Rondo basses - any good?

JTC111

JTC111

Active member
I know a lot of people on here love their guitars, but does anyone have any experience with the Rondo basses? I'd love to hear some opinions.
 
NO Brainer

One of the best deals out there. You really can't go wrong at that price and if you don't like it, Kurt will take it back. I love my J bass.
 
I've picked up one of their shortscale jazz bases a few years back, and I've been happy with it. It's a bass. It works. It cost $150. No complaints.
 
I have an SX Jazz 5-string bass knockoff and its OK. Terrific for the price of $150, but relative to basses in general its pretty disappointing. The pickups are pretty good, the bridge and tuners suck, and the truss rod has given me fits. But the customer service is top-notch, and the bass sounds great to me when recorded.
 
What about the basses that are a little more money, like a 100 to 150 more. Their 250 and up basses prolly got better everything.
 
Yes, that's really an isolated case and if you're not happy, you should send it back to Rondo - don't settle.

I recently got (and reviewed) the SPJ-62 BK - to me it matches or exceeds the modern MIA P-basses (that's with stock SX pickups, which can easily be upgraded). And it only cost less than a P/J Squier. But with case.

Simply the best mass-produced instrument I've seen/played.

ermghoti said:
Your experience is the inverse of mine.
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Gear_Junky said:
Yes, that's really an isolated case and if you're not happy, you should send it back to Rondo - don't settle.
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Don't get me wrong, let's put it this way, i'm happy considering how much I paid for it. And it's cheap enough that really I never thought it was worth the time/effort to deal with shipping it back.

Gear_Junky said:
Simply the best mass-produced instrument I've seen/played.
Click to expand...
wow, really? yeah, when i got mine all the pots were super scratchy, and it just doesn't play as well as my MIM P-bass. I'm not a real bassist, just use it to lay down simple stuff when i can't find a real bassist to play for me, so unfortunately i can't really quantify it better than that.
 
I wasn't as excited as Gear Junkie, but mine doesn't make any noise, and played fine. After I cut a new nut for it (I had just gotten the tools from Stew Mac, and was slotting anything that couldn't flee) I discovered it intonated frighteningly well, barely off by a cent or two anywhere. Downsides: the neck is not strong, and is maxed out with medium weight strings, and the pickups aren't spectaculer. I just got cheap pups from Guitar Fetish, and based on my experience with that company, I expect the thing to really wake up. Total cost, with upgrades and a gig bag, just about $200.

I got a SX P bass at the same time, I had hoped to steal the maple neck for my cream bodied PJ, nothing doing. I suspect the things actually are handmade, the neck pockets weren't even close. The P bass was nearly as good, I gave it to my brother as a birthday present.
 
ermghoti said:
After I cut a new nut for it (I had just gotten the tools from Stew Mac, and was slotting anything that couldn't flee) I discovered it intonated frighteningly well, barely off by a cent or two anywhere.
Click to expand...

Which model are you talking about and are you saying the intonation improved AFTER you made a new nut?
 
Both the SPJ and the SPB (or whatever the P bass is), as well as pretty much anything else I've gotten my hands on has benefitted gretly from attention to the nut slots. Factory nut slots are left not deep enough, to prevent fret rattle and fret-out. Carefull work with a set of fret files can sometimes get you near an eighth-step closer to in tune at the first fret, which is the biggest offender. I have a Kubiki Key Factor 5 that was next to unplayable on the B string due to the factory-cut nut.
 
ermghoti said:
Both the SPJ and the SPB (or whatever the P bass is), as well as pretty much anything else I've gotten my hands on has benefitted gretly from attention to the nut slots. Factory nut slots are left not deep enough, to prevent fret rattle and fret-out. Carefull work with a set of fret files can sometimes get you near an eighth-step closer to in tune at the first fret, which is the biggest offender. I have a Kubiki Key Factor 5 that was next to unplayable on the B string due to the factory-cut nut.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... to some degree that probably explains why I never like playing my acoustics without a capo (and my acoustics are not cheap guitars).

So anyway, I've decided to take a chance on one of the Rondo basses and ordered an SX SJB-75 LTD CAR. Now the waiting begins. :D
 
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The Rondo bass arrived today and I have to say it's a really nice looking guitar. I haven't played it through anything yet and won't get a chance until my new recording rig arrives in a couple of weeks, but the thing seems pretty decent thus far. BTW, the bass I ordered came with upgraded tuners. I heard a couple of people complain a little about the quality of the tuners but these new ones are smooth as silk.
 
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