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Have you ever regretted modding your bass?

Mod it?

  • Mod it!

    Votes: 74 44.3%

  • Keep it stock!

    Votes: 80 47.9%

  • Bass is a fish, fry it in oil

    Votes: 13 7.8%
  • Total voters
    167
#41
My first bass was a neck-thru passive Samick PJ and after a few years another bass player I knew convinced me to switch the pick ups to active pick ups. I was young and impressionable so I did it. It was never quite the same...

In hindsight, the passive pups in the bass to start with were really hot and sounded great. No need to change. Looking back, I think the guy was just looking to sell some old pick ups he had (and labour, he installed the for me) to make some cash off a young, inexperienced player. I hope I am wrong, but looking back, that is kind of how it feels.
 
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#43
On my PJ bass when I have the tone wide open there is not really that much difference between that and a few of the PJ settings I really like; not enough at least that I expect very many people in the audience would notice, slapping, pick or fingerstyle. In the OP's position if it were me and the bass was that bass, I would investigate tone capacitor values before I even dreamed of routing. It's become increasingly clear to me here that they can make way more difference than the non-technically literate like myself understand.

So I would scour TB, I would start a new thread if necessary quoting this one and I would PM our friends who seem to understand this stuff. (It happens my bass did this since new and has a Nordstrand designed pickup and electronics and I like that so I would just email Nordstrand and say, "Hi, I was wondering if..." but that's my thing.

Then, if I really needed to rout, I would rout for a (split-coil) MM pickup in the MM position or as close to it as possible - in for a penny, in for a pound: if you're going to do it get exactly what you want.
 
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#44
the mods were carefully thought out mistakes that sound good:smug:... I've got a few 'parts basses' for fun, and a cpl basses that are stock that i will not mod... My stock 80's p bass is missing its original white pickguard i threw like a frisbee into the depths of Manhattan off a rooftop many yrs ago..Dont know how it got up there.
 
#45
Depending on what kind of mod(s) we are talking about, I can say:

Never regretted a thing, because I always took the care before getting it started:

1 - Bass being modded
2 - Purpose(s) of the mod(s)
3 - Costs ( and benefits ) of the mod(s)
4 - Ability to revert partially or entirely the mod(s) I've performed.

Once you realize all the variables, money not being an issue and the will ( or courage ) to do that, I see no problem.

Unless you're planning something deeper or more invasive ( routing cavities, change the shape, or whatever ), then, still, it depends on what you have in mind.
 
#47
Salud!

I voted Keep it stock because 1) if you like it as it is, that's perfect; and

2) I do regret one mod. I changed a Vintera Jazz from Volume Volume Tone to Volume Balance Tone because I find not having a general single volume knob a nuisance for live use. But the kit I bought is not progressive at all. You get full volume with the Volume knob wide open, far too low when you dial it like 10% back and all the other 90% utterly useless. I'll have to change it back someday.
 
#48
You have heard this here before and I will echo it again; do not, repeat “Do not” mod the bass you really love to play.
It is just not right to bring that type of regret to your life.
Purchase a parts bass and go Bonzo with all the mods you want to on that one.
You may surprise yourself with what you come up with

Clayton
 
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#49
yeah, I did regret some mods. mostly on resale, but there were a couple that didn't work out.

I'm not sure, what do you mean by 'MM slap sound': Marcus Miller or MusicMan. but I don't think, that a passive PJ with a switch will get you close to any of them.

it's a double-sided coin. a bridge pickup is a nice thumb rest, but do you need it at 60s position? at 70s? or maybe you need a humbucker in the bridge? or maybe you'd better be off with a second bass? or even a pedal?

let's start with two questions:
1. so, what does MM stand for in your message?
2. did you play PJ or P/MM basses and how close they've been to what you're looking for?
 
#50
The one thing that I have no thought or care for is the resale value of my instruments. They are mine and they need to do what they need to do. They will serve their purpose as long as I am playing them. Hopefully a long time. Then someone else can do whatever they want to do with them. The same basses I have now will probably be with me until then.
 
