NGD - $129 B-Stock SX Liquid Gets Tricked Out

[HTSMetal]

I had an SX Liquid years ago, loved the guitar and got lucky to receive one that was flawlessly made. As with many of us who suffer from continual guitar acquisition syndrome, I ended up selling it to help get a little extra money to fund who knows what, and ever since then I've missed the heck out of that guitar.

I often browse Rondo just looking at whatever odd models they may have gotten in recently, and one day a month or two ago I happen to open up their page and see a $129 SX Liquid B-Stock in vintage white. The B-stock reason was a paint depression up near the fin -- but there was no paint cracking or chipping, it had just sunk a little bit... So I got to thinking -- I could pick this thing up super cheap and do what I've seen others do with these guitars before and add a racing stripe to the fin to cover up the depression.

I snapped that sucker up right quick, and about a week later this beauty arrived:


I had the red racing stripe ready and slapped it right over the paint depression, and you can't see any damage to the guitar at all. In typical SX fashion (at least in my experience) it's flawlessly made with a very comfortable neck profile and well done leveling on the frets.

I never planned on leaving this one stock -- so another 80 bucks later, I scored a set of three Wilkinson WMHR mini humbuckers and dropped them in.

Here's the final product that set me back a little more than $200 all told:




I'm no stranger to cheap Asian manufactured pickups, and in most cases I've been pleasantly surprised and impressed by the tone and quality of them... But these Wilkinson mini humbuckers REALLY blew me away from the first strum. They're low output (all three read between 6.3-6.4k) with A5 magnets, very balanced and clear sounding but also very punchy, good vintage tone and tremendous low end. If you're ever in the market for a set of mini humbuckers I'd strongly recommend checking these out, they're quite impressive!

This one's definitely a lifer. Cheapest guitar I own and it routinely pisses me off that it plays as good and sounds as good as my Fender American Professional Jazzmaster. I have a Christmas band that kicks up during the holidays every year doing covers and this thing will fit the bill and the look absolutely perfectly!

I guess I'm just glad that with everything getting more and more expensive and fun guitars now requiring more of an investment just to get started, I'm glad SX is still making awesome stuff at prices regular people can still afford.

[BatUtilityBelt]

Love my Liquids too, and the stripe looks great!

[jtcnj]

GReat score!!
I'm pulling the Gibson P90 from the bridge of my Liquid for another project and have been considering a mini hum there.....

[HTSMetal]

GReat score!!
I'm pulling the Gibson P90 from the bridge of my Liquid for another project and have been considering a mini hum there.....

Honestly if you're looking to go the reasonable cost route, give the Wilkinson WMHRs a try! I was impressed from the first strum. The ones with the P90 adapter rings fit the Liquid pickguard perfectly with no mods whatsoever.

[Partscaster]

GReat score!!
I'm pulling the Gibson P90 from the bridge of my Liquid for another project and have been considering a mini hum there.....

Honestly if you're looking to go the reasonable cost route, give the Wilkinson WMHRs a try! I was impressed from the first strum. The ones with the P90 adapter rings fit the Liquid pickguard perfectly with no mods whatsoever.

There seems to be no vid demo's of the Alnico Wilkinson WMHRs...hint, hint

[glasshand]

Coincidentally enough, I was just looking for some mini-humbuckers for a project, so the good review is very helpful! I was looking at some boutique ones I know would be great, but they're also easily 3x the cost.

[glasshand]

I'm no stranger to cheap Asian manufactured pickups, and in most cases I've been pleasantly surprised and impressed by the tone and quality of them... But these Wilkinson mini humbuckers REALLY blew me away from the first strum. They're low output (all three read between 6.3-6.4k) with A5 magnets, very balanced and clear sounding but also very punchy, good vintage tone and tremendous low end. If you're ever in the market for a set of mini humbuckers I'd strongly recommend checking these out, they're quite impressive!

I put a pair of the Wilkinson WMHRs in my SX Hawk, and I'm impressed too! A good middle ground between the clarity of single-coils and the grunt of humbuckers. I've always wondered how important it is that there be separate models for neck and bridge pickups, and even brief experience with these has taught me "not very", because they're very responsive to pickup height adjustment. At first I felt like the bridge pickup was a little weak, so I tinkered with the heights, and now I feel like the bridge is actually louder, so I might back it off some. I'm toying with putting a TBX tone control in the Hawk too, to see how they sound with it.

[jtcnj]

I was getting ready to sell my Liquid - mainly because the AXL Jr. P90 i just put together is the P90 guitar I have been seeking.
But now I dont know; the Liquid just drips coool.