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new bass?

B

bergy9650

Jan 4, 2010
122
0
#1
ok soo im torn between buying a new bass or upgrading my old one..... so i have a used squier p bass made in
'74 and its a decent bass sounds lovely and all but its beat to h&ll and back ... its my first bass soo im wondering should i upgrade/refinish it (new paint, installing a varitone, new pots, new frets/new fretboard, a jazz bridge pickup) or a neww ibanez p/j combo... what do you guys think
 
#2
if it was made in 74 it's not a Squier.... as Squier started in 82..... With that said...Buy a new one and keep the old one. Most people have a soft spot for their first bass,and usually regret selling it..... I'd give my left nut to have my old $40 Univox High Flyer back.
 
#3
i sold my first bass....no regrets as i have better gear now.
it was hard at first, but when i realized i would have no use for it now it makes it better.

yeah, squiers dont date back that far...unless you have the only one!!:rollno:
but seriously id probably go for a new one.
if the pbass is where you like it, leave it alone.
i regret modding something that i like before and not liking it as much after,
more so than selling my first bass.
 
#5
Money permitting, why not do both? Its always great to have a back up bass, and your '74 probably wont cost too much to be redone if you do some or most of the work yourself.

If you like the Ibanez, I'd buy that. Nothing wrong with having two basses, perhaps one for each style of music/tuning you might play.
 
#7
my 2 cents:

1) A Squier made in 1974? That doesn't sound right... Did you mean 1994?

2) If you dig how it plays, and how it sounds... LEAVE IT BE. Do not refinish it. It's a SQUIER... Let it look beat up. A refin won't change how it plays or sounds. If you must have a pretty bass (which I understand - I like pretty instruments myself) then go get a new one and hang on to this one.

2)
 
#8
about the dating issue i was going buy the dating system was given and the serial number and sure id love to post picks... i would love to do both but im not sure i could afford it unless the new bass was used? i have no problem with used gear i prefer it acctually .....and i was hoping to evenually make this bass event prettier that was my intention when buying it ... my thoughts were " hmm $50 i'll learn to play on this thing and then mod it up ounce i get a new one" soo well see
 
#9
Don't mod or refin your old bass. I suggest refreshing it: shield the cavity, shield the pickguard, maybe get a new pickguard ?

Work on rewiring the bass...series/parallel switching is GREAT in a p bass. A varitone would be great in a p bass, as would a stellartone tonestyler...either can be run in series to your tone knob, essentially giving you a bunch of tone controls.

You could either put a BUNCH of money into your old squier (but if you like the way it sounds, don't change a thing)

or you could get a brand new bass...or a new to you bass. Used instruments are awesome.
 
#10
tell me more about the series parallel... effectsand diagrams ya know somthing a dumb person can understand : )...and you people are getting me excited also is there a used instrument club, if not there will be by tonight hahaha
 
#11
TMBTC said:
if it was made in 74 it's not a Squier.... as Squier started in 82..... With that said...Buy a new one and keep the old one. Most people have a soft spot for their first bass,and usually regret selling it..... I'd give my left nut to have my old $40 Univox High Flyer back.
Click to expand...

Correct!
Rule: You can never own too many basses!

Apply the rule. Upgrade old one but as some one noted, do it to improve not change the tone (shielding, new pots, series parallel, etc.) And then get a new one more to your current thinking. Also as suggested you are urged to look at used instruments. Gets twice the bass for the money IF you know which end of a soldering iron to hold. Since you are upgrading one, then upgrade two and really end up with some serious sounding bass!

I love to find really expensive but crappy looking used basses. You know filthy dirty, pots loose or bad or hanging, even parts missing. You don't want one with lots of body damage and you want to check for twisted necks and other nasty hard to fix stuff. I've found that so long as dings and wear is slight, the best thing to do is take the new bass completely apart to clean it. Take the tuners off, pickups out of mounts and what have you to get that dirt under where stuff fits together. Yes, it's sort of a pain to do that but it's not that bad. And then the instrument comes out looking like a million even with minor damage!

I just bought a vintage ESP 7 string guitar used for a song. Was missing the panel on the back. So I whine to the shop owner asking if he has something to use there. He digs in a box and comes up with one a perfect fit! And then I decide to push my luck and ask about the Floyd Rose missing whammy bar. And Lo he digs in the cash drawer and comes up with one! Seems some guy bought a guitar and never came back for it! Then I take my prize home and rip it apart with a complete dusting, cleaning and waxing. Set it up. New strings. And man I'm in heaven just as if I'd laid down some serious bread (which I did not!). That kind of thing just makes my day!
 
#12
bass047.jpg


ok this is a test to see if the picture posting works more too follow
 

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