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#51
Yes. An Elite Jazz Bass. My wife picked it out for me. Loved it, but never used the active part. Plus the Jack is real chincy IMO. So I put all passive controls. Few months ago my wife passed and I felt I needed to revert it to the original because of how proud she was when she picked it out. I wrecked a pickup so I put Seymour Duncan’s in it. So it’s mostly OEM
 
#52
Flats on Ps are money , personally not a fan of rounds on a P,
that said the J shines with rounds so a PJ with flats egh no thanks
Either way your kinda half way
can't get the full J effect with flats and you can't get the full P effect with rounds
Get a jazz and call it a Day
 
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#53
Aloe said:
yeah, I did regret some mods. mostly on resale, but there were a couple that didn't work out.

I'm not sure, what do you mean by 'MM slap sound': Marcus Miller or MusicMan. but I don't think, that a passive PJ with a switch will get you close to any of them.

it's a double-sided coin. a bridge pickup is a nice thumb rest, but do you need it at 60s position? at 70s? or maybe you need a humbucker in the bridge? or maybe you'd better be off with a second bass? or even a pedal?

let's start with two questions:
1. so, what does MM stand for in your message?
2. did you play PJ or P/MM basses and how close they've been to what you're looking for?
Click to expand...

MM stands for Musicman. But I don't need the exact tone. I like the PJ sound, I played a friend's Lakland PJ in an off-Broadway pit because I was subbing for him and he kept the bass there, and it was great. To me, PJ gets me closer to a MM tone profile than it does to JJ (standard jazz bass). I like the idea of going in that direction. But I don't need to turn that dial all the way. I think a single jazz pickup would accomplish what I'd be looking to do, with the ability to completely solo the P and J pickups, and then middle selector position gives me both.

60's vs. 70's would be a conversation with the tech. Well, and any input here is more than welcome. If I go forward with this (by the way, thanks everyone for the posts, gives me lots to think about), I may very well see if I can drive down to Aguilar and try a couple things, if they happen to have a PJ lying around.

Regarding resale value, it's of no concern to me. This bass will be with me for the rest of my life, assuming it makes it across that particular finish line.

One of the things that sparked this idea by the way is Ric Fierabracci's P bass. That tone (and his playing, obviously) really inspired me growing up.

The biggest reason for contemplating doing this, though, is the idea of playing this bass almost exclusively basically forever, and having all the essential tones (or their approximation by nature of the PJ configuration) on one bass.
 
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#56
Snarf said:
Not sure if this is the right forum. It was a toss up between here and the repair forum.

My daily driver has been with me since the beginning. ~2001 MIM P bass, bought it when I was probably 13. Since acquiring that bass, I bought and sold several basses. I've had high end boutique custom jobs, MIA jazzes, Stingrays, etc. I thought I needed a 5 string, I thought I needed an expensive active EQ, blah blah blah. None of that ended up being true, and it took me 20 years to find that out.

I went back to playing this P bass almost exclusively about two years ago. I play for a living, and the comfort and familiarity of this bass, along with the fact that it is a P bass and so mixes well in almost every setting, makes it ideal. My GAS stopped so hard I'm surprised it didn't register on the richter scale.

One thought regarding bass gear keeps coming to mind, however. I think it would be pretty great to put a jazz pickup at the bridge, and a 3-way switch. That will get me closer to that MM and tighter slap sound that I sometimes need on stage. Keep it passive, and keep the original P pickup. That pickup was blessed by a higher power and is a total tone cannon.

So now you have an idea of how important this bass is to me. My question to the forum: Have you ever regretted modding a bass of similar value to you? Has the instrument ever lost "something" after the modding process?
Click to expand...

No. I had a MIM JB I bought for my son for him to learn on until he bought himself a MIA version. When I got it back I modded it with Fender 62s pickups and it made a huge difference. Tremendous sound and a great player.

When he was serving in Iraq in 2004, he started buying instruments with his combat pay. One was a MIA PB With the Jazz pickup and traded to me for his MIM JB. I will say this, my PB-J, with VVT controls is a great sounding bass.

As for getting a MM sound, I’m not so sure that voice is in my version. Maybe you could with a three way switch, but I have my doubts.
 
#57
I build my own as well and being that I keep it to Fender parts I can mix and match to my hearts desire. I say do it.

To answer your question...Yes I did make a mistake by have a 1970 Telecaster bass modded to fit a large Bill Lawrence pick up in 1978. There is no going back to a stock size now.
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