Buying "upgraded" basses

[Indiana Mike]

Upgrade is a misnomer for me.

MODIFIED is what it is for me

 

[Deleted member 365158]

I have not and will (most likely) not buy a modded bass.

I prefer to do my own mods/builds because they are fun and particular to _my_ requirements.

exactly this!!… all but one of my basses has been modified by me which to me means upgraded.
The one that I didn’t modify was done by someone else but its a 1978 Ibanez musician that I got for way less than an untouched musician. I did re wire it though.

 

[Samus C]

When i buy basses I often do things like upgrade the stock tuners to ultralights. When I do that and later sell the bass, I never try to charge more for it. I've even included the original tuners a few times, cause I have no need for them.

I'd also never pay more for anyone else' mods.

 

[Rib 13]

If the mods are to my taste, I have no issue...I actually like Frankenbasses

My caveat is this: I dont care if the pickups and mods cost more than the (platform) bass itself - Im not paying extra for mods. The bass is what it is at its factory average used market value, mods or no mods, and thats what Ill pay for it if I like it

 

[mrperkolator]

I tend to avoid them, but they're always exceptions, especially if it is well done and the owner isn't asking big $$ for the mod thinking it is the bees knees or the like.

For instance, this Dean Jeff Berlin Player MIC.
Bass Lines pups by Seymore Duncan were added along with a three way switch. It was done quite well and the owner didn't ask any more for it than a stock used one. It was also in great cosmetic shape.
View attachment 5378917 View attachment 5378925
Or this Fender JP90 modified by the PO. Really well done refinish from a plane Jane bass to a looker. Wasn't that much more $$ than a used good condition stock Fender JP 90.
View attachment 5378928 View attachment 5378929 View attachment 5378930


Might want to add a poll to your thread?

• Yes
• Depends
• No
• Carrots

Just sayin'

I saw a butchered "upgraded" JP-90 the other day. Until seeing your post's PG, I thought it was just an extremely poor frankenbass. It wasn't worth the parts.

 

[B-Mac]

I saw a butchered "upgraded" JP-90 the other day. Until seeing your post's PG, I thought it was just an extremely poor frankenbass. It wasn't worth the parts.

PG is original.

 

[CJAZ]

I am much more likely to do so if it comes with the original parts.

 

[andare]

I was just thinking about this today. I have a squier Mini Precision with 2.5 year old Chromes (35 euros) and a better pickguard (30 pounds) and a new Tusq XL nut (10 euros). If I sell it, it's going to have to cost accordingly. I would totally spend more to buy this over a stock one.

 

[202dy]

If the bass plays well I don’t care. That’s not a negative to me. Unless it’s some crazy collectable which it probably isn’t.

Also things break or wear out. I have a very old Strat that has replaced frets for example, that’s not a mod, it’s maintenance.

But in general if there’s a $1,000 Jazz Bass and it has $300 pickups and $150 tuners added the price is $1,000-300-150. Not because it devalues my resale value but because it is now a partscaster. A parts bass or guitar is worth the value of the bass minus the value of the added parts. Or typically 1/3 to 1/2 the total value of the parts.

Good way to look at it.

In a retail setting, the rule of thumb is the wholesale price regardless of reversable mods. We would harvest the changed parts and package them for resale. Then install stock parts to return it to the way it was born. Bonus if they had the original parts. Maybe, if the parts were in good condition, toss in a couple of bucks. But usually not.

Non-reversable mods, like relocated jacks, body routs, etc. were heavily discounted. Most often they were refused on the spot with a sympathetic but firm apology.

 

[mindwell]

I once paid big money to have an original 2-Tek bridge installed in an Autumnglo Rickenbacker 4001. If that bass came around again, you better believe I'd use the massively-routed body as a reason to offer less than the asking price.

 

[fhm555]

In my opinion, there's no such thing as upgrades, only modifications. A modified used instrument's market value is somewhere between the market value of the same instrument completely stock in mint condition and the same instrument completely destroyed into a non-functioning pile of scrap. In other words, it's never worth more, but it might be worth less due to modifications.

Odd, aren't people still paying a premium for relic jobs?

 

[fhm555]

If the mods are to my taste, I have no issue...I actually like Frankenbasses

My caveat is this: I dont care if the pickups and mods cost more than the (platform) bass itself - Im not paying extra for mods. The bass is what it is at its factory average used market value, mods or no mods, and thats what Ill pay for it if I like it

IME it's usually those looking to score some better pickups or other upgrade parts, who answer ads for a modded bass, then spend inordinate amounts of time trying to convince you it's not worth any more than a used bass with no mods, but give them a stock and modded bass side by side to try out and they pick the modded one nine out of ten times and don't mind paying a little more. If not, sell them the stocker for fair market value so they can do whatever they want with it. It's not a full time job but it can be a way to make a little extra while you get more experience tinkering with basses. At least it was for me. My goal was to get better at working on basses and the best way for me to learn without formal training is to do the actual work, so I started buying up a lot of second hand MIM J basses and started learning. I've got them from good as new to pretty beat up. The good as new I just sold on or used as the B bass in my A/B demos when someone would come to look at the basses I had for sale. All others got at least a thorough IRAN and clean up, then new strings and a setup. A few got modded and I always made money on them.

