Highly Modified Does Not Equate To Higher Prices

[sonojono]

I don’t understand why there’s many people that think upgrading a Squier or any cheap bass means the value of the instrument goes up. I believe it’s the opposite and whatever part that gets upgraded should be kept as a value of its own and not added to the instrument.

I’m sure there’s a great counter argument to this topic and would like to hear the peoples opinions on this matter (if one cares to express).

 

[Bent77]

I personally think that “upgrades” are very subjective. One persons desire doesn’t mean that it is definitively better
I try to only buy basses that at the least, come with the original parts

 

[David McIntire]

Upgrade, in my experience, usually is not. And is a word of a salesman. Used far too often. In my opinion.

 

[DWBass]

Depends on the bass and the cost of the upgrades. Cheapo tuners to Hipshot? I'm charging more. Cheapo pickups to EMG/Nordstrand/Sadowsky/Seymour Duncan, etc.? I'm charging more. Cheapo preamp to Aguilar/Sadowsky/John East? Yeah...........I'm charging more. Or else I'm removing everything and putting the stock crap back in it.

No way you're getting these upgrades for free!

 

[mdogs]

I don’t understand why there’s many people that think upgrading a Squier or any cheap bass means the value of the instrument goes up. I believe it’s the opposite and whatever part that gets upgraded should be kept as a value of its own and not added to the instrument.

I’m sure there’s a great counter argument to this topic and would like to hear the peoples opinions on this matter (if one cares to express).

In principle, I agree. However, people are free to ask any amount they choose for their equipment. I don’t get worked up over it, most times I just get a pretty good laugh over it. I don’t upgrade basses, I buy basses that have what I want to begin with. So, likewise, basses with upgrades are normally worth less to me than are their stock counterparts.

 

[Killing Floor]

The seller calls them upgrades. But the real word is modified. In general basses are not investments. But as a rule when I make a change I keep the old parts so can make it whole. Bottom line a $500 bass plus $500 mods is worth $350 and without the mods it’s worth $500. Partscasters are never worth the sum of their parts. I make mods. But I do it for my use only.

 

[red_rhino]

I always factor the cost of the chainsaw rental into my asking price.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I had a fender p that I had just replaced the wiring harness and with new SD quarter pounders. When I sold it the buyer pointed to the pickups and he said these have to go..

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I don’t understand why there’s many people that think upgrading a Squier or any cheap bass means the value of the instrument goes up. I believe it’s the opposite and whatever part that gets upgraded should be kept as a value of its own and not added to the instrument.

I’m sure there’s a great counter argument to this topic and would like to hear the peoples opinions on this matter (if one cares to express).

If this applies to the potential market value of the bass, that value is assigned by the buyer, not the seller. For instance a buyer A loves XYZ pickup and is just waiting for a bass to come available. Well one comes on the market just happens to already have XYZ pick ups installed by the previous owner. He might be will to pay an alpha so he doesn’t pay to buy pickups and have them installed.

Buyer B might not like the idea of a modded bass because because it is planning on flipping it for a profit or keep it for an investment for resale later and might walk away from it even with a steep discount.

And Buyer C could careless about what pickups are in it and decide that the extra price the seller is trying to recover for the price of the mod isn’t worth it, while buyer D is wondering why it has 4 strings but only 2 pickups….

The short answer is the mod has zero value to a buyer, unless he (or she) likes the mod and and or finds value in it. Other wise, don’t expect to recoup the cost.

 

[FilCo]

I would say that a modded bass is worth the sum of its parts. If you can strip a modded Squier and sell whatever parts are there for $600, then that particular Squier is probably worth $600.

 

[definenredefine]

Depends on the bass and the cost of the upgrades. Cheapo tuners to Hipshot? I'm charging more. Cheapo pickups to EMG/Nordstrand/Sadowsky/Seymour Duncan, etc.? I'm charging more. Cheapo preamp to Aguilar/Sadowsky/John East? Yeah...........I'm charging more. Or else I'm removing everything and putting the stock crap back in it.

No way you're getting these upgrades for free!

Fair from the perspective of the seller. From the buyer's (in this case, my) perspective, the upgrades to my recently acquired 2015 Squier P bass (SB quarter pounder pup, Fender high mass bridge) were worth paying almost what a similar bass goes for new.

I guess my point is that the worth of a bass for sale is what the buyer and seller ultimately settle on.

