Best bass mod ever for you?

[Andy Daventry]

I have done a lot of mods on a lot of basses. The only one I have never regretted is fitting straplocks. Schaller, rather than Dunlop because....well, just because. They were around and easily available. All other mods have either been negative improvements or simply a pointless waste of money.

I think, with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, that fitting straplocks is the only mod I've done to solve a specific problem. All the others have been following fashion. Well, there was also the series/ parallel mod on the Jazz which I have now gone off, but come to think of it that was for a specific reason as well, so I didn't have to carry two basses to a gig.

So that's two mods of value out there and a whole bunch of pointless cosmetic surgery.

 

[JGbassman]

From a generic standpoint, strings then pickups, followed by a D-tuner. Those are my “working bass” mods.

A vari-tone is also a unique way to get quite a few different tones out of an instrument. I’ve used one on and off over the years in both P and jazz basses. One that has a series/parallel option for a jazz is handy.

 

[2F/2F]

On basses that are already good: String change from stock. Addition of pickup and bridge covers. Pickguard change. Mufflers.

On cheap basses: Pickup change. Electronics change. Fret/nut dressing.

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

Foam under the strings

 

[2F/2F]

Custom pickguard, control knobs and fretboard stickers.
View attachment 3233681

No matching cape?

 

[fdeck]

Yanking the frets from my Fender Mustang Bass in 1981.

 

[jd56hawk]

No matching cape?

No, but I do wear this while playing.

 

[MordBass]

recently... a jretro deluxe preamp in my lull fretted jazz..... previously... pots/caps/wiring/jack/shielding in any number of mim or lower P basses

 

[ToneMonkey]

Audere pre

 

[DanAdams]

My favorite mod is adding an additional humbucking pickup where it should go, instead of where it is supposed to go.

Also, remove your tone knobs.

 

[EtoBb]

Easy.
My old Fender American Hot Rod Precision.
After having it for roughly 13 years, I grew tired of the p/j tone, and preferred humbuckers.
After a trip to Mike Lull's shop and trying some basses equipped with his T-bass pickups, I decided I needed those.
I had him route and install two T-bird pickups in place of the original p/j pickups.
Now that thing is a big, huge, growly monster of a bass.

Pix?

 

[Clemouze]

I modded a geddy Lee jazz bass with a MM style pickup and an Aguilar OBP-1 preamp.
Currently the extra pickup is the Seymour Duncan equiped on standard on Modulus Funk Unlimited.
I changed the whole electronic ( lot of business ..! )

By now I can play jazz pickup and passive mode for the pure geddy Lee tone , obviously, but also change and play MM pickup and active mode for Modulus Flea like tone.
Two of my favorite tones on one bass !

 

[EtoBb]

My favorite mod is adding an additional humbucking pickup where it should go, instead of where it is supposed to go.
View attachment 3234249
Also, remove your tone knobs.

I’d like to know everything about this bass

 

[Wfrance3]

Tie between high mass bridge and hip shot tuners. I think the bass setup stays stable longer, than bass stays in tune longer, and, we’ll, I guess just everything on that side of the equation just works better.

 

[DanAdams]

I’d like to know everything about this bass

Hi EtoBb. It's all stock early 80s Ibanez aside from the Bart pickup. the body is a Roadstar RB620. The neck was not on the body when I acquired it, so I used a compatible one from a similar Roadstar, and a bridge from a deluxe Roadstar. I added a cheap MM style control cover from eBay. It's my favorite bass, and I've got a lot of basses. I do a lot of junkyard style mods, That (and early 80s Ibanez) is my jam.

 

[EtoBb]

Hi EtoBb. It's all stock early 80s Ibanez aside from the Bart pickup. the body is a Roadstar RB620. The neck was not on the body when I acquired it, so I used a compatible one from a similar Roadstar. I added a cheap MM style control cover from eBay. It's my favorite bass, and I've got a lot of basses. I do a lot of junkyard style mods, That (and early 80s Ibanez) is my jam.
View attachment 3234258

I love it. It looks awesome!

What are the controls? What did you mean about the humbucker position?

 

[Inara]

My best ever mod was adding a Nordstrand quad-coil pickup and a three-way switch to toggle the pickup coils between series/single coil/parallel on a SBMM Ray34 CAFL fretless. I got the idea from another TB member who did the same thing. I could still get the classic Stingray tone, especially with the CAFL's two-band EQ, but had other options as well. Series mode was my favorite for general use.

 

[DanAdams]

I love it. It looks awesome!
What are the controls? What did you mean about the humbucker position?

Commonly a bridge pickup in a PJ setup is closer to the bridge. I've always thought that sounded bad and unusable to me. Also I like having a thumb rest right at that point.
The controls are Bart coil split / pickup select switch / Volume.
I prefer to only have one knob. That way it's easy to tell which one volume is.
Also I prefer a pickup switch so it's easy to look down and see what is selected. I find when I have multiple knobs I obsessively check them to make sure they are in the correct position. Maybe that's a mental tick of mine, but either way getting rid of the other knobs is helpful. I would rather be thinking about the song than fussing with knobs. A pickup switch (rather than a blend) gives me all the control I want.
In hindsight I would like it more without the pickup coil split option; just having it wired as a humbucker. but that MM control plate had 4 holes to fill.

 

[Jay2U]

Modding a bass to accommodate B, E, A and D strings. This BEAD tuned Ibanez is a real monster.

 

[snarebear]

It depends on the bass. I try to shop for a bass that fits my needs and doesn t need mods. Why buy a bass that needs mods when you can find one that has the sound and playability you want without putting more money into another bass. Not that I havn t done it in the past, but I do not feel that it is worth the extra $$ and time when what you want is most likely out there in one form or another. Choose wisely.