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View Full Version : My SX SST57K just arrived!



Robert
August 2nd, 2006, 04:35 PM
I am going home now to test my SX SST57 kit - it comes with guitar, amp, tuner, cable, strap and picks.

I'll be back soon with more comments!

Somewhat later....

Hmm, everything looks pretty good, except - it has a ROSEWOOD fretboard! :mad:

I wanted a maple fretboard, which is why I order the SST57. Sigh. Oh well, not the end of the world, it's still a nice neck.

First impression - the pickups are suprisingly good. The setup isn't great, needs to have the intonation set and some Tru-oil on the neck. I lowered the action a bit and it became friendlier to play. It has great frets.

In summary: it looks very promising. Some adjustments (the nut needs to be replaced) here and there, and I think it will turn out really well.

I'll have to put my Fender CS 54's in this guitar, even though the stock pickups are quite capable. In fact, I think I'll leave the bridge pup in it - I like it and the CS 54 bridge pup is not my cup of tea.

overthehill
August 2nd, 2006, 06:01 PM
1:open up the box
2:inspect it
3:set it up
4:start moddin'
5:play it
6:play it like you live!
7:mod it some more
8:have alot of fun!

Cranium
August 2nd, 2006, 06:04 PM
Hows the neck, is it smooth? And how is the bridge, is the block zinc? Does it stay in tune good?

warren0728
August 2nd, 2006, 06:06 PM
Hmm, everything looks pretty good, except - it has a ROSEWOOD fretboard! :mad:

I wanted a maple fretboard, which is why I order the SST57. Sigh. Oh well, not the end of the world, it's still a nice neck.
i think i would be upset if i was expecting maple and got rosewood...did you contact rondo to see what gives?

ww

Cranium
August 2nd, 2006, 06:09 PM
Send it back and expect to get a new one a some weeks later, open the box and guess what? Rosewood fretboard again! Just kidding :D but you should really email and ask them if they can send you a replacement or something.

Robert
August 2nd, 2006, 06:47 PM
I emailed Rondo right away, haven't gotten a response yet.

The neck is nice, frets are awesome. Bridge is cheap, not sure what it's made of. Does not stay in tune if I use the tremolo arm, but I am sure I can improve this a lot my changing the nut and doing some other secret tricks of mine.

Cranium
August 2nd, 2006, 07:03 PM
Darn, I need a guitar that stays in tune very good, I have problems palm muting alot of times with my fat ugly hands and I need a bridge that wont move if I put my hand on it, alot of time cheap bridges stretch your strings and you go out of tune every five minutes, maybe I should get the hardtail version, but the bridge on that one is not like a hardtail its more like a gibson type bridge or something :(

Robert
August 2nd, 2006, 07:04 PM
Here are a few pics. It looks really cool! It was supposed to be white but as you can see it's yellow. I like it!

I am not too worried about the fretboard issue. It's a great neck and fretboard anyway.
http://www.dolphinstreet.com/uploads/sx-sst-57-1.jpg
http://www.dolphinstreet.com/uploads/sx-sst-57-2.jpg

tremoloman
August 2nd, 2006, 11:42 PM
That's a really cute picture. :)

I love the color Robert! Is this the "Vintage White" option? The color of yours looks a lot nicer than the pics on Rondo's site. I'm sorry you didn't get the right color fretboard, but I think the rosewood looks awesome with this body color. Did he accidently ship you the 62 kit instead of the 57? You've convinced me to get this color for my Christmas grab gift.

I tell you what... if you really want the maple neck, we could do a swap of necks if you wish. I've got two SX poweder blue 57s, so if I switched one to rosewood it would break them up from looking exactly the same. Just throwing that option out there. (and it already has the improved nut installed).

As for the tuning stability, installing a graph tech nut precut nut and lubricating the friction points will take care of that. I've got both of mine set to float and stay in tune very well. Sounds like you got a winner!

I gave mine a once over, lowered the action, and I love the way it sounds and plays. I may upgrade the tuners and possibly the saddles at some point, but for $99 I'm very happy with mine.

The block is zinc, the pickguard IS shielded, and the wiring is done cleanly.

-trem

tremoloman
August 2nd, 2006, 11:49 PM
Darn, I need a guitar that stays in tune very good, I have problems palm muting alot of times with my fat ugly hands and I need a bridge that wont move if I put my hand on it, alot of time cheap bridges stretch your strings and you go out of tune every five minutes, maybe I should get the hardtail version, but the bridge on that one is not like a hardtail its more like a gibson type bridge or something :(A well setup guitar should stay in tune whether it has a hardtail or floating bridge. Perhaps you could opt for the "stop tail" as they call them on Rondo's site?

SuperSwede
August 3rd, 2006, 12:57 AM
Really nice color on that strat Robert! But I know how much you wanted a maple neck! Perhaps Rondo could send you one of those SX replacement necks for free?

Robert
August 3rd, 2006, 08:08 PM
It's a SST62 they sent me, not a SST57. Only difference is the neck. Rondo said I could ship it back and they would send me the right one. I denied it though. I think maybe "it was meant to be" - I should keep this one :) It's silly and a waste of resources to send it back just for the neck being different. It also looks cool the way it is. And, I played it a heck of a lot already and took all the plastic stuff off, so it's not in brand new condition anymore.

