need advice for mods... please?

[::::BASSIST::::]

So I got my new SX p-bass. I am quite happy with it for the price i paid. I was worried about the neck but its fine and has no deadspots.

I am about to do to a whole bunch of mods to this bass, but need assistance with a couple things.

1. string nut - brass or graphite? I am thinking graphite because I think it will be easeir to work with. But is one material better than the other?

1B. with regard to the nut I assume I want a flat one as oppossed to curved. Any reason to second-guess this?

2. stereo or mono switchcraft jack? as the bass is a mono instrument I assume mono, but really I have no idea.

3. capacitors - as I am completely upgrading the wiring/ electronics I was wondering what would be the best choice for a capacitor value? Warmoth offers .047uf and .022uf. My goal is to get as vintage a p-bass tone as possible.

4. I am going to get CTS pots. I am pretty sure 250 pots is what I am after but I want to check with you guys.

Please forgive my ignorance if some these questions seem stupid. I just want to double-check this stuff before I spend the money and find out I should have bought something different.

 

[JimmyM]

No offense, but every single one of the mods you want to make seem gratuitous.

1. Is there a problem with the nut that's on it? I hate brass nuts and like graphite nuts, but you probably won't notice a lick of difference in the sound. Nuts only affect the open note and harmonics, and the difference in tone between a plastic nut and a graphite nut is zip. Brass nuts are a tad brighter in tone than plastic or graphite, but it's not such a drastic difference where you notice how much better your bass sounds. If the strings are spaced correctly and the strings don't catch in it, that's all that matters.

2. It's a mono jack. What's wrong with the jack? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It'll probably last a good long time before it needs replaced.

3 & 4. What are you trying to accomplish with these mods? What are each of them going to bring to the table? Are you changing out the pickup as well? Seems to me like these mods will do absolutely nothing if you keep the same pickup. Maybe I could see these mods working somewhat if you put in a 62 Custom Shop pickup in there, but any improvement will come more from the pickup than the caps and pots.

Sorry...I know you folks are all mod crazy on here, but the mods you're talking about doing have such a minute effect on the overall sound that I doubt you'll even notice them.

 

[Mudfuzz]

So I got my new SX p-bass. I am quite happy with it for the price i paid. I was worried about the neck but its fine and has no deadspots.

I am about to do to a whole bunch of mods to this bass, but need assistance with a couple things.

1. string nut - brass or graphite? I am thinking graphite because I think it will be easeir to work with. But is one material better than the other?

Bone

1B. with regard to the nut I assume I want a flat one as oppossed to curved. Any reason to second-guess this?

If the top is not curved you will have to do it yourself anyway.

2. stereo or mono switchcraft jack? as the bass is a mono instrument I assume mono, but really I have no idea.

This makes no sense, I have no idea what you are asking. But..... I will say, with almost no exceptions Pbasses are not stereo........

3. capacitors - as I am completely upgrading the wiring/ electronics I was wondering what would be the best choice for a capacitor value? Warmoth offers .047uf and .022uf. My goal is to get as vintage a p-bass tone as possible.

.02

4. I am going to get CTS pots. I am pretty sure 250 pots is what I am after but I want to check with you guys.

250k, yes.

Please forgive my ignorance if some these questions seem stupid. I just want to double-check this stuff before I spend the money and find out I should have bought something different.

I'm with Jimmy though, most of your mod ideas are not going to make much difference compared to a pickup, and your best bet on that is a Seymour Duncan Antiquity P pickup; unless: the pots are not working right, the jack is broken or the you are not getting the right amount of high roll-off when you turn the tone knob down.

I’d just play the thing and not sweat the details personally until something goes wrong or you get tired of the sound.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

No offense, but every single one of the mods you want to make seem gratuitous.

1. Is there a problem with the nut that's on it? I hate brass nuts and like graphite nuts, but you probably won't notice a lick of difference in the sound. Nuts only affect the open note and harmonics, and the difference in tone between a plastic nut and a graphite nut is zip. Brass nuts are a tad brighter in tone than plastic or graphite, but it's not such a drastic difference where you notice how much better your bass sounds. If the strings are spaced correctly and the strings don't catch in it, that's all that matters.

2. It's a mono jack. What's wrong with the jack? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It'll probably last a good long time before it needs replaced.

3 & 4. What are you trying to accomplish with these mods? What are each of them going to bring to the table? Are you changing out the pickup as well? Seems to me like these mods will do absolutely nothing if you keep the same pickup. Maybe I could see these mods working somewhat if you put in a 62 Custom Shop pickup in there, but any improvement will come more from the pickup than the caps and pots.

Sorry...I know you folks are all mod crazy on here, but the mods you're talking about doing have such a minute effect on the overall sound that I doubt you'll even notice them.

First of all, none of these mods are absolutely necessary. However, while the body and neck seem totally fine, everything else will be replaced. Well, maybe not the bridge. I want this to be the best bass it can be. Call me crazy but I like high-end components as opposed to lower-end stuff.

Besides the items mentioned above I am also putting in SD quater pounders, Hipshot Ultralite tuners and changing the pickquard to black.

Another good reason to change all these less signifcant components now is cost. I can have all this stuff packed together with my SDs and save on shipping rather than ordering later and having to pay another shipping charge from Warmoth.

Another reason is that I have a bass that has no wiring, pups etc. I am going to use the old components from the SX and put it in the other bass.

So you see it all makes sense. Well, at least to me it does.

 

[Mudfuzz]

First of all, none of these mods are absolutely necessary. However, while the body and neck seem totally fine, everything else will be replaced. Well, maybe not the bridge. I want this to be the best bass it can be. Call me crazy but I like high-end components as opposed to lower-end stuff.

Besides the items mentioned above I am also putting in SD quater pounders, Hipshot Ultralite tuners and changing the pickquard to black.

Another good reason to change all these less signifcant components now is cost. I can have all this stuff packed together with my SDs and save on shipping rather than ordering later and having to pay another shipping charge from Warmoth.

Another reason is that I have a bass that has no wiring, pups etc. I am going to use the old components from the SX and put it in the other bass.

So you see it all makes sense. Well, at least to me it does.

Well yes it does now, if you change the pickup then your mods will matter a bit; next time tell the whole story, mind reading isn't easy over the net.

 

[Trevorus]

I'd say that people need to fiddle with capactiors. I have noticed quite a bit of difference between ceramic and mylar film caps. I tend to like mylar better. Now, if you can't hear the difference, then I guess it doesn't matter. But changing value and type can make a difference. Good quality components will also make it less likely to get scratchy pots. For the jack, I would recommend a mon switchcraft. a stereo jeck is uneccessary, unless you do some more complicated pickup options, and/or active circuitry. A graphite nut will be useful if you have problems with tuning stability. But otherwise, it really won't make a huge difference.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

thanks guys.

often the whole story takes a lengthy post, but your right perhaps a bit more info would have been better.