NGD-SDX in the house

[rjohnstone]

So after playing a few of these and realizing its flaws were easily corrected, I decided to pull the trigger on one.

Love the neck, feels great and the back shape is comfortable for me. Fret work is fantastic.
The body is nice and comfortable as well. Not as light as one would expect for a Basswood body.
Finally figured out what the model number means. SDX = San Dimas X series.

The nut they put on these however is WRONG.
This neck wasn't made for an R4 nut, yet some idiot spec'd it with one.
Simple solution... reach into my trusty trem parts bin and grabbed an R3. Problem solved.
The FR Special is wimpy. Must swap out for an OFR or at minimum put in a big block. I did a side by side with a Chrome OFR and the FR Special baseplate is thinner and the spring block is skinny and light.

Pickups are not horrible, but they sound a bit hollow.
I am thinking about converting to a H-S or even an H-H setup. I never use the middle pickups on any of my H-S-S guitars.
Need to find out who makes a pickguard that fits these.
Looks like a standard 11 screw Strat setup, but the holes don't match up. Anyone ever swap one?

[Startingline]

I have an AS SDX and i did what you are talking about. OFR, Brass Block, Swapped pickups. I bought an R3 nut, but haven't swapped it yet, i'm still on the fence about changing it. Leveled and polished the frets and the action came to life.
I put a Dimarzio SD in the bridge and Fender SCN in the middle and neck. I didn't think i'd ever use the middle, but it's got a separate tone that works well by itself.

[Startingline]

[DonP]

The thing that turns me off with mine is the lack of sustain. Notes just seem to die off.

With my MIJ SoCal I build from parts, I used a real OFR with a big block and man that axe is a monster. I have an A2 JB in the bridge abd a screamin demon in the neck. I'd just hate to put a lot of effort into the SDX only to find out the wood is the issue.

Let me know if the pickup and trem upgrades help. Also is the route an HSH or HSS or swimming pool or what?

[Startingline]

Mine was lacking sustain, but after the trem swap and neck setup it rings forever now.

[Nightbat]

So after playing a few of these and realizing its flaws were easily corrected, I decided to pull the trigger on one.

Pickups are not horrible, but they sound a bit hollow.

Hollow is what I find the inherent character of basswood, you could alleviate the problem somewhat with other p'ups, but you're never totally gonna erase it
Though in IMHO, of the basswood guitars I played, the AS with OEM p'ups seems to have the least hollow character so far

The thing that turns me off with mine is the lack of sustain. Notes just seem to die off.

Well, I noticed the FR Special seems to have some 'give' in it, it certainly could use a more solid baseplate

[rjohnstone]

I have other Basswood guitars that have great sustain... it's not the wood, it's the crappy trem.
The hollow tone is definitely the pickup. The stock singles don't sound horrible and are nice on a clean channel.

I did a quick temporary pickguard swap with one I had that was loaded with an SD 59 in the bridge and it is miles better.
The pickguard I have doesn't line up with all the screw holes, so I still need to source one or get a blank and cut my own.

The 59 is a bit too bright for my taste (part of why it's in the parts bin), but it's better than the stock pickup. Not hollow anymore.
I'm thinking an Evo or Super 3 in the bridge and an SH2 in the neck would really bring this thing to life.

I have a chrome OFR with a nice 37mm block that I could drop in. Not sure I want to go the chrome hardware route though so I'll try the sustain block swap on the FRS first.
The black hardware on the white body looks better IMO.

[Mudlark]

It'd be neat if they bumped them up to Pro Series.

That model was destined for mod's, but they often end up winning over their owners.

[rjohnstone]

Well the verdict is in... the FRS is a tone sucking pile of garbage on this guitar.
Swapped it out for a MIG OFR (the chrome one I already had) and holy crap this thing has tone and the harmonics hang on like their supposed to.
Still have the stock pickups in and with the OFR swap, they're not as sucky. Still a bit hollow in the mids, but the trem swap made a noticeable improvement.

Mudlark, you're right... this guitar is a perfect bed for mods The neck and fret work are great. Swapping out different pickgaurds with various pickup configs is next on the agenda.

[rjohnstone]

Some pics...

Stock...



OFR swapped.

[rjohnstone]

Makeover completed.

German OFR with a proper R3 nut, Gotoh SG381 tuners, DiMarzio Evo in the bridge, DiMarzio HS-2 in the neck, Custom pickguard, Switchcraft 3 way toggle, and a CTS 500k pot.
For those wondering, a So Cal pickguard fits the SDX. I ordered it without the 11 mounting holes drilled (just in case) and used the old pickguard as a template.
After comparing with a friends So Cal, those holes appear to match up.

[toejam]

That looks great! I usually prefer black hardware, but the chrome works well on this with the white pickguard.

[mpexus]

It looks GREAT!!!


Im actually going to replace the Black Pickguard on mine for a 3 ply white (or that slight dim green) one and maybe make it a HS model. Will keep the Black Hardware sinc I alreadyepalced the FR Special with a FR (made in Korea) that came from a Mexican Charvel.

I also noticed the lack of Sustain, mainly on the higher strings... but after the FR swap, action adjusted and Singles change (screw staggered poles on Singles!!!) it rings out much much better. Needs a fret level on 2-3 a bit more raised frets, but havent done it yet.

A thing I notice was the original Humbucker sounded to me much better than a real Super Distortion in there, it has now a Duncan Distortion but I might put the original one back.

For the singles I replaced the default ones since I hated the sound and they totally killed part of the sustain, it has now some cheap Entwistle Noiseless that sound much much better.