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Best cheap bass to Wootenize

#21
giovabass said:
Well, welcome to Boston. Totally love the city and everything, but temperature shifts of +- 20-25F during the same day are absolutely normal. Spent last 4 years there attending Berklee College Of Music... great life and musical experience, not so great for bass necks.
On my USA Fender 5 I had to re-setup the bass almost everyday, I just gave up and stick with a higher action. That's why I now have a 5-piece neck bass with titanium reinforcements.
Btw, the twisted neck problem was in my first Berklee year on a "boutique" jazz bass that I later sold. One piece maple neck, birdseye fingerboard. Got the bass used, but these new go for $3.0-3.5k... just sayin'.
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Lived and played in Boston from 1973-78 and still didn't encounter that despite living in a rented half of a 2-fam house in Newton Centre that still had steam radiators and a gas converted coal furnace. No AC in the summer either. All we could afford at the time were fans to keep the electric bill down. :laugh:

At the time I owned a '74 Gibson Ripper, a Fender JB, and I was babysitting a Ric 4001 for a friend. None of them warped. Nor did anything owned by the two guitarists and the drummer I shared the space with. Between us we had maybe 15 instruments (if you count the drumkit as one instrument). No environmental issues with anything other than keeping the drums in tune.

But whatever. If it happened to you, it happened to you and I won't dispute it.

FWIW I live down by the LI Sound in CT about 50 miles due east from NYC. Winters aren't as bad as Boston's here. But they're wetter, and the summer is more humid with all that water 4 miles from my place. Still haven't run into necks twisting or warping on anything since I've been here. So either I'm unusually lucky or just the opposite is the case with you. Bummer if it's so.
 
#22
40Hz said:
Lived and played in Boston from 1973-78 and still didn't encounter that despite living in a rented half of a 2-fam house in Newton Centre that still had steam radiators and a gas converted coal furnace. No AC in the summer either. All we could afford at the time were fans to keep the electric bill down. :laugh:

At the time I owned a '74 Gibson Ripper, a Fender JB, and I was babysitting a Ric 4001 for a friend. None of them warped. Nor did anything owned by the two guitarists and the drummer I shared the space with. Between us we had maybe 15 instruments (if you count the drumkit as one instrument). No environmental issues with anything other than keeping the drums in tune.

But whatever. If it happened to you, it happened to you and I won't dispute it.

FWIW I live down by the LI Sound in CT about 50 miles due east from NYC. Winters aren't as bad as Boston's here. But they're wetter, and the summer is more humid with all that water 4 miles from my place. Still haven't run into necks twisting or warping on anything since I've been here. So either I'm unusually lucky or just the opposite is the case with you. Bummer if it's so.
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In 1973-78 probably a lot of things were different lol, climate change for sure :D
 
#23
giovabass said:
A fret job can't prevent a cheap neck to twist after some time and have your "Wooten" neck setup - and you entire neck - go out of the window. Got that nice experience even on basses waaay better that a Squier ;)
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Twisting is not inevitable. In fact I've yet to own an instrument with a twist and I set mine up with low action. We have some pretty aggressive seasonal changes here. I've set up Squier jazzes and gotten fairly low action.

I won't attempt to talk the OP out of doing this, my modding days are behind me and from experience I can say that the process can be fun or frustrating... or neither. Understand that money you spend on mods, particularly higher priced mods on lower end basses, will likely not be reflected in resale value. Many don't know that and it's a heck of a surprise should you chose to sell afterwards.
 
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#24
I'm sure you won't find any drop-in candidates. You'd do well to shop Squiers and be selective. Some of those are far better built than their prices imply. Being an Ibanez fan, albeit a picky one, I'd look at those as the basis for an EMG/Pope upgrade. There are lots of secondhand Ibanez basses at dirt cheap prices. I doubt you'll find Vic's sound that way but you'll probably be happy with your mod. If not you can always pop it out, drop the old stuff back in and move on.

So the OP wants to put $400 electronics into a $400 (retail) bass. How come some of you are getting riled at how he spends his time/money? Surely you've seen people do worse than that; some of it irreversible.

Neck twist is a thing but it's surely a rare thing. I've been playing since 1965 and I've seen it just once myself, on somebody else's instrument. Of course nearly every repair shop keeps a worst case example hanging on a peg for show and tell.
 
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#26
Brad Johnson said:
Twisting is not inevitable. In fact I've yet to own an instrument with a twist and I set mine up with low action. We have some pretty aggressive seasonal changes here. I've set up Squier jazzes and gotten fairly low action.

I won't attempt to talk the OP out of doing this, my modding days are behind me and from experience I can say that the process can be fun or frustrating... or neither. Understand that money you spend on mods, particularly higher priced mods on lower end basses, will likely not be reflected in resale value. Many don't know that and it's a heck of a surprise should you chose to sell afterwards.
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Agree... since OP spent considerable money in preamp and pups, I was trying to suggest that he/she would have better chance to have a successful result by investing a little more money on a better instrument. But of course you can pick the right Squier and be happy.
 
#27
taowin said:
I just ordered the EMG-pups/Pope-pre Wooten kit from Best Bass Gear and am now looking for a low to mid-priced good tone-wood p/j style bass to drop them into for a poor man's Wooten bass.

I could go with a Squire vintage modified J bass and rout out the front pup and cavity but I'm wondering if anyone has any good suggestions for other basses to use perhaps with less fuss, like just dropping the pups and pre right in.

Thanks!
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Ordering parts for a bass you don't have yet is kind of backwards.

