Rondo 51

[geoff_in_nc]

I just saw this on another forum, and figured I'd bring the good news.

http://www.rondomusic.com/piscesbk.html

Note that its a Douglas. Interesting. The main bass pages don't link to this yet, and I have no idea if it comes in other colors (butterscotch! butterscotch!) but there it is....

[robb3566]

They have a nice sunburst one...good grief, this is the last thing I needed to see right now, since I won't be buying any new gear till I find a job!



I'm taking consolation in the fact that the headstocks look like the new SX ones...yuck! Ruins the whole 'vintage' P-bass look.

[Frankjohnson]

I did note that they are fretless.......

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by Frankjohnson

I did note that they are fretless.......

I don't see any mention of being fretless, and those sure look like frets in the pictures...

Tim

[Frankjohnson]

Your right - it doesn't say fretless now.....it did when it was initially posted though.

[Muddslide]

Cool!

I emailed Kurt last year and asked him if he'd ever considered a pre-57-style Pbass. He got back to me and said he didn't think he could get SX to do it, but he'd try to trot out a Douglas version.

I was hoping for butterscotch and a slab body, but I may just have to go for this.

I recently sold a Jay Turser JTB-401 and have been regretting it. Maybe this is the remedy!

Anyone know if an SX neck might fit? I have an SX57 P bass that I love the neck on...am seriously thinking about trying to snag one of these Pisces and swapping the neck.

Hmmm... (he said, rubbing his beard evilly.)

I really, really wish they were offering these in butterscotch or vintage white. I'm a good hand at doing refinishes, but I barely have the time or gumption anymore....

[Fajah]

Just received mine yesterday. It's actually more along the lines of a '54 or '55 because of the contours. Nice bass except I'm not sure yet what do with that headstock. I'm getting used to it, but it's cut in such a way that reshaping it to look like a tele-bass headstock will be impossible.

[Frontier9]

Really nice looking bass - I like the black one a lot, but couldn't get around that headstock. Even though it can't be cut into a "tele" shape, it would look a lot better if it was cut down a bit.

[Fajah]

Originally Posted by Frontier9

Really nice looking bass - I like the black one a lot, but couldn't get around that headstock. Even though it can't be cut into a "tele" shape, it would look a lot better if it was cut down a bit.

I should restate what I said with regards to reshaping the headstock. It can be cut into something close now that I've lived with the bass for a couple of days. There's plenty material to work with on the side, but the not quite as much at the top. Just have to be somewhat creative.

[Fajah]

Check this out after a bit of surgery:

[Sl8e]

Originally Posted by Fajah

Check this out after a bit of surgery:

Thank God.

Someone had to fix that hideous head stock.

sand that stinkin name off too.

You do know you'll have to replace the innards too.

A good lipstick Kent Armstrong would look good in that and a Bad ass bridge.

After all of that you'll have the equivelent of a Mexifender.

Is the wood alder or some alder like substance? [pine, bamboo, deck composit?]

[Fajah]

Originally Posted by Sl8e

Thank God.

Someone had to fix that hideous head stock.

sand that stinkin name off too.

You do know you'll have to replace the innards too.

A good lipstick Kent Armstrong would look good in that and a Bad ass bridge.

After all of that you'll have the equivelent of a Mexifender.

Is the wood alder or some alder like substance? [pine, bamboo, deck composit?]

Too funny. I don't find any need to replace the guts or the bridge. The stock pup is actually very good. Yep, it's real alder and the name is staying.

[Sl8e]

Originally Posted by Fajah

Too funny. I don't find any need to replace the guts or the bridge. The stock pup is actually very good. Yep, it's real alder and the name is staying.

Drugless?

[Muddslide]

Is there any routing under the pickguard?

Incidentally, for about $50 more, Jay Turser sells a pretty nice '54-style P-bass.

I sold mine on here recently and regret it already.

[Fajah]

Originally Posted by Muddslide

Is there any routing under the pickguard?

Incidentally, for about $50 more, Jay Turser sells a pretty nice '54-style P-bass.

I sold mine on here recently and regret it already.

There's no routing under the pickguard. A friend has the Jay Turser version and likes it.

[Sl8e]

Originally Posted by Fajah

There's no routing under the pickguard. A friend has the Jay Turser version and likes it.

If there is no routing under the pick guard then you have a perfect opportunity to make that bass an individual.

Strip it down, fill in the holes, sand it [600 wet will do], paint it with a good distinct color. slap a real good neck on it [you can get a tele bass neck from a few different makers All Parts I think has them], bad ass bridge, duncan pickup, ernie ball pot, Schaller machines.

You've now made a really good Tele bass. Fender doesn't make one that nice.

[jwsamuel]

This bridge might look good on that bass:

2 Saddle bridge

Jim

[Muddslide]

Can anyone who owns or has played one of these comment on the general quality? I'd like to hear more about them.

[Fajah]

Originally Posted by Muddslide

Can anyone who owns or has played one of these comment on the general quality? I'd like to hear more about them.

This is condensed report I had posted in another forum.

1) The overall fit and finish is great. However, when I first received the bass, I noticed that finish on the neck had sort of a fine gritty feel to it so a quick rubdown with dry 2000 grade sandpaper followed by some wax smoothed it out. The frets are nice and shiney and the neck feels like silk now.

2) Tuners are smooth and work perfectly fine.

3) It comes with a plastic nut that could have been finished better at the factory so I cleaned it up with some sandpaper.

4) Frets are very nice and dressed well.

5) The stock setup was the best of any bass I've ever received from Rondo. Very low action with a bit of fret buzz. Setting the bass up was straight forward with no surprises.

7) Electronics are good and the controls are smooth although they did need some tightening. Jack is solid. I shielded the bass as I do with all my instruments.

8) It's nicely balanced overall. No issues playing it while standing for a couple of hours at a time.

9) Tone wise, it definitely has all the attributes that one would expect from a P-bass. The pickup's output is very good as the Gain on my LMII is set to 1:00 o'clock before the clipping light starts to come on. I also find the single coil pickup to be fairly quiet.

I know someone who ordered the exact same bass and had some issues when it arrived. The pickup cavity was cut off-center (so the pole pieces were off) and one tuner was broken. He sent it back to Rondo and subsequently received a perfect replacement.

You can go here for some sound samples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noxejf1ZF2o