Did you mod your Fender jazz bass?

[Green Lantern]

I am wondering how many change their pickups or add/change active electronics.

I am saving for a new American jazz bass. I like the bigger tail piece, strings through the back, and a little more modern pickups but still maintaining the jazz bass sound. However I like active electronics and am thinking about adding the Aguilar pre amp to it as well.

[fivestringgecko]

I picked up a '06 Am Std Jazz V a while back and swapped the stock p'ups with Basslines Quarter Pounders. Warmer, wider low end that helped focus the low B a little bit, they also have a little bit more attitude to the Jazz bass growl. I also added an Audere JZ3 preamp. Same great Jazz sound but with way more control and tonal options. Love it! I'm also debating about swapping out the bridge...

It was love at first note, but it just keeps getting better.

5sg.

[georgestrings]

I couldn't vote, given the poll choices - I have two '08 MIA Fender Jazz basses, and both have minor "mods":

My FSR Hot Rod Jazz came from the factory with SCN pups and an S1 switch - all it got was a Hipshot drop tuner...

I liked the S1 switch so much that I installed one on my American Standard Jazz of the same year - along with a Hipshot drop tuner...




- georgestrings

[DWBass]

Ripped out the stock electronics and installed a full Bartolini compliment! Classic Series Single Coil Brights with a US Bart 3.3A/P preamp. Bass smokes now. Think Larry Graham!

[fivestringgecko]

My Jazz had that S1 switch on it... I personally like the Audere much better, but lately I've been sorely tempted by a VM Jazz V, think I might drop the S1 switch in it if I pick one up.

5sg.

[lrhew]

Do it! I did an 06. It was a 5 string burst with RW.. I added a 2 band Aggie, cut and boost, 18v. No on other mods. She was too big for the rig I had at the time and I was afraid. Now a local guy in Dallas is killing with the slap and pop thang. He played thru a Peavy 4-10 cab, and Peavy head. Not sure what model, but it looked new. You will be just fine. Merry Christmas.

[danomite64]

I have two; my '06 is stock, and my '09 is heavily modded with Quarter-Pounder pickups, Ken Smith bridge, Warmoth neck, Hipshot tuners, and EMG preamp. The modded one is my favorite, but I like the stock one a lot, so the only thing I plan on changing on it is the tuners.

[SquierJazz72]

So far, just replaced the stock 500k min-pots with 250k CTS pots and a .047 tone cap.

I will be doing more. Series/parallel wiring, pickup blend pot, and TBX tone for the electronics. Eventually, I may look for better pickups, but I'll give these ones a chance with the mods and see. Maybe I won't need to.

I'm also looking at a steel bridge with brass saddles in place of the stock Squier bridge. The stock tuners seem solid and adequate, so they'll probably stay unless I have good reason to change.

[GigJones]

I’ve got a passive Classic 70’s Jazz bass that I swapped out the stock pickups for a pair of Nordstrand split-coil vintage pickups.

I love the way the bass plays but the stock pickups were too thin and brittle sounding for my taste.
The Nordstrands have a very unique tone with lots of growl.

[smcfarland1337]

I put an SX Jazz neck on it and a mint green pick guard.

[Margus Alviste]

Lollar pickups!

[Kmonk]

I have never modded any bass that I have owned. I feel that the only reason to make a modification would be if I wasn't happy with the way bass sounded or played. If I didn't like it I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

[Joe Louvar]

I didn't vote because mine is stock, but I want to replace the white pickguard on my 2003 sunburst MIM Fender Standard Jazz passive bass with a tort pickguard, but I’m having problems finding one that fits (10 holes, no trust cutout) The pickguard I bought last week almost fit, but it didn’t meet the control plate so there was a gap between the pickguard and chrome control plate. Does anyone know where I can get one from (link)? Thank you.

[fivestringgecko]

Originally Posted by Kmonk

I have never modded any bass that I have owned. I feel that the only reason to make a modification would be if I wasn't happy with the way bass sounded or played. If I didn't like it I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

I thought that way for a while too, but I now look at basses like cars. If the stock model works for you, that's great. Or you can look at it as a starting point... pick the car, then add things like maybe some nice rims, a stereo, tint the windows, etc. to customize it a bit and make it your own.

My Jazz is the only bass I've modded so far, but it's shown me that modding isn't a bad thing.

5sg.

[JAUQO III-X]

Below is a pic of my very heavily modded Fender Jazz.


I got the bass new old stock in 1981 or 82.

It's a 71 or 72 but I have done so many mods to it over the years.


It originally had a chocolate finish.

Black pickgaurd.

A maple fb.

Blocks and binding.


As time went on the mods started.


I ended up stripping the finish. It even had my girl friend at the time name carved into the upper horn.

I had the fingerboard taken off and a gaboon ebony fb attached. The luthier who put the fb on it messed the skunk stripe up by dropping some type of chemical on it. So I had to have a new skunk stripe added.

Then I had Pat Wilkins put a high gloss finish on the neck except for the front of the head stock.

I added Bart pickups.

A Audere pre and a Hipshot D- Tuner.

And the marble finish on it was done by Jens Ritter of Ritter guitars.

Along with the Hipshot D-tuner, I replaced the remaining three machine heads with Hipshots as well.

And in the early 80's I added a Badass II bridge.


The last mod was done about 4 years ago, when I installed the Audere pre amp.

[pacojas]

just put Fender CS60's pups in my 09 AV62RI Jbass and i am impressed!!!! these pups sound average with the bass volume turned down. the magic happens when you open those suckers full up!

[Mike M.]

I have two American Standard Jazz basses: a 2011 5 string and a new 2012 4 string and am very happy with both in thier stock form.

I also have a '73 Jazz bass that's modded, but all that's been changed was done out of neccessity. The neck developed a bad warp so I got a Warmoth replacement neck. The neck pickup blew so I replaced both pickups with a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity II's.

[Crabby]

I have an 07 American Deluxe that is all stock but have made some mods to my VM Squire just for fun. Added a Badass II bridge, Dimarzio Model J pickups, US pots, Dunlop strap locks and finished the neck and fingerboard in True Oil. Made a $200 bass sound and feel pretty amazing.

[xander8280]

Sorry for the picture quality, cropped out of a picture from earlier today. My MIM fender '75 ri jazz. Stackpots, badass bridge, precision pickup and soon to add an alembic stratoblaster in the month to come. Waiting on some hand wound passive hot pickups, split coil in the bridge. If I got an American jazz I'd do the same thing.....

[Pet Sounds]

No mods here. I suspect this poll will draw the modders and not so much the many who leave their basses stock.