 

[MrAB4003]

Hi everybody,

inspired by the thread "Would you buy a $950 Squier Precision" I wondered: When buying a used instrument, what is your take on upgrades or modifications that have already been done?
Are you more likely to buy a "lower tier bass" if tuners or pickups have been replaced? Do you mind if somebody swapped the pickguard? How about a paint job or a changed neck?
Have you ever bought a heavily modified bass that turned out to be amazing?

I find that I avoid basses that have been modified in any way. I just don't trust the handywork behind it. I know that you can't really do damage when changing a pickguard, for example, but still. Was the soldering done right when the pickups where changed? Has the new bridge been properly aligned? There is a lot of things you can't really know unless you have the bass in your hands. I am not too great with tools myself, so if I were to discover a modification done badly I'd have to bring the bass to a shop which will increase the overall price significantly.

Apart from that, I wonder: If somebody had an instrument that he or she wasn't happy with, so they spend money and time on it, and then they are selling it... chances are that this is not going to be a great instrument.

So, what's your take?

Cheers,
Michael

I made the mistake of buying a non-stock bass once and I will never do it again! My 2022 Rickenbacker 4003 (see the link in my signature for more details) had Nordstrand Nordenbocker pickups when I traded for it. I later realized how much I don't like these pickups.

They're still in this bass because I can't afford to put new pickups in. I have other, more pressing financial obligations to deal with about right now.

 

[Bass-Babe]

good for you! but i'm not sure that your specimens fit into the concepts that the thread is discussing --- especially if you're offering your work to others for sale. you'd be selling them your creation, not just a "modded bass," right?

i think i saw your work in another thread, but some pics would be cool! TIA

Hi , I was not planning on selling them , I build them for my spouse as a hobby for fun and learning. The price thing just came up as my friend was looking them over and said I should be able to sell them for X price.
Here are some of my finished projects , plus I have very custom short scale tele bass in prgress for wbo2024
Had to include this one twice as I just updated the headstock to my own tele like design. It allows the original serial number etc to remain on the back of the headstock but a better to scale shape imo.

 

[ADHD librarian]

This thread has got me thinking...

and I think we can divide changes to a bass into 3 categories.
As an example I am going to use a MIM Jazz Deluxe I bought from a pawn shop.

There have been some REPAIRS
Replaced the stock pickups with area Js after one of the originals broke.
Rolled the fretboard edges (which could be a mod, but I did it as part of fixing fret sprout - so it's a repair).

They are repairs, because without them the bass would lose value.​

There have been some MODS
High mass bridge
hipshot tuners

If the bass wouldn't stay in tune, the tuners would be an upgrade. But the hipshots probably didn't make much difference. The old tuners were OK.
And high mass bridges, well I like the look. But they don't change the sound.
If I was to sell it, I'd put the old tuners and bridge back on; because they'd add no value to the bass (and it is easy to do).​

and there has been an UPGRADE
Replaced the stock active circuit with a MIA one (which gave me an active/passive switch and changed it to 18v)

That's an upgrade, because an active/passive switch on a bass that didn't have one is a significant improvement. I'd expect that to give me a (minor) improvement on the resale value. Especially as I had the work done professionally.​

 

[Clark Westfield]

I modded my Schecter with a paint job, Sadowsky preamp and Gotoh Resolite tuners.

I will never sell it, as I will never get the almost $1k in modifications back.

Got the bass for near nothing, so to sink that money onto it was easy to do.

The bass it pretty awesome, and will be with me forever.

 

[Swerve]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Here's a good example. Parts P bass. Squier body and MIM Jazz neck, $900! Notice how the words "rare" and "hard to find" are used to try and justify the price.

 

[FRoss6788]

That's a $500 bass, at best.

 

[MrAB4003]

I made the mistake of buying a non-stock bass once and I will never do it again! My 2022 Rickenbacker 4003 (see the link in my signature for more details) had Nordstrand Nordenbocker pickups when I traded for it. I later realized how much I don't like these pickups.

They're still in this bass because I can't afford to put new pickups in. I have other, more pressing financial obligations to deal with about right now.

Update - I have since put Chromes on my 2022 Ric 4003 and the issues I was having with it are gone. It still has the Nordenbockers and I have grown to really like them. It's now one of my favorite basses! That being said, buying an upgraded bass can be worth the risk if you like the upgrades.

 

[Guido Fawkes]

A couple of years ago I sold an original 62 Jazz basses which had been “upgraded” to include: poly refinish, changed pickups and the fingerboard changed to a braz rosewood unmarked fretless.

I was amazed to find I got considerably less than the value of an all-original example.