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NBD: 70’s Classic Vibe
- Thread starter DWA2469
- Start date
How does it sound as it is?
A pickup change is only going to make it sound brighter or darker, a little louder or quieter. A new harness or pots will add little to no change in the overall sound that you might hear playing at home by yourself, if at all.
In other words, what perceive problems are you trying to solve?
A pickup change is only going to make it sound brighter or darker, a little louder or quieter. A new harness or pots will add little to no change in the overall sound that you might hear playing at home by yourself, if at all.
In other words, what perceive problems are you trying to solve?
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Quality mostly, the wiring and pots are junk. The sound is not "bad" overall. I just figured while I have it apart some pick-ups can't hurt!
D
I think a good upgrade any bass could use is cavity shielding (if it isn’t already). <$10 Amazon copper tape does the trick, and there’s plenty of info about shielding on this forum.
Another would be lighter tuners, but be sure to measure and check dimensions first. Gotoh and Hipshot are good brands.
A visual upgrade for me at least would be a different pickguard. Not a fan of tort on that body…
Another would be lighter tuners, but be sure to measure and check dimensions first. Gotoh and Hipshot are good brands.
A visual upgrade for me at least would be a different pickguard. Not a fan of tort on that body…
So get either CTS pots, a cap of your choice to affect the tone, or a harness that has those component. As far as the pickup, again listen to the bass as is and decide where you want it to go from where it is now. Do you want an old-school sound? Maybe a vintage wind with Alnico magnetic like Fender Original 60s, 63s or Custom Shop pickup. The pickup that comes with it is a Fender-designed Alnico split P pickup.
A hotter sound? Maybe a hotter wind and Ceramic magnets like the Dimarzio Model P or the Relentless P pickups.
Of course there are others by a lot of different pickup companies. I just named a couple I've had experience with. So listen to your bass now and think of what direction you want the tone to go in
D
There is absolutely no need to replace the wiring harness. If the pots are scratchy, clean them with deoxit spray.
If you are willing to pay close to 50% of what you paid for the bass you can certainly find pickups that will objectively be a marginal upgrade, but if you want any meaningful advice on this you will need to tell us which direction you want to go tonally compared to the stock pickup.
If you are willing to pay close to 50% of what you paid for the bass you can certainly find pickups that will objectively be a marginal upgrade, but if you want any meaningful advice on this you will need to tell us which direction you want to go tonally compared to the stock pickup.
Brandon Shea
Commercial User
Aside from setting it up, I'd sit with it for a month or two to see what you like and don't like. Obviously if a pot or something isn't working, you should replace it with something functional. I've been really impressed by the Squier basses (and guitars!) I've tried recently, especially from the Classic Vibe line. Heck, I've almost bought a couple Squier jazz basses that I absolutely don't need just because I thought they sounded so nice!
100% agreed. I'd go with a plain black pickguard to match the block inlays, personally.
D
Unless someone has gone amateur DIY on it and made a mess inside this is simply not true. The stock wiring and pots on these basses are more than adequate. Upgrading them won't improve the tone whatsoever.
Replacing the pickup can change the tone of course, but only marginally unless you go for a very differently voiced pickup. What kind of direction do you want to move? Warmer? More aggressive? A darker/fatter overwound tone? A classic vintage P-bass tone or a brighter/hifi modern tone with a wider frequency range?
Personally I think the stock pickups in these basses are quite good. Replacing the strings will most likely improve the tone CONSIDERABLY more than replacing the pickup.
I have that same bass. I shielded the cavity with conductive tape because the room I play in is very noisy.
After that, I ended up replacing the pickups with an EMG GZR (which comes with a solderless harness, so pots are also new) and I'm quite happy with them. I also strung it with flatwounds (Labella low tension)
After that, I ended up replacing the pickups with an EMG GZR (which comes with a solderless harness, so pots are also new) and I'm quite happy with them. I also strung it with flatwounds (Labella low tension)
Love the black blocks on maple. I’m normally not into maple boards, but that’s the way I’d do it if I got one. Very sharp. Enjoy it!
I absolutely get the desire to tinker around with the electronics (this is something I enjoy a lot myself) but I agree that you should have an end goal in mind here when it comes to pickup upgrades. New pots and wiring are pretty cheap, new pickups are significantly more expensive so for me I'd really need to have an issue with the current pickups that can only be fixed with new ones. If you're not thrilled with the sound it's possible that a different set of strings will fix that.
When you say the pots and wiring are junk - what does that mean? They're loose, they scratch, they hum, there's crackling from a bad connection...?
When you say the pots and wiring are junk - what does that mean? They're loose, they scratch, they hum, there's crackling from a bad connection...?
Change out all its guts.. even though its working fine?
There goes its "Classic Vibe".
There goes its "Classic Vibe".
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I'll 2nd, 3rd, or 4th...get a good setup on it and get to know it before you bother with mods. Yes, if the jack is intermittent or the pots are scratchy, fix or replace.
Agree 100% I have a stock 4-string Squier Affinity Jazz that I don't even play now (I only do 5 string) but I can't part with it because it feels so nice, and has a great tone. It's loud too. I gig 2 Squier 5 strings all the time, box-stock, off-the-shelf, with only string changes (one wears rounds, the other, flats).
Oh, yes, new pickups can certainly hurt. They may shift the sound in a direction you don't like while costing you and arm and 1/2 a leg.
Work with the controls. Solo the neck pickup. Roll the tone down about 1/2 way. You may find you simply need a new setting to get the tone you want. At the very least you may learn more about what you don't like about your sound and be better informed when you're trying to find different pickups.
Pots, wires, caps - Of all the things you can change on a bass to alter the sound, I put these dead last. I don't know how wire can be junk. The cap may be junk in that it's actual value is out of spec but unless you turn the tone pot down it won't matter. Junk pots? Perhaps. If they work and are not scratchy, new pots are unlikely to sound better.
Oh, and one more thing - Nice Bass!
The issue was most likely that it had a liner taper pot. They will make a tone pot behave like that. I'm betting that your obsidian harness has a logarithmic (aka audio) taper which has a more steady change in tone throughout the whole sweep of the knob.
Those are great basses, aren't they? I had one a few years ago that I loved everything about except for the tone, the color, the neck profile, the electronics, the pickguard, the bridge and the tuners. After swapping all those out for higher quality components, it became my number one until I got bored a few months later and switched to French Horn. Great bass, though.
I sold it as an upgraded Classic Vibe. Well, the strap buttons were original. The guy who bought it called it the "bass of Theseus." I'm not sure what he meant by that, but whatevs.
I sold it as an upgraded Classic Vibe. Well, the strap buttons were original. The guy who bought it called it the "bass of Theseus." I'm not sure what he meant by that, but whatevs.
