Got my basses covered

[marnold]

I went down to Green Bay yesterday for my homebrew club's meeting and decided to check out a couple of local guitar shoppes and look at bass guitars. At one time, I had a Peavey Fury p-bass copy that I foolishly sold along with my Peavey Basic 50 ampf, a Crybaby bass wah, and DOD bass eq and bass chorus. Yes, I'm an idiot.

Anyway, they had a used SX SJB-62 (http://www.rondomusic.net/sjb6241.html) in Lake Placid blue. I could tell that I wasn't used to playing a five-string. I liked the bass well enough except that it seemed a bit neck-heavy (although that may be due to me unfamiliarity with the J-bass body) and I'm not the hugest fan of the heavy amber gloss on the neck. The real kicker was that they were selling it for $260--double Rondo's price for a new one.

I also tried a Peavey Foundation and Squier P-bass. The Squier had a satin finish on the neck, but beyond that there was nothing to recommend it over the Peavey or SX. The Foundation had the exact same neck that my Fury had, so it was like shaking hands with an old friend. They had a used Fury in stock a while back that was exactly like my old one. Sadly, I didn't try to talk them down and buy it myself.

Once I get my Model 7 project done, I'm probably going to have to get a bass. I'd like to get a SX SPJ Ash or some similar bass with both P and J pickups. The SPJ-62 Red is pretty nice too, although I'd prefer a maple fretboard. If I was really to get picky, I wouldn't mind the Geddy Lee-esque maple board with black block inlays. I'd like to find someplace that has a bunch of newer Peavey basses that I could try to see if I like them as much as my Fury. I think I'd have to switch to playing with a pick because of my hand injury, but my picking technique has improved so dramatically from playing guitar that I don't think it would matter.

Back when I still played, Peavey amps were the best price/performance ration for bass amps out there. Is that still the case today? I wouldn't want anything big. Something like my old Basic 50 would do fine.

[r_a_smith3530]

Hey marnold, some nice selections there. I have the fretless version of the SX jazz style bass, in Lake Placid Blue, and I absolutely love it. I replaced all the pots with CTS items, as the stock pots were junk. While I was in there, a Switchcraft jack took the place of the stocker, and everything was shielded and grounded. A BadAss II bridge sits where that stamped piece of tin used to reside. It is now a very respectable bass indeed, and with a new pickguard and knobs, I think I've still got only about a duece and a half into it.

I loved the '93 Peavey Foundation that I had. That bass had the nicest neck. Unfortunately, I had to make room for another bass that I liked even more, so it went on down the road. The Schecter Stiletto Custom 4 that I have now is much more versatile though.

As for Peavey amps, they are about the best bang for the buck out there in my opinion. I've got a Mk IV Series 400 head that I love. My former guitar amp was also a Peavey, the Classic 50/410. I've also had Peavey's TNT100 and I currently have a MicroBass practice amp. My ultimate dream amp is a Classic 400 head.

Hopefully, this week, I should finally be bringing my ZON Sonus home.

[marnold]

Hey marnold, some nice selections there. I have the fretless version of the SX jazz style bass, in Lake Placid Blue, and I absolutely love it. I replaced all the pots with CTS items, as the stock pots were junk. While I was in there, a Switchcraft jack took the place of the stocker, and everything was shielded and grounded. A BadAss II bridge sits where that stamped piece of tin used to reside. It is now a very respectable bass indeed, and with a new pickguard and knobs, I think I've still got only about a duece and a half into it.
A couple of questions on this:
1) Is the BadAss II a direct drop-in replacement or is some surgery required? Did it make that big of a difference in tone, sustain, etc.?
2) Two of the things that you apparently kept stock were the tuners and pickups. I don't think I've ever heard complaints about the SX tuners but a lot of folks seem to go immediately running for Seymour Duncan quarter pounders for pickups. Thoughts?

One thing I noticed about the Squier P-bass was issues with tuning it. When I picked it up it was horribly out of tune. The strings were binding something fierce on the string tree. No problems at all with the SX.


As for Peavey amps, they are about the best bang for the buck out there in my opinion. I've got a Mk IV Series 400 head that I love. My former guitar amp was also a Peavey, the Classic 50/410. I've also had Peavey's TNT100 and I currently have a MicroBass practice amp. My ultimate dream amp is a Classic 400 head.
How do you like that little MicroBass? The reviews seem to be remarkably positive. I would imagine that you're not going to get a ton of low-end rumble out of it.


Hopefully, this week, I should finally be bringing my ZON Sonus home.
That should be VERY cool. Make sure to take some pics if you can manage to tear yourself away for a while :)

[pie_man_25]

peaveys, never liked them much, good basses though, squiers, played a few, suck, SX, never heard of them, but it looks pretty good though.

[r_a_smith3530]

A couple of questions on this:
1) Is the BadAss II a direct drop-in replacement or is some surgery required? Did it make that big of a difference in tone, sustain, etc.?
2) Two of the things that you apparently kept stock were the tuners and pickups. I don't think I've ever heard complaints about the SX tuners but a lot of folks seem to go immediately running for Seymour Duncan quarter pounders for pickups. Thoughts?

One thing I noticed about the Squier P-bass was issues with tuning it. When I picked it up it was horribly out of tune. The strings were binding something fierce on the string tree. No problems at all with the SX.


How do you like that little MicroBass? The reviews seem to be remarkably positive. I would imagine that you're not going to get a ton of low-end rumble out of it.


That should be VERY cool. Make sure to take some pics if you can manage to tear yourself away for a while :)

The BadAss II is marketed as a drop-in replacement, for a Fender bridge. I had to do a little work with the SX. Same goes for the pickguard swap, and the pickguard came from Rondo! Yes, the BadAss II seemed to increase sustain enough to make it a worthy expenditure.

The tuners on my SX just seem to work, so they stayed. Keep in mind that my purpose for this bass was to check out fretless without jumping into the deep end of the pool. For its stated purpose, the stock pickups seemed just fine. I've thought of throwing a set of DiMarzio's at it, but it's just not a top priority at the moment.

Since you mentioned Squier, I should note that my little Bronco was pretty decent right out of the box. That said, I checked out four or five of its siblings before deciding.

The Microbass isn't bad for a little practice amp. It keeps me from having to lug my Ampeg combo around.

If weather is decent, as expected, tomorrow, I will be taking some shots of my collection, including the ZON. I will post them for folks to view.