Hoppus bass mod ideas...

[DudeWheresMy182]

(hope this is the right place to post! haha)

Well, long story short, i have 2 hoppus basses (one white w/blk pg, one shell pink) and it seems quite the same over and over, obviously. So im looking to mod one out a little bit. Ill be modding the white one, and to change it up, i already put a Jazz neck on it. Pretty much, im looking for a new bridge (string through) and pickup (pretty much any besides the quarter pounder in the other) and put a new pot in there. Where can i find a stacked pot, so i could use that for vol/tone instead of just volume? Any ideas out there? Im looking for anyone's opinion, if there are any guidelines, id say maybe a more vintage-esqe vibe on the pickup, but throw any and all suggestions out there! (and yes, i did use the search function, and couldnt find anything on the bridge or pots *not looking for a BAIII*)

[honestjohnny]

Have a look at bestbassgear.com. That should give you some ideas.

[Bootzilla]

I would do:
Vintage style bridge (just a bent plate maybe?) or a gotoh
Clover tuners (for looks)
Tort pg
Drill for an extra pot instead of the stacked pot (also for looks)
Put in a lollar or fender 62 pickup (the later if your budget is a little tight).

If it has the reversed P that would be my dream bass.

Edit: Post picks when it's finished svp

[DudeWheresMy182]

thanks for the great ideas already, itll definately be a work in progress (im at college and have to focus on other things half the time). I probably wont change the tuners, but bridge, pickup, and electronics are the main focus. ill definately be checking everything out here that people are suggesting. Bootzillla, i like the ideas!

[Dubraw-Luthier]

The Leo Quan Badass III is a direct bolt on (no modification needed) for the fender american standards with through body stringing. I'm not sure if it the same for the Hoppus basses, but if not the Badass II will most likely fit with out mods, but it does not have the string though abilities.

[DudeWheresMy182]

i'm looking for a string-through bridge, direct replacement, that is not a badass3. i dont know whats out there as far as bridges that fit that criteria, so ill need a little assistance there, as well as finding a stacked pot

[DudeWheresMy182]

OKAY, heres what im in the process of doing,
bought a pickup off TB (pickup from a California Special P-Bass), and ill throw a white pickup cover on that (purely cosmetic, purely b@d@$$), i threw a bridge cover on there, i will buy an Allparts high mass bridge (direct replacement), and im going to buy a CTS 500/250K stacked concentric pot (and a knob for it too), along with a new switchcraft input jack and orange drop .047 cap.

Should i get cloth wire for it, or would regular wire be fine? In addition to that, should i get some self-adhesive shielding tape? Just looking for suggestions...

[DudeWheresMy182]

also, planning on getting flats. its pretty much going to be an anti-hoppus bass when im done with it! haha

[walterw]

get vintage threaded saddles and put them on the stock plate. that will give you better string spacing, and the threaded ones jam up tight against each other, giving better tone and sustain. plus it's a cheap upgrade.

a nice vintage-type P pickup is always a fine thing, and if it were mine i would get a real jazz bass 3-hole metal control plate and cut the pickguard to install it. then you could have a normal volume-tone-jack P bass arrangement, with a cooler look and a stronger mounting for the jackplate. (funny how the bass he himself actually plays is like that)

[DudeWheresMy182]

I was thinking that last night!!!!
I think I am now going to go for the 3 hole plate, with a volume & tone knob (both seperate).
I think itll be easier for me (im used to jazz bass plates, and havent used a stack knob before) and itll look cool as it matches the bridge cover

found the parts at basspartsresources.com

[testing1two]

Or you could go completely insane with this nifty electronics package from John East:

Check out the P-Retro: http://www.east-uk.com/

[DudeWheresMy182]

wow! that P-Retro looks sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
unfortunately, thats just a weeeeeeeeee bit out of my price range haha

[DudeWheresMy182]

Alright, here is what the official mods will be:

Just received the pickup off a 97' California Precision Special (pretty much just looked for anything that wasnt an SPB3), and i bought white pickup covers for it (its a white bass w/blk pg, just going for a different look, hope it looks good...)

At this point, ill keep the stock bridge, but will either look for vintage style saddles (as mentioned by someone above) or buy the economic high mass string through bridge off basspartsresource.com (gotta love college, sucks all my money away, but i think id be happy with that bridge. I dont even really think about the bridge much cause i have a cover over it)

All parts below were bought off basspartsresource.com

~Vintage style wiring kit: 2 cts 250k pots, .047 orange drop, switchcraft jack, cloth wire
~62' Jazz control plate. With the Hoppus' styling, sure ill have to cut the pg, but this will look really cool, as well as being able to have a vol & tone pot (i passed on the whole stacked pot idea).

[rkingly]

Have fun with it, I think it'll turn out great. I dig the white covers
very cool.
Here's "Shellie" I had a good time with this one. 52 RI pick up, threaded saddles, 3 hole Fender plate
.047 Orange drop, plexi pick guard.
I am considering replacing the tone pot with a Varitone selector, for more tasty tonal variety.

[DudeWheresMy182]

cool pickguard! I love the pink Hoppus', I'm going to leave mine stock, but the other one is definately open to mods! haha

Yeah, i'm doing something like that, but leaving the stock pg on there(but am using the control plate, although that custom pg looks niceeeee), and i used a P-bass bridge cover as opposed to a jazz one.

[rkingly]

The Pink is my fav as well.
I chose to save the original pick guard, even though they're readily available for sale. I swapped necks too & the only irreversible mods are the holes for the bridge cover.
I would go crazy with mods if it were any other color Hoppus.

How long for pics?

[DudeWheresMy182]

i just ordered the control plate, wiring kit, and the white pup covers the other day, so when that stuff comes in ill get it going. i dont have a soldering gun with me (as im at school) but im sure ill make a trip home to "visit the parents"/work on the bass haha. im super excited about it.

[rkingly]

PM me when it's finished.

[DudeWheresMy182]

im going to be so happy when its all done, dont worry, the whole world will know haha

[DudeWheresMy182]

so here is a quick mock-up (i just received the parts today!)
looks pretty good, but ill have to wait til i go back to my parents house to solder it up!