Help me upgrade my SX 5-Stringer please!

HankHillWaluigi

HankHillWaluigi

May 2, 2015
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#1
When I was 16 years old, I saved up my money from mowing a ton of lawns, helping my grandfather pick okra, and various other odd jobs to pay for my very first 5 string bass - a three-tone sunburst ash 5 string SX jazz bass. That Thanksgiving, I managed to buy it and get it shipped to my cousin's house in order to hide it from my parents (they didn't support the whole bass thing at the time). For the next few years, it was essentially my only bass as my Squier jazz kept breaking in one way or another. Many basses have come and gone since then, and I've done a couple of mods to it, but it's literally the only bass I'll ever never sell (even my trusty Fender jazz went, and that was a hard one!)

However, I'd like to drop some money into it and I'd like y'all help. My idea is to make it into a 70's Fender-styled jazz bass, kinda if Fender made a 5 string jazz in the 70's.

Before I go on, y'all need a picture, right? :D
IMAG0475.jpg


As y'all can see, it's in parts after I fetched it from my closet. The bass had some old chromes from 2014 with a roundwound G string from another set. The tuners were lose and so was a neck screw, and the control plate was salvaged for another bass. I'll be taking it completely apart and cleaning it up while this thread (hopefully) progresses.

The mods done so far
- New graphtech nut (not pictured)
- Sanded back of neck

Not much but it's something. Now here's what I'd like to do
- New pickups (this is where the problems start)
- New bridge (also a problem)
- New tuners
- Fill some holes drilled in the headstock. Maybe I'll add some wood and a veneer and shape it more into a Fender headstock. Don't know yet.
- Got a fresh set of Rotosound Flats to slap on when it's done.

I'm blessed to say that the neck and the body fit together incredibly well, and both are structurally sound. In addition, it's a two-piece ash body that the grain was matched pretty well drool. Everything else can be fixed or modded as need be.

New here's my issues - the pickups are strangely sized (AFAIK) and I'm pretty sure the bridge is off-center, and I included a picture but I could be wrong. From what I've measured, the pickups are 3-15/16" for the neck and 4-1/16" for the bridge, and I've included pictures to double check. I could be completely wrong (currently measuring while I'm sleep deprived, I'll double check later). Anybody have any ideas for a replacement set? I'd prefer to go vintage sounding but I'll take modern, I just wanna get this baby up and running. Also, what would be a good replacement bridge? The bass tunes up properly, but I can't quite recall if the intonation was off at the 12th fret as it's been ages since I played it. I do know that I'd prefer to replace the stock bridge as I've had issues with it before, mostly with the B string not fitting and the saddles being a hassle. Any replacement is good for me.

I apologize if that was a wall of text, but I'm really eager to get started on this project but I'm kind of lost on the pickups and bridge. I'll try to keep this thread updated as it comes along.

IMAG0472.jpg IMAG0473.jpg IMAG0474.jpg IMAG0476.jpg
 
#3
IMGP3536a.jpg
IMO, to get it to look like a 70's J, all you need are some pups and standard black fluted knobs. The pups are 70's spaced and the block inlays are classic 70's.

My first and still one of my main players was a sunburst SJB-75 just like yours (except mine has the old headstock).



The only other thing I would suggest is that you were in a series/parallel switch pot (I put mine in the tone pot position).
 
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#4
AModestRat said:
When I was 16 years old, I saved up my money from mowing a ton of lawns, helping my grandfather pick okra, and various other odd jobs to pay for my very first 5 string bass - a three-tone sunburst ash 5 string SX jazz bass. That Thanksgiving, I managed to buy it and get it shipped to my cousin's house in order to hide it from my parents (they didn't support the whole bass thing at the time). For the next few years, it was essentially my only bass as my Squier jazz kept breaking in one way or another. Many basses have come and gone since then, and I've done a couple of mods to it, but it's literally the only bass I'll ever never sell (even my trusty Fender jazz went, and that was a hard one!)

However, I'd like to drop some money into it and I'd like y'all help. My idea is to make it into a 70's Fender-styled jazz bass, kinda if Fender made a 5 string jazz in the 70's.

Before I go on, y'all need a picture, right? :D
View attachment 1181462

As y'all can see, it's in parts after I fetched it from my closet. The bass had some old chromes from 2014 with a roundwound G string from another set. The tuners were lose and so was a neck screw, and the control plate was salvaged for another bass. I'll be taking it completely apart and cleaning it up while this thread (hopefully) progresses.

The mods done so far
- New graphtech nut (not pictured)
- Sanded back of neck

Not much but it's something. Now here's what I'd like to do
- New pickups (this is where the problems start)
- New bridge (also a problem)
- New tuners
- Fill some holes drilled in the headstock. Maybe I'll add some wood and a veneer and shape it more into a Fender headstock. Don't know yet.
- Got a fresh set of Rotosound Flats to slap on when it's done.

I'm blessed to say that the neck and the body fit together incredibly well, and both are structurally sound. In addition, it's a two-piece ash body that the grain was matched pretty well drool. Everything else can be fixed or modded as need be.

