Bass mod regrets

[Doctor Morbius]

So like the title suggests, anyone out there mod a bass and immediately regret doing it? I had my USA Deluxe V Jazz bass re-finshed from Olympic White (which was aging nicely) to a metal flake turquoise. When the painter refinished the bass it added about a pound of paint on it. Now the bass is much heavier, which says a lot considering it's a 5 string, and it just doesn't seam the same as before. Almost deader sounding and no sustain.

To be fair I was probably at the peak of my quarantine depression and was tinkering with all of my basses as I went from 60+ gigs a year to none. I want to sell it but I am worried I am basically going to lose my shirt on the sale because it's refinished.

Here is a photo of it. It's not too hard on the eyes but I loved it when it was Olympic White. Now it feels pretty "meh" to me. I almost want to refinish again back to white.

Anyone else out there have any bass mod regrets?View attachment 4619295

I like that finish! Much nicer than some old boring vanilla white, IMO.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

You're not alone. Advertising convinces millions of people to part with their hard earned cash for no reason. That's exactly what it is supposed to do.

Indeed. Once bitten, twice shy (as they say)

 

[Fonkamex]

My biggest regret was replacing the electronics of a perfect (to me) Fender American Jazz Bass Standard by a John East preamp.
I came back to the original passive in less than a month.
There was nothing more stressful than trying to open and close the whole thing again to change the battery.
Since then I bought external preamps and will never ever try that mod again.

 

[hypercarrots]

So like the title suggests, anyone out there mod a bass and immediately regret doing it? I had my USA Deluxe V Jazz bass re-finshed from Olympic White (which was aging nicely) to a metal flake turquoise. When the painter refinished the bass it added about a pound of paint on it. Now the bass is much heavier, which says a lot considering it's a 5 string, and it just doesn't seam the same as before. Almost deader sounding and no sustain.

To be fair I was probably at the peak of my quarantine depression and was tinkering with all of my basses as I went from 60+ gigs a year to none. I want to sell it but I am worried I am basically going to lose my shirt on the sale because it's refinished.

Here is a photo of it. It's not too hard on the eyes but I loved it when it was Olympic White. Now it feels pretty "meh" to me. I almost want to refinish again back to white.

Anyone else out there have any bass mod regrets?View attachment 4619295

Find a lightweight body, swap and sell the turquoise one

 

[BassyBill]

Can’t comment on your situation but the wood grain on that fingerboard is superb.

I really like the turquoise flake!

Agreed on both counts.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Here is a photo of it. It's not too hard on the eyes but I loved it when it was Olympic White. Now it feels pretty "meh" to me.

It's the black guard sitting in the middle of the flake being a total downer. Get a guard that will join in the fun: pearloid or tort or mint, anything but that po-faced black

 

[tvbop]

I did something similar to my 57 AVRI P bass. I noticed no difference between the standard bridge and the Hipshot bridge. The Hipshot now sits in my bin of random parts.

The aftermarket bridge game is the biggest bucket of snake oil in town....My two Fenders are fitted with the old vintage scroll bridge...simply cause I like the old timey look and the sustain is way more than any musician needs.

 

[Haans]

I put a quarter pounder in my P, and it sucked, so I put a Curtis Novak in there instead. Now it doesn't suck at all.

I stripped my old Peavey Fury and refinished it with a butane torch and some oil. It's not perfect, so I just consider it a work in progress.

Your J looks nice in sparkles. A pro refinish shouldn't detract too much from the value, unless that's a vintage instrument. You just need to find someone who loves that sparkle. As for it sounding dead - I do think that's mostly in your mind. Maybe your subconscious regrets are affecting your ears. If I was into J's I would rock that.

 

[2saddleslab]

Never regretted a mod yet.

 

[Avezzano]

Not surprised Aaron. IMO the whole "high mass bridge" thing is the biggest marketing con ever foisted upon the modern bass player LOL.