 

[g-dude]

In the world of cars, upgrades decrease the value of a vehicle, unless you find someone who wants exactly what you have done to it.

Maybe it doesn’t decrease the value for basses, but generally I wouldn’t find an upgrade to be additive from a value perspective unless it was something I would have done myself and there was documentation it was done properly by a professional.

 

[J Wilson]

I day dreamed of modding my Squier James Johnston with a full EMG suite, a pair of J's, a BTS tone system, Gotoh double battery box, and a side jack.

At which point I've have had a thousand-dollar Squier. . . . .

I already have a paid-ahead funeral policy, but it dawned on me that I would also be BURIED in that Squier. So that plan got cancelled.

My experience with CV and VM Squiers is that generally they're good enough. Obviously built to that price range. But all 3 of mine are quiet, they stay in tune, they work fine. Like most inexpensive axes, the cheapest stuff is the wiring and pots, the stuff you can't see and most young players don't hear.

To mod Squiers (or H Benton's and the others), try to buy barely used. This leaves you a little more room to stay in line with used selling prices. I'd start with real CTS or your preferred pots, cap(s), and jack, THEN see if you think you still need different pickups, you may not with proper wiring, and pots, etc , don't cost a lot.

You just don't want to mod yourself out of the going resale price range.

 

[N4860]

I think it depends on the particular instrument. Upgraded pickups on a squier or other similarly lower priced bass makes sense to me to command a higher price compared to a stock squier. Changing the pickups on a higher priced instrument like a Music Man, US Fender, G&L, etc, is more of a lateral move. I'm not saying that the upgraded Squier should be worth more than a new Squier, but just saying I can understand asking a bit more than a typical used Squier.

 

[Jackcrow]

I’d say it’s pretty rare that you’ll get money back out of throwing expensive parts in cheap basses. However, when I sell basses that I’ve “modded” I nearly always part them out. Much easier to find people to pay market value for stuff when it’s all separate.

 

[Rayjay]

Modified Squier = no change in value, better include the original parts, better positively affect the playability
Modified USA Fender = devalued, no matter what the results are

If you want a custom bass, build it yourself to your specs, because no one else wants a custom bass not customized to their own tastes. My 0.02 crypto currency coins.

 

[N4860]

I day dreamed of modding my Squier James Johnston with a full EMG suite, a pair of J's, a BTS tone system, Gotoh double battery box, and a side jack.

At which point I've have had a thousand-dollar Squier. . . . .

I already have a paid-ahead funeral policy, but it dawned on me that I would also be BURIED in that Squier. So that plan got cancelled.

My experience with CV and VM Squiers is that generally they're good enough. Obviously built to that price range. But all 3 of mine are quiet, they stay in tune, they work fine. Like most inexpensive axes, the cheapest stuff is the wiring and pots, the stuff you can't see and most young players don't hear.

To mod Squiers (or H Benton's and the others), try to buy barely used. This leaves you a little more room to stay in line with used selling prices. I'd start with real CTS or your preferred pots, cap(s), and jack, THEN see if you think you still need different pickups, you may not with proper wiring, and pots, etc , don't cost a lot.

You just don't want to mod yourself out of the going resale price range.

I am probably in the minority, but if I am buying a bass to modify to suit my own needs, I don't really care about the resale value. I see this so much on TB as a main point of focus and I can't help but ask why? Why do so many people buy gear if they know they are going to sell it down the road? And let's be honest, unless you buy stuff new and sell it very soon after, buying a used instrument and selling it a year or 2 down the road, modification or not is a pretty small investment assuming you get somewhat close to what you bought it for.

 

[Snert]

I always factor the cost of the chainsaw rental into my asking price.

Woodchippers are better.

 

[SteveCS]

I don’t understand why there’s many people that think upgrading a Squier or any cheap bass means the value of the instrument goes up. I believe it’s the opposite and whatever part that gets upgraded should be kept as a value of its own and not added to the instrument.

I’m sure there’s a great counter argument to this topic and would like to hear the peoples opinions on this matter (if one cares to express).

I guess it depends if you are an investor or a musician. The purpose of an instrument is as a means to making music. Upgrades or modifications that make it better for making music must therefore add to the intrinsic value.

I find the notion that an instrument which has been improved to better achieve its purpose is somehow devalued by being no longer as god intended (or as it fell off the production line) wholly unintelligible.

YMMV.

 

[Topkat13]

People? What people?