New here's my issues - the pickups are strangely sized (AFAIK) and I'm pretty sure the bridge is off-center, and I included a picture but I could be wrong. From what I've measured, the pickups are 3-15/16" for the neck and 4-1/16" for the bridge, and I've included pictures to double check. I could be completely wrong (currently measuring while I'm sleep deprived, I'll double check later). Anybody have any ideas for a replacement set? I'd prefer to go vintage sounding but I'll take modern, I just wanna get this baby up and running. Also, what would be a good replacement bridge? The bass tunes up properly, but I can't quite recall if the intonation was off at the 12th fret as it's been ages since I played it. I do know that I'd prefer to replace the stock bridge as I've had issues with it before, mostly with the B string not fitting and the saddles being a hassle. Any replacement is good for me.

I apologize if that was a wall of text, but I'm really eager to get started on this project but I'm kind of lost on the pickups and bridge. I'll try to keep this thread updated as it comes along.

View attachment 1181474 View attachment 1181475 View attachment 1181476 View attachment 1181477
Click to expand...
70s Fender look needs that tort pg. Maybe paint binding on the neck.
 
#6
Chunger has a massive thread with photos here on TB - he bought, modded & recorded a bunch of SX's. He became a Nordstrand dealer & commissioned a set of pickups to SX specs, but without the negatives when stock SX pickups are cranked to max. You can send Chunger a PM, or you can probably just call Nordstrand (Post 563) & have a set made.

Chunger also found that Babicz FCH is a drop-in replacement bridge, & can be set to a low action.

The one mod Chunger recommended was threaded inserts in the neck - inserts can also be used for the pickguard & control plate screws. I'll add links for the parts above...

EDIT:

Post #2 for inserts, (& #203),

Posts #107, 219 for shielding,

Post #136 for PU (& #182, 458),
Post #96 for SX Effect,

Post #939 for Babicz bridge.
 
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#7
If the Nordstrands are not an option, the only aftermarket pickups that I know of that work as a direct fit in a 5-string SX jazz would be a set of DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pickups (DP149). Still, you should always check the manufacturer's website in case they come in different size options these days. I remember that they were a bit more subdued by comparison to the stock pickups, but I think this is the vintage direction you were looking for. By subdued I mean a little less aggressive, maybe a little less output volume & more polite sounding in general (probably due to Alnico magnets vs. the ceramic magnets in the stock pickups). :thumbsup:
 
#8
So after a broken truck AC ran me $300, looks like I'm stuck with working what I've got for now. I ran out and picked up a can of satin poly to put on the back of the neck as I had originally sanded down the neck but it ended up being rough in spots. I sanded it down and cleaned it up with some denatured alcohol, then put a thin coat on. I'm aiming for two or three coats to keep it nice and protected from the weather.
IMAG0485.jpg


At this point, the bass is completely disassembled and I'm doing a nice clean up of all the parts. After I took it apart, I discovered that younger me did a not-too-shoddy job of shielding the pickup cavities as well as the control cavity. There are some slip ups here and there as well as two grounds that don't really make sense to me (the two leading from the pickup cavities to the control cavity) but overall it's solid and will do. A couple of nicks and dents here and there but the body is in good shape for what I put it through.

IMAG0486.jpg


Now, keeping the bridge meant doing a little modification to it. My main issue was that the B string often did not fit and if it did, it was a bit of a squeeze; my .132 Chrome was a very tight squeeze and ripped the silk at both ends. I took a dremel and opened up every string hole slightly with more space added for the B string. I may have to smooth it out but it's solid for now, it'll do.

IMAG0487.jpg


Now on the flipside, I did some research into some replacement pickups and I found out that a set of Fender American Series Jazz Bass V pickups will fit. Not too expensive at $90 a set either.
 
#10
dabbler said:
I'm not clear what the confusion is about connecting the pup cavity shields to the control cavity shield. That's standard practice and correct.
Click to expand...

Is it? I never realized and haven't done it since. Last couple of basses I've done have always had a ground from the bridge, pickups, and controls/jack, never from the cavities themselves.
 
#11
Recommended (by me) based on my MANY SX
1. Decent strings.
2. Don't change pickups.
3. Change bridge to much cooler one (aftermarket don't spend more than $30-$40) I like Stingray clone bridges: Bass Parts Resource  :: Music Man Bass Bridges
4. Do "dixiecup" mod to ursa headstock.
5. Add threaded inserts and neck bolts
6. Add threaded inserts (4-40) to pickguard, control plate, and pickup screws.
7. Custom tort pickguard. (note each SX is "handmade" and must be copied)
8. Mod electronics to include series and parallel selector (I like rotary switch = mute, neck only, both series, both parallel, only bridge)
9. add on-off-on switch to tone control for two values of caps and no cap at all. (one of caps is .047 original.)
10. Graphtech nut (keeps strings from sticking with tuning)
11. Copper foil shielding of ALL cavities and wires.
12, Replace Chinese jack with Switchcraft.
13. Replace pots as needed (or all at once for more peace of mind...I usually wait for them to get noisy before replacing unless electronic mods takes new pots)

That's about it. Tuners not the smoothest but work. I"ve never replaced any of them. Roller or top-loading string trees are nice, but I only used a couple of them.


For example see SX -6 in Avatar
 
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