The many mods of a MIM P-Bass

I've had this bass for a few years and it's always been my "hobby" bass, in that I like to play around with mods and different finishes. I do custom paint jobs and refinishing so I just use this bass to experiment with.

Funny thing is, for all the basses I've had over the years, this is the only one that I always return to and the one that gives me the most pleasure gigging with. I've made more mods to it than what I have pictures of, but this is what I found.

These are the many different mods I've made to this inauspicious MIM P-Bass I bought for $200...The last mod includes a humbucker and a Warmoth Jazz neck.

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mister-o said:

Very, very nice! If it keeps you occupied and interested, more power to you. You're making me want to add a bridge humbucker to my VM Squier!

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Thanks.

I love the classic P-Bass sound, but I wanted to add some versatility to my sound as I play a wide variety of music.

The Bridge pickup is just a cheap Mighty Mite I got for $19, but it really gives me a very bright, clean tone I can't get from the P-Bass pups.

Still room for another pup by the neck.

CoffeeBass said:

I have looked at the Mighty Mite pups. Can you give me a more detailed review of the one in your MIM?

CB

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It's not a real hot pickup. When put in near the neck, it has a real full, warm sound. When in the traditional placement of a Music Man pup, it has a similar tone, but nowhere near the output of the Music Man.

Placed where I have it, it gives very tight controlled mids, with a nice bite to it. I can get almost a fretless sound if I roll off the tone control, yet it's still very bright. In fact when the blend knob is full on the MM, it is very bright even with most of my highs turned down on the bass and amp.

It's great when blended with the P-Bass pups...allows me to give a bit more clarity to the P-Bass sound when I need it.

In short, nothing spectacular, but very versatile depending on placement, especially in combination with another pup. Plus it is dirt cheap.

mister-o said:

Yeah, I'm the same way, which is why I have a jazz and a p I'm jonesing for a humbucker, since my first bass was an HH Ibanez...it'd be Nordstrand, all the way, though. Have NP4s in my P and NJ4s in my J. I'm a Nordstrand guy all the way. Which means I'd better not get my P routed for a while, or my fiance's gonna be pissed that I can't pay for our wedding!

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LOL...That's part of the reason for modding my P-Bass so often. It's like getting a new bass without paying for one.

Serously though, all the parts for this latest version came off my own custom built bass that I needed/wanted to refinish. Since I'm an artist I'll be painting a mural on it...so I took everything off and put it back on the P-Bass.

Funny thing is, I'm kind of digging my P-Bass more than my custom bass.

After playing and gigging with my custom built bass for over a year now, going back to my P-Bass is a nice change.

Here's the old (custom) body...

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And the new (old) P-Bass...

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My P-Bass body is considerably lighter, and there must be something with the body wood that is giving me a different tone that I'm digging.

I specifically designed the shape and contours of my new custom body to fit me (and it does perfectly), but there is still something about my old trusty P-Bass that I like.

I used my Warmoth Jazz neck and the pickups from the P-Bass on my custom bass. So maybe it is the smaller and lighter original P-Bass bridge, combined with the P-Bass's body wood (and perhaps the original P-Bass pickup config..."D" and "G" string pickup is back to it's original place too) that are contributing to this new (old?) tone I love. The amp settings are the same, and playing through the same cabs.

Hmmm...the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I might just get a new fretless neck and new hardware/electronics for my custom bass body and keep my P-Bass just the way it is.

After all these years (and many other basses along the way), I still dig my cheap MIM P-Bass the most.