks!!!
Dude…. The SX sound better.
Great video!
Thanks, glad you liked it!!
I've always said that as a crude rule of thumb, every doubling of an instrument's price brings with it a maybe 10% improvement in functionality. (Which is not to say that I myself am immune to the attraction & mojo of a really fancy bit of kit.)
Yeah, the higher you go in the price scale the smaller the improvement. It's the law of diminished returns
@@InspiringTracks Precisely, that's what some people don't want to hear. At some point you're not even paying for improvements anymore, but for cosmetics.
Got a SX precision and well... if you don't care about the name on the headstock, there's no difference at all. Top quality instrument (with great pickups).
Outstanding bang for the buck
I think the difference in sound is negligible. Are you sure the MIM J Bass is made of ash? I thought they were made of alder.
Maybe you are right, I'll check that and post a correction if that's the case. Thanks!
It is alder indeed.
Though I think Fender is kind of the benchmark, the SX is an awesome mod platform for anyone who wants to put some time/money into making the bass theirs. Agree with what you said re: the pickups but I kind of preferred the pick/OD tone from the SX.
SX sounds better
I would tend to agree, closed my eyes to this video with a quick peep to see which one was being played. I honestly couldn't tell the difference, except I felt the SX had a slightly warmer sound which I liked.
it was by far the best comparison video i watched on a small youtube channel, i found answers to all the questions in my mind while thinking about buying a sx bass
The only real difference comes from the pickups. The ceramic pickups in the SX are hotter with more bottom response. Some people prefer that, and for example Aguilar is now making a ceramic set for Js and Ps that sound very similar.
Good job. I liked and after playing one agree with your summaries. About to buy an SX fretless for a toy. The necks are good.
I really liked the sx more
Honestly, your Fender JB "wood" only looks that good because it's a veneer. Easy way to tell: They sppray the tummy cut totally in black (sunburst body makes it easier to tell). It also doesn't look like ash, looks more like an alder veneer.
I disassembled it, no veneer. The seam of the two pieces of wood in the neck pocket continues on the top and botom. It's hard to see on the video because the grain is matched pretty well
Thank you.
Jó pontatlan
Thank you for this helpful & well balanced content. I'm an average guitar player looking for a used cheap bass to muck around with. A used SX J-Bass just came up on one of my local listings and I'm gonna pull the trigger on this. Wish me luck 😀
Did you end up buying it, if so how you like it...
@@josegalindo1262 Nah. Someone got to it before I did. I ended up with a Yamaha BBN4-III Bass. Visit my channel if you'd like to see it.
theres nothing like an original american jazz bass
The question is do you support the usa?! Or communist County?
This Fender is made in Mexico
@@InspiringTracks haha
I'm pretty sure that the device you used to write this comment has at least one part or chip coming from china, it's a free commerce world, it doesn't make any sense to fight it
County? 😂