Jazz Bass essentials mods (MUST)

Nothing is a must, it’s a fine bass hope you enjoy. If something isn’t to your liking, you’ll soon know what that is and then know what you want to swap.
Who cares what any of us would change?

If your goal is to spend money then your list is a good start, but don’t forget to upgrade the nut, the body, the neck, the pots, The strings, and the pickguard.

 

If it were me, I would only upgrade the pickups. Either Fender Custom '60s or a pair of Aguilars. Active preamps can be fun, but the bass I had one in sounded just fine without it. For reference, the preamp was a John East J-Retro Deluxe. Again, preamps can be nice but are not, in my opinion, necessary. To be fair, upgraded pickups really aren't either unless you are completely unhappy with the way your bass sounds.

 

Since you mentioned a preamp, and these basses didn't come with one, I would very strongly recommend one of these: An Empress Para EQ.

It will give you control over your sound that you would never have imagined, you don't have to install it in the instrument, and it will work with any other instrument.

It will remove boominess or add warmth or whatever else you want.

And they're made in Canada!

A little pricey, but worth it.

Mike

 

I would play the bass for a while before making changes. Then you will know what to change, if anything. Personally I only replace tuners and bridges when it is functionally required. I have had MIM Fenders where it all worked great and just a couple where I had to replace the tuners. Only one needed a bridge replacement because I got tired of fixing the saddles and even the I went with HipShot Vintage to keep the original vibe. Pickup changes are generally a taste thing and only your ears can tell you that. Make sure you play it in a mix before you decide a pickup change is warranted. If so, lots of great choices out there. @aldaa made two excellent suggestions and @Michael Jewels made a really good tone shaping suggestion as well.

Enjoy your bass.

 

Not a "must" but another potential mod not on your list that is useful for Jazz basses is a series/parallel switch.

 

Pickup upgrade, but nothing else as you'd be almost* definitely be better off selling it and getting a U.S. model, (the Japanese fenders are also very good).

*Some MIM Fenders like the 'Roadworn' have a very good rep.

 

What are you using for an amp? That might be a better place to spend your money rather than modding your bass.

 

Mods are a waste of time, money, and materials if they don't address a specific issue. I say this from personal experience, and I'm not at all anti-modding, either!

Until you have a very clear sense of what (if anything) you don't like and--equally important--what might resolve that issue, it's not worth it. Playing it for a while--months, at least--in a variety of settings through a variety of amps will reveal whether or not you feel the need for any sort of mod(s). And don't forget the amp is half the instrument--it makes a bigger difference than any particular component on your bass.

Enjoy your new bass!

 

Replace the tuners when they stop working.

Replace the bridge when it stops working.

Replace the pickups when you crave a different tone (but try different strings first).

Get rid of the reverb in your signal chain.

Practice!

 

Make it your own, dog... replace the pickguard with something off the wall.

 

Did you buy the bass to play, or to tinker? You said yourself that it's set up well. You're not going to get any better by changing the tuners.

 

All this talk is irrelevant.

No pics, no bass.

 

Pickups are the only must-do. I’m a big fan of 60’s style single coils for jazz basses, like Fralins.