• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Help With Upgrading P-Bass

E

ejgauna

Feb 28, 2011
39
2
#1
I recently scored a squier p-bass from CL for $45. My plans are to upgrade it and spend less than buying a mim bass ($550?!? for MIM?!?) or about the same and having it sound a million times better. I got the cosmetic parts down. It's a black bass so I'm gonna go with a black pickguard and neck plate and probably gonna get a neck with the black block inlays from allparts.com or warmoth.com. The part I need help with is....

1.) Pickup upgrades

2.) Bridge upgrade (does it even matter?)

3.)Pots upgrade (know nothing about 250k pots or what they do or if I got new ones how it affects the tone.

Lookin forward to ur help!
 
#2
1. Probably the best pickup upgrade for the money is the Fender Original about $70
2. Don't spend a lot of money on a bridge, Fender Vintage about $40 are good
3. Pots, CTS 250k are popular

You did not mention strings. Probably the most noticable improvement you can make. For Flats, D'Addario Chromes are my favorite.

The neck will not be drilled for Squier tuners, so you need to include that in your budget.
Rocky
 
#3
First of all, get the bass and play it.....

Figure out what you don't like about it....


THEN ....start formulating a plan.



People can give you a zillion different suggestions, but until we know :

A) What you don't like about the bass
B) What sound you are TRYING to achieve
C) What the rest of your rig is


....well, then we can't be truly helpful. It's kinda like someone saying "I'm getting a Honda Civic...what should I do to it ?" (Do you want better mileage, power, comfort, a certain look, etc, etc....??)


:)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bill Whitehurst
#4
Also, keep in mind you could wind up spending a fair amount of money and not get the result you were hoping for. Having your bass sound "a million times better" is just unrealistic. (Yeah, I know you are exaggerating :)) You never know what all the mods you make will actually sound like until you've spent the money and done the work.
 
#5
A new neck can be pretty expensive if you want it to play properly. Most necks need nut work and a grind and polish before they can be set up to optimal playability. A quality neck and the work that goes with it can approach $400. On the other hand, occasionally one is able to just slap on any neck and have it be fine. Do some homework on that one. As far as strings go, I highly recommend either Thomastik-Infeld Jazz if you like flatwound or DR Sunbeams for roundwound. For pickups, the Fender 62's are great and you really cant lose with the Fralins although they do cost more. I'm a proponent of the "flimsy, bent metal" bridges that Fender makes...particularly the ones with threaded saddles.
 
#6
Dark Horse said:
People can give you a zillion different suggestions, but until we know :

A) What you don't like about the bass
B) What sound you are TRYING to achieve
C) What the rest of your rig is


....well, then we can't be truly helpful. It's kinda like someone saying "I'm getting a Honda Civic...what should I do to it ?" (Do you want better mileage, power, comfort, a certain look, etc, etc....??)

:)
Click to expand...

Agreed.

That being said, I did a few upgrades to a Squier Affinity P that I found on CL, so I'll list my mods as "food for thought".

1) Mighty Mite maple/maple Jazz neck, as the standard P-neck is a bit too wide for my liking. Besides, the PO had pretty much hashed the nut on the old neck at some point, and the rosewood board had a few dings in it - it didn't take much to convince me to part with the dough for a new neck. Cost: $100.

2) Stock pickups were less than exciting. I was going to try the GFS PB Pro PLUS P-bass pickups from Guitar Fetish, but I scored a set of nearly new Seymour Duncan QPs on CL for just under retail. Cost: $60.

3) Since the volume control was scratchy, and the tone control was either on or off, I replaced both pots with CTS 250K units and a new OD cap. Cost: $18.

4) Stock Squier strings (which looked like they had been on the bass for years) were replaced with a set of D'Addario ECB81 XL Chromes flats. That's what I had lying around, so that's what I used. Cost: $30.

5) Sold the stock Squier neck on CL, so toss in a $50 credit.

6) I've been eyeballing a new Gotoh 201 bridge, but I haven't yet pulled the trigger. The stock bridge works fine, even if it is ugly. A possible future upgrade? Maybe? Cost: $0.

I have around $250 in the bass and upgrade parts, and I can say that I'm certainly happier with it now than when it was in stock form. Most of the mods were made to make it a nicer player, and all the stock bits (pickguard, knobs, tuners, etc.) were re-used when possible.

Is it nicer than a MiM? Well, I'm not going to say, because I'm biased. But I'm happy with the bass for the money I have in it. Plays well, sounds good, and if it was stolen, I'd build another like it. YMMV.
 
  • Like
Reactions: edwardthewave
#7
Thanks Ghost! That's exactly what I was looking for. When I say I want it to be a million times better than an mim I mean that I want it to play, sound, and look smoother. Tight and low. To be honest, it doesn't sound bad right now. And to be even more honest, my biggest problem with the bass is that it says squire on the headstock. I've been looking at the necks and they are pretty pricey. I'm cool with paying for that though because even at $400 for a new neck, I'm still up $150 on a mim. I think I'm gonna go with a jazz neck instead of the chunkier p bass proportions. How much will a bridge exchange change the tone or sustain?
 
#9
Check out Bass Parts Resource for some of the stuff you want.
Link Removed

They have a P bass wiring kit with CTS pots and Switchcraft jack for $15.
They also have an economy version of the Gotoh 201 bridge for $19. I have it on two of my basses and am very happy with it.
As far as pickups go check out the GFS pickups from Guitar Fetish or SD Basslines Quarter Pounder.
 