Can you believe this guitar has a price tag of $69.99 - insane! It is not as good as a MIM Fender Strat, but it is a decent guitar for such peanut amounts.

tremoloman
August 3rd, 2006, 09:28 PM
Can you believe this guitar has a price tag of $69.99 - insane! It is not as good as a MIM Fender Strat, but it is a decent guitar for such peanut amounts.Where did you find this guitar for $69.99? I freaking LOVE that color with the rosewood neck.

I agree it's not a MIM, but then again it's also $300 cheaper. I'd take 3 SX's over 1 MIM anyday and use the remaining $100 for upgrades. Maybe we should start a forum called "The Cheapo Depot" :)

Hope you like your SX Robert! I just required one of my Powder Blue SSTs with all new pots for the hell of it. I need to get a life!

Robert
August 3rd, 2006, 09:59 PM
It said in the slip the shipping box the guitar itself is $69.99 and the the amp and the other doodads make up for the other $30 I imagine. I don't think you can buy this one just by itself for $69.99 though.

I like the SX, but I am still in my "evaluation period", don't want to say too much just yet...:)

And that yellow color.... ain't it just too funky!? :DR

SuperSwede
August 4th, 2006, 01:19 AM
Maybe we should start a forum called "The Cheapo Depot" :)

:eek: I thought this was the cheapo depot??? :D

Robert that color is SO nice.. I can understand that its a keeper!

Spudman
August 4th, 2006, 08:41 AM
Swede
Is that the color your white guitar becomes when you spray it with Bull Elk Urine?:D

SuperSwede
August 4th, 2006, 02:31 PM
Yes, as a matter of fact the color is known as creamy elk urine yellow. Fender collectors pay tons of dollars for a original urine strat.

Robert
August 5th, 2006, 11:08 AM
I put in my Fender CS 54 pickups today. I am also doing the Tru-oil trick to the neck, and I'll put on two coats. Right now the neck is drying. I will put it together again for a test drive later tonight.

Kurt said he'll give me free shipping on next order because of the screw-up, so I guess I need to think about what to order! Maybe I should attempt the SST57 this time...we'll see. I was also thinking about the SX electric/acoustic too, they seem to get good reviews.

warren0728
August 5th, 2006, 11:28 AM
i think you should get this one and let me...uhh i mean us...know how it is!

http://www.rondomusic.net/shm91so.html

ww

tremoloman
August 5th, 2006, 11:36 AM
I've got my eyes on that P-90 equipped SST. I emailed Kurt to see if this is the same color as Robert's new SX. If so, I'm going for it!

That damn Rondo site is so addicting with the prices so low... but it's a lot less painful since I can get 4 guitars for the price of 1 MIM! :)

Tim
August 5th, 2006, 11:37 AM
I think you should keep the guitar and have Rondo just send you as Maple neck. The you would have a spare neck for a latter modification on another guitar. Could it really happen?

Robert
August 5th, 2006, 03:58 PM
I've been thinking of ordering a maple neck from Rondo, the necks are cheap. I doubt Rondo will ship me a free neck, but they promised free shipping on next order, which is great since I'm in Canada!

Today I sanded the neck and applied some Tru-oil, and went over it with steel wool.

I changed the pickups to my Fender CS 54. Oh man! It sounds awesome now!

I found a problem. The neck has a couple of high frets around the 10th fret. It's like a little hump around 10th or 11th fret, so fretting a note on the 11th fret makes it buzz a little against the 12th fret. Not much, but enough to bug me. I set the action fairly high to alleviate the problem.

Does anyone have tips or suggestions for fixing this? I've heard you can hammer down frets that are too high. I've been adjusting the truss rod several times to see if I can adjust it that way, but no.

Another problem is the 5-way switch. It's very poor quality. Mine stops working now and then, so I need to replace. The guitar goes silent sometimes, and then I jiggle it back and forth and after a while, I can kick some life back into it. The guitar is certainly not gig-ready just yet!

Otherwise, I am digging it. Overall, I will say I think the quality is below the Squier '51 or Tele I have. Not much, but I didn't have these problems with my Squiers.

I also would not be surprised if the SST62 or 57 by themselves are better than mine. I have the "kit" version, and it could be an even cheaper solution since it says in my papers they actually cost $69.99.

Oh by the way, that little 10w practice amp sounds awesome! Wow! I was impressed! Not much volume but nice tone, man!

tremoloman
August 5th, 2006, 04:39 PM
I also would not be surprised if the SST62 or 57 by themselves are better than mine. I have the "kit" version, and it could be an even cheaper solution since it says in my papers they actually cost $69.99.You hit the nail on the head Robert. Kurt told me the SSTs sold by themselves are a bit nicer than the kit guitars. I do not have any issues with the necks on either of my SSTs nor do I have electrical issues.