What do you consider mid-priced? Ibanez PJ fours start around $200 brand new and who knows... you may like it as is. Or you could look at a higher end model used, taking advantage of depreciation, which makes your money go farther.
 
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#28
giovabass said:
Agree... since OP spent considerable money in preamp and pups, I was trying to suggest that he/she would have better chance to have a successful result by investing a little more money on a better instrument. But of course you can pick the right Squier and be happy.
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Yep. I don't disagree. And as someone who's bought actual used boutique basses for around what he's looking at spending or even less... I've probably said too much.
;)
 
#30
giovabass said:
OT... I'll confess that I've drooled over a couple of your Brubakers, lol :D
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Thanks:D. I didn't get any of them in this price range but I found a high end boutique fretless six in this price range. A little patience and knowledge can yield some spectacular results. My R bass SC5 was even less. Right place, right time. Neither one of them are going anywhere.
:D
 
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#31
Wow, friendly thread of expertise here!:woot:

An earlier post mentioning a USA Peavey bass would be a fantastic modding platform. Might not require any drilling. They had 5 knobs from the factory, and the necks are fantastic. Can be had under $400 all day long.

You could also find a Peavey Foundation "S" model. PJ routes, and already has battery compartment routed with ample room in the control cavity for a pre.
Peavey Dyna Bass Set neck Burgundy | Things with Strings
Peavey Foundation S Bass Silver/Gray
Peavey Unity Series Electric Bass Guitar USA Red
Peavey Unity dyna bass 1980s Red | Brett 's Gear Outlet
Peavey B Ninety USA made bass | Zacbrain's Madman Outlet
Invalid Link Removed
 
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#33
I think a perfect candidate would be a LTD Vintage 204 (relic-out of production ) or LTD Vintage 214 (non relic). All 204s I've seen were maple necks and 214s rosewood fretboards, but possibly exist the other way around as well.

I have a 204 with Fender '62 p and Duncan jazz and it's a great sounding and playing bass. I have EMGs in a Fretless 214 and EMGs and EMGX in a pair of ESP Vintage 4s and very happy with those as well.
 
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#34
Yamaha RBX all the way. 24 frets, flamed finish and looks somewhat like a Wooten Fodera.

yamaha-rbx460-275679.jpg
 
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#35
Thank you for the comments so far and I welcome more. A little background: I owned a Fodera 4 string that was a few serial numbers away from Victor's original bass. I own several $3500 custom bases, a Skjold 6 and a CB. I probably should have framed this a little differently to make sure not to rile folks. I would not waste my money putting together a $100 Ferrari, but I do suspect, having owned two now that there's a bit more brand cache with Fodera's than outright $10k value.

So think of this as a thought experiment. How low can you go to get SOME of the Victor Wooten sound by putting his pups and pres into a less pricey bass? There's nothing wrong with buying the parts for this before buying the bass. The parts are backordered 6 weeks min and they fit a large range of standard basses, several suggested on this post (for which I'm grateful – you members answered my question). And though the pups and pre parts are a little pricey, $470 is chump change in the bass world. I bet there are guys on this list who have spent that on one or two effects.

I think it's an interesting experiment and with some discretionary spending money and time, I'm going to play with it, which is why I'm grateful for the bass suggestions.
 
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#36
How does one determine the value of an instrument? Sometimes you pay $400, but you might have paid have $600 just as easiy (if it were sold for that price). My $ 500 Japanese Tele is as good as any instrument twice the price I tried. I have pretty high standards when it comes to instruments, as I've always saved my money for good quality stuff and rarely settled for the cheap solutions. Fretwork, neck, sound, etc must be great. But I never sum up parts, estimate the amount of work and then try to figure out what it should cost. I know - because my dad is a luthier of lutes - that it takes a lot of work, equipment and knowledge to make an instrument. Equipment is very expensive, just like hardware. So Fodera, Pedulla, etc prices never surprise me.

However, it's hard for me to determine what the actual production costs are for factory made instruments from China, Korea, Indonesia. You can buy a very decent Harvey Benton instrument for under 200 dollars these days. I've seen an acoustic guitar for 50 the other day. How is that even possible? I don't think anyone checks the wood for specific qualities in those factories though. Like tapping the wood, like in that nice Ritter video, turning it around until you find the best way to cut it. So it's always a bit of a gamble.

Anyhow, with prices that low one I think - if the physical quality of the instrument is good enough - you have a good argument to replace electronics. My Squier VI was about $400. I would have paid 600 if that were the selling price. It was my first 'cheap' purchase ever. I didn't like the glassy and uneven sound though. So I have had custom pickups made for it. It became a 600 dollar instrument. Insane maybe, but it's totally usuable now. The glassy tone has gone, and it can stay within the collection. I could also sell it, and buy a $1200 Japanese reissue. But this option was more fun. :)
 
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#37
FWIW, my son has played Vic's Fodera a few times, and he says it is unlike those available for us to buy. He also says that Vic's sound is 99% Vic and therefore extremely difficult to cop.

There are some fine modding platforms out there, from some of the older Squiers to the American made Peaveys to the Ibbies which have been named. The parts will make an amazing difference, and it isn't like the OP can't remove them if he doesn't like the way they sound in their new home.
 
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#40
I recently picked up a Fender Aerodyne here on TB, and while its awesome, the warm deep sound of the basswood bod may not be naturally like your Fodera. The Ibby and Yamaha suggestions are likely the best options. Something tells me you need a better build than a Squire or SX to cop a Fodera sound, never mind Vic.

A lesson from him and a series from his bass tech at the time Ant Wellington, and I aint even in the same ballpark.
 
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