How much do you mod your basses

[west al]

I just use Nylon strings, in place of the standard strings. Everything else on my Epi EB-0 is to my liking.

 

[jetgraphics]

When I was young and stupid, I always "modded" my bass. Didn't help much. . . I was stupid, remember?
Now, I just leave 'em alone, and they are happier, now.
(Sole Exception: anti-gravity strap locks. Best remedy for gravity attacks and falling basses.)

 

[Bobisadrummer]

I have one of those short scale squier jag that I put a Hipshot KickAss bridge, Dimarzio Area pups, Hipshot ultra lite tuners and the xtender tuner in. I bought the bass for $300 and spent twice as much on parts. My friend was floored “why not just buy a more expensive bass?” Well, maybe if companies made some short scales that were as comfy as the jag body.

 

[Berniez40]

Because my entire stable of 6--three uprights and three electrics are all "Frankenbasses" you can put me down for 100%. LOL

 

[DavidJamesNHBass]

Every four string gets a Hipshot.
All Fender basses get Babicz replacement bridges.
All passive basses have pickups switched to Stonewalls (a local guy who knows his sh*t and personally wraps the pickups to create a mother of a sound).
Stonewall Pickups

 

[Gary Stevens]

Mostly not at all. For whatever reason, I also play guitar and I am a lot more prone to mod an electric guitar. It just seems the stock guitar pickups are a bit tame for what I like. Basses, there are brands that I love the stock setup, Warwicks in particular.

But there are exceptions. I totally modded a MIM Fender with a Warmoth neck and upgraded all the hardware.

I also added a magnetic pickup to this guy. Ive never been a fan of piezos

 

[Gary Stevens]

Nice bass. What brand? Can't quite get clear shot of headstock. VERY nice job with the suspended pickup

 

[Jazzdogg]

Does every bass in your stable get modded and how much.

All of mine that are single coils get a stacked hum cancelling AlNiCo pickup.

My main player (whichever bass I am currently in love with) gets lots of tweaks. My current main squeeze is a black 92 JB+, I am switching all the hardware to black and have added a DiMarzio Area in the bridge and a Norstrand Split 51 in the neck. I have also had the bass refretted and Plekked by the local Gurus.

I modified my two main basses. I defretted my '73 P, replaced the bridge, and swapped out the stock p-ups for Quarter Pounders, then recontoured the body, and refinished it. I also recontoured the body and refinished it on my fretted five-string. The other ten, I've left alone - so far.

 

[DavidJamesNHBass]

These beasts are now in the ‘79 P bass. They replaced EMGs which, simply stated, took a beautifully toned bass and made it sound surgically sterile. Now the ol' gal has her swagger, boom and slight growl back.
Older women are hot. Older basses are hotter.

 

[FenderBass71]

The only mod I have ever made to a bass, is adding a drop-D tuner. I buy the bass I want, I don't buy with the intent of making it into something different. These things cost way too much money to dump more into them after the purchuse.

 

[2thAche]

Totally depends on the bass. Some people have to mod anything they get right out of the gate, sometimes I wonder if it's just a compulsion. IMO some instruments need maintenance and small tweaks 'cause they're beautiful from the get-go. Others need a complete overhaul. Really just depends on the bass and what you want from it. I definitely don't change anything until I spend enough time getting to "know" the instrument.

 

[ChemDave]

Basically, my four strings get Hipshot D-Tuners, copper foiled electronics cavities, and Dunlop Dual Design straplock pins. If it’s an Asian import I install new high quality Hipshot tuners that physically match the originals, KickAss bridges and maybe some full-size CTS pots if the spirit moves me. I added a push-pull volume pot to my fretless Squier jazz bass for series-parallel switching. Other than replacing all of the internal electronics in my Godin A4 fretless Ultra (that was a sweat-raising job necessitated by purchasing it on eBay from a clueless seller representing it as working perfectly… it wasn’t) I haven’t messed with pickups in any of my current stable.

 

[Basszillatron]

I've modded about 90% of the basses I've owned. I like Japanese Fenders a lot but do find that they benefit from having the pickups and wiring harnesses upgraded. I usually upgrade the bridge to my personal preference as well. Don't like single coil Jazz pups so I upgrade them to Nordy hum cancelling. The only bass I've never modified is my 95' Ken Smith. There's literally nothing that could be done to it to improve it. It's perfect as designed and built (other than it's heavy but nothing to do about that one).

 

[annoyingman]

Kind of a mod?
This Squier was butchered by a wannabe "relicer", if that's a word.
He went nuts with a power sander.
Stupid!
I stripped it, and after 3 bad finishes, I settled on a simple black stain.
I couldn't get a certain fret to stop buzzing so I pulled the frets and filled with maple veneer.
Then I cut the pickguard to fit the chrome control plate, added an Epic Custom Shop pickup and an Obsidian solderless wiring harness.
I had a gen-u-wine Fender fretless Jazz that I sold because I liked my project better.

 

[KazG]

Nope not modded at all….All stock Peavy Millennium

 

[BigBadBen67]

For me it depends. Every bass has a soul and it's a matter of finding it. My AmPro P bass needed a tortoise shell pickguard and a set of the CS62 pickups. Now it's perfect. I made a Warmoth jazz bass that I had intended as a fretless for roundwound strings. It turns out it never worked with rounds but just sounds and plays beautifully with LaBella flats.

Then I have a Fodera Monarch that's just perfect the way it came and that I'll never change a thing on.

 

[newwavefrank]

Rarely, but sometimes (Zero-mod thumbrests don't count, according to their name..) I have painted a Stingray and a warwick. Same Stingray got a new pickup. I replaced the bridges on both Ricks with Hipshot, and replaced the pickups in one of them. My Dingwall NG-2 got a new preamp. that is probably all I have done to the 15 I currently own

 

[Lo-E]

When I was young and stupid, I always "modded" my bass. Didn't help much. . . I was stupid, remember?

Me, too. Lots of wasted time and money on bridges, pickups, etc…

That said, I can’t say it was really 100% wasted; I learned a lot. I learned where changes make a difference and where they don’t. I learned not to be afraid to work on my own instruments. I learned how the different components of an instrument interact with each other.

I still won’t hesitate to change pickups out or change/add a preamp if there’s a specific goal I’m after but, otherwise, I tend to leave things alone unless they aren’t working.

 

[Dave Neal]

Some I do and some I don't. When they need repairs I will upgrade parts. Some are just cosmetic upgrades and no electrics others are bridge and tuners. The Fender 24 deluxe I have has s seen many upgrades because when I bought it she was a total mess. Noll 4xm preamp, refinished neck, full copper shielding, badass II. Finish repair and rebuff. The Yamaha BB614 has a custom mahogany pickguard and MIJ vintage tuners and a Schaller 3-D4 bridge it is an exceptionally good bass with all stock electrics.

 

[scott sinner]

Nice bass. What brand? Can't quite get clear shot of headstock. VERY nice job with the suspended pickup

It is an Epiphone Deluxe Masterbilt bass.

Thanks. It actually has a hidden little piezo, but I've rarely liked the sound of a piezo and it was too feedback prone. I wanted to do it with minimal modifications because, well, knowing me, I can be fickle about instruments. So the only irreversible part is the added endpin jack. The rest is just a matter of putting back the original pick guard.

Interestingly perhaps, it is actually a Kent Armstrong jazz guitar pickup. But it is a strip magnet, not a 6 mag one, so I figured it would work. In fact, being close to the bridge as it is, it ends up the EQ is quite balanced. Not too boomy.