You can buy a new 5-way switch from fender for like $8 or go with the super-solid "megaswitch" from Stew-Mac. I installed a Mega-Switch in a MIM and the switch feels like it could withstand a nuclear blast. Here's a pic of one:


http://www.stewmac.com/catalog/images_1lg/3528_1lg.jpg

The Fender one is decent but this sucker is heavy duty!

Robert
August 5th, 2006, 04:54 PM
Tremoloman, hearing that Kurt told you that pisses me off a bit! I asked him that specific question before I ordered the guitar, and he said quality is the same.

The 5-way switch was my fault - I messed around experimenting with tin foil and it caused some shorting out... :) The switch is working okay now.

All is great except for the neck issue. It is hard to see, but I can certainly find it easy enough when I'm playing it.

Wonder if those replacement necks are the same as the "kit version" or the "normal" SST57/62?

SuperSwede
August 6th, 2006, 01:52 AM
Hmm...the neck at rondo´s site doesnt seem as much "tinted" as the SST57 neck. Perhaps its not the same neck?

tremoloman
August 6th, 2006, 01:20 PM
Tremoloman, hearing that Kurt told you that pisses me off a bit! I asked him that specific question before I ordered the guitar, and he said quality is the same.Really? Wow, that's out of character for Kurt. Maybe he just overlooked it. I had ordered the pink kit guitar and put in the comments "if this guitar differs from the one sold seperately, please tell me." He send an email saying it is mostl the same but just a little less "finished". and had 22 frets. I wimped out and went for another Power Blue SST 57. I'm contemplating putting a Fender MIM neck on a SST67, so you may get a tinted neck just yet. :)


The 5-way switch was my fault - I messed around experimenting with tin foil and it caused some shorting out... :) The switch is working okay now.Glad it hear it's back to normal.


All is great except for the neck issue. It is hard to see, but I can certainly find it easy enough when I'm playing it.Again, let me see what I'm going to do with my MIM neck. I've got a Squier '51 neck you can have if you want to put it on your SX. It's in excellent shape - I only made the headstock a bit thinner so standard Fender tuners would fit it.

Robert
August 6th, 2006, 04:05 PM
Thanks TM, you are a heckuva nice fella!

I played the guitar more now, and the fret issue is very small. I set the action high and it is STILL lovely to play. The buzzing is hardly noticeable but of course annoying if you know about it. Otherwise, I love the neck - it is so nice to play. Even though it is wider than my Tele necks, it plays easy peasy.

The whole guitar sounds awesome. I think they are using some great wood in these guitars. Even without an amp, it just resonates, more so than my other guitars. With the CS 54 pickups, it's one mean cat on the blues block!

tremoloman
August 6th, 2006, 05:22 PM
In that video you posted with the SST, did you have the '54s in already or was it with the stock pickups? I'd love to hear a comparison between the two.

I think I'm going to attempt to try and make custom steel blocks for my SX & Squier bridges. I'm not looking to make something as attractive as a Callaham, but a poor man's version. If they come out respectable, I'll let you all know. ;)

Robert
August 6th, 2006, 05:30 PM
That was with the stock pickups - I haven't recorded a clip with the '54s yet. Will do though.

How are you going about making your own steel blocks?

tremoloman
August 6th, 2006, 05:52 PM
That was with the stock pickups - I haven't recorded a clip with the '54s yet. Will do though.Cool... I can't wait to hear the difference.


How are you going about making your own steel blocks? I'm going to try making one with my father using tools left over from his old precision metal shop. My father’s talent and ingenuity is limitless and I feel we can come up with a cheap alternative for my budget guitars. It might not be as pretty or nice as the Callaham, but I'm not trying to reach that goal. I just want to greatly improve the tone of my cheapo-depot guitars by installing steel blocks in them as all my other tremolo fitted guitars do.

I’ve really become addicted to modding cheap guitars over the past couple of months. It's both fun and educational at the same time.

Spudman
August 6th, 2006, 09:27 PM
Hey Robert

Try tapping the high frets down with a plastic hammer. They are the ones with the yellow hard plastic heads. They may come in a different color but I don't know. I've watched a tech do this and it worked in that instance.

I had the same issue with the Sx Strat copies from Rondo where the neck had a bulge in it at the same place you mentioned.

The other solution would be a fret leveling in that area which requires filing.

Robert
August 6th, 2006, 09:50 PM
Tremoloman, I am getting that same bug about modding cheap guitars. It's fun and you learn a lot!

Spudman, thanks - I'll try the big ol' plastic hammer trick! Fret leveling is beyond me - I don't have the tools and I don't think it'd be worth have tech do it. The guitar is cool though. Wait until you guys hear next clip with the CS '54s!

Tinky-Winky
August 7th, 2006, 07:30 AM
Robert, you mentioned how the nut is poor and the tremolo throws the guitar out of tune. I had the same problem with my squier, and all it takes is to generously apply some graphite (I used pencil lead) to the nut. As soon as that had been done, I found that I could use the wammy bar a la jimi without the guitar getting tuneless (although unfortunately such abuse snapped the arm a few weeks later...). Obviously, a new nut is the best solution, but as a quick fix I found that this will suffice.


EDIT: Robert, have you tried applying some graphite yet?