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Did I ruin A great Bass?

#61
bigtone23 said:
You made a player's (not collector's) grade bass better for you, that's all that matters. No worries!
I had a similar situation as quoted above, I found my 72 Jazz in 1993. It was a steal because it had been stripped/refinished and had EMG J's in it. That was exactly what I wanted, anyway. Take a look at what's going on under the pickguard: all those extra screw holes and the crude battery compartment! No big deal, it plays and sounds amazing. I added the Badass II and Hipshot Xtender back then. After the first 10 years of ownership and a TON of playtime, a set of Bart 9J1 and an East J retro was dropped in. Love this bass, it's going nowhere!
enhance
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However, that does bring to mind a story I remember about a machine gun - Just look at all them holes!
 
#63
I dont know how the things goes in your country. Here is my experience, i modded a 2011 MIM Standard P bass. SD Antiquity pickups, Fender pickup and bridge covers, thumbrest, bridge. Also changed the cap and potances with high quality ones. As a result it became better sounding and better looking bass.

People dont care when buying. They see "Made in Mexico" and its over, it doesnt mean anything how it sounds, how comfortable it is when they are buying.

The only advantage of the mods are, if someone selling his bass with the same price of yours, since you have extras your bass can be sold easier, but for the same low price. Thats how things going here, maybe its the same there.

Assuming you are living in USA, you can buy an American Pro for 1500 USD, here you can get the same bass for 2200 USD (because of the cargo expenses of the shop, heavy taxes and etc). 1 USD = 6 TRY. So its even more difficult to buy and sell a bass here.
 
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#64
chuck65 said:
In 2003 I purchased a brand new CIJ Geddy Lee JB. Has the " Limited Edition" neck plate.
I bought a set of active EMG's and took it to a local luthier / tech and asked him to do the install. All went well , EXCEPT .... When I got it back it had a battery holder installed in the back of the Bass.
In his defense , he did call me , but I was at work and busy so I misunderstood him when he said something about " battery access ".
SO, now that I have a modded CIJ GL JB. Is it still worth what a stock one goes for these days?
BTW , it is a total tone monster and I would not put the stock pickups back in it even if I still had them. It's not my daily driver but works great with my old ME 50B for open mics and jams that I don't want to take my G&Ls and main rig to.
Opinions , comments , and chastising welcome :)
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did you buy the bass to play or were you also buying real estate? some folks do one, some folks do the other, some folks do both...nothing wrong with any, but i buy basses to play and dont worry about how its worth or value is perceived to others, so i have no issue or regret with any mods, even if i part with the instrument at a later date
 
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#68
chuck65 said:
In 2003 I purchased a brand new CIJ Geddy Lee JB. Has the " Limited Edition" neck plate.
I bought a set of active EMG's and took it to a local luthier / tech and asked him to do the install. All went well , EXCEPT .... When I got it back it had a battery holder installed in the back of the Bass.
In his defense , he did call me , but I was at work and busy so I misunderstood him when he said something about " battery access ".
SO, now that I have a modded CIJ GL JB. Is it still worth what a stock one goes for these days?
BTW , it is a total tone monster and I would not put the stock pickups back in it even if I still had them. It's not my daily driver but works great with my old ME 50B for open mics and jams that I don't want to take my G&Ls and main rig to.
Opinions , comments , and chastising welcome :)
Click to expand...

It’s not a vintage bass, relax.
 
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#69
It's not like it's an early 50's Fender and there are so many of them, they'll likely never be collectible. You didn't ruin it, but you didn't increase the value either.

I think I've only modded 2 instruments in almost 50 years of playing, but it's your instrument, do what you want with it.
 
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#71
Hi chuck65 :)

chuck65 said:
When I got it back it had a battery holder installed in the back of the Bass.
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That' s all? He did it better than Fender!

It's only on the back? You don 't like it? Fill it with mojo! :D

As long as it doesn 't look like a new Fender Jazz body…

Just imagine someone wants to rock that bass without the pickguard.

H99845000002000-00-500x500.jpg


greetings

Wise(b)ass
 
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#73
That's a nice bass. An excellent bass. It's not collectible or rare. I've seen used MIJ models on our local C. List for $500. Reverb.com has 7 for sale right now starting at $700.

Your tech might have been able to drop the battery underneath the chrome plate or could have enlarged the control cavity for the battery in such a way that the chrome plate would hide the bigger hole.

Audere makes active eq for J Basses with the battery fitting underneath the chrome cover. No mod needed.

Your tech should have had verbal contact with you before adding the battery box.

Oh well. You seem happy with your GL J.
 
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#74
Salut Vinny :)

Vinny_G said:
I wonder if they make this on purpose. :unsure:
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Until recently you had that kind of routing

("surprise holes", "pot holes" and open channels between pup route and controll cavity) only on MIM basses.

Somebody must read all the TB threads about weight! :(

Now you can find them on Squiers, MIMs and MIAs!!!!

When you are looking for a Jazz body without that holes you better buy a Custom shop, a Jaco model

or a used chinese Squier Classic Vibe. (what a shame!)


greetings

Wise(b)ass
 
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