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02-25-2010, 03:54 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cork City Ireland | | | Modifying a dumpster bass!
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Apologies beforehand if this is a dumb question!
A friend of mine recently found a Top Twenty bass (70s Japanese made Fender copy, I think!) in a dumpster, and passed it on to me!
It's a short scale bass, very light but not in great condition! Action is too high, keeps going out of tune, pickups not great (you get the picture!)
The thing is, my 11 year old likes it and I wouldn't mind modifying it for her. Also, I could use a light bass for long gigs as my '78 Jazz and MM Sterling can get heavy on my (already bad) back!
So, is it worth putting new pups on it? And what would sort out the neck? Or is it worth doing at all?
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It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play.
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02-25-2010, 03:59 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Almere, The Netherlands | | It's only worth doing if you think it's worth doing.
If it's the first bass you ever modded, you can see it as a learning platform on wich you can make mistakes with drilling, refinishing, etc. Dumping a load of cash into a bass can be fun, almost never profitable money wise, but fun. So if you want to do it, what's stopping you? 
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02-25-2010, 04:03 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cork City Ireland | | Quote:
Originally Posted by FromBeyond  It's only worth doing if you think it's worth doing.
If it's the first bass you ever modded, you can see it as a learning platform on wich you can make mistakes with drilling, refinishing, etc. Dumping a load of cash into a bass can be fun, almost never profitable money wise, but fun. So if you want to do it, what's stopping you? | Yeah, it will be my first bass job! For €72 I can get Fender pups and bridge, so I suppose I should just go ahead and do it!
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It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play.
~ Dizzy Gillespie
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02-25-2010, 04:05 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Northern Ireland | | | I remember well the Top Twenty Bass and Guitars! That was in the days when you COULD buy a bad cheap bass.
My advice - put it back in the Dumpster, (I didn't know they had Dumpsters in Cork!), and channel your time, energy and money into buying a modern cheap bass.
(Unless you're looking for a big project. I'm not sure I would like to be seen out of the house with one, though!)
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02-25-2010, 04:41 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cork City Ireland | | Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbassmanjazz I remember well the Top Twenty Bass and Guitars! That was in the days when you COULD buy a bad cheap bass.
My advice - put it back in the Dumpster, (I didn't know they had Dumpsters in Cork!), and channel your time, energy and money into buying a modern cheap bass.
(Unless you're looking for a big project. I'm not sure I would like to be seen out of the house with one, though!) | I thought that if I used the term 'Skip' nobody would know what I was talking about! I might actually do both things, just work on the TT just because I'm curious as to how it'll turn out, and will look for a new bass. It'll have to be short scale though!
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It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play.
~ Dizzy Gillespie
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02-25-2010, 04:56 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kent Island, Md. | | | When modifying cheap basses, I like to keep an eye out in the classifieds and pickup inexpensive good items to do upgrades. One of my favorite mods was getting a G&L SB2 Pbass pickup on talkbass for $50.00. It is a great sounding pickup. I also see used tuners on a regular basis.
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Schroeder #51,Mediocre Bassist Club #46, Genz Benz 129
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02-25-2010, 05:41 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Cork City Ireland | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Gintaras When modifying cheap basses, I like to keep an eye out in the classifieds and pickup inexpensive good items to do upgrades. One of my favorite mods was getting a G&L SB2 Pbass pickup on talkbass for $50.00. It is a great sounding pickup. I also see used tuners on a regular basis. | Just had a look and there's some good stuff on there. Thanks!
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It's taken me all my life to learn what not to play.
~ Dizzy Gillespie
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02-25-2010, 10:09 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Fort Collins, Colorado | | | It's not hard, and between Ebay, TB classifieds and other options, you can get pickups and bridges cheap. Both are easy to buy used - people swap them all the time.
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"...awesome as a monkey wearing a tuxedo made of bacon, riding on a unicorn!'"
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02-25-2010, 11:27 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Singapore | | | Make sure the bass is at least playable before throwing money at it. No point throwing money at a bass with a neck that won't straighten.
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02-25-2010, 11:31 AM
| | Pat's the best! | | Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Northern Virginia, USA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by mrbassmanjazz I remember well the Top Twenty Bass and Guitars! That was in the days when you COULD buy a bad cheap bass.
My advice - put it back in the Dumpster, (I didn't know they had Dumpsters in Cork!), and channel your time, energy and money into buying a modern cheap bass.
(Unless you're looking for a big project. I'm not sure I would like to be seen out of the house with one, though!) | Ha ha ha!!! That would be my advice to anyone who found the original Sears brand short scale bass I started on. I grew out of it in 3 months!!!! It was dreadful! | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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