The fact you did not notice any difference does not mean it's the same for everybody. Now, it's ages I don't modify anything on my basses; nevertheless, some 20 years ago I had a Mex jazz and decided to put a heavymass (no name) bridge. The improvement on sustain and clarity was substantial. And evident, to my ears. But we're all different...

 

[crobasster]

So like the title suggests, anyone out there mod a bass and immediately regret doing it? I had my USA Deluxe V Jazz bass re-finshed from Olympic White (which was aging nicely) to a metal flake turquoise. When the painter refinished the bass it added about a pound of paint on it. Now the bass is much heavier, which says a lot considering it's a 5 string, and it just doesn't seam the same as before. Almost deader sounding and no sustain.

To be fair I was probably at the peak of my quarantine depression and was tinkering with all of my basses as I went from 60+ gigs a year to none. I want to sell it but I am worried I am basically going to lose my shirt on the sale because it's refinished.

Here is a photo of it. It's not too hard on the eyes but I loved it when it was Olympic White. Now it feels pretty "meh" to me. I almost want to refinish again back to white.

Anyone else out there have any bass mod regrets?View attachment 4619295

No regret man, this look lovely !

 

[crobasster]

oh well...

Some colours can be heavy, and there are metal flakes !

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

The fact you did not notice any difference does not mean it's the same for everybody. Now, it's ages I don't modify anything on my basses; nevertheless, some 20 years ago I had a Mex jazz and decided to put a heavymass (no name) bridge. The improvement on sustain and clarity was substantial. And evident, to my ears. But we're all different...

There are always exceptions to the rule

 

[brianrost]

This the first time I've heard about a refin changing the tone drastically, but I'll take your word for it.

Some colours can be heavy, and there are metal flakes!

So what is the best flake for metal?

 

[xxcody2gunsxx]

So like the title suggests, anyone out there mod a bass and immediately regret doing it? I had my USA Deluxe V Jazz bass re-finshed from Olympic White (which was aging nicely) to a metal flake turquoise. When the painter refinished the bass it added about a pound of paint on it. Now the bass is much heavier, which says a lot considering it's a 5 string, and it just doesn't seam the same as before. Almost deader sounding and no sustain.

To be fair I was probably at the peak of my quarantine depression and was tinkering with all of my basses as I went from 60+ gigs a year to none. I want to sell it but I am worried I am basically going to lose my shirt on the sale because it's refinished.

Here is a photo of it. It's not too hard on the eyes but I loved it when it was Olympic White. Now it feels pretty "meh" to me. I almost want to refinish again back to white.

Anyone else out there have any bass mod regrets?View attachment 4619295

Looks great!
From the sounds of it I'd make sure the screws holding the neck and bridge are tightened and assuming you have a fresh set of same strings on it . From the pic it looks like your missing a screw from the control plate and the strings look a little off set

 

[lark_z]

Reshaped the headstock on my dumpster find Yamaha neck. Regret it. Oh well, it's the beater anyway.

 

[KaraQ]

I once put a set of EMGs in a bass to see if that would help me like it better.....it didn’t.

So, I pulled them out, sold the bass, and held on to the pickup set until I got a bass I loved, but that could use an excellent pickup set

Worked out for the best in the end

 

[DanAdams]

An option should be 'I modded my bass, and it's fantastic'
Most folks on Talkbass said that I would regret, but I don't.

However I think it's weird that people make big mods to new or valuable basses. I seek out actual broken basses, parts lots, or basses people have previously done terrible things to.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I believe the OP on the weight difference, but still have a hard time understanding how any painter could lay 1 lb of paint on a bass. Finish thickness is usually measured in mils, they must have troweled it on, or maybe they screwed it up and had to spray it over a couple of times. It must be something like 1/16th thick! If you hate the current color, have it stripped/refinned, though thats going to be a hard job if its poly. Ive done a few bad refins with rattlecans. Painful. The only one I really regret is putting an ebony pickguard on my 1983 G&L L2k. My fingers had worn right through the paint, so it seemed like a good idea at the time......

 

[Mebsuta]

I changed pickups on my Glarry GIB. I immediately went back to the original pickups and just let it be a Glarry.