Hello all,
I just sent in the PayPal for an SX Strat-copy from Rondo Music. $115 shipped!!! It looks SOOOO nice in the pictures... it is a pity that I'll be totally modifying.
My plan is to replace with a Fender neck, tuners, 62' re-issue bridge, and Texas Special pickups... what do you think? Will everything fit correctly? Will it intonate? Will the vintage bridge screw-holes match up?
I've read here and elsewhere that the SX guitars are great guitars to buy cheap and modify, so I'm giving it a shot. I was going to use a Squier initially, but the curiosity of trying the SX out got the best of me.
Any thoughts? Anyone tried this? Does this sound like a good idea? I should get the guitar on Friday.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
I've never done any modifications like what you want to do, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I'd check out the neck 1st before you change it. I've heard they're not too bad. Good luck on your project. If you can, take some before & after pics & post them here so we can see your work. :D
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Good Luck with your project !
I think you'd better take all the measurements direct from the SX and then ask at the various stores for measurements of replacement parts.
Do give us an assesment of the guitar unmod and modded :) You've got me curious.
"Things may get a whole lot worse/ Before suddenly falling apart"
Steely Dan
"Look at me coyote, don't let a little road dust put you off" Knopfler
Ditto Primeta. I would love some thoughts on that guitar unmodded. I have an SX Les Paul copy and would like to hear from someone with the Strat style.
The good news is that I own a bunch of the extra strat parts already, so I can bolt'em on to see if they fit.
A buddy of mine has the SX Tele and he LOVES the body and LOVES the neck. The only issue was when he got it set up his guitar tech was not so fond of the neck. He said it had some issues and it needed a new nut immediately. I guess the original nut crumbled in his hands when he was trying to adjust it. Also, the tuners don't hold for him (and that's a Tele with no tremolo). The neck looks BEAUTIFUL, but it had some intonation issues.
I'll definitely post before and after photos and give my assessment.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
...The neck looks BEAUTIFUL, but it had some intonation issues. ....
Like...the frets were misplaced or something?
Hi
I have a sx strat copy - The only things i would change are:
1. the tuners - so they will be smoother.
2. the pickups- if you want to upgrade them to something better.
I wouldn't change the neck or anything else
I wonder what it would sound like if you slapped three of those mini seymours humbuckers in it. :)
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
... or the GFS lipstick pickups...
ok... I got the guitar in the mail (pictures attached). My initial thoughts:
Awesome looking guitar. Really vintage. The neck is nice LOOKING, but playing on the thick gobblety-gook they put on the neck (amber tinted lacquer? Poly?) is tough. Very slow. Would definitely need sanding.
The tuners are junk. Took my about 10 minutes to get them lubed-enough to turn smoothly and hold. I didn't whammy all that much, but the bridge appeared to be decent.
The pickups are very nice. Suprisingly nice. The guitar emmited very unique tones at all 5 positions. A little glassy and "high" for me, but definitely better than many singles I've heard.
The finish was good-to-very good. The neck had a few dings in it - not overt gouges, but noticeable to the player. The cream color was awesome, but the body had light surface scratches. Almost looked like a 1 year old guitar that had been played but was extremely well-cared for... know what I mean? It looked new, like a year old guitar with light playing would look new. I would hate to get a black SX for this reason.
Shipping was fast and the shipping box was very good. Overall, I was very happy.
Now for the mods... NOTHING FIT. If you are planning on adding any kind of genuine Fender stuff, don't bother. The bridge, neck, and pickguard all did not fit. The neck pocket was literally 1/8" wider than a strat neck. I'm using s '62 re-issue bridge which has oddball tremolo screw spacing, so that may have been the culprit. On top of this, when I took the pickguard off I saw that there was S-S-S routing!!! I couldn't believe it! I was putting in a Texas Special setup with Duncan Pearly Gates at the bridge. Out of luck. In fact, I was impressed by the routing since I expected a swimming pool, or a H-S-H at the least.
So, my project - my experiment - failed. Hmmm... but I wonder about the Agile...?
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
