Have you ever regretted modding your bass?

[Deleted member 365158]

Mod some cheap ones to get a sense of what your looking for then mod the one that your questioning.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

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?

Nope. Anything you do, can always be done back.

 

[Killing Floor]

It’s your bass. Make it yours. Make it how you like. Basses are not investments. They’re tools.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

I've always done a LITTLE something to just about every bass I've ever owned. Kinda personalized em a little.

I sold an 82 Walnut Precision Special back in the early 2000's because I REALLY wanted to do stuff to it (like rip out the active electronics) but I realized that would just kill any resale value, and that was one of the few "factory" basses that I've owned that had considerable escalating resale value.

That was the last one. Now, I own primarily parts basses, and enjoy the heck out of experimenting with them.

 

[sikamikanico]

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.

I voted keep it stock, but that’s my assessment of risks and benefits.

my first reaction: if you play for a living, get a second bass.

back to modding: if you go ahead, you gotta nail the spacing, and find a good matching J pickup. educate yourself on the details. I also like the idea someone had to get another body to test the idea..

 

[shadven]

Yes. I added a J pickup to my 1975 P-bass.

In my defense it was in 1981…. and the bass was mocha.

 

[Snarf]

I voted keep it stock, but that’s my assessment of risks and benefits.

my first reaction: if you play for a living, get a second bass.

back to modding: if you go ahead, you gotta nail the spacing, and find a good matching J pickup. educate yourself on the details. I also like the idea someone had to get another body to test the idea..

That's the kind of thing that I would get guidance from the person working on it. I would only take this project to a great tech. There's no DIY here.

And I do have a second, third, and fourth bass. Each one actually costs more than this one, heh. I just don't like playing them as much as this bass.

Oh, right, I'll add this: Because I do most of my playing on stages and mostly only pick up the bass at home to help write transcriptions, teach, or run through songs before a gig, getting another bass as my daily driver relegates my favorite bass in the world to just a home bass. And I don't really like that idea too much.

 

[BAG]

The bass "feels" good to you, and that is generally something like 80% due to the neck, 15% due to the body weight and balance and 5% sound. Play around with the pickups to your heart's desire and if the sound is worse then make it stock again. There is so little chance of one small J pickup rout changing the sound of the bass so much that you'll hate it if you feel the need to go back to the P pickup only.

 

[retslock]

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?

Sadly, yes, yes, YES. My ‘73 Precision that now has a Jazz bridge pickup in it that never got used - it sounded awful. Plus a rout for the first version of the Badass bridge. It happened a very long time ago. I was younger then. Dumb!

 

[DWBass]

Nope. All mods have been positive.

 

[Gizmot]

I have only modded one bass - my beloved ‘79 Ric 4001. Back in the early 90s, I was getting bored with its sound and convinced myself to swap out the neck pickup for a Seymour Duncan. BIG mistake (nothing against SD pickups, but it wasn’t a good solution).

Several years later, I decided to put the 4003 high pass bypass and although I could have done the work, I had it done by the pros at Corner Music. Great mod!

The next mod I did was to install a Nordstrand Audio Nordenbocker neck pickup. Bingo - another great mod! This sounds exactly like a Ric pickup with more output and it’s reverse wound so when both pickups are on, it cancels hum.

My last mod was to install a Hipshot bridge. Another worthwhile mod. It looks better and sounds better than the original bridge.

I voted for ‘leave the bass alone’! Although I ended up with a better sounding bass, I would have been happier to not have screwed around and spent a bunch of extra money

 

[jamro217]

Once again, the correct answer is: it depends. What is the instrument being considered for a transformation? If it is rare, collectible, unusual or just good the way it is and you want it to be something else, no. If it is a common item of no significant collector value or even sentimental value, by all means rout it away to your heart's content. Add THREE mudbuckers at the end of the board to counteract the fifteen pound solid brass bridge. Lop the head off and stick the tuners at the bottom. Yee Hah!!! Just don't mess with the tort. That's a no-no.

 

[Lenny JG]

It just depends; I've modded less than I've kept stock though. Never have regretted a mod.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

For me it completely depends on the Bass. Squire and certain Fenders & Sire's the perfect Mod Bass platform. My higher End gear I'm leaving stock unless I completely do not like it then I would most likely sell before modding.
Last bass I modded was a Charvel PJ IV took out the crappy useless preamp put in a Audere Classic Preamp and haven't looked back. I'm considering a Sire V5 4 & 5 string going in I know I would replace the bridge with a Albridge put in a John East pre-amp and maybe noiseless Norstrand pickups. But my Ernie Ball MusicMan Stingray Specials are staying stock unless something breaks outside of the warrantee time period.

 

[CalgAaron]

I put a bridge pickup in my P bass and hated it immediately. It didn’t sound like a MM or a jazz bass. Which I was hoping for. The tech recommended I put a soapbar pup in there(?!?). I spent a small fortune on Barts and Nordy pickups searching for the tone I wanted. Turns out I wanted a P bass sound! I have since taken the pup out and put a sticker over the hole. I’d leave it stock and just buy a PJ bass or something else. Keep your number one baby as is!

 

[JEDI BASS]

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?

I have yet to prefer the J pickup in a PJ, over the P. I typically turn the J down to around 7 or 8 while leaving the P all the way up. So, I could get by nicely without the J. And, I think you'd lose a smidge of the awesomeness that your P has by throwing the J into the mix.

When I want the MM slap sound, I grab my Stingray. So, my input/advice would be to take a 2nd bass to your shows for that slap sound you want.

 

[prowla]

I regret modding a Rickenbacker 4001; I put a Badass II bridge on it and then chopped the original tailpiece in half to make a front surround.
Getting a replacement gap-tooth tailpiece to put back cost me over £350 some years later, which is more than the bass was when I bought it.

 

[Geogio]

The biggest repair on a mod if I ever had was I had to peg a Machine Head hole that I had to expand for a D-tuner.

The tuner didn't really work out.

 

[Geogio]

I think PJs are a compromise too. Don't ask me how I've ended up with two, I have no idea...
The fretless gets played more than the Canadian. But not much.

 

[Black_In_Mind]

I've done mostly cosmetic modifications to my basses by swapping out parts but with my #1 I went a tad further by adding hardware that requires additional drilling because resale value was never part of the equation. Schecters pretty much lose value the second they are used but I had no issues cutting the value of my J-4 even more to make it quite the looker compared to stock. No regrets.