Upgrade time :)
 

Hey guys,


So I recently remembered I have a P-bass. I keep at a friends house since I live in small dorm room and its not my main bass.

Now it is a squier... :hiding: let me preface I didn't like squier's for a lot of years (sounded terrible especially all the P's I played not to mention they had horrible action and lots of flaws) I got this bass for free last summer as a gift from a good friend who knew I played...I had foreboding thoughts upon seeing it was a squier but was pleasantly surprised... it sounded pretty good (nothing amazing but a lot better than any other squier bass I have played) and it played good... did research and its just another low line one... every once and while there is a gem I suppose... :eyebrow: (well gem for squier land that is :D )

Anyways its decent, but I want to make it into a good players bass. :bassist:

So the first two major upgrades I think are a fretless neck and some new pups. :cool:

The major fretless necks I am seeing are mighty mites which have good reviews, but have no markings (which would be nice for a guy who has never owned a fretless before) is there anything around $90 that has markings or is better?

For pups I have been thinking about Bill Lawrence P-46's or Fender 62' Reissue's... Leaning towards Bill Lawrence's P-46's though since I have heard they are fantastic and I am guessing I will not always be able to get those down the road while fender should be easier to get....


Anyways thats what I am interested in doing right now. Thoughts? I think this is the right section.
Anyways thanks for the help.

Shalom,
Meinl

Also thinking abut possibly adding a J bridge pickup... Whats the best way to do that? wiring wise and such?

If I were you I think I'd look for a good, used fretless. It could cost much less than the mods you want to make. I got a used Peavey Foundation fretless for $150 and it has served me quite well with no mods needed.

Modding this bass to be what you have in mind would cost 3x as much as buying a used bass. That said, it would be a good learning experience.

If you plan to get a fretless neck, I would look for a squier vintage modified jazz neck. The ebonol fingerboard feels great if you like that coated fingerboard feel; jaco esque. I prefer mine to most necks I have played , as far as fretless goes.

I want to mod it because I like working on stuff and and I have never put a new neck on... I have put new pups in my other bass. The parts I am looking at it would cost $150... not sure if they are good though. Are mighty mite necks any good or are they horrible? Being I got the bass for free... I don't feel like a $150 is a lot of money to put into it...

I could do a more expensive neck , but I just wouldn't do it in the next month so I could save a little more for this project.

Anybody have any thoughts on those Bill lawerence p-46 pups? and how the would react on a fretless?

Thanks,
Meinl

If you like working on your basses, why not pull the frets and fill the gaps. It isn't too hard and the cost is very low.

hmmmm how "not too bad"... :smug:

I am decently good with electronics... the idea of bodywork and fret work.... ehhh... Not sure if I would be able to do that. What does the process entail exactly?