#12
IME Squier tuners are very cheap and don't get the job done. If yours feel cheap you'll definitely want to replace those as well.

As for the bridge, I'm a huge fan of Hipshot A bridges but you can find relatively inexpensive and barely used BadAss and Gotoh bridges on eBay.
 
#13
I wouldn't waste any time or money on a Squier. I learned how to play on a Squier II P-Bass. Two years of playing a few hours, once to twice a week, and the thing isn't worth 50 bucks today. The pickguard cracked. The neck warped. 4th-string tuner lost intonation. A few frets buzz. The low end tones are garbage. The input is extremely touchy. I've had to solder it back together inside. And for passive pickups, there is a ton of hum. You'll end up replacing every single part of the guitar if you want to upgrade.

You can pick up a used MIM for $350 or so, not too much more than you'll put into that Squier.
 
#14
ejgauna said:
And to be even more honest, my biggest problem with the bass is that it says squire on the headstock. I've been looking at the necks and they are pretty pricey. I'm cool with paying for that though because even at $400 for a new neck, I'm still up $150 on a mim. I think I'm gonna go with a jazz neck instead of the chunkier p bass proportions.
Click to expand...

If the name on the headstock bothers you, there's always the option of sandpaper and a little elbow grease, or a can of spray paint...

Regarding the neck, I'm happy with the one I received from Mighty Mite. Maple on maple, dot markers, straight as an arrow, decent fretwork, nice finish, good nut. A bit of shimming and it was all good. You can buy more expensive necks, but I really think the MM neck is a good value at around $100, especially for a parts bass. It's also one of the few maple/maple J-necks I've found for the price.

ejgauna said:
How much will a bridge exchange change the tone or sustain?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I can't say. The only thing that bothers me about my stock Squier bridge is that it's a little rusty and looks a little wimpy. I prefer a beefier looking bridge, but that doesn't guarantee better tone or more sustain. As mentioned before, sometimes you get to a point of diminishing returns...how you spend your cash is up to you, but for now I'll stick with the stock bridge. You'll notice a bigger difference in sound with a decent set of new strings, new pickups and a good setup.
 
#17
I'm telling you, between $1-400 on a neck and $70-100 on pups you're better off just buying a proper Fender. Not to hate on your project, I'd like to put a guitar together myself some time... but souping up a Squier seems to me like outfitting your Plymouth Neon with 18" rims and a bumpin' stereo system.
 
#18
Flatpicker said:
I'm telling you, between $1-400 on a neck and $70-100 on pups you're better off just buying a proper Fender. Not to hate on your project, I'd like to put a guitar together myself some time... but souping up a Squier seems to me like outfitting your Plymouth Neon with 18" rims and a bumpin' stereo system.
Click to expand...

Not quite the same. Right now you have to pay $550 at the lowest price point for a standard Mexican made Fender. So far for new knobs, neck plate, pickguard, fender original 62 pickups, and the actual body itself I've only spent $175. That's less than a new Squier and half of what a used standard mim would go for. I was inspired by a post a guy did the other day comparing a deluxe jazz bass I think and a bass made with the same hardware and electronics on a scrap piece of lumber. Nobody could tell the difference. The point was wood doesn't matter AS MUCH. So I picked this squire bass up and thought I'd give it a try. The body and routing is exactly the same as its counterparts unlike the squire strats and teles that don't have the string through body. The most expensive part will be the neck. But to have it with the wood, finish and inlays I want it's worth it and I'll have a bass that looks and sounds exactly the way I want it and playing less than a "proper" fender. It's more like buying a Neon and putting a different engine in it. If you pay less and it goes faster who cares who made the body. Appreciate your thoughts!
 
#19
Flatpicker said:
I'm telling you, between $1-400 on a neck and $70-100 on pups you're better off just buying a proper Fender. Not to hate on your project, I'd like to put a guitar together myself some time... but souping up a Squier seems to me like outfitting your Plymouth Neon with 18" rims and a bumpin' stereo system.
Click to expand...

Not to stir the pot, but I'm not sure that I understand 1) the problem with upgrading a Squier and 2) what exactly constitutes a "proper" Fender. I get that you had a bad experience with your Squier, but that doesn't mean that everything with that name on the headstock is useless junk.

Let's face it, upgrades and cheap basses go hand in hand. If I buy a beater bass on craigslist, I'm usually expecting to dump some money and time into it, with the goal of creating a cool bass for little cash. Would I be better off just buying a shiny and new MIM Fender or G&L Tribute? Maybe. Maybe not. It all depends on what you want. For some of us, the tinkering is an inevitable, and crucial, part of bass ownership.

If you read my post above, you'll see that I put together a Frankensquier P-bass for just around $250, including a new J-neck, new SDQP pickups, new flatwounds and new electronics. Sure, you might be able to find a good, used MIM for that price...but then again, you might not. And even if you did, are you really that much ahead of the game? Is the MIM going to be that much better? Will the F on the headstock make it a nicer player?

Again, not to sound argumentative, but if you don't think a Squier is worth "souping up", then what brand of bass is a worthwhile candidate for upgrades?
 
#20
I underwent a similar project on my squier p-bass a few years ago. It was my first bass, and I played on it for many years, but there really aren't that many good parts on it. Once I finally bought a new bass, I decided to make my squier a fretless to try and overcome its lameness. I defretted it, put new pickups and strings on it. Still doesn't sound very good.

It's a fun project, and you can make it look cool, and sound different than a normal squier, but if you want a good bass I wouldn't recommend investing much money in it. I don't believe it's that hard to find good MIM basses.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back