POLL: Do you mod your basses?

[mapleglo]

Some are pretty extreme, like from slabs of wood

To this

Others are simple like a bridge swap

And others are a little bit more

Depends on my mood and wallet.

 

[Tonetodiefor]

I have refinished a 74 Jazz, flopped out tuners, pickups, electronics and bridges. Latest project was modding my non export Aerodyne with Geezers and a Fender hi-mass bridge.

 

[Antisyzygy]

Almost of all my basses are modded. How about yours?
Please elaborate.

It depends.

My G&L SB-1 and SB-2 I like the way they are, colors and all. The tone pot on the SB-1 is a different setup from most P-basses and it works well. The SB-2 doesn't need a tone pot for what I use it for. I like that both are minimalist and I like the hardware they have on them already. They get the sounds I want, and I like the way they feel, so why mess with a good thing?

I did mod my Bronco bass because stock it had some things I didn't like about it. Now I like it just fine. The neck and body were great, the pickup, bridge and electronics not so much. I also wanted a different pickguard. I like this bass a lot now, and I'm sure I'm keeping it.

Controls are :

1. Series/Split/Parallel
2. Master Volume w/ Treble Bleed (functions almost like a bass-cut for 1/4 turn)
3. Varitone 6-position (1 wide open, 3 treble cut, 1 slight mid scoop, 1 mudbucker setting)


I've modded other instruments or put together parts basses before just as a hobby. Most of those I ended up selling off at some point because of a variety of reasons. One reason was because I wanted to cut down and afford some nicer basses--all my mods before were on cheaper basses. However the other was I found many of those mods didn't add much for me or didn't work well as a package. I was experimenting, seeing what I like.

I am making a parts bass now that would qualify as a mod project since I'm starting with a Classic Vibe 50s P. It's going to be a pretty unique bass with three pickups, but it's more for a hobby project. I won't know if I like it until it's done.

Building/modding something is just fun and it has made me able to repair and maintain my "keepers" better since it's good practice.

The main thing I've learned is to take my time with mods, and to avoid messing with a bass that already has a good thing going. I took my time with this Bronco project and I ended up getting a much better package put together as a whole. In the past when I went nuts right off the bat it just didn't end up making the bass "better" overall.

 

[etherealme]

Ars Subtilior | Free Listening on SoundCloud.

Antisyzygy! I am really digging your band Ars Subtilior
I am about 4 tracks in and though the singer reminds me of Argent or Mike Patton possibly, this is really different music! Pleasantly surprised. There's kind of an afrobeat influence on the guitar playing too, if I'm not imagining things... Meets Legend of Zelda, Contra 8 bit nintendo soundtracks. Interesting blend of styles to say the least. Cheers!

 

[Antisyzygy]

Antisyzygy! I am really digging your band Ars Subtilior
I am about 4 tracks in and though the singer reminds me of Argent or Mike Patton possibly, this is really different music! Pleasantly surprised. There's kind of an afrobeat influence on the guitar playing too, if I'm not imagining things... Meets Legend of Zelda, Contra 8 bit nintendo soundtracks. Interesting blend of styles to say the least. Cheers!

Hey thanks so much!

We dig lots of the 90s alternative bands (Smashing Pumpkins, etc.), as well as any funk rock from that era. This last album was kinda inspired a little by all that as well as John Frusciante's solo work. I guess not so much funk on this one, but we have some other work we did before that was more funky.

Oddly enough both my guitarist and I are in to Zelda and other Nintendo games. We grew up with it.

I just checked out Fontans and that's bad ass! Great mix of downtempo, jazz, blues and harder rock with some psychedelic parts in there sometimes (just my interpretation). I dig the drums a lot, very interesting. I'm not just saying this either, cool stuff.

 

[etherealme]

Hey thanks so much!

We dig lots of the 90s alternative bands (Smashing Pumpkins, etc.), as well as any funk rock from that era. This last album was kinda inspired a little by all that as well as John Frusciante's solo work. I guess not so much funk on this one, but we have some other work we did before that was more funky.

Oddly enough both my guitarist and I are in to Zelda and other Nintendo games. We grew up with it.

I just checked out Fontans and that's bad ass! Great mix of downtempo, jazz, blues and harder rock with some psychedelic parts in there sometimes. I dig the drums a lot, very interesting. I'm not just saying this either, cool stuff.

Thank you as well. Yeah, the thing about that project is that it has always been just a duo - drums and bass. We've yet to find the right guitarist. (Though we did have a great singer at one time.) So, by default I started incorporating more dub and effects, looping stuff in and sometimes playing chords like a guitarist. It's fun - and weird. That also, was all done on an analog four track Fostek multi-tracker with just good quality microphones. Ha!

Yeah, I thought John Frusciante solo stuff with Ars as well. I really dig his The Empyrean album. Do you play this stuff out live regularly or is it strictly a studio endeavor?

#Majorly-highjacking-this-thread...

 

[Antisyzygy]

Thank you as well. Yeah, the thing about that project is that it has always been just a duo - drums and bass. We've yet to find the right guitarist. (Though we did have a great singer at one time.) So, by default I started incorporating more dub and effects, looping stuff in and sometimes playing chords like a guitarist. It's fun - and weird. That also, was all done on an analog four track Fostek multi-tracker with just good quality microphones. Ha!

Yeah, I thought John Frusciante solo stuff with Ars as well. I really dig his The Empyrean album. Do you play this stuff out live regularly or is it strictly a studio endeavor?

#Majorly-highjacking-this-thread...

That's great! Some of those overdriven parts I thought were a guitar player.

Maybe you should get yourself a 5-string EADGC bass and never get a guitar player! I thought about doing that since it's just me and a guitar player but the guitar player overdubs so much we decided we didn't need me to do that.

At the moment it's strictly studio. We gigged for a time when I lived in Houston, but I moved away. So we kinda do the internet band thing. Do you gig with your drummer?

 

[jg42]

getting ready for a weekend mod!

 

[lidesnowi]

I modify it as needed, which means basically that I have modified all my instruments including my 1961 Jazz Bass "I have zero respect for vintage stuff" an instrument is a tool nothing more nothing less!