Best bass to buy strictly for upgrading

SX basses. There are a lot of people here who have done this; do a search and you'll see some very well done frankenbasses.

 

Carvin basses are great basses that suffer from poor electronics. Great for electronic upgrades. Plus they can be found very cheap in the used market

 

Cort basses are generally great for modding...cheap and well built.

 

SX. They cost less than all the others mentioned and are very easy to mod.

 

any kind of fender p or j bass

lots of aftemarket upgrades... a bunch you can do yourself.

 

SX or used MIM Fender. I've done both, and while my preference is for the Fender, either would be a good choice for tinkering with.

 

I think that this site has a strong thread of SX fanboys. I've become one. I'm starting my second "project" bass. If you get a good one, you can mod it the distance. I must be lucky because both of mine are good. This should be one indicator:
My first is a SX "precision" fretless. With good strings, good pickup and a lock-down bridge, the sound is unmistakably FL jazz. It's just hard to hit a wrong note. It always sounds like a FL jazz.
The second is a brand new SX P clone. Even box-stock it sounds good. Quiet, punchy, detailed, even. When I close my eyes and play a certain way, with swing and dynamics, it sounds Motown (but with less power). It could be the pickups; it could be the wood selection. Could be the bridge. I'll start with the obvious - swap the pickup, see what that does. No matter what you do with it it'll always feel and play like a P.

Have fun.

 

If the SX and Fender/Warmoth necks are direct swappable (I honestly don't know), then I'd go SX. If not, I'd go MIM. Sounds like fun though, getting something specifically to soup up

 

Go for the Squire Vibe...first impressions are usually right and you can try it before you buy it.

 

Another opportunity for blatant SX shillery. I've heavily modded three or four now, with two more in the works.

I recently realized, in great part due to my successes with SX stuff, that I'm much more a tinkerer than I am a "order the perfect bass" kind of guy.

 

My favorite to hot rod has been any Yamaha BB300 from the 80's. They always seem to hold their "build quality" very well over the years and are great a foundation to work from. I've got one hot rodded one left and wouldnt hesitate to use it in a pro gig'in enviroment. I think I paid $150 for it, then added from ebay, tuners, mighy mite bridge, new CTS pots and jack, and some SD pups, all for another $100 bucks or so!

Forgot to add that I even routed out and installed a Jazz bridge pup then used a stack knob for both volume controls. Very good P/J sound..

 

Go with an SX. The new Mexican Fender prices for the Jazz and Precision
is $499.00 & $549.00. You can get a nice SX for $139.00 to 179.00

 

How are the necks and fretwork on the SX basses ? I know price wise they're verrrry cheap, so you're getting what you pay for but what is the general consensus ?

 

SX.

I just got a CV 60's P and really, there's no need for any mods. In my experience SX basses benefit greatly by upgrading their wiring and pickups, and most importantly their strings. Some people hate their bridges but I've never had a problem. Also for the price, the pickups are pretty good, but better pickups would be a nice touch.

The nice thing about the SX is that you get a great inexpensive platform, and tons of drop in replacement parts.

 

Yeah, if the necks and fret work is halfways decent I might order a P Bass and drop a Nordstrand pickup in.

 

I really don't agree with the "strictly for upgrading" concept, but a bass that's already good and can be turned into a groove monster is the Lakland 01 series...

 

I personally like the SX necks better!
I just purchased this bass-http://www.rondomusic.com/sjb75bmrd.html and the neck was straight as an arrow when I recieved it and the trussrod wasn't even tightened!!

After I set it up with the strings I like I only gave the rod
a half a turn and it's perfect! Low, tight action, level and smooth frets, with no buzzes.

 

Slightly modded SX SP-57

 

I think an SX bass or those new Squier Vintage Modified would be great choices.

I used to own a Fender Geddy Lee which I modded. Changes pickups, tuners, pickguard, series/parallel mod and it was great. It is a more expensive alternative though.

I thought of getting that Squier Vintage Mod jazz and upgrading it just because I love the looks of maple/block inlays.

For project basses look used and you'll find great deals.