Affinity P/J Mod or Dump?

[low thumper]

Recently bought a new Affinity P/J and wonder what was I thinking? I did a fret cleanup on some sharp edges and it plays well enough I guess. My question is,should I mod this,play as is,or cut it loose.I have an 08 American Standard that is my regular player so the Affinity is kind of redundant.I originally got it for playing gigs in places that an expensive bass may be compromised.Any ideas?

 

[Moving Pictures]

Keep it and mod it where it makes sense to mod it: pickups and tuners. Great learning experience and if you are playing some dodgy places you won't care as much if it gets nicked or bumped and bruised. There are a number of threads here where people have done some great mods. Malak the Mad has some great posts on this topic.

 

[Gorn]

Did you change the strings? Do a setup? Or just clean up sharp edges?

 

[low thumper]

Did you change the strings? Do a setup? Or just clean up sharp edges?

Did a setup and threw on a set of Rotosounds that only had a few months playing time.Just underwhelmed by it in it's current state,looking for some mods to make it come to life without turning it into a 600 dollar Affinity

 

[Malak the Mad]

Keep it and mod it where it makes sense to mod it: pickups and tuners. Great learning experience and if you are playing some dodgy places you won't care as much if it gets nicked or bumped and bruised. There are a number of threads here where people have done some great mods. Malak the Mad has some great posts on this topic.

What, have I suddenly become infamous famous 'round these parts all of a sudden?

Seriously though, any decently built Affinity would be a great platform to tinker with. And yeah, having a less-expensive beater/travel bass that doubles as a sort of "insurance policy" against overwhelming damage or loss is a good idea, especially if some of the places you gig warrant it.

What kind of mods did you have in mind, thumper? Pickups? New circuitry? Something cosmetic to spruce it up a bit?

If it were my bass, and I thought it needed a serious sonic overhaul, the first thing I look to are strings, but it sounds like you have that covered. Pickups vary with personal taste, but I'm taking a shine to the not-so-new Fender Super 55 split-coil Jazz pups. (I recently used one on a P/J parts bass) They currently go for about $45-$50 each on eBay.

Choose your P-pup carefully. I used a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder for my project. Ultimately, I changed it to a more mellow MIJ split-coil as the SD-QP was just too "clangy", despite my love of an aggressive sound. (maybe because the pup was placed a little closer to the neck than usual?)

For the wiring, I found a great harness made by Santellan Sounds at elek-trix.com. It's a two-pickup, solder-less harness that can switch between series and parallel with a push/pull pot. They're currently sold out, but they say they'll have more before the end of the month. They go for $80, brand-new.

On a side note, I plan on contacting them to see if a three-way pickup selector can be installed before the harness to further expand the versatility and sound.

So, if I did the same mods to your Affinity that I did on my project bass, that would come to…

• Bridge (Jazz) pickup: $50
• Neck (Precision) pickup: $25
• Wiring harness: $80 ($75+shipping)

…about $160. You could go for different, snazzier pickups or maybe even a pre-amp as well.

 

[low thumper]

What, have I suddenly become infamous famous 'round these parts all of a sudden?

Seriously though, any decently built Affinity would be a great platform to tinker with. And yeah, having a less-expensive beater/travel bass that doubles as a sort of "insurance policy" against overwhelming damage or loss is a good idea, especially if some of the places you gig warrant it.

What kind of mods did you have in mind, thumper? Pickups? New circuitry? Something cosmetic to spruce it up a bit?

If it were my bass, and I thought it needed a serious sonic overhaul, the first thing I look to are strings, but it sounds like you have that covered. Pickups vary with personal taste, but I'm taking a shine to the not-so-new Fender Super 55 split-coil Jazz pups. (I recently used one on a P/J parts bass) They currently go for about $45-$50 each on eBay.

Choose your P-pup carefully. I used a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder for my project. Ultimately, I changed it to a more mellow MIJ split-coil as the SD-QP was just too "clangy", despite my love of an aggressive sound. (maybe because the pup was placed a little closer to the neck than usual?)

For the wiring, I found a great harness made by Santellan Sounds at elek-trix.com. It's a two-pickup, solder-less harness that can switch between series and parallel with a push/pull pot. They're currently sold out, but they say they'll have more before the end of the month. They go for $80, brand-new.

On a side note, I plan on contacting them to see if a three-way pickup selector can be installed before the harness to further expand the versatility and sound.

So, if I did the same mods to your Affinity that I did on my project bass, that would come to…

• Bridge (Jazz) pickup: $50
• Neck (Precision) pickup: $25
• Wiring harness: $80 ($75+shipping)

…about $160. You could go for different, snazzier pickups or maybe even a pre-amp as well.

I would like to change the pickups to start along with the pickguard.I found the jazz pickup you spoke of but not the precision pickup at that price point.Will have to spend a little more for the Seymour Duncans or another type.I checked out the harness and it looks like they will be available mid month.They show the controls on a Jazz plate,I imagine they will transfer to the Affinity pickguard,correct? Only other difference is the Affinity jack is in the lower part of the body not the pickguard.As far as the pickguard,I was thinking tort to go with the candy apple red body,any suggestions? Thanks to everyone for the advice.

 

[Bent77]

I would like to change the pickups to start along with the pickguard.I found the jazz pickup you spoke of but not the precision pickup at that price point.Will have to spend a little more for the Seymour Duncans or another type.I checked out the harness and it looks like they will be available mid month.They show the controls on a Jazz plate,I imagine they will transfer to the Affinity pickguard,correct? Only other difference is the Affinity jack is in the lower part of the body not the pickguard.As far as the pickguard,I was thinking tort to go with the candy apple red body,any suggestions? Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Some of the parts dont line up the same, and may require some fitting. There is a squier parts that fit thread in here somewhere.



For keeping it and doing mods, ultimately depends on how much you are willing to spend on it, and if the "feel" of the bass is such that you want to keep it.
I have such beaters that "feel" right. Money well spent to make it sound right.

But if there is a bass out there that you know "feels" better for a little more/less than you want to invest in your beater, might be time to move on.

Either way, no shame in having a bass that is right "for you"

 

[Malak the Mad]

I found the jazz pickup you spoke of but not the precision pickup at that price point.Will have to spend a little more for the Seymour Duncans or another type.I checked out the harness and it looks like they will be available mid month.They show the controls on a Jazz plate,I imagine they will transfer to the Affinity pickguard,correct? Only other difference is the Affinity jack is in the lower part of the body not the pickguard.As far as the pickguard,I was thinking tort to go with the candy apple red body,any suggestions? Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Sorry, L.T., I forgot to mention I'd bought the MIJ pickup from a fellow TB'er who had a couple extras to sell. As far as the harness goes, it doesn't come with the control plate, just the harness. If I were you, and you're interested in it, I would email them to make sure the it will fit a